The FCC overstepped its authority and was unclear...
The FCC overstepped its authority and was unclear in some sections of its Rural Health Care reform order, USTelecom said in a petition for reconsideration and clarification filed Monday (http://bit.ly/17bc0lV). The commission should prohibit, rather than encourage, the “speculative installation…
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and resale of excess capacity,” USTelecom said. Although the commission says such cost-sharing don’t violate the statutory prohibition against resale, the relevant statute “could not be any clearer,” USTelecom said: Section 254(h)(3) of the Communications Act explicitly prohibits selling or reselling by the user of telecom services and network capacity provided to a public institutional telecom user. “The Commission cannot save its unlawful ‘cost-sharing’ rule by attempting to create some distinction between ‘cost-sharing’ and resale,” USTelecom said. The association also wants the commission to reconsider its decision letting healthcare providers get support for “dark fiber,” which is “not a ’service'” and thus not eligible for support under the rural healthcare program, it said. USTelecom also asked that the commission direct any enforcement actions seeking recovery for current and past healthcare program violations solely at the responsible party. The commission should also clarify whether its rural healthcare competitive bidding rules include restrictions on gifts, meals and entertainment; and it should clarify the rules regarding broadband metrics reporting, certification and invoicing, USTelecom said.