FCC commissioners unanimously approved an order Wednesday amending the commission's letter of credit (LOC) rules for providers receiving high-cost USF support, moving away from reliance on the Weiss rating system. The order affects participants in the Connect America Fund Phase II and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund programs and those receiving support for Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. The order saw tweaks at the request of Commissioner Anna Gomez, officials said.
The Rural Wireless Association, EchoStar and Communications Workers of America filed FCC petitions asking that the agency reject T-Mobile’s proposed acquisition of "substantially all” of UScellular’s wireless operations, including some spectrum (see 2405280047). Public interest and consumer groups also opposed approval. The deal is relatively small as telecom mergers go -- valued at about $4.4 billion, including $2 billion in assumed debt -- but has ignited substantial opposition. UScellular is the nation’s fifth-largest wireless carrier.
Many questions remain about how the U.S. Supreme Court will decide FCC v. Consumers’ Research, lawyers involved in the case said Tuesday during an FCBA webinar. The USF case is expected to be heard in the spring. SCOTUS decided last month to hear a challenge to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' 9-7 en banc decision, which found the USF contribution factor is a "misbegotten tax.” Consumers' Research challenged the contribution factor in the 5th Circuit and other courts.
Communications industry executives and former federal officials said during a Practising Law Institute event Tuesday they see a likely GOP-led budget reconciliation package next year as a potential vehicle for legislation that would reinstate the FCC’s lapsed spectrum auction authority. House Commerce Committee leaders and Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., have repeatedly attempted to reinstate the authority during this Congress only to have their efforts stall (see 2409170066).
FCC Commissioner and incoming Chairman Brendan Carr on Tuesday discussed empowering local broadcasters, moving "aggressively” on USF revisions and opening up the space economy and jumpstarting spectrum policy. Speaking at the Practising Law Institute's 42nd Annual Institute on Telecommunications Policy & Regulation, Carr said he's “really looking forward” to taking the commission's top seat.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, could shift the direction Congress’ USF revamp takes when he becomes the panel’s chairman in January, lawmakers and lobbyists told us. Observers believe his impact on what Congress decides will partially depend on how the U.S. Supreme Court rules when it reviews the FCC appeal of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling in favor of Consumers' Research's challenge of the USF contribution methodology (see 2411220050). A high court ruling upholding the 5th Circuit could shift momentum in favor of Cruz’s proposal that Congress make USF funding part of the appropriations process, officials said.
A possible shakeup of the federal Universal Service Fund (USF) will be top of mind for state telecom regulators in the year ahead, NARUC Telecom Committee Chair Tim Schram said in an interview earlier this month at the association’s Anaheim meeting. USF is one of several areas of uncertainty in 2025, said three state consumer advocates in a separate interview at the collocated National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) conference.
The extent to which the U.S. Supreme Court decides the USF challenge on theoretical rather than practical grounds could have major implications for whether the court issues a decision that overturns the program's funding mechanism. The court said last week it will hear a challenge to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' 9-7 en banc decision, which found the USF contribution factor is a "misbegotten tax.” Consumers' Research challenged the contribution factor in the 5th Circuit and other courts.
Industry groups generally welcomed the Nebraska Public Service Commission's proposal to further refine the Nebraska USF distribution, according to comments posted Tuesday (docket NUSF-139). Charter urged the commission "not to overlook any existing source of revenue or cash flows" that Nebraska eligible telecom carriers (NETC) "obtain from or for their networks in measuring those NETCs’ need for support" (see 2411060036). Windstream suggested that the commission continue relying on CostQuest's broadband mapping data for future updates to its cost modeling. The Rural Telecom Coalition of Nebraska backed the proposal but noted an error in the methodology. "The commission should disregard 2023 support amounts received or paid in 2024 because it creates a mismatching in the company's support base going forward," the group said. The Nebraska Rural Broadband Alliance suggested reducing support until providers serving customers with 25/3 Mbps speeds "complete the commitment to complete 100/20 deployment."
In an investors' note Monday, New Street’s Blair Levin discussed reasons why the U.S. Supreme Court may overturn the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' 9-7 en banc decision, which found the USF contribution factor is a "misbegotten tax.” Consumers' Research, a conservative group, challenged the contribution factor in the 5th Circuit and other courts.