The FCC wants comments by Oct. 15, replies by Nov. 12, in docket 24-213 on proposed revisions to the robocall mitigation database, said a notice for Thursday's Federal Register. Commissioners adopted the item in August (see 2408070047).
A total of 68% of NTCA members said in a recent survey they would need to cancel deployment projects next year, equaling more than $1 billion, if the USF program goes away following the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' recent ruling (see 2408140055), which found that the USF contribution factor is a "misbegotten tax.” Also, 71% said “they would need to cancel 2026 deployment projects, equaling nearly $900 million and representing nearly 83% of these companies’ planned investments for 2026,” without USF support, NTCA said. “If USF support were eliminated, there is substantial potential for default on outstanding network construction loans, including many held by the federal government,” the group said. NTCA members reported receiving an average of $72 monthly per broadband subscriber in USF support. The survey results were released last week. “As this survey highlights, without USF support, not only could consumers who currently have broadband see the cost of their bills skyrocket, but rural providers will find it harder or even impossible to make the further investments needed to connect those still waiting for service or to repay loans for deployments already made,” said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield.
The FCC Wireline Bureau announced Monday that some census block groups are now available for Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and other program support following Lumen defaults in four states. The bureau said Lumen will be subject to penalties as a result, including loss of further RDOF auction support payments in New Mexico, South Dakota and Wyoming for defaulting on its service milestones. Lumen remains subject to program rules for the census blocks it defaulted on in Colorado. The bureau also referred Lumen's defaults to the Enforcement Bureau for further consideration.
The National Association of Surety Bond Producers urged the FCC to allow performance bonds to be used as an alternative to letters of credit for USF high-cost program recipients (see 2408200021). The FCC in July sought comment on whether it should amend its letter of credit rules. In separate meetings with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Wireline Bureau staff, the group noted that performance bonds "guarantee the funding recipient's performance of the construction and installation of the broadband network needed" to provide broadband services "even in bankruptcy" for the amount of the bond, per an ex parte filing Friday in docket 10-90. It's also "in the public interest" to let performance bonds be used as NTIA did for the broadband, equity, access and deployment program.
The FCC's new five-year compensation plan for IP-captioned telephone services takes effect Oct. 4, said a notice for Wednesday's Federal Register. Commissioners adopted the new plan last month, with Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington concurring in part (see 2408010025).
The Edison Electric Institute urged the FCC to maintain its rules on contractor qualifications for electric utility pole work and large pole orders (see 2408190053). EEI said in a meeting with Wireline Bureau staff that the record "demonstrates the need for a flexible approach to timelines" for larger pole orders, per an ex parte filing Friday in docket 17-84. A "one-size-fits-all timeline would be impractical," EEI said. Utilities also "have a legitimate interest in ensuring that contractors who work on their poles meet certain safety and reliability standards," the group said: "Allowing contractors to unilaterally select their own contractors to work above the communications space bypassing utility vetting and training through a utility’s onboarding process could compromise these standards."
The FCC Wireline Bureau granted Alaska's Lower Yukon School District's request that broadband services "to and within on-campus teacher housing owned by the school district is eligible for E-rate funding." In a declaratory ruling Thursday in docket 02-6, the bureau said the district "serves a unique population of students who reside in 10 remote, impoverished villages in a part of rural Alaska with an extremely harsh climate." It determined that the district-owned on-campus housing provided for Lower Yukon teachers "is a non-instructional facility in which the use of broadband service meets the definition of an educational purpose, and thus such service is eligible for category one and category two E-Rate support." In addition, it noted the ruling is limited to the Lower Yukon school district. The on-campus teacher housing is necessary for the district's "unique student population" because Lower Yukon’s "severe weather conditions and remote geography prevents students from having their educational needs met during the unusually frequent on-campus school closures."
OMB approved for three years a revised information collection associated with the FCC's rules for the Lifeline program. The approval was announced in a notice for Thursday's Federal Register. The revisions reflect an order adopted in November providing survivors of domestic violence access to safe and affordable communications services under the Safe Connections Act (see 2311150042).
Poka Lambro Telecom will acquire TDS Broadband Service's telephone subscriber base, it told the FCC in a letter Friday (docket 00-257). The company said it will continue providing interconnected VoIP service to TDS customers. Poka Lambro noted that the FCC "has not determined" whether interconnected VoIP services are telecom services or "ruled that its carrier change rules apply to interconnected VoIP services." The anticipated date of transfer will be Oct. 1 "or as soon thereafter as the necessary arrangements are in place," Poka Lambro said.
The FCC addressed several pending petitions for reconsideration concerning the commission's rules for incarcerated people's communications services. In a notice for Monday's Federal Register, the commission granted Hamilton Relay's petition on certain aspects of the 2022 IPCS order. Hamilton sought reconsideration of the requirement that an incarcerated person's video relay service and IP-captioned telephone service registration information be updated within 30 days of the user being released from incarceration or transferred to another facility. It dismissed the United Church of Christ and Public Knowledge's joint petition on the commission's 2021 order (see 2302240041). It also dismissed Securus' petition for clarification regarding site commissions in the 2021 order and dismissed in part and otherwise denied Securus' waiver request for alternative pricing plans.