NTCA held a flurry of last-minute meetings with FCC staff just days before the group filed an appeal of the commission’s Universal Service Fund order (CD Dec 12 p7), records on docket 10-90 showed. NTCA Vice President Michael Romano joined executives from Vantage Point Solutions and TDS in two meetings with Wireline Bureau staff on Wednesday, one meeting addressing the costs of meeting increased speed standards and the second meeting addressing traffic exchanges, according to an ex parte dated Friday and released Monday (http://xrl.us/bmks85). A day later, Romano joined executives from the National Exchange Carrier Association, OPASTCO and TDS Telecom to discuss caps on operating and capital expenses, a separate ex parte notice showed (http://xrl.us/bmktat).
Friday saw at least four more appeals of the Universal Service Fund order (CD Oct 28 p1), as AT&T, NTCA, NASUCA and the Vermont Public Service Board filed in three different appellate circuits. NTCA and NASUCA each filed in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.; Vermont filed in the 2nd Circuit in New York; and AT&T filed its appeal in the D.C. Circuit. They join earlier appeals, one from CLEC Core Communications in Richmond (CD Dec 5 p11) and another from Pennsylvania regulators filed in the 3rd Circuit in Philadelphia (CD Dec 6 p2).
It will be “more of the same” for the FCC in 2012, Chief of Staff Eddie Lazarus told the Practising Law Institute conference Friday. The FCC still has significant work left expanding broadband adoption and addressing the country’s spectrum deficiencies, he said. Privacy experts on a separate panel said they expect the FTC and FCC to increase their focus on online privacy and cybersecurity issues in the coming year.
Competitive telcos think the FCC has turned its back on them, CLEC executives and lawyers told us. “I think the commission hasn’t taken any initiatives to promote competition,” said Eckert, Seamans telecom lawyer James Falvey. “There have been a number of issues that the CLECs have brought to the commission and said, ‘We need your help on this to promote competition.’ The commission hasn’t taken any proactive steps.”
Telcos will have collected more than $16.6 billion in Universal Service Fund revenue in the fourth quarter of 2011, the Universal Service Administrative Company projected Tuesday, based on USF forms, called 499-Qs, filled out by some 6,437 carriers, USAC said (http://xrl.us/bmkcfh). It'll be used to determine the contribution methodology for the first quarter of 2012. The latest projection is about $72 million lower than the previous quarter’s projection, which may mean the contribution factor will rise. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has apparently promised to tackle contribution reform next year and the matter has arisen in the confirmation of would-be commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Pai (CD Dec 1 p7). One ILEC official predicted that, based on the ILEC’s own analysis, the contribution factor might approach 18 percent before the end of next year.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission appealed the FCC’s order on Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation at the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. Another appeal from NASUCA is coming, the group’s executive director, Charles Acquard, told us. More appeals might be coming from states, analysts said. The FCC looks forward to “vigorously defending” in court its “unanimous, balanced” USF and ICC reforms, an agency official said.
The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau opened investigations into allegations that Lifeline carriers aren’t properly checking whether their customers are eligible to receive the subsidy, the commission said Monday in an enforcement advisory (http://xrl.us/bmkcfs). “We are actively investigating these allegations, and issue this Enforcement Advisory to alert Lifeline service providers that they face stiff penalties, potentially including revocation of their [eligible telecommunications carrier service] status or their section 214 authorization to operate as carriers, if they do not strictly adhere to the Commission’s rules,” the FCC said.
The Washington Independent Telecommunications Association, which represents small telcos in the state, alleged that competitive local exchange carrier PAETEC has been avoiding access charges. The group asked the state commission to stop PAETEC from its activities and revoke its authority to operate in the state. It’s uncertain what the FCC’s order on Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation would do to state access charge disputes, said the group and PAETEC.
Core Communications appealed the FCC’s Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation order Friday. The USF/ICC appeal is apparently the first legal challenge to the commission’s USF overhaul (CD Oct 28 p1). But it will not be the last, telecom experts have predicted. It was filed in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va. It’s a mere two pages.
New FCC ex parte rules were violated at least 11 times since taking effect June 1, a Communications Daily review of all filings and the agency’s own checks found. Some filings were made late -- from a day in many instances to a few weeks -- and others didn’t contain enough information on what was discussed during lobbying meetings. The filings were made by companies and associations big and small. They covered proceedings ranging from changing the Universal Service Fund to pay for broadband deployment to retransmission consent, ISP speeds, disabilities access legislation passed in 2010 and getting low-power TV stations to fully vacate the 700 MHz band for wireless broadband in the small portion they occupy.