Fiber operator Metronet said Tuesday it has purchased another fiber ISP, Minnesota's US Internet. Financial terms weren't disclosed. USI's network reaches more than 140,000 locations around Minneapolis, and the deal boosts Metronet's presence there, the company said. A T-Mobile/KKR joint venture purchased Metronet in July (see [Re:2507240027]), and Metronet said Tuesday that USI's residential customers will become T-Mobile Fiber customers, while its commercial customers will fall under Metronet.

The FCC asked for comment by Sept. 12 on an application by Clear Rate Communications for authorization to obtain North American Numbering Plan phone numbers directly from the numbering administrator. The company is an interconnected VoIP provider that “intends to initially request numbers in Michigan,” said a notice last week in docket 25-128.

Comments are due Sept. 12, replies Sept. 19, on Vero Broadband’s proposed purchase of BendTel, a locally owned and operated telecom provider in central Oregon. Comments should be filed in docket 25-188, said a Friday notice from the FCC Wireline Bureau. Vero, a fiber-to-the-premises provider, announced plans to buy BendTel in June. The purchase “complements Vero's ongoing organic expansion in Central Oregon and establishes a key foothold in one of the fastest-growing markets in the Pacific Northwest,” the company said at the time.

Comments on the FCC’s NPRM on reducing barriers to network improvements are due Sept. 29, replies Oct. 27, in dockets 25-208 and 25-209, said a public notice Thursday. The NPRM sought comment on “deregulatory options to encourage providers to invest in next-generation broadband networks so all Americans can benefit from technological developments in the communications marketplace.”

Comments are due Sept. 26, replies Oct. 14, on an NPRM proposing to end the requirement that telecommunications relay services providers support the now-obsolete ASCII transmission format, said a notice for Wednesday’s Federal Register. Commissioners approved the NPRM in June (see 2506260030).

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday scheduled oral argument in a case examining the legality of the FCC’s prison-calling order. It's set for Oct. 7 at 9:30 a.m. in the En Banc Courtroom at the Moakley Courthouse in Boston. The court last month rejected the FCC's request to hold the case in abeyance given the Wireline Bureau’s decision to delay some incarcerated people’s communications service deadlines until April 1, 2027 (see 2507160027). “There will be no continuance except for grave cause,” the court said.

Repair work on Quintillion's damaged subsea cable off the North Slope of Alaska is underway, the company said Friday. It reported that two repair ships are on-site, with crews on one working to locate the damaged segment via a remotely operated vehicle. Good ice and weather conditions "continue to support the safe and efficient execution of this work." The cable repair and testing work should take up to a week, Quintillion said, with burial of the replacement to take an additional two weeks. The company said in January that the damaged line could result in "prolonged" outage of its service to North Slope and northwest Alaskan communities (see 2501220001).

The International Center for Law & Economics urged the FCC last week to move forward on proposals to speed the retirement of legacy copper phone lines. Commissioners agreed to take comment on ways to speed retirements in an NPRM approved last month (see 2507280053).

Comments are due Sept. 8 in dockets 25-256 and 25-257 on two Consolidated Communications applications to discontinue legacy voice services at locations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, said a public notice in Friday’s Daily Digest. The application will be granted automatically Sept. 22 unless the FCC notifies the company otherwise.

Intrepid is dropping its petition asking the FCC to preempt a contract that Cottage Grove, Minnesota, has with another provider for deployment of fiber-optic infrastructure there. In a motion to withdraw posted Friday (docket 25-248), Intrepid said it and the city have settled, "and there is no longer a 'controversy' requiring resolution by the Commission." In its petition, Intrepid said Cottage Grove granted exclusive access to another provider and was denying Intrepid access to its right of way.