Windstream will accept $174.9 million in annual USF support to provide broadband speeds of at least 10/1 Mbps to more than 400,000 rural locations in 17 states utilizing the FCC's new Connect America Fund, the commission and company announced (here and here) Wednesday. Windstream was eligible to receive $178.8 million in annual support. “Windstream’s decision to accept support from the Connect America Fund will greatly benefit its rural customers by expanding robust broadband in their communities,” said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. The FCC offered price-cap telcos a total of $1.675 billion in annual Phase II CAF support over six calendar years (2015-2020). Frontier previously said it would accept its entire $283.4 million share. Other carriers have until Aug. 27 to make their decisions. Carriers receiving CAF support must build out 10/1 Mbps broadband to 40 percent of funded locations by the end of 2017, 60 percent by the end of 2018, and 100 percent by the end of 2020, the FCC said.
The National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates became the fifth party to ask the FCC to extend the comment period on proposals to overhaul the Lifeline USF support program to cover broadband and restructure its administration. Initial comments are currently due Aug. 17, replies Sept. 17, NASUCA said in a motion posted Tuesday in docket 10-90 asking for an extension to Sept. 16 and Oct. 19, because the issues addressed in the NPRM are a "sea change for the Lifeline program" and "are extremely complex and vitally important" to telecom customers the group represents. "There are literally hundreds of questions covering nearly every conceivable aspect of designing a Lifeline program for broadband, and many of the issues also affect the Lifeline program for voice services," said NASUCA, saying many key staffers would be on pre-scheduled family vacations. Previously, CTIA, the ITTA, USTelecom and California Public Utilities Commission asked for 30-day extensions (see 1507310061 and 1508030067).
The California PUC asked the FCC for a 30-day extension to file comments on Lifeline USF overhaul proposals, adding to the joint call by three telco trade associations on Friday for such an extension (see 1507310061). The current deadlines are Aug. 17 for initial comments and Sept. 17 for replies, the CPUC said. The CPUC said in a filing posted Monday to docket 11-42 that it needed more time because it runs a Lifeline program that's more comprehensive than the FCC's, "and is accordingly, more complicated to manage." The CPUC also said it needed more time to write comments on the potential interplay between the federal and California Lifeline programs. CTIA, ITTA and USTelecom said an extension was warranted because of the complexity of the FCC proposals to cover broadband and restructure the program's administration, and because the initial comment deadline fell in the middle of the traditional summer vacation period.
USTelecom, CTIA and the Independent Telephone & Telecommunications Alliance asked the FCC to extend the comment deadlines by 30 days in the rulemaking to revamp Lifeline USF subsidies to cover broadband and make administration of the program more efficient. Instead of initial comments being due Aug. 17 and replies Sept. 15, they would be due Sept. 16 and Oct. 15, the telco associations said Friday in their request. The groups said the extension was warranted because the reform proposal was "unusually complex" and the current initial deadline fell during the traditional summer holiday period.
An FCC request to refresh the record on eligible telecom carrier (ETC) designations and duties in areas served by price-cap telcos is to be published on Monday in the Federal Register, according to a notice posted Friday. FR publication of an FCC public notice would set due dates for initial comments on Sept. 2 and replies on Sept. 17. The PN noted an updated list of census blocks where price-cap carriers continue to have ETC obligations to provide voice service after some census blocks were removed under a December partial forbearance order. The list includes census blocks that the USF Connect America Cost Model identifies to be in high-cost and extremely high-cost areas and unserved by an unsubsidized broadband/voice competitor. Price-cap carriers that decline to accept new broadband-oriented Connect America Fund subsidies in these census blocks (decisions are due by Aug. 27) will be required to continue to provide voice service there until replaced by another ETC offering voice and broadband service or unless and until the FCC gives them relief. The public notice seeks further comment on issues unresolved by the December order and pending in related proceedings, including requests by USTelecom and AT&T for greater relief from state ETC designations and associated voice duties in states where carriers decline CAF support. AT&T challenged the December order in court as not providing sufficient relief, but the FCC said the case should be held in abeyance while it resolves related issues in various proceedings (see 1507270038).
The FCC impermissibly changed its VoIP symmetry rule to allow competitive LECs partnering with over-the-top (OTT) VoIP providers to charge interexchange carriers (IXCs) end-office switching fees for connecting long-distance calls to customers, AT&T argued Thursday in a brief asking a court to overturn a commission declaratory ruling. Alternatively, AT&T asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to disallow the FCC’s decision to require AT&T to retroactively pay CLECs for charges it withheld while their regulatory dispute was pending. The case is AT&T v. FCC, No. 15-1059.
FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn promised she will continue efforts to ensure the USF Lifeline program is expanded to cover broadband. Clyburn spoke Thursday to the National Urban League annual convention and the FCC posted her remarks. Many “people of color” say they're making more money online “than they ever did when they were pounding the pavement and knocking on doors,” Clyburn said. But many can't afford to be connected, she said. “Too many of our schools and libraries have inadequate broadband speeds. Too many children lack broadband at home to complete homework.” The conventional wisdom is that cost alone isn't the biggest factor keeping people from subscribing to broadband, Clyburn said. “But as community leaders, you know firsthand that when you ask that proud senior on a fixed income whether she wants to sign up for broadband, her dignity will never allow her to admit that she cannot afford it,” she said. “She will tell you that she does not need it, but we know that is just not true.” The Pew Research Center recently said African-Americans have adopted broadband faster than any other group the past 15 years, she said. But Pew “also reported that of the majority of those without broadband have household incomes lower than $30,000 a year,” she said. “We are committed to ensuring that cost is no longer a barrier to broadband adoption, but this will only happen through partnerships with industry, the government, and you.” Clyburn cited the FCC approval of AT&T’s buy of DirecTV (see 1507280043). Less well known, Clyburn said, is that her office worked with AT&T to design a program that will offer individuals and families eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program the ability to buy 10 Mbps of broadband for $10 a month. “At that speed, you could download instructional videos, get wellness care through telemedicine, and start and maintain an online business,” she said.
Fifteen small rural telcos would lose almost $9 million in annual USF subsidies under preliminary FCC findings to phase out support where carriers completely overlap with unsubsidized broadband competitors. A Wireline Bureau public notice posted Wednesday in docket 10-90 sought comments by Aug. 28 and replies by Sept. 28 on the initial determinations.
The FCC order approving AT&T’s takeover of DirecTV was released Tuesday, laying out the conditions it imposed. The 241-page order includes 59 pages of "merger simulation model" analysis and 17 pages of conditions that appear to track commission descriptions over the last week (see 1507210078, 1507220076, 1507230059, 1507240055 and 1507270074) but with more specifics. For instance, while the conditions generally last four years, if AT&T doesn’t complete a required fiber buildout within that time frame, all the conditions will remain in effect until it does. In addition, if the FCC finds AT&T has violated any conditions, it can extend the terms of such conditions for two years.
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives plans a public hearing at 1 p.m. on Aug. 24 for HB-1417, which creates a freestanding act maintaining the state's Universal Service Fund. The Rural Telephone Access and Availability Act would extend the life of the Pennsylvania USF until 2022.