The FCC ordered Iowa Network Access Division (Aureon) to change its rate tariff for interstate switched transport in its centralized equal access service delivering long-distance traffic to small telcos throughout the state. Separately, Commissioners found a South Dakota Network (SDN) revised rate tariff for its CEA service unlawful. "Substantial questions of lawfulness remain" about Aureon’s rate, including "whether Aureon’s cost-based support demonstrates compliance with the Commission’s affiliate transaction rules," said a unanimous commission order in Friday's Daily Digest and docket 18-60. It directed Aureon to file a revised rate tariff and cost support within 60 days, and an accounting order remains. After a previous order rejected Aureon's rate tariff of 0.576 cent per minute because it was higher than a competitor benchmark rate of 0.5634 cents and had insufficient cost support, the provider in September filed a reduced rate tariff of 0.296 cent. But it drew continued opposition from AT&T, and the FCC found Aureon failed to justify its cost-support calculations, "paying its affiliate Network Division less than the lower of: (1) the fair market value of the leased facilities; and (2) the fully-distributed costs of the leased facilities." The agency didn't address "all of the deficiencies or questions raised in the record," and expects Aureon's revised tariff "to include complete cost support and explanatory material" covering all issues. AT&T is pleased "the FCC has again seen through Aureon’s attempts to inflate its rates through questionable regulatory accounting practices," it emailed. The order is a "continuation of the sudden, perplexing change in how the Commission regulates CEA service: applying onerous ILEC accounting rules even though the Commission has classified Aureon as a CLEC," emailed Aureon's lawyer, Fletcher Heald's James Troup. "Without explanation, the Commission is regulating Aureon differently than every other carrier." He said Aureon’s CLEC rate benchmark (ceiling) of 0.5634 cent is reasonable and lawful under the rules. It's contrary to regulations to require Aureon to reduce its tariff rate further below the benchmark, he said. AT&T and Aureon are challenging several previous FCC decisions at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In the other proceeding, the FCC said the benchmark rate applicable to SDN's tariffed interstate switched access service is 0.2288 cent, the tandem switching rate CenturyLink charges in South Dakota. SDN's 0.4871 cent rate unlawfully exceeds the benchmark and must be revised within 60 days, said the unanimous order in docket 18-100. SDN is reviewing the order.
The FCC will probe the ILEC benchmark rate used by South Dakota Network in tariff revisions to its interstate switched access service filed Sept. 17. "We designate for investigation whether SDN is using the correct competing incumbent LEC(s) in calculating its benchmark rate, and whether SDN’s calculated benchmark rate is based on the rate(s) for the appropriate service(s) of the competing incumbent LEC(s)," said a Wireline Bureau order Thursday in docket 18-100. "In the Aureon Tariff Investigation Order, the Commission found that CenturyLink was the competing incumbent LEC Aureon should benchmark to, and not the [National Exchange Cooperative Association]. In its Direct Case, SDN must justify its use of both CenturyLink and NECA as the carriers to which it should benchmark."
Supporters of the Streamlining the Rapid Evolution and Modernization of Leading-Edge Infrastructure Necessary to Enhance (Streamline) Small Cell Deployment Act took center stage at a Friday Senate Commerce Committee 5G deployment field hearing in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to extol the bill's virtues. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and other national and state stakeholders endorsed the bill in written testimony, as expected (see 1810090049). S-3157, filed in June by Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, aims to implement a “reasonable process and timeframe guidelines” for state and local small-cell consideration (see 1806290063). The friendly panel was in contrast to opposition S-3157 faces from other state and local governments (see 1810040055).
The Senate Commerce Committee confirmed details of a planned Friday field hearing in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on 5G deployment. The hearing, to be led by Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., was originally planned for last week (see 1810030055). FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken (R) and Verizon Senior Vice President-Federal Government Affairs Robert Fisher are to testify. Also will be Midcontinent Communications Senior Director Justin Forde, Dakota State University President Jose-Marie Griffiths and SDN Communications CEO Mark Shlanta. The hearing, to begin at 3 p.m. CDT in Carnegie Town Hall, will be livestreamed on YouTube, Senate Commerce said. The panel is likely to include a substantial focus on Thune’s Streamlining the Rapid Evolution and Modernization of Leading-Edge Infrastructure Necessary to Enhance (Streamline) Small Cell Deployment Act (S-3157), two telecom lobbyists said. The bill, which Thune and Senate Communications ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, filed in June, aims to implement a “reasonable process and timeframe guidelines” for state and local small-cell consideration (see 1806290063). S-3157 faces headwinds because of opposition from state and local governments (see 1810040055).
