T-Mobile notified the FCC it decided to receive transitional support under a USF fund supporting mobile and fixed carriers in Puerto Rico (see 2304190063). “T-Mobile is an eligible telecommunications carrier in Puerto Rico and has been receiving Stage 2 mobile support in Puerto Rico,” said a filing Wednesday in docket 18-143: “T-Mobile commits to satisfy the transitional mobile support service obligations and requirements established by the Commission.”

Chris Luna, the person the League of United Latin American Citizens wants President Joe Biden to nominate for the vacant FCC seat, has retired as T-Mobile vice president-legal affairs (see 2305090077), the carrier said.

Liberty Broadband subsidiary GCI Communications agreed to pay $40.24 million to settle allegations it breached the False Claims Act by knowingly inflating its prices and violating FCC competitive bidding rules in connection with its participation in the commission’s Rural Health Care (RHC) program, said DOJ and the FCC in a statement Thursday. Just over $26 million of the settlement amount will be USF restitution payments directly to the FCC under a contemporaneous consent decree with the commission, said the settlement agreement.

Commissioners supported cutting in half the Texas USF surcharge, unanimously without discussion, at a livestreamed Texas Public Utility Commission meeting Thursday. The monthly TUSF fee will drop to 12% from 24% of intrastate telecom revenue on July 1, which is when the commission expects to complete arrearage and interest payments to rural local exchange carriers that it underpaid (see 2305040026). Texas RLEC groups sounded optimistic Thursday they would be repaid.

Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., and ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., said during and after a Thursday hearing they’re forming a USF-focused task force to evaluate how to move forward on a comprehensive revamp of the program that may update its contribution factor to include non-wireline entities. Senate Communications members cited several telecom policy matters that intertwine with the push for USF changes, including future funding for the FCC’s affordable connectivity fund and restoring the commission’s lapsed spectrum auction authority.

Consumers' Research petitioned the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for an en banc review of an opinion denying its challenge of the FCC's USF 2021 Q4 contribution factor, saying the opinion "turned the nondelegation doctrine on its head" and "conflicts with binding precedent." The court denied the group's challenge last week (see 2305040087). "Under the opinion, there is nothing stopping agencies from handing over vast powers to private companies run by industry interest groups," the group said in its petition, filed Wednesday in case 21-3886.

The Regulatory Commission of Alaska unanimously tabled action on Alaska’s June 30 USF termination to hold a supplementary 10-day comment period for feedback on last-minute draft regulations from the Department of Law (see 2305080035). The additional comment period was jointly requested just before Wednesday’s meeting by many entities, including Alaska's Office of the Attorney General, the Alaska Telecom Association, Alaska Communications, the city of Ketchikan and public interest group Native Movement. The DOL proposal is “different than anything we’ve seen” and “merits feedback,” said Birch Horton attorney Elisabeth Ross, who represents Alaska Communications. The supplementary comment period is from Friday to May 22.

The GOP leads on the House and Senate Communications subcommittees were noncommittal in interviews before a Wednesday House Commerce Oversight Subcommittee hearing about what kind of modifications they would like for the FCC’s affordable connectivity program. Current estimates peg ACP as likely to exhaust the initial $14.2 billion in funding from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act during the first half of 2024, perhaps as early as Q1. The Commerce Oversight hearing highlighted partisan fault lines over how much Congress should modify the existing federal broadband funding apparatus.

A possible path to averting Alaska USF’s June 30 termination emerged in comments last week at the Regulatory Commission of Alaska. The Department of Law (DOL) told the RCA it would consider approving an extension on an emergency basis if the commission fixes legal defects with an earlier proposal to extend the AUSF sunset by three years. Meanwhile, telecom companies and public advocates warned of rate increases and degraded service if commissioners allow the fund to die.

Top Republican leaders on the House and Senate Commerce committees want the FCC's Office of Inspector General to review the commission's management of broadband money it received during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying in a Monday letter to acting IG Sharon Diskin "it's important to understand" the affordable connectivity program's "record to date" as they decide whether to back extending its life. They are seeking answers by June 1. The request came before two congressional hearings later this week on federal broadband spending and may provide further insight into whether there’s a consensus for making legislative changes to existing programs.