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.

The FCC is focused on encouraging more broadband competition, said Gigi Sohn, counselor to Chairman Tom Wheeler. In a speech Tuesday at a European Competitive Telecommunications Association event in Brussels, Sohn said competition is the most effective way to achieve the agency’s goals of promoting communications innovation and investment while upholding public interest values as technology changes networks. She said the benefits of competition are well known in the long distance, wireless, consumer device and information services markets. “However, in the broadband market, more work needs to be done for consumers and industry alike to realize the full range of benefits that competition can provide,” she said. Sohn highlighted FCC decisions on the IP technology transition, municipal broadband, net neutrality, USF support and broadband speeds, and its concerns that helped thwart Comcast's takeover of Time Warner Cable. She also outlined the commission’s efforts to stage a “historic incentive auction,” carry out further USF reforms to help rural and low-income consumers, and ensure “reasonable” rates, terms and conditions for special-access services in the business data market. Sohn said she recognized that the FCC values of competition, universal access, consumer protection and public safety were basically shared by the EU in its digital single-market strategy. "While our commercial markets differ and may, at times, require different policy solutions, these common values unite us," she said. Sohn said mobile networks now reach about 95 percent of the world's population, with about half having access to mobile Internet service. She noted the international Global Connect effort of governments and private parties to connect another 1.5 billion people by 2020. There are about 15 billion Internet-connected devices, she said, along with projections that number could grow to about 50 billion in five years. "McKinsey estimates that the emerging Internet of Things could generate up to $11 trillion in economic value over the next decade," said Sohn.

The FCC is developing a cognitive accessibility pledge for carriers, service providers and government stakeholders, Chairman Tom Wheeler said at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities. In October, the FCC held a summit on communications issues for people with cognitive disabilities, at which Wheeler also spoke (see 1510280037). “The Summit identified two pressing challenges: first, the lack of equipment and services that meet the unique and varied needs of people with cognitive disabilities; and, second, the lack of awareness across government and the private sector about accessibility rights and enforcement mechanisms,” Wheeler said Tuesday, according to prepared remarks. “Drawing from these lessons learned, we have charted out next steps.” The FCC will start with a more comprehensive “needs assessment to determine the types of accessibility features needed,” he said. Next, he said the agency will start “targeted outreach efforts in early 2016 not only to educate individuals with cognitive disabilities about their rights to communications products and services, but also to engage individuals who can help.” Wheeler said the commission has received numerous complaints about the unique problems faced by people with cognitive disabilities. “One individual may not be able to use email, because he has difficulty remembering a unique password,” he said. “Another may face challenges in using new telephone equipment or understanding service plans or pricing. Some are unable to navigate the confusing menus of service providers’ web sites. Others complain of service personnel who are insensitive, refuse to address their concerns, and who even make fun of their disabilities.”

FCC rules on the methodology to be used during the incentive auction to predict interservice interference between broadcasting and wireless services and on a cap on the aggregate amount of new interference a TV station may receive from other TV stations in the repacking process take effect Dec. 17, said a notice in Tuesday's Federal Register. Parts of the rules still being reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget don't take effect until the review is complete, the FCC said. Rules approved by the FCC in August allowing wireless mics to use new bands and share spectrum in the TV band (see 1508060050) also take effect Dec. 17, except for parts still being reviewed by OMB, said a second notice in the FR.