The FCC released a guide to help small businesses and other small organizations comply with its net neutrality rules. The Small Entity Compliance Guide provides an overview of the commission’s net neutrality order and accompanying rules, including transparency and disclosure requirements. It's “not intended to replace the rules and, therefore, final authority rests solely with the rules,” said the guide issued Tuesday in docket 14-28. It summarized the FCC's three bright-line rules against Internet blocking, throttling and paid prioritization, and its general Internet conduct standard against unreasonable interference and unreasonable disadvantage. It also noted an enhanced transparency rule and a temporary exemption from related duties for broadband providers with 100,000 or fewer subscribers. The Consumer and Government Affair Bureau sought comment on whether to retain the exemption, and if so, at what subscriber threshold. Commenters voiced broad support for extending or making permanent the exemption, and some of the filers told us they were optimistic the bureau would keep the exemption (see 1508060057). Most reply commenters also backed expanding the definition of an exempted small broadband provider -- 100,000 or fewer broadband connections -- to the Small Business Administration's definition of 500,000 connections or fewer (see 1509110066). Some House Republicans recently asked that the exemption be made permanent (see 1511200044). A bureau decision is due by Dec. 15.

The FCC International Bureau is seeking comment on removing Cuba from the exclusion list for international Section 214 authorizations in response to a State Department request, said a public notice issued Tuesday. “The Exclusion List identifies particular facilities and/or countries that are not included in a global facilities-based Section 214 application, and, therefore, require a separate international Section 214 authorization.” Cuba is the only country currently remaining on the exclusion list, the PN said. “If Cuba is removed from the Exclusion List, U.S. international carriers would no longer be required to request specific authority to provide facilities-based telecommunications services from the United States to Cuba.” Comments on the proposal are due Dec. 4, replies Dec. 9.

Filings by Global Tel*Link and Securus Technologies in the inmate calling service proceeding during a recent “Sunshine Agenda period” were prohibited under ex parte rules, the commission's Office of General Counsel said in a public notice Friday in docket 12-375. The OGC said it wasn't persuaded by GTL and Securus arguments that their filings should be allowed under an exemption for emergencies because they reported death threats to company officials (see 1511060057 and 1511040044). “Contrary to the parties’ arguments, the part of the filings that constituted a presentation on the merits was not the discussion of the menacing comments, but rather the advocacy that followed in those letters,” the OGC said. The GTL and Securus filings thus “will be associated with, but not made part of the record” in the ICS proceeding, the OGC said, saying Securus was able to put the menacing comments into the record in a subsequent filing “without the additional violative material.” Lee Petro -- counsel for the Martha Wright Petitioners group, which had asked the FCC to sanction GTL and Securus for the filings (see 1511030054) -- told us: "We are pleased that the FCC agrees with us that the submissions did not fall within the narrow exceptions to the ex parte rules.” The OGC noted there were various filings by other parties during the Sunshine Agenda period, which some of the parties said were "inadvertent." The OGC also said the Wireline Bureau decided a previous GTL filing violated the rules, but the office said it was taking no further action on that violation. Securus and GTL didn't comment.

The FCC will switch from its current FCC.gov website to its redesigned prototype the night of Dec. 9, the agency said in a news release Monday. The move to the revamped site (see 1511180035) is expected to be done by midnight, the agency said, adding it expects "an ongoing process following this transition that will continue to involve user feedback, fixes by the FCC's IT team, and content updates by policy bureaus and offices." The current website will no longer be available after the transition, though Web pages and files on transition.fcc.gov that haven't migrated to the new site will remain available, it said, saying existing bookmarks will be directed to the new site.

Sprint and two carrier groups urged the FCC not to extend comment dates again in the special-access rulemaking, as requested by USTelecom and ITTA (see 1511100068). "This request amounts to yet another transparent, groundless attempt to delay action in this important rulemaking,” Sprint said in opposition filed in docket 05-25 Thursday. It said the FCC should “promptly reject this request and thereby send an unambiguous message that it is committed to moving this proceeding to an expedited conclusion.” Incompas, joined by the Competitive Carriers Association, noted the incumbent telco request came less than two weeks after the commission largely granted a previous ILEC request by extending comment and reply deadlines to Jan. 6 and Feb. 5. “This time, the incumbents ask that the deadlines be delayed until 12 weeks from the time when the data set is ‘stable’ and all 'remaining impediments' to analyzing the data are removed,” Incompas and CCA said in their opposition. “The incumbent LECs have failed to show that the newly-established pleading cycle ... deprives interested parties of a reasonable opportunity to participate in this rulemaking.” Incompas and CCA disputed the ILECs’ “tired” and “implausible claim” that proceeding delays were the fault of competitors that have been seeking a new special-access framework for a decade. “Of course, it is the incumbent LECs, not the competitive LECs, that have a powerful incentive to delay the resolution of this proceeding since every extra day of delay is one more day of unreasonably high special access service profits for the incumbent LECs,” said the two competitive carrier groups. They said their members “must pay those high prices" and thus want to complete the proceeding as soon as possible. Sprint said the delays were “directly traceable to the actions of USTelecom’s members,” noting CenturyLink and Verizon filed “corrective” data submissions. Sprint, Incompas and CCA countered the USTelecom/ITTA arguments that an extension was needed to analyze the complex industry data collected by the FCC, with the competitive groups saying an ILEC expert’s declaration “exaggerates the problems with the data and the impact that these issues will have on the parties' ability to conduct a timely analysis.”

FCC rules for unlicensed use of the TV band are to be published in Monday's Federal Register. The rules, which govern unlicensed devices and wireless mics operating in the bands assigned to TV stations, take effect Dec. 23. Some changes need Office of Management and Budget OK, and when that happens the commission will publish another FR document, it said.

A federal judge granted a LEC motion to dismiss plaintiffs Sprint and Verizon's federal claims in an intercarrier compensation fight between LECs and interexchange carriers (IXCs) over “intraMTA” (major trading area) wireline-wireless traffic. A filing by CenturyLink LECs that included the Tuesday ruling was posted Friday in FCC docket 14-228. The principal issue is whether LECs can charge IXCs "access fees for access services that the LECs provide the IXCs to enable them to exchange interstate wireless intraMTA calls," said Judge Sidney Fitzwater, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division (In Re: IntraMTA Switched Access Charges Litigation, Civil Action No. 3:14-MD-2587-D). Concluding that the LECs can charge IXCs the access fees under their filed federal tariffs, "the court grants defendants’ joint motion and dismisses plaintiffs’ federal-law claims with prejudice," Fitzwater wrote in his opinion. "Concluding that plaintiffs have failed to plead plausible claims that the LEC defendants cannot charge access fees under filed state tariffs, the court grants defendants’ joint motion, but it also grants plaintiffs leave to replead their state-law claims." Fitzwater also denied an AT&T motion to refer the case to the FCC under the doctrine of primary jurisdiction. Both sides have asked the FCC to weigh in on the dispute (see 1505190056).

FCC financial statements received generally good marks from an independent auditor’s report in the commission’s FY 2015 Agency Financial Report (AFR) released Thursday. Kearney & Co. found the statements “present fairly, in all material respects” the FCC’s financial position as of Sept. 30 in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The accounting firm did find “one repeat material weakness, originally reported in FY 2014, in internal control” regarding Universal Service Administrative Co. budgetary accounting, “one repeat significant deficiency” going back 10 years related to IT controls, and “one repeat instance of noncompliance with laws and regulations related to the requirements of the Debt Collection Improvement Act,” said FCC Inspector General David Hunt in an introductory memorandum. “The independent auditor’s opinion addresses more than $10.1 billion in revenues, more than $460 million in FCC operating expenses and more than $9.2 billion in outlays for the Universal Service Fund and Telecommunications Relay Service Fund,” said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in an AFR message. “Despite the positive audit opinion, the independent auditor’s report shows that work remains at the FCC to continue to improve the agency’s operations.” The $10.1 billion revenue includes: some $8.77 billion from USF, $847 million from the TRS Fund, $340 million from appropriations (regulatory fees), $106 million from auction-related appropriations, $6 million from North American Numbering Plan revenue, and $7 million from “other” sources, according to an “FCC management” overview. Wheeler highlighted FCC work on spectrum, net neutrality, transactions, Lifeline and E-rate USF support, robocalls, empowering people with disabilities, process reform, and field and IT modernization. He voiced confidence the FCC is on “sound legal footing” in net neutrality litigation and he noted the agency raised more than $40 billion in AWS-3 auction revenue. He said field activities “presented real challenges and opportunities for improvement,” given technological change since the last Enforcement Bureau field structure review and given a reduction in FCC resources. “The Commission adopted a field modernization plan that will allow our field operations to do more with less,” he said. “The resulting plan reflects the review team’s thorough, data-driven analysis and concentrates field resources where they are needed most -- areas with the greatest spectrum density. … Once implemented, this plan will save millions of dollars annually.” Wheeler also said the FCC's IT team "is on track to modernize our infrastructure, information and communications technologies," replacing costly-to-maintain legacy systems and "leveraging cloud service offerings to the fullest extent possible."

The FCC is “trying to be helpful” to broadcasters seeking deferred taxes on their takings from the reverse auction or from channel sharing agreements, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler told us during a news conference Thursday. Several broadcasters have approached the FCC over the issue recently (see 1511130041). Wheeler said efforts to have incentive auction proceeds taxed favorably began with a letter from the commission to the IRS early in the auction process. Wheeler was asked Thursday if he was open to delaying the incentive auction, and he replied that the auction is 131 days away -- referencing the planned March 29 start date. Commissioners Ajit Pai and Mike O’Rielly said the FCC should be willing to delay the auction if required for the process or the auction software to run smoothly. “The ultimate timing is up to the chairman,” Pai said.

The FCC approved a draft item on accessibility for user interfaces Wednesday and deleted it from the commission’s meeting agenda Thursday. No commissioners dissented from the item, an FCC official told us. The text of the order, which is expected to concern gestures and voice-controlled closed captions and accessibility information requirements for pay-TV carriers (see 1511160058), is expected to be issued this week, FCC officials told us. Some experts had expected the final item to incorporate a compromise between industry and advocates.