The Idaho Public Utilities Commission is “anxious” to hear staff and stakeholder recommendations for a possible legislative fix for state USF to present to the legislature next year, the PUC said in a Thursday order maintaining current state USF surcharges in docket GNR-T-18-06. The state commission is mulling possible IUSF revamp in docket GNR-T-17-05 (see 1804050052). Effective Oct. 1, the PUC held fees at 25 cents for each residential landline, 44 cents for each business line and 0.9 cent per minute for intrastate long-distance calls, said Thursday’s order. IUSF surcharge revenue from local exchange services increased more than $407,000 year over year to about $1 million in 2018, while long-distance surcharge revenue increased about $190,500 to more than $834,000, the PUC said. The year-end cash balance was less than $250,000, it said. Local access lines and intrastate long-distance minutes “generally declined over the last several years,” but prices have increased, the PUC said. Local business lines declined 14 percent, residential lines dropped 6 percent and minutes decreased 12 percent in the 2017 fiscal year, it said. “These factors continue to make it difficult to predict the necessary IUSF fund balance for the next fiscal year, and to determine appropriate rates so qualifying telephone companies can maintain IUSF eligibility.”

Huawei assured the FCC its products pose no cybersecurity risks. The FCC is looking at a proposal to bar USF subsidy support for products from companies seen as posing a national security threat (see 1804170038). Some commenters question “whether a testing and certification regime would be sufficient to guard against potential threats to national security from particular manufacturers,” the company said Thursday in docket 18-89. “Huawei has been one of the most advanced practitioners in the telecom industry when it comes to cybersecurity testing and certification.” Huawei noted the U.K. has worked with Huawei to open the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre in the U.K., “which is monitored by a public-private Oversight Board to ensure its independency and efficacy.”

New Mexico is the third state to decide carriers should contribute by connection count to state USF rather than by percentage of revenue, following Utah and Nebraska. The Public Regulation Commission voted 4-0 at their livestreamed Wednesday meeting to switch to a $1.17-per-connection monthly surcharge Oct. 1, and 4-0 to open a docket to revise the amount for 2019. Commissioners rejected exceptions suggested by CTIA and others. As Oklahoma also weighs state USF changes, big carriers warned the state commission not to regulate broadband or re-regulate competitive services.

FCC commissioners approved an order extending the Mobility Fund II challenge window by an additional 90 days. All four commissioners voted yes, though Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel partially dissented, saying the agency needs to do more on its own to fix the maps that will be used to identify areas without 4G LTE. The fund will provide up to $4.53 billion to support 4G LTE in unserved areas. Chairman Ajit Pai circulated an order earlier this month extending the challenge deadline (see 1808030042).

Oral argument was set for Oct. 25 on challenges to FCC Lifeline tribal limitations, said a brief order (in Pacer) of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Monday in National Lifeline Association v. FCC, No. 18-1026. A D.C. Circuit motions panel Aug. 10 stayed the FCC restrictions on enhanced tribal support in the low-income USF subsidy program (see 1808100027).

The divide over the state of fixed broadband competition and deployment deepened in comments posted Monday for an FCC communications marketplace report due by year-end under the Ray Baum's Act. Several industry commenters cited robust market rivalry and activity benefiting consumers, but consumer advocates generally noted shortcomings in competition, deployment and the data used to measure progress. Parties also disagreed on policy proposals. NCTA and USTelecom painted a positive picture and Incompas offered a circumspect view, in comments posted Friday in docket 18-231 (see 1808170049).

The federal indictment of Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., won’t set back growing momentum to end 911 fee diversion, with House Communications Subcommittee Vice Chairman Leonard Lance, R-N.J., and Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., ready to keep Collins’ 911 Fee Integrity Act (HR-6424) moving, FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said in an interview. Increasing national attention by Congress and the FCC is putting pressure on states to stop using 911 funds for unrelated purposes, lawmakers and other officials told us.

Sprint said the LEC Coalition "merely recycles an argument" the FCC has rejected about applying access charges to intraMTA (major trading area) traffic. "The LECs have provided no reason why the Commission should not deny their petition for declaratory ruling and/or file an amicus brief" backing reversal of a district court ruling in a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals case, said the group's filing, posted Thursday in FCC docket 14-228. The coalition asked the FCC not to undercut district court decisions, and to pursue a rulemaking if it seeks to let interexchange carriers route commingled traffic through Feature Group D trunks while exempting intraMTA wireless traffic from access charges (see 1808130039). "The LECs contend that the Commission’s rules currently permit them to impose access charges on IXCs delivering intraMTA calls," Sprint said. "But the Commission squarely rejected the LECs’ position" in its 2011 USF and intercarrier-compensation order, confirming prior decisions that intraMTA traffic isn't subject to access charges but to reciprocal compensation, said Sprint. It added that the district court erred in concluding FCC rules allowed LECs to charge reciprocal compensation and access charges to the traffic even though both regimes "have never been applied to the same calls."

The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission aims to vote next week to change state USF contribution to a connections-based mechanism starting Oct. 1, Commissioner Patrick Lyons said at a livestreamed Wednesday hearing. Lyons plans to release a recommended decision by Thursday, to be considered by the full commission at its open meeting Wednesday. “We’re expediting this because we’re short on money for the" USF, Lyons said. State USF auditor GVNW Consulting's Blake Young recommended a $1.34 per connection charge for the remainder of 2018 and a $1.11 charge in 2019 to fully fund USF those years. The current revenue-based surcharge was about 6.1 percent in 2018, up from about 5 percent the year before. CTIA counsel Jeff Albright opposed changing from a revenue-based mechanism, saying it’s a “regressive tax” that shifts the cost burden to those who can less afford it. Making the change Oct. 1 may be too soon for some CTIA members, he said. New Mexico Exchange Carrier Group President Steve Metts supported the shift to connections as easier to administer and more sustainable than the revenue-based mechanism. He said his members likely can switch by Oct. 1. CenturyLink attorney Tim Goodwin supported changing to connections but said it would be better to implement the change Jan. 1 to avoid problems. Nebraska last week decided to move to a $1.75 per-connection fee in January for residential lines, but temporarily keeping the revenue-based system for business lines (see 1808080022). Utah in January became the first state to switch to connections from revenue (see 1807160062).

The Nebraska Court of Appeals dismissed CTIA’s lawsuit against the Nebraska Public Service Commission, as expected (see 1808080022). In an order forwarded to us this week, the court allowed an industry stipulation to resolve the state USF case. The association sued the Nebraska PSC over last year’s order to pursue a connections-based contribution mechanism but was expected to drop its appeal after the PSC revised certain definitions (see 1807250053).