Cable leased access, telecom discontinuance, rural USF, and slamming/cramming items approved at Thursday's commissioners' meeting (see 1806070021) were released Friday. Leased access Further NPRM, comments will be due 30 days after it's published in the Federal Register, with replies 45 days after publication. It would vacate a 2008 leased access order and solicit comment on the state of the leased access market and on updating that rules regime. The FCC issued text of an IP captioned telephone service order, declaratory ruling, FNPRM and notice of inquiry that takes actions to curb IP CTS funding and authorize automated speech recognition technology, and seeks comment on proposals and issues. Also released were orders to ease telecom service discontinuance approvals and streamline related network-change processes (here), provide certain rate-of-return telcos (not receiving model-based support) USF contribution relief on broadband service (here) and bolster safeguards against telephone slamming and cramming (here).
Don't include Alternative Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM) support in the Wyoming USF fund manager’s calculations as a contribution from federal USF, small phone companies told the Public Service Commission in Wednesday comments in docket 14923. Union Telephone said its “reporting of A-CAM funding results in a similar amount of [federal USF] being reported to the [Wyoming PSC] as would have been reported absent the A-CAM election.” Chugwater Telephone said including A-CAM funding “would have a devastating effect on the company’s operations.” The companies supported the PSC interim decision to raise the state USF contribution factor to 1.7 percent starting July 1 (see 1805090006).
Growing delay in establishing a Lifeline national verifier is worrying some states and put Utah in a difficult situation, where its state eligibility system may terminate before the national system is available, state officials told us this week. Utah eligible telecom providers plan to self-certify consumers starting July 1, though some warned such a process can increase fraud risk.
The FCC approved 3-1 an order to further relax telecom service discontinuance duties and related regulatory processes in an effort to remove barriers and encourage the industry shift from legacy wireline to next-generation, IP-based offerings. Commissioners also voted 4-0 to adopt an order to relieve certain rural telcos of USF contribution obligations on their broadband services to equalize their treatment with other carriers and promote affordability. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel largely dissented on the discontinuance order and concurred on the rural telco USF order.
The FCC gave USF eligible telecom carriers an extra two weeks to file Form 481 annual reports that were due July 2, though carriers that day must still report rates and fees relevant to their high-cost support. Citing various commission orders on ETC high-cost support reporting duties, the Wireline Bureau said Wednesday it's seeking Office of Management Budget approval of recent modifications to information collection, including changes to Form 481, under the Paperwork Reduction Act. On its own motion, the bureau granted "waiver to all ETCs of the July 2 deadline" until July 16. "This limited waiver does not extend to section 54.313(h), which requires all [ILEC] recipients of high-cost support to report 'all of their rates for residential local service for all portions of their service area, as well as state fees as defined pursuant to section 54.318(e), to the extent the sum of those rates and fees are below the rate floor as defined in section 54.318, and the number of lines for each rate specified,” said the order in docket 10-90.
FCC commissioners were trying to resolve differences on some agenda items for Thursday's monthly meeting, an official told us Wednesday. "We’re working with our colleagues to see what we can achieve with items on the agenda, though there’s always a potential for disagreements." Asked if there were likely to be any major brawls or dissents, an aide to Commissioner Mike O'Rielly emailed, “I don’t see anything major.” Four items were deleted from the agenda Tuesday after being adopted on circulation (see 1806050057), but the remaining eight seem likely to stick: on high-band spectrum for 5G, telecom service discontinuance processes, rural telco broadband USF contribution relief, 8YY access charges, text-enabled toll-free numbers, slamming and cramming, IP captioned telephone service and revisiting cable leased access.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai proposed hiking a USF Rural Health Care cap by 43 percent, from $400 million to $571 million per year, to reflect inflation since program inception in 1997. He circulated a draft order to increase the cap for the current (2017) funding year ending June 30, index the program for inflation going forward and allow unused funds from prior years to be carried forward to future years, said a release Wednesday. It noted recent demand exceeded the budget, creating uncertainty for participants. Rural healthcare (RHC) and telco interests welcomed the announcement.
The FCC proposal to bar USF spending on products or services from companies seen as posing a national security risk is meeting with mixed reaction, with disagreements about whether rules should be limited to USF-funded equipment and services or should have broader reach, recent docket 18-89 comments show. Huawei called the rulemaking launched in April (see 1804170038) an "improper and imprudent" blacklist, and some critics questioned the efficacy of the proposed approach. Comments were due Friday, replies July 2.
All signs point to an easy Senate confirmation vote for FCC nominee Geoffrey Starks, but his lack of a clear public track record on many high-profile telecom policy issues likely portends tough questions from lawmakers in both parties in the weeks ahead, communications officials and lobbyists told us. President Donald Trump at our deadline Monday formally nominated Starks, an Enforcement Bureau assistant chief, to succeed outgoing Commissioner Mignon Clyburn for a term ending June 30, 2022. Chairman Ajit Pai and some other commissioners lauded Starks’ selection Friday, though only some directly received a White House announcement about the nomination then (see 1806010072).
The USF contribution rate will decrease from Q2's 18.4 percent to 17.9 percent in Q3, of carriers' U.S. interstate and international telecom end-user revenue, emailed industry consultant Billy Jack Gregg Friday. He said Universal Service Administrative Co. projected USF-applicable telecom revenue for Q3 to be $12.95 billion, an increase of about $146 million. That breaks the long-term downward trend in the contribution base for the first time since Q3 2014, he said. USAC also revised projected high-cost USF demand for Q3 upward by over $125 million to comply with a March order increasing rural telco support, and changed a "prior period adjustment," resulting in a net rise in USF demand of $81.7 million, he said.