XO asked the FCC to clarify that reliance on a certificate, consistent with the applicable Form 499-A instructions for the relevant year, sufficiently demonstrates that actual contributions were made to the USF on the relevant services (http://xrl.us/bn46rz). This would help the Universal Service Administrative Co. avoid “arbitrary disparate treatment” between providers who obtained certificates in reliance on the sample language prior to service, and those who did so in reliance on the sample language after service, XO said. XO also wants the FCC to reconsider the standard USAC should apply to evidence submitted by a wholesale carrier. The FCC’s adoption of the “clear and convincing” standard in the Reseller Order conflicts with the Administrative Procedure Act, which applies a “preponderance” standard in agency adjudications, XO said. The commission couldn’t adopt a “new and higher evidentiary standard” in its order without first giving notice and opportunity for comment, XO said.
Other than the Arctic Slope Telephone Association Cooperative, no other Alaska carriers had a “material misstatement of road miles and crossing data,” GVNW Consulting told FCC officials Tuesday, an ex parte filing said (http://xrl.us/bn4x5q). The Wireline Bureau granted ASTAC’s request last week to correct some of the road miles and crossing data used in calculating USF support limits, finding that the data erroneously included caribou migration and tractor trails (CD Nov 29 p12).
The South Park Telephone Co. is seeking a waiver of two USF rules, it told the FCC in a petition posted Monday (http://xrl.us/bn4tfx). The Colorado telco wants a waiver of the $250 per line monthly cap on federal support, and the limitation of high-cost loop support for reimbursable capital and operating costs. South Park serves a “large, low-density, mountainous” area of about 600 square miles, with no cities or towns that would mitigate its average cost per loop, it said. The territory’s “extensive size and rugged terrain” lead to higher construction and maintenance costs due to “poor road infrastructure, extreme weather, and the long distances required to reach different parts of the network for installation and repairs,” South Park said. Without a waiver, “all communication services” in the telco’s service area would be discontinued, it said.
FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn is committed to ensuring media ownership diversity, she told members of the Senate Commerce Committee during a confirmation hearing Tuesday. If she’s confirmed, Clyburn could be in line to become acting FCC Chairman if Julius Genachowski decides to leave next year, as is expected by many (CD Nov 8 p1). The committee also heard testimony from FTC nominee Joshua Wright, an economist and law professor at George Mason University and former FTC Scholar in Residence. It questioned him on the balance between regulation and the ability of free markets to protect consumers, as well as his willingness to recuse himself in cases involving companies who have financially supported his academic work, such as Google. The committee plans to mark up the nominations next week, said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., without specifying a date or time.
New Mexico may cap its universal service fund surcharges. The USF surcharge rates have been “trending upwards” and are now at 3.45 percent, said New Mexico Public Regulation Commission Commissioner Jason Marks in a statement (http://xrl.us/bn38v6). The PRC launched a rulemaking Thursday with a 4-1 vote that will examine whether a cap on landline and wireless phone surcharges is necessary. The one dissenting commissioner, Chairman Patrick Lyons, advocated the PRC hold workshops with industry first. The proposed rulemaking places the cap at 3 percent. The USF’s formula would also change, shrinking the overall fund and reducing the need for higher surcharges, it said. The fund amounts to about $24 million a year currently, and its subsidies are paid to CenturyLink, Windstream and “smaller landline phone companies,” according to the PRC. “For all intents and purposes, the USF funding mechanism is a tax on consumers that turns into a subsidy for certain phone companies,” Marks said. He has fought its rise since 2005 and wants to limit its use to where it’s needed, like in rural areas, he said. The PRC will hold a public hearing on the proposed cap March 18.
The FCC had no jurisdiction to change intercarrier compensation rates to zero in its 2011 USF/intercarrier compensation order, and it violated the 10th Amendment by treating states as administrative agents of the federal government. That’s the main argument of the state members of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, who submitted a 9,000-word amicus brief this week recounting what they called the FCC’s violation of dual-sovereignty; its “convoluted” and over-expansive interpretation of Section 251(b)(5) of the Telecom Act; and its reliance on “11th hour ex parte communications” without adequate notice, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had asked for 810 words.
The FCC is seeking further comment on its rules for future awards of USF monies under Phase II of the new Mobility Fund. The public notice was released by the Wireless and Wireline bureaus and asks a broad array of questions on identifying and prioritizing areas eligible for support, among other issues. Comments are due Dec. 21, replies Jan. 7. “Building on the comments filed in response to the [further notice of proposed rulemaking] and our experience to date in implementing a reverse auction to award one-time Phase I support, the Bureaus seek to develop a more comprehensive, robust record on certain of the issues related to the award of ongoing support for advanced mobile services,” the notice said (http://xrl.us/bn3wcm). “In this regard, we note that a number of commenters support having an opportunity to evaluate and learn from Mobility Fund Phase I before the program details of Phase II are finalized. In considering the issues discussed below, we request that commenters keep in mind that Phase II support is not one-time support, but is ongoing Phase II support aimed at expanding and sustaining mobile services."
The November 2011 FCC USF order cost a rural Texas telco more than $500,000 in support, the company said. Hill Country Telephone Cooperative asked the Texas Public Utilities Commission for money from the state’s USF this fall to make up for the loss. “I've been in telecom for 34 years, and I find these days the most challenging of my career,” Hill Country General Manager Delbert Wilson told us. “This whole [FCC] transformation order has filled our industry with chaos and uncertainty."
The FCC should put off for the time being any decision on a Cordova Wireless petition for a waiver of Section 54.307(e) of the FCC’s USF rules, which establishes a methodology for determining support for competitive eligible telecommunications carriers starting Jan. 1, said Copper Valley Wireless (CVW) in comments filed at the agency. The Wireless Bureau sought comment on the waiver request Oct. 11 and replies are due Wednesday. “Copper Valley Wireless provides service to much of the same areas as Cordova Wireless,” the carrier said (http://xrl.us/bn3qxo). “Simply stated, Cordova is not the only company that is operating in the harsh environment of Prince William Sound. Communications companies operating in Alaska provide service to customers in some of the most remote and challenging areas in the country. CVW faces challenges equal to those faced by Cordova with regard to factors including sparse population, lack of highway infrastructure, and topography and climactic conditions.” Copper Valley said it’s likely to seek a waiver if it’s unable to obtain ongoing support through upcoming commission proceedings aimed at reforming wireless USF. “But, we believe it more appropriate to allow the Commission to complete its scheduled work on this matter. However, if the Commission should grant the waiver requested by Cordova Wireless, CVW will be submitting its own waiver request in order to remain competitive and provide a choice to the residents in the region."
When AT&T asked the FCC this month to launch a proceeding on the transition from time-division multiplexing to Internet Protocol networks (CD Nov 8 p11), the telco worked “very consciously” to avoid instigating a partisan battle, said James Cicconi, AT&T senior executive vice president, at a Brookings Institution panel Tuesday on broadband as a catalyst for the digital economy (http://xrl.us/bn3r2d). Panelists called for a rethinking of the FCC’s power to review mergers, changes to the USF system, and agency acknowledgment of the legitimacy of wireless service as a substitute for wired broadband.