Metronet VoIP customers in 20 states will be moved to T-Mobile VoIP service on or after July 1, T-Mobile told the FCC on Friday (docket 00-257). T-Mobile and KKR announced in 2024 their $4.9 billion purchase of fiber operator Metronet (see 2407240020). The states are Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Submitting submarine line terminal equipment (SLTE) and indefeasible rights of use agreements through the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector process could mean big project delays, according to the International Connectivity Coalition. In a filing posted Friday (docket 24-523), ICC said the FCC's proceeding on rewriting its submarine cable rules should define submarine cable systems to align with how those systems are designed and deployed: from open cable interface to OCI, and not SLTE to SLTE. The filing recapped a meeting between ICC representatives and FCC Office of International Affairs acting Chief Tom Sullivan at which the industry group also said there's a lack of uniform definition for SLTEs. Commissioners adopted the subsea cable NPRM unanimously in November (see 2411210006).
Chapter 11 bankruptcy won't interrupt any service operations or change the rates or terms of service provided to existing customers, Everstream told the FCC in a letter posted Friday. The Cleveland fiber operator said it had reached an agreement to be purchased by Missouri-based Bluebird Fiber as part of a bankruptcy reorganization. The Bluebird deal follows the sale of Everstream's Illinois and St. Louis metropolitan area networks and its plan to wind down its Pennsylvania operations, it said. Absent a rival bidder, the company expects its Bluebird transaction to close by year-end, it added.
The FCC Wireline Bureau on Thursday authorized carriers to “grandfather” interconnected VoIP services provisioned over copper lines and waived an “associated requirement to file an application with the Commission” under agency discontinuance rules. The bureau also waived for two years “the need for carriers applying for section 214(a) discontinuance authority to follow the testing methodology and parameters described in the 2016 Technology Transitions Order and its Technical Appendix.”
The FCC Wireline Bureau announced Thursday the interim required locations lists for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, the Bringing Puerto Rico Together Fund, and the Connect U.S. Virgin Islands Fund. The release is tied to the FCC’s shifting carriers from reporting USF high-cost program data using latitude/longitude/address information to reporting deployment using fabric locations IDs, the bureau said. The FCC previously committed to releasing an interim required locations list this month for RDOF carriers using the latest version of the “fabric.”
BEAD's universal connectivity mission is "long overdue," and getting shovels in the ground requires elimination of "unnecessary and burdensome program requirements" imposed by the Biden administration, communications industry groups said in a letter Tuesday to President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Also required is "enabl[ing] the States to move forward quickly with implementation," said the letter from USTelecom, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, NTCA, the Telecommunications Industry Association and WTA. States "should remain in the driver’s seat, empowered to use their expertise in determining the best broadband technology solutions for their residents." While multiple technologies will have a role in BEAD, the program "is a golden opportunity to drive as much fiber infrastructure as feasible into our country, which will help advance your Administration’s important connectivity, AI, and advanced manufacturing goals."
Arizona-based Wyyerd Fiber has purchased fiber assets in that state from Ting Fiber and Conterra Networks, Wyyerd said last week. The acquisition includes fiber infrastructure across seven municipalities, expanding Wyyerd's footprint in Arizona.
USTelecom submitted a letter to the FCC Enforcement Bureau asking for the continuing designation of its Industry Traceback Group as the registered robocall traceback consortium. Letters of intent to serve in the role were due at the FCC on Friday.
The FCC Wireline Bureau on Friday approved the transfer of control of Megawatt Communications from Jack Cathey to RSTN Communications (docket 25-146). The bureau noted that no one filed an opposition. Megawatt serves parts of Tennessee and is designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier there.
The International Connectivity Coalition continues to lobby the FCC to keep 25-year submarine cable system licensing terms and to adopt bright line rules for restricting or prohibiting transactions that have links to a foreign adversary (see 2505200039). In a docket 24-523 filing posted Thursday, ICC reported on a meeting with an aide to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, at which it also advocated for a fast-track review for parties whose licenses were approved previously.