T-Mobile and Sprint representatives said they met with various FCC officials on their proposed deal. Among those in the meeting were David Lawrence, director of the T-Mobile/Sprint Transaction Team, and deputy directors Kate Matraves and Charles Mathias. Executives also met with General Counsel Tom Johnson and Wireless Bureau Chief Don Stockdale. The companies asked for expeditious review, said a filing Thursday in docket 18-197. “The parties mostly discussed process and timing issues, but did touch on a few substantive matters in response to questions from FCC staff,” the filing said. “Applicants reviewed some of the major benefits of the transaction as set forth in the Executive Summary of their Public Interest Statement. ... T-Mobile noted that it has a stellar track record in achieving transaction benefits, having met or exceeded projections it made in its applications to acquire MetroPCS.”

NTIA welcomed FCC efforts to spur the IP transition but noted continuing concern about the impact on federal entities of some copper retirements and telecom service discontinuances. Network modernization can "significantly reduce carriers' operating and maintenance costs and enable carriers to expand and enhance the services," said its filing Thursday in docket 17-84: But "streamlined regulatory requirements may place federal departments and agencies that rely on services subject to discontinuance in the untenable position of losing access to critical national security and public safety communications functionality." It noted many federal agencies have offices and installation in remote or less-populated areas -- or receive services outside of certain contract structures -- from carriers not facing competitive pressures. Often, such carriers "lack the incentives that exist in more populated areas and, thus, negotiation alone may not produce the contractual provisions that adequately serve federal users' needs," it said. NTIA is encouraged by FCC statements expecting continued industry collaboration with customers, "especially utilities, and public safety and other government customers, to ensure that they are given sufficient time to accommodate the transition" to next-generation services with key functionalities intact. It construed certain FCC order language "as a commitment to sanction conduct impinging on ... critical functions when it occurs." It wants copper retirement held in abeyance "if a federal user credibly alleges that the carrier's proposed retirement due date does not give the user 'sufficient time to accommodate the transition to new network facilities such that key functionalities are not lost.'"

Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., led filing of the 911 Fee Integrity Act (HR-6424), which would bar states from engaging in 911 fee diversion and give the FCC the power to decide on “acceptable” uses for the money. House Communications Subcommittee Vice Chairman Leonard Lance, R-N.J., and Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., co-sponsor the measure. HR-6424's introduction follows months of FCC pressure on New Jersey, Rhode Island and other jurisdictions to end their fee diversion activities (see 1802200055, 1802230012, 1804230042, 1805070050 and 1806210026). “It is completely unacceptable that we have seen states diverting fees meant to make important and necessary improvements to emergency response systems,” Collins said. “Diverting these important fees puts lives in danger, especially in rural areas.” FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, who has agitated against fee diversion, lauded HR-6424: “States like Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey, and territories like Puerto Rico and Guam, have passed statutes over the years actually requiring the diversion of 9-1-1 funds for non-public safety related purposes. In the case of New Jersey, lawmakers have claimed it will take a constitutional amendment to end the practice. This is absurd and highlights the importance of further Congressional action to bring consistency and clarity to this matter.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit signed off on DOJ's proposed expedited briefing schedule in the appeal of the AT&T/Time Warner deal approval, said a docket 18-5214 clerk's order (in Pacer) Thursday. Appellant DOJ's brief is due Aug. 3, with appellee AT&T's due Sept. 20. The court said the sides will be notified later of the date of oral argument and the makeup of the judges' panel. In a note to investors Thursday, MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett said the basis for the DOJ appeal -- that U.S. District Judge Richard Leon wrongly rejected the idea New AT&T would negotiate deals for Turner programming differently than TW would have by itself -- faces a tough road because it contests a finding of fact, not an error in how the law was applied, and the appeal has a low probability of success.

The FCC released an order harmonizing Enforcement Bureau formal complaint processes and making tweaks to informal complaint procedures that caused a heated dispute between the Republican majority and dissenting Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel when the item was adopted July 12 (see 1807120033). The informal complaint procedures in the order released Wednesday in docket 17-245 were the same as those in a draft order, as expected.

The FCC announced a $2.33 billion Lifeline budget for 2019 and updated minimum standards for fixed and mobile broadband services supported by the USF low-income subsidy program, said a Wireline Bureau public notice Wednesday in docket 11-42. Indexing for inflation, the budget for next calendar year was increased from 2018's $2.28 billion. The minimum fixed broadband standards, based on Form 477 and urban rate survey data, take effect Dec. 1. The minimum speed will be 18/2 Mbps, with an exception for providers that don't offer that capability in any generally available residential package to a subscriber's residence (they could offer the highest speed they can, and at least 4/1 Mbps). The minimum fixed broadband data usage will be 1,000 GB per month. Under a 2016 order schedule, the mobile broadband data usage standard was increased to 2 GB per month, while the minimum mobile speed remains at 3G level. Under the 2016 order, the minimum mobile voice service standard will increase to 1,000 minutes per month.

Expediting the appeal of a district judge's approval of AT&T's buy of Time Warner is needed to prevent "irreparable injury," DOJ said in a docket 18-5214 unopposed motion (in Pacer) filed Wednesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Every day that passes where AT&T and TW can weave together the two businesses "make[s] it more difficult for this Court and the district court on remand to unwind the merger and preserve competition," DOJ said. It said the public has an interest in quick resolution that will further clarify law governing vertical deal reviews, especially given an expected wave of such combinations in the media and telecom industries. The agency said U.S. District Judge Richard Leon's approval of the deal (see 1806120060) was in error when he effectively discarded "well-accepted and non-controversial economic principles of bargaining." It said the lower court was reversible when it ignored "economic reasoning" that New AT&T is less vulnerable to economic harm in the event of a blackout of its content on a rival MVPD system and thus New AT&T can and will hold out for higher fees than it would have before the transaction. Justice said the lower court made a reversible error in ignoring that New AT&T would maximize its corporate-wide profit instead of having Turner and DirecTV operate independently at the expense of overall New AT&T profit. The department said AT&T wasn't opposed to a schedule that would have the government's opening brief due Aug. 6, AT&T's due Sept. 20, the government's reply brief due Oct. 11 and final briefs due Oct. 18. DOJ requested oral argument "as soon as practicable" after briefing.

The Better Business Bureaus' National Advertising Division decided Comcast should discontinue advertising claims the company has the most reliable network and that AT&T deceives customers about network speed and reliability, said the Advertising Self-Regulatory Council Tuesday. AT&T challenged Comcast radio and TV spots. Comcast said it will appeal to the National Advertising Review Board, the release said. NAD “has long recognized an advertiser’s right to make literally truthful and accurate advertising claims -- sometimes at the expense of its competitors. Denigrating claims, however, must be truthful, accurate and narrowly drawn,” it said. Though some of Comcast’s claims about the availability of AT&T’s faster service speeds could be substantiated, Comcast “could not support the claim that AT&T ‘was telling people everywhere that they could get AT&T Fiber when it’s really only available to, like, 10 percent of their customers,’” it said. NAD decided information from the FCC 2016 measuring broadband America fixed broadband report Comcast cited is dated.

Cable and telco groups voiced support for FCC efforts to identify unserved areas through the collection and mapping of data drawn from existing Form 477 filings. "In assessing proposed changes to the Form 477, we encouraged the Commission to focus on alternatives that would avoid unnecessary administrative and financial burdens for broadband providers and for the Commission itself," said a filing Monday in docket 11-10 on a meeting representatives of NCTA, USTelecom, ITTA and the American Cable Association had with Wireline Bureau staffers.

A draft FCC Iowa Network Access Division item addresses an investigation into a tariff filed by Aureon Network Services (Iowa Network Services) in docket 18-60, said a commission spokesperson Monday. The draft circulated Wednesday, said the agency's circulation list. Aureon outside counsel James Troup of Fletcher Heald told us Monday he believes the Wireline Bureau item is a draft decision on an Aureon tariff that has a July 28 deadline for resolution. Aureon filed proposed interstate access charge tariff revisions to comply with a November order that partially granted an AT&T complaint that Aureon improperly charged for "centralized equal access" on traffic heading to CLECs engaged in "access stimulation." AT&T and Sprint challenged the revised tariffs, and the Wireline Bureau designated some issues for investigation (see 1804200054). AT&T and Sprint didn't comment Monday. "AT&T's assertion that Aureon's rate for [CEA] service is excessive because the rate exceeds the rate benchmark for [CLECs] is without merit because Aureon is not even a CLEC in the first instance," said an Aureon surreply in the docket Monday. It's inappropriate to use CenturyLink's tandem switching rate as a benchmark for Aureon, said a South Dakota Network filing on a meeting with Wireline Bureau staffers. Troup believes an Enforcement Bureau item that circulated with commissioners in May is a draft FCC decision on an Aureon petition for reconsideration of the November order that the company argued should apply only prospectively (see 1805210041). The FCC suspended that proceeding to allow the parties to engage in settlement talks (see 1806060042), a stay it recently extended to July 27 (see 1807030019).