The Coalition for IP Transition fired back Tuesday at Verizon on the issue of whether the FCC should impose interconnection requirements as part of the carrier’s buy of Frontier (see 2504010070). “Verizon admits that it does interconnect with some competitors for the exchange of traffic on an IP basis but only when it wants to do so and only on its terms,” the coalition said in a filing posted in docket 24-445.
The FCC Wireline Bureau denied petitions for reconsideration of agency rules for the Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM) program. The bureau clarified in response to a petition by Blooston Rural Carriers that the submission of cybersecurity plans is “an iterative process” that provides some flexibility in meeting requirements. The bureau rejected other requested changes.
The FCC on Monday granted a waiver of the one-year downward revision deadline to revise the 2023 FCC Form 499-A filed by CNET System and a waiver of the 45-day revision deadline for the May 2024 499-Q Granade filed. Both small VoIP providers, CNET is located in Wisconsin and Granade in Alabama. The FCC Wireline Bureau and Office of the Managing Director noted that the agency usually doesn’t approve such waivers.
Comments are due April 21 on AT&T’s application to discontinue legacy voice services in eight wire centers in Oklahoma, said a public notice in Friday’s Daily Digest. The discontinuance application will be deemed granted automatically on May 5 unless the FCC notifies AT&T otherwise.
The FCC Wireline Bureau on Friday sought comment by May 5 on proposed changes to the 2026 annual telecommunications reporting worksheet, FCC Form 499-A, and the accompanying instructions for reporting 2025 revenue. It also sought comment on Form 499-Q, which is for reporting quarterly results. Comments are due in docket 06-122.
Lumen Technologies asked the FCC for authority to halt offering low-bandwidth interstate private line services and to grandfather current customers getting those services. That would mean existing customers can’t order new services or change or move the service they’re getting, and “only disconnects will be accepted,” said an undocketed filing Friday. Lumen said it notified existing customers of the service change in a letter sent Tuesday, which told them it would take effect June 1. The letter was attached to the filing.
Seth Cooper, Free State Foundation director-policy studies, blogged about the Verizon/Frontier deal (see 2504020076).
Pointing to the Quintillion subsea fiber cut in the Beaufort Sea (see 2501220001), Alaska's Arctic Slope Telephone Association Cooperative is asking the FCC to waive penalties this calendar year for not complying with some of its obligations in exchange for Alaska Plan funding. In a docket 16-271 waiver petition Thursday, ASTAC said it's failing Q1 speed/latency requirements due to a service outage stemming from the Quintillion fiber cut -- Quintillion being the middle-mile fiber backhaul provider for ASTAC. It's asking for a waiver of penalties through 2025 to give it time to repair the cut.
USTelecom warned that changes to pole attachment rules could harm broadband deployment under the BEAD program. In a filing posted Wednesday in docket 17-84, USTelecom cited recent filings by ACA Connects (see 2503110021), electric utilities and others. USTelecom members “are working to deploy broadband as quickly as possible and support Commission efforts to speed such deployments, including those funded through BEAD and other government programs,” the group said. “However, departing from the negotiated timelines required under the Commission’s current rules and adopting one-size-fits-all make-ready timelines for large make-ready orders will not speed deployment in BEAD or otherwise.”
The FCC should reform and refocus its annual reports on broadband availability required by Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act, the Phoenix Center said in an analysis released Wednesday. Historically, the FCC’s Section 706 reports “have been plagued by partisan interpretations and have failed to address the core issues behind broadband deployment gaps,” the center said in a separate news release. The FCC hasn’t created consistent definitions of when a deployment timeline is “reasonable” and “timely,” as required by the statute, and what actions should be taken when deployment doesn’t meet those requirements, the Phoenix Center said.