The FCC’s July order reducing call rates for people in prison while establishing interim rate caps for video calls (see 2407180039) is effectively the law of the land, and prisons must follow it, said Bianca Tylek, executive director of Worth Rises, which represents the interests of prisoners. Tylek noted Thursday at a press conference that the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is hearing challenges to the order (see 2407180039), hasn’t granted a stay. “It is very normal for an industry to litigate and sue a federal agency when it gets regulated,” she said. “That happens in every single industry … The rules are in effect right now.”

The Fiber Broadband Association on Wednesday released an “Introduction to Passive Optical Network Splitter Architectures,” which was developed by the FBA Technology Committee. “The purpose of the guide is to demystify the terminology, configurations, and best practices associated with PON splitter deployment,” the group said. The report “explores how splitter architecture choices impact fiber counts, splicing, and customer connections while setting the stage for a more detailed follow-up analysis of centralized versus distributed splitting architectures.”

Velocity Communications has requested a three-month extension of its rip-and-replace deadlines under the Secure and Trusted Networks Reimbursement Program, said a filing Wednesday. The program’s funding shortfall “has prevented Velocity from deploying a replacement network with a footprint and network capabilities comparable to its original network,” it said (see 2412240036). "What started as a 1-year project timeline to complete the network overhaul has turned into a multi-year effort to save the business from becoming insolvent.” The company used nearly identical language in a January request for a six-month extension (see 2501170052).

Telnyx is pushing back on the FCC's proposed $4.5 million fine for allegedly not doing enough to verify the identity of a supposed robocall scammer (see 2502040065). A source familiar with the issue said CEO David Casem met with agency staffers this week. In a statement emailed to us Wednesday, Casem said the FCC enforcement action "must have snuck past the new FCC leadership, but sunlight is the best disinfectant." The statement continued: "We are optimistic that as more people understand how a Biden-era 'regulation by enforcement' approach managed to sneak through the cracks, the agency will reverse course." In a letter last week to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, Telnyx said it "consistently used industry best practices to deter often sophisticated bad actors who seek to engage in illegal calls" and often went beyond what was required. It said the agency's decision to punish it "for properly and quickly responding to a sophisticated bad actor’s brief, single-instance evasion of Telnyx’s controls" is unprecedented. The notice of apparent liability doesn't jibe with FCC statements that it doesn't expect perfection or that telecom service providers' measures must be 100% effective, the company said. "Enforcement of the rule to now require perfection is the sort of 'unfair surprise'" to which the White House has voiced opposition as a regulatory approach.

The FCC Wireline Bureau on Tuesday approved the proposed transfer of New York-based local exchange carrier Crown Point Telco and its subsidiary Bridge Point to Atlas Connectivity. The bureau noted that it sought comment (see 2501290045) but received no comments or petitions in opposition, said a notice in docket 24-354.

Conexon Connect said it was incorrect when it told the FCC that it had met its three-year 40% rural development opportunity fund (RDOF) buildout milestone in Kentucky. In a docket 19-126 filing posted Tuesday, Conexon said it based its claim (see 2501160056) on the best data available at the time. Further analysis determined that the number of locations it serves in Kentucky is "slightly below" the required 40% milestone. But the company "still intends to fully satisfy its RDOF obligations in each of the ten states in which it receives RDOF support."

RiverStreet Communications is getting closer to Connect America Fund Phase II compliance in Virginia and has been removed from noncompliance tiers in North Carolina, it said Monday in letters in docket 10-90. RiverStreet said the Universal Service Administrative Co. has notified it that enough CAF locations have been certified in North Carolina so that the company is no longer subject to quarterly reporting about its progress there. RiverStreet also said that since its most recent quarterly progress report regarding Virginia, it has deployed broadband to an additional 970 locations -- 6,261 in total -- and "continues to close the compliance gap" there.

The Wireline Bureau has dismissed Sonic Telecom’s 2021 petition for reconsideration of portions of the FCC's unbundling network elements rules, said an order on reconsideration Friday. “We find that Sonic fails to show any material errors or omissions, raise any new or additional facts or arguments it could not have raised during the original proceeding, or provide any reason otherwise warranting reconsideration,” the order said. Sonic had argued that the FCC’s UNE rules were based on unsubstantiated predictions and untrustworthy data (see 2102090077). “Sonic’s Petition merely restates arguments the Commission has already rejected, and to the minimal extent it may raise new evidence or arguments, such evidence or arguments could have been raised earlier,” the bureau said.

Google's GU Holdings has received a green light from the FCC Office of International Affairs to build and operate a non-common carrier submarine cable system linking California and Guam to Taiwan and the Philippines, the agency said Friday. The cable system, TPU, will have a total capacity of about 260 Tbps, it said. GU -- which had previously received special temporary authority to construct and test the portions of the cable system in U.S. territory -- plans to begin offering commercial service on TPU in May.

Permitting difficulties and inaccurate Form 477 data have hampered SCI Broadband's efforts to meet its rural deployment opportunity fund buildout obligations, according to CEO Ron Savage. In a docket 10-90 filing posted Friday recapping a meeting with the FCC, Minnesota's SCI said it was bringing the issues to the agency's attention before potentially seeking a waiver from serving certain census blocks where it received RDOF funding.