GCI agreed to pay a $10,000 fine for having an expired submarine cable landing license for its Alaska United East subsea cable system, according to an FCC Enforcement Bureau order in Monday's Daily Digest.
In a potential win for prisoners and their families, the FCC Wireline Bureau on Monday asked for comment on an application for review of a bureau order delaying some incarcerated people’s communications service deadlines until April 1, 2027 (see 2507310049). Supporters of the application said when they filed it that the bureau wasn't required by law to seek comment. Oppositions are due Aug. 29, replies Sept.15. All filings must refer to dockets 23-62 and 12-375, the bureau said.
The FCC Office of International Affairs has approved licenses for Google's Starfish to construct and operate a pair of Pacific submarine cable systems. Its Proa cable system will connect Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands to Japan, the agency said in a public notice Friday, while the Taihei cable system will link Hawaii and Japan.
The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau said Wednesday that it removed 185 noncompliant voice service providers from the Robocall Mitigation Database. That follows warnings issued to 2,411 providers in December ordering them to show why they shouldn’t be removed (see 2412180015). “This will prevent those providers from connecting to U.S. networks until they comply with FCC regulations,” the agency said. “All removed providers violated Commission rules by maintaining deficient certifications after repeated warnings and apparently participating in illegal robocall campaigns or failing to support official efforts to investigate such campaigns.” Those removed will need express approval from the FCC’s Enforcement and Wireline bureaus to rejoin the database.
Representatives of the National Sheriffs’ Association met with an aide to FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty about the group’s concerns over last year’s rules on incarcerated people’s communications services (see 2501280053). The group “summarized the major arguments in its past filings, with particular emphasis on the role of safety and security measures in enabling access to IPCS,” said a filing this week in docket 23-62. It also “discussed the role tablets play in the carceral setting.”
Missouri-based Bluebird Fiber said Tuesday that it hopes to close on its purchase of Everstream's assets by the end of the year. The purchase received U.S Bankruptcy Court approval last week, but Bluebird said the closing still requires regulatory approvals. Bluebird CEO Jason Adkins said Everstream's fiber network and staff "will mesh perfectly with our fiber network and team." The newly combined company "will form one of the largest fiber enterprise businesses in the Midwest." The sale doesn't include Everstream's Pennsylvania assets, which are being wound down. Ohio-based Everstream has told the FCC it doesn't want its Chapter 11 bankruptcy to interrupt service operations or affect rates or terms of service for existing customers (see 2505300037).
Amphenol announced Monday an agreement to buy CommScope’s connectivity and cable solutions (CCS) business -- with 15,000 employees -- for $10.5 billion in cash. It's the second deal between the companies. Amphenol said the buy expands its “interconnect product capabilities in the fast-growing IT datacom market … adding fiber optic interconnect products for artificial intelligence and other data center applications.”
The Wireline Bureau is seeking comment on the proposed sale of Maryland-based Baltimore-Washington Telephone Co. from its owner, Voxology Group, to Uptown Moose, which is based in Illinois, said a public notice in Friday’s Daily Digest. Comments are due Aug. 15, replies Aug. 22, in docket 25-237.
Members of the ACAM Broadband Coalition spoke with an aide to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr about the work toward developing the enhanced-alternative connect America cost model (E-ACAM), said a filing posted Friday in docket 10-90. “Achieving final support levels in the E-ACAM adjustment process that are as accurate and sufficient as possible requires two main elements,” the coalition said: “use of location, service availability, and enforceable commitment data that is as accurate and complete as possible” and “use of a support recalculation process that incorporates, to the extent possible, the true cost of serving E-ACAM company locations.”
The FCC should consider narrowing its proposed presumption that a violation of the Cable Landing Licensing Act should disqualify a party from future licenses, the North American Submarine Cable Association said. In a docket 24-523 filing posted Thursday, NASCA said the presumption in the draft subsea cable order on Thursday's FCC meeting agenda (see 2507170048) would disqualify parties from future licenses, even though in the past, parties haven't lost licenses after entering into consent decrees for admitted violations. The presumption should be limited to instances where the violation wasn't remediated with a consent decree or compliance plan, resulted in a lost license or authorization, or was found by the FCC to be intentional, said NASCA. The group's filing recapped a meeting with counsel to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, while a nearly identical filing documented a meeting with Commissioner Anna Gomez's office.