The FCC Wireline Bureau on Tuesday sought comment by Feb. 19 on parts of AT&T's requests last week as it shutters more of its legacy copper network. The bureau created dockets for comments about moving customers off DS1 and DS3 services (docket 25-45) and retiring remote call forwarding services (25-46) and VoIP calling (25-47). AT&T plans to move aggressively in the new Donald Trump administration to cut costs by closing parts of its legacy network (see 2501310046).

Logista asked the FCC to overrule a Wireline Bureau decision rejecting the company’s pursuit of a waiver on a deadline for filing a Form 499-A revision, as well as late filing fees, penalties and interest. The form reports actual revenue billed during the prior calendar year, in this case for interconnected VoIP service. Logista also asked that parts of its filing remain confidential. The company said it filed its Form 499-A for 2023 in March and then in June sought to file a revised form. “Logista respectfully submits that it is not in the public interest to require it to pay an assessment calculated on the basis of a clerical error,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 06-122. The clerical error placed "a revenue amount in the wrong column,” which “significantly overstated Logista’s assessable telecommunications revenue.”

Brightspeed is more than halfway to its commitment to a 17-state fiber network that passes 3 million homes and businesses by fall 2027. In a docket 21-350 status report posted Monday, Brightspeed said that as of the end of 2024 the number of premises passed represented "more than half of the total commitment, in less than half the time." Data about states reached and the number of premises passed were redacted. The 17 states/3 million locations commitment was part of the FCC's 2022 approval of Brightspeed buying Lumen's incumbent local exchange carrier business (see 2208220049).

In an FCC filing on its proposed buy of Frontier, Verizon committed to comply with all USF requirements and related rules if regulators approve the deal. Verizon agreed to buy Frontier in a $20 billion all-cash deal announced in September (see 2409050010). “Verizon will, consistent with the continuation of Authorized Parties’ USF-related obligations post-transaction, assume all risks and consequences of noncompliance with program requirements, regardless of whether such noncompliance pre-dates or post-dates the consummation of the transaction, including default recovery of support and potential forfeiture penalties, in all supported areas,” said the filing, posted Friday in docket 24-445. Verizon said it will comply "regardless of any preexisting or reasonably foreseeable conditions that could impact the relevant Authorized Parties’ ability to meet USF-related obligations, including technical, marketplace, and on-the-ground conditions." It filed the commitments at the request of FCC Wireline Bureau staff, Verizon added.

As previewed during a recent financial call, it appears AT&T in recent days has been moving more aggressively to shut additional parts of its legacy copper network (see 2501270047). In December, in what AT&T executives saw as a model for future retirements, the FCC took no action, allowing AT&T to initially halt sales and then discontinue residential local service in nine Oklahoma wire centers (see 2412230066). AT&T CEO John Stankey said on the call that the carrier plans to file applications at the FCC to stop selling legacy products in about 1,300 wire centers, or about a quarter of the AT&T footprint. On Friday alone, the FCC posted retirement proposals for AT&T wire centers in Alliance, Ohio; Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Easley, South Carolina; and Milwaukee.

The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau on Wednesday approved ZP Better Together’s request to continue providing video relay service (VRS) supported by the interstate telecommunications relay services fund following the acquisition of indirect ownership and control of ZP by Teleperformance Group. The bureau noted it sought comment in December, and none was filed. “Applicants state that ‘ZP currently meets or exceeds all mandatory minimum standards that are applicable to VRS and have not been waived by the Commission, and will continue to do so’ after the Teleperformance acquisition is consummated,” the bureau said.

Comments are due Feb. 12, replies Feb. 19 on the proposed transfer of New York-based local exchange carrier Crown Point Telco and its subsidiary Bridge Point to Atlas Connectivity, said a public notice posted in docket 24-354 Wednesday. “Following the purchase, Crown Point Telco will retain its separate corporate existence, customers, services, and operations, and become a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlas.”

Corning doesn't expect to start seeing notable revenues from BEAD until 2026, CEO Wendell Weeks told analysts Wednesday as the company announced Q4 results. Corning said that it had net sales of $3.5 billion in the quarter, up from $3 billion in Q4 2023 and that it expects Q1 2025 sales of $3.6 billion. Weeks said Corning started shipping fiber-optic product to Lumen this month for interconnection of that company's AI-enabled data centers and 10% of Corning's global fiber capacity this year and next is dedicated to Lumen. The company's optical communications sales for Q4 2024 were $1.4 billion, jumping from $900 million the same quarter a year earlier due to its AI products.

Preempt California's regulatory framework for VoIP services, the Cloud Communications Alliance and Cloud Voice Alliance asked the FCC in a petition for declaratory ruling filed Monday (see 2501240002). The California Public Utilities Commission’s pending proceeding on the issue "conflicts with federal policies designed to promote competition, innovation, and affordable communications services," the groups said. They also asked that the FCC reaffirm its "end-to-end jurisdictional analysis as the definitive standard for determining the regulatory treatment of VoIP services."

The Coalition for IP Network Transition challenged claims contained in a public interest statement on Verizon’s proposed $20 billion buy of Frontier (see 2410160049). The companies claim the deal will “bring enhanced benefits to local communities within the Frontier footprint,” the coalition said. “The truth of the matter is that the benefits will only flow to those retail customers who are subject to substantial competition,” said a filing Tuesday in docket 24-445. “Nothing will change for Frontier’s access customers in those same markets.” They won’t “receive the benefits of additional investments in today’s standard technology,” fiber and IP connections, and “will remain bound to obsolete technology forced on them by Verizon and Frontier.”