FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is circulating an order that would deny a set of 2024 applications for review regarding upward revisions for reimbursement of services provided in the last month of the Lifeline COVID-19 waiver period. While the FCC provided a limited waiver during the pandemic of the non-usage rule -- which bars Lifeline providers from being subsidized for services that subscribers aren't using -- not extending the waiver after the relevant time period ended ultimately saves taxpayers millions, Carr said Friday. "While the Commission offered flexibility during the pendency of the COVID-19 pandemic, that does not mean we should allow providers to game the system for extra reimbursement, at the American public’s expense, after the need for this leniency had clearly -- and officially -- ended," he said. Assist Wireless, enTouch Wireless, Easy Wireless and iAccess Wireless in 2024 filed a set of applications for review of a Wireline Bureau order denying the companies an upward revision of their April 2021 Lifeline reimbursement claims. The circulating order would affirm the bureau's decision that the COVID-19 relief waiver for non-usage ended that month, and the companies aren't entitled to an additional month, the FCC said.
Rebuilding parts of Brightspeed's Tennessee network swept away by September's Hurricane Helene is largely done, with the rest of the restoration work to be completed in Q3, the fiber operator told the FCC in a filing posted Wednesday (docket 24-702). Flooding impaired voice service for 309 customers -- many of whom also lost homes. It said new fiber deployment is complete, with work now focused on connecting customers to the new network.
The FCC Wireline Bureau could use $129 million in leftover funds “to fully satisfy demand for Rural Health Care Program funding” for 2025, said a public notice Wednesday. The FCC’s rules for the RHC Program “establish a process to carry forward unused funds from past funding years for use in future funding years.”
The shuttering of the North American Numbering Council (see 2506240074) could make it harder for the FCC and industry to deal with the problem of telephone number exhaustion and other issues overseen by the group for the last 30 years, former NANC officials told us. The NANC’s charter expires in September, and its last meeting was Tuesday. Members learned of the decision to end the long-standing advisory committee about two weeks ago, said 15-year NANC veteran Richard Shockey, board chairman of the SIP Forum.
Comments are due July 8 on ACS of Fairbanks’ application to discontinue legacy voice services in Fairbanks, Alaska, said a public notice in Tuesday’s Daily Digest. The application will be granted automatically on July 24, unless the FCC notifies ACS otherwise.
Don't duplicate the U.S. national security review process through a submarine cable rules update, the Submarine Cable Coalition urged FCC staffers. In a docket 24-523 filing posted Monday, the coalition said the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector already comprehensively reviews all cable landing license applications and puts binding mitigation measures on licensees and their customers. It also argued against the FCC's proposed licensing regime for submarine line terminal equipment, saying it would increase regulatory uncertainty and affect deployment timelines. The International Connectivity Coalition has previously lobbied against the FCC's subsea cable proposals (see 2505300038).
Comments are due July 7 on CenturyLink’s application to discontinue legacy voice services in several communities in Florida, said a public notice in Friday’s Daily Digest. The application will be granted automatically on July 21, unless the FCC notifies CenturyLink otherwise.
Lumen has exited the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and won’t be continuing efforts to meet RDOF milestones, the company said in a filing Monday responding to a May inquiry from the Universal Service Administrative Co. Earlier this month, Lumen relinquished its last remaining RDOF awards in Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon and Washington. The company had relinquished awards in nine census block groups in August 2024. In its June letter turning over its final RDOF awards, Lumen said it understands it could be subject to penalties for noncompliance and reserved the right to seek a waiver or other relief.
The FCC Wireline and Wireless bureaus and the Office of International Affairs have signed off on the transfer of control of Windstream and Uniti Group as part of the two companies' merger, said a public notice Wednesday (docket 24-165). The merger was announced in 2024 and is expected to close in the back half of this year. The FCC said it concluded that the deal wouldn't reduce competition or hurt USF programs.
American Electric Power representatives met with FCC Wireline Bureau staff to question the timelines that NCTA proposed in an April letter on pole attachments (see 2505080028). NCTA’s plan would “lead to more disputes at the Commission -- not to quicker broadband roll-out,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 17-84.