Treatment of VoIP and the transition from incumbent telcos are among issues to be ironed out after the FCC Connect America Fund Phase II subsidy auction, a National Regulatory Research Institute webinar heard Wednesday. Winning CAF II bidders are to receive $1.49 billion cumulatively over 10 years to provide broadband and voice service in areas traditionally served by price-cap telcos (see 1808280035). "You have a whole new cast of characters," said consultant Carol Mattey, citing fixed-wireless, electric utilities and ViaSat. The $23 million OzarksGo will receive is a "drop in the bucket" of a $180 million fiber project offering gigabit speed, said General Manager Randy Klindt, whose company will lease capacity from parent Ozarks Electric Cooperative. To become a CAF eligible telecom carrier, winning bidders must provide a telecom service, said Mike Romano, NTCA senior vice president. He said ETC aspirants should familiarize themselves with common carrier requirements, given uncertainties. He noted an 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that interconnected VoIP is an information service and FCC reluctance to decide the matter. Romano said rate-of-return rural telcos see the CAF II support as a way to "edge out" service areas. USTelecom Vice President Mike Saperstein cited a "halo effect" where ILEC winning bidders provide service above minimum speeds in areas adjacent to their territories. Romano said CAF II winners won't technically be carriers of last resort, but "practically speaking" will be, replacing price-cap telcos no longer being subsidized. He and Mattey said that raised questions about the transition as CAF II winners build out over six years. Mattey said the FCC will have to issue a new NPRM on Remote Areas Fund details, including any change to a 2011 plan for a $100 million annual budget. She thinks that amount would be enough if the FCC confined the RAF to CAF II areas that didn't receive winning bids, but not enough if it broadens coverage. She said ViaSat, a CAF II auction winner, and Hughes, a New York State broadband auction winner, essentially revealed what they need to provide satellite broadband in high-cost areas: "a very low number." Asked if the U.S. would ever get to 100 percent broadband coverage, Mattey quipped, "We're just going to move the goal posts." She expects the FCC to increase the 10/1 Mbps standard for new CAF phases within three years. Romano agreed, saying 25/3 Mbps is likely. USF contributions must become more sustainable, said speakers. Nobody was optimistic.

Public Knowledge and the FCC traded words over whether telecom deregulation is hampering service restoration efforts after Hurricane Michael. PK said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) failed to "take responsibility for how their radical deregulation of telephone service has contributed to this unfortunate situation." The FCC said it's "disappointing but not surprising that a left-wing special-interest group is making cheap and false political attacks while people in the Florida Panhandle are suffering." Pai plans to visit the area Friday. Verizon Wireless said it continues to make progress restoring service.

Industry groups are renewing their fight against an FCC policy statement that triples damages for amounts owed to USF and other funds. In a docket 16-330 ex parte posting Thursday, CTIA, NCTA, USTelecom and Incompas recapped a meeting with FCC Chief of Staff Matthew Berry at which they said the agency's way of defining a continuing violation in recent years runs contrary to the one-year statute of limitations for nonbroadcast notices of apparent liability contained in the Communications Act. The groups argued that four particular categories shouldn't be considering continuing violations, repeating an argument made to the Enforcement Bureau (see 1802010021). The groups petitioned in 2015, challenging the policy statement (see 1503060066).

Hurricane Michael had a "serious impact on communication services in the Florida Panhandle and parts of Georgia," the FCC reported Thursday, based on network outage data submitted by 11 a.m. Chairman Ajit Pai cited "substantial communications outages." The FCC said one public safety answering point was reported down in Florida and 15 PSAPs in both states were "re-routed." About 19 percent of cellsites in 101 affected counties across three states were reported out of service: in Florida, seven counties had more than two-thirds of cellsites out, and four had more than one-third out; 14 Georgia counties and one Alabama county had more than one-third of cellsites out. There were 185,841 subscribers reported without cable or wireline telecom service in Florida, 63,473 in Georgia and 14,855 in Alabama. Four TV stations, 30 FMs and four AMs were reported out. Pai said his office and Public Safety Bureau staff contacted representatives of carriers and broadcasters about the situation and how to restore service as quickly as possible. "We were pleased that carriers had pre-positioned equipment and were in the process deploying cells on wheels (COWs) and cells on light trucks (COLTs) in order to get wireless service up and running in many locations," he said. USTelecom said members are coordinating with emergency responders and electric utilities to keep networks running, and summarized efforts of AT&T, CenturyLink, Frontier Communications and Verizon to help affected customers. The Wireline Bureau Wednesday reminded providers of a temporary waiver it granted from a phone number "aging" rule in storm-affected areas. It lets carriers, upon customer request, disconnect phone service to avoid billing issues during network disruptions and then reinstate the customer's number when service is reconnected.

An FCC business data service deregulatory draft isn't looking very contentious as commissioners head toward a planned vote at their Oct. 23 meeting. Stakeholders aren't expecting major changes to the order and two Further NPRMs, though tweaks are possible. Rural telco representatives are largely supportive and no opposition has surfaced so far in the draft's docket.

State attorneys general urged new FCC efforts to combat illegal robocalls, including giving telecom providers expanded call-blocking authority. Others said too many legal calls already are blocked. Replies were posted Tuesday to initial comments in which carriers sought expanded authority (see 1809250031). Adopt "new rules authorizing voice service providers to block illegally spoofed calls beyond what is currently authorized in the 2017 Call Blocking Order," replied 35 state AGs in docket 17-59. They said their efforts to target bad actors are often "frustrated" because "calls travel through a maze of smaller providers" or come from overseas. They encouraged providers "to use all available tools to accurately identify