FCC Denies SureWest State Certification Waiver Bid; Pai Calls Penalties Too Harsh
The FCC rejected a SureWest Telephone appeal of a Wireline Bureau decision denying its request for a waiver of a state certification deadline under the commission's rules. A 2011 USF order requires states annually to certify that eligible telecom carriers…
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(ETCs) receiving federal high-cost subsidies are using that support for the deployment and operational purposes for which it's intended. SureWest wasn't included in an ETC certification list filed by the California Public Utilities Commission Sept. 28, 2012. "SureWest claims it was confused due to changes in the certification requirements for high-cost support and the fact that its high-cost support status changed after being acquired by a price cap carrier," said a commission order Wednesday in docket 08-71. When the telco later filed for certification and asked for an FCC waiver of the deadline, the bureau denied the request, "finding that SureWest’s 'mere confusion' regarding the Commission’s rules was not sufficient to establish good cause for waiver," the order said. The company filed an application for review on grounds the bureau failed to address material facts, but the commission Wednesday concluded the company "failed to establish any basis" for overturning the decision. In a concurring statement, Commissioner Ajit Pai agreed SureWest violated rules and wasn't entitled to a waiver due to a simple mistake. But the commission's decision to withhold $2.9 million in interstate common line support "for this minor filing error -- as we are required to do under our rules -- is exceedingly harsh," he said, urging the agency to re-examine its rules and penalties.