The FCC Wireline Bureau will further review South Dakota Network's proposed revisions to a centralized equal access tariff that had been scheduled to take effect Tuesday. "Because we conclude that substantial questions of lawfulness exist regarding how SDN revised the centralized equal access service rate contained in its proposed tariff, we suspend the revisions for one day and set for investigation the question of whether SDN properly revised its [CEA] service rate," said an order in docket 18-100 and Tuesday's Daily Digest.
The FCC invited pleadings on a South Dakota Network request that the agency rule on issues from state litigation with Northern Valley Communications. Comments are due March 14, replies March 29 on SDN's petition for expedited declaratory ruling on questions raised in the state court proceeding on an agreement under which the company provides transport service for AT&T access traffic, said a Wireline Bureau public notice in docket 18-41 in Tuesday's Daily Digest.
LAS VEGAS -- Smart networks are coming to cable, helping find and fix technical problems even before they might cause outages or are noticed by customers, the head of the industry's R&D arm said on the sidelines of CES. Comcast is heavily using such proactive network maintenance (some others call it proactive network management) and CableLabs CEO Phil McKinney sees PNM catching on among more cable operators, he said aboard his parked bus after parts of the Las Vegas Convention Center were partly closed during a power outage (see 1801100027).
The Senate will need to hold a cloture vote on FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s reconfirmation, as expected (see 1708030060), Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., said Monday at a South Dakota tech event. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., agreed earlier this month to hold over a vote on Pai until after the August recess as part of a deal on a nominations package that included confirmation of now-Commissioners Brendan Carr and Jessica Rosenworcel. Senate Democrats sought a cloture vote ahead of a final floor vote on Pai to give them an opportunity to voice their disapproval of some of his actions since taking over as chairman in January. Senate Democrats “can’t stop” White House nominees through the filibuster process, but “they can certainly slow” down the confirmation process, Thune said at the event, sponsored by AT&T, SDN Communications and the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Thune said Senate Commerce was able to get “a bunch” of President Donald Trump’s nominees to a floor vote before the recess but estimated about 100 nominees under committee jurisdiction await Senate action. Thune touted Senate passage of the Mobile Now Act (S-19) spectrum bill and the Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act (S-96), highlighting S-96 as an example of committee bipartisan cooperation. He hopes the panel can reach a similar bipartisan compromise on net neutrality legislation, saying he believes the committee can advance legislation with “basic principles” on issues like blocking and throttling. Many telecom-focused congressional Democrats don't believe a bipartisan net neutrality bill is possible this Congress, though House Commerce Committee Republicans plan a hearing on a legislative compromise Sept. 7 (see 1707130063, 1707210038 and 1707250059). A compromise would be a “huge win” for Senate Commerce, as would legislation aimed at encouraging broadband investment and laying the regulatory groundwork for 5G, Thune said.
ICANN's status as a California nonprofit headquartered in the U.S. has raised hackles for years, and now a working group is exploring if location affects accountability and policies. In February, the Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability's jurisdiction subgroup sought input. It received about 20 responses, most citing no difficulties, and posted a list of proposed issues for the subgroup to consider. Two key concerns are whether U.S. foreign policy hampers ICANN from approving registries and accrediting registrars, and what impact jurisdiction has on delegation of country code top-level domain names (ccTLDs).
After ZTE agreed to enter a guilty plea Tuesday in connection with the illegal sale of wireless and wireline technology to Iran (see 1703070042), CEO Zhao Xianming in a statement acknowledged ZTE's mistakes and said the company "remains committed" to positive change. It will pay the U.S. $892.4 million, under the impending guilty plea and settlement agreements reached with the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security and Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, DOJ had announced. New "compliance-focused procedures" and significant personnel changes have been top priorities, and the settlement agreements will allow the company to move forward in a stronger position than before, the smartphone company said. Among recent changes are spinning off a new compliance department from the firm's legal department, an expanded export control compliance manual, and creating a CEO-led Compliance Committee with the authority to "significantly change" policies and priorities and provide better oversight of the compliance initiatives, it said.