FCC staff detailed "tariff review plan" to be used by all ILECs "to support interstate access service tariff revisions" in 2018. The TRP materials reflect implementation of transitional rate changes and recovery rules from a 2011 USF and intercarrier compensation overhaul order, said a Wireline Bureau order Wednesday in docket 18-100. Rate-of-return TRPs also include implementation of USF changes and related tariffing filing obligations from a 2016 overhaul order and a Feb. 15 reconsideration order. An April 5 bureau order on tariff procedures set the schedule for 2018 submissions: 15-day tariff filings are due June 18, petitions June 25, and replies June 28; 7-day filings June 26, petitions June 27 (at noon EDT), replies June 29 (at noon EDT); and both types take effect July 3 unless blocked by the FCC.
Including resolution of some Mobility Fund Phase II petitions and setting a deadline for comments on USF budgeting, numerous FCC notices are to appear in Wednesday's Federal Register. In a final rule to be effective May 25, the agency said it's resolving remaining petitions for reconsideration on Mobility Fund Phase II by revising the language of its collocation rule and reducing the value of the letter of credit a Phase II support recipient has to hold after Universal Service Administration Co. and the agency verify the recipient "achieved significant progress" on buildout and service provision requirements. Effective Wednesday is a three-year information collection requirement for its NET 911 Improvement Act order of 2009, it said. The FCC said the Office of Management and Budget approved the information collection mandates that were part of its reporting requirements for U.S. providers of international services report and order from its 2016 biennial review of telecom regulations. It said comments are due May 25, replies July 24 on a proposed rule on establishing a budget allowing for "robust broadband deployment" in rate of return areas while "minimizing the burden" on ratepayers of USF contribution while bringing "greater certainty and stability to rate-of-return high-cost funding." It sought comments on other reforms to increase broadband deployment.
Puerto Rico may risk additional USF funding for rebuilding communications infrastructure if the territory keeps diverting 911 fee revenue to unrelated purposes, FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said in a Tuesday letter to Gov. Ricardo Rosselló Nevares (New Progressive Party). The FCC is weighing sending more support to the hurricane-slammed territory (see 1804230065). “As a steward of such ratepayer collected funding, I would find it difficult to support such a move without strong assurances that Puerto Rico is prepared to put an end to fee diversion practices once and for all," O'Rielly said. "Without this guarantee, the Commission is putting precious USF support at risk for being wasted or diverted.” Puerto Rico, which prepared but failed to send information on time to the FCC about 2016 diversion due to “clerical error,” diverted $243,100 of the 911 revenue, Rosselló said in a March 7 letter to O’Rielly. Diversion was legal under Article 19 of Act No. 66-2014, which required all savings in areas including 911 fees must be transferred to the Workforce and Economic Development Promotion Fund under Puerto Rico Trade and Export Co., Rosselló said. To prevent future failures to file with the FCC, the Puerto Rico 911 Office will create a compliance guide for all state and federal request forms, he said. O’Rielly appreciates Puerto Rico eventually filing the information but said it’s “extremely disturbing” the territory diverted. “Of all places, I do not think I need to remind you how important 9-1-1 services can be during critical times,” O’Rielly wrote. “If a surplus of 9-1-1 fees is amassed and revenue is not needed for these purposes, fees should not be collected from the consumer, especially given the devastation and personal losses your residents have endured over the last year.” O’Rielly asked Rosselló for “any concrete plans” to end the fund movement: If it's required by law, “are you prepared to help take steps to amend this act to ensure that all savings should be returned to the ratepayer or invested in network upgrades rather than diverted to a separate fund?” O’Rielly asked if Rosselló alternatively has authority to bypass the law’s diverting requirements. Hurricanes Irma and Maria last year tested Puerto Rico 911 systems and showed need for upgrades (see 1801030008).
Free Press urged supporters to tell the FCC to back off Lifeline USF proposals as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands prepare for another hurricane season. "The plan to gut Lifeline would cut off hundreds of thousands of people living in hurricane-stricken areas like Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands," said a release. "To disconnect people still struggling to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Maria would be unconscionable. Tell the FCC to ditch its plan and leave Lifeline alone," it said, linking to an online form and portal for submissions to the agency.
AT&T recapped a meeting with Wireline Bureau staff where it backed more USF support for restoring communications networks in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as proposed by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai (see 1803160051), to help in hardening its and others' networks to withstand future hurricanes. Any extra USF support for Caribbean recovery should come with accountability measures like requiring short-term funding recipients use the resources on restoration and hardening of equipment and network facilities affected by hurricanes Irma and/or Maria, but that it shouldn't be allowed for such uses as retirement of company debt unrelated to the covered expenditures, said a docket 10-90 filing posted Monday. The carrier said the FCC should require all short-term funding recipients to certify compliance with that use of the funds, and should let recipients know they could be subject to a potential Universal Service Administrative Co. audit.
Sacred Wind Communications addressed USF issues with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, outgoing Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, aides to all five commissioners, Wireline Bureau Chief Kris Monteith and staffers. CEO John Badal and others "discussed the impacts on Sacred Wind, its network and its Tribal customers of proposals" in a Connect America Fund NPRM and two orders March 23, said filings last week (here and here) in docket 10-90. The CAF item aims to help rate-of-return telcos provide broadband service and improve high-cost subsidy program operations (see 1803230025). Sacred Wind brings "voice and broadband services to historically unserved tribal lands" using hybrid "fiber to fixed wireless to copper" technologies, Rural Utilities Service loans and CAF support, said a presentation. It urged the FCC to develop Alternative Connect America Cost Model tiers for higher cost RLECs and acknowledge "ongoing higher costs for maintaining" 10 or 25 Mbps service. Saying 4G and 5G wireless "will be long in coming to remote rural areas," it recommended the agency "incentivize price cap carriers to spin off remote rural areas to RoR carriers," "restore predictability" for rural carriers and "continue support for Voice-only where demanded."
Colorado state senators plan to weigh a House-passed net neutrality bill Monday at a State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee hearing, said the panel’s agenda. The House passed HB-1312 Tuesday but sponsor Rep. Chris Hansen (D) predicted it will die in the GOP-controlled Senate (see 1804170057). While not perfect, the bill “is a strong symbolic measure to continue the push Colorado is making with reintroducing local accountability,” emailed Colin Garfield, campaign lead for the Fort Collins Citizens Broadband Committee, which fought ISPs and won exemption from the state’s municipal broadband ban in Fort Collins, Colorado (see 1712110020). “Combined with the 120 opt-outs” of communities from the ban, “this state is becoming one that is quite literally running away from the telecom industry,” he said. The bill’s narrow scope -- restricting state USF support to companies that adhere to net neutrality principles -- may not cover all types of ISPs, Garfield said. “Funding acquired from these sources is generally used for rural projects, which means only certain ISPs will ever be held to these standards. Usually the small ones, but CenturyLink has been known to acquire these funds. Communities in urban corridors will not have the watchdog on duty since urban-ISPs like Comcast aren’t using these funds inside cities.” Comcast is the state’s largest ISP and yet the least likely to apply for the funds, he said.
A court consolidated challenges to FCC Lifeline tribal limits and set a briefing schedule. The National Lifeline Association and resellers filed a January petition (in Pacer) seeking relief from the commission's late 2017 order, which restricted enhanced Tribal Lifeline USF support by targeting it to "facilities-based" service and newly defined "rural" areas (see 1801290020). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit had established a briefing schedule for that case, but this week it granted (in Pacer) a motion to consolidate the case with Crow Creek Sioux Tribe's March petition (in Pacer). Crow Creek challenges the same decisions and alleges "the commission did not meaningfully consult with Tribal authorities about the impact of these changes on native communities as required by law." Both petitioner opening briefs are now due May 9, the government's response brief June 25 and petitioner reply briefs July 16 in National Lifeline Association v. FCC, No. 18-1026, consolidated.
The FCC should set a USF budget of about $11 billion to impose fiscal discipline, Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said Thursday at the American Enterprise Institute. He said at least 200 or 300 MHz of spectrum should be made commercially available within the 3.7-4.2 GHz band, and wants an associated NPRM this summer to examine reallocating 6 GHz band spectrum for unlicensed services. He also expects the regulator to begin a rulemaking this summer on creating more flexible broadcast children's TV rules, believes the agency will soon address its process for transactions affected by "Team Telecom" reviews (see 1804190059), and wants more process reforms in general. His speech tracked written remarks and was followed by Q&A (video here). A commission spokesman declined comment.
Wireless carriers should lose federal USF funding if they don’t do more to fight robocalls, said Mississippi Public Service Commission Chairman Brandon Presley Wednesday. He directed PSC staff to investigate whether carriers profit from robocalls. “No one could do more to stop the scourge of robocalls than cellular companies,” Presley said. “Some have apps, some don’t but all of them should explain to the PSC what they are doing to stop these calls before we approve one more penny of federal money. We should require them to create free robocall blocking technology and develop a plan to stop Caller ID spoofing along with other efforts.” The PSC has been alleging telemarketers broke the No-Call law (see 1803290033 and 1801310013), and has an app for consumers to complain (see 1711010042). “Aggressive FCC and FTC enforcement of bad actors is key to combatting the scourge of illegal robocalls," said CTIA Assistant Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Krista Witanowski in a statement. "We take this issue seriously, and to protect wireless consumers, CTIA and its members have implemented a multifaceted approach that includes technical solutions such as new applications and network-based tools, and industry initiatives such as work to deploy call authentication to mitigate caller id spoofing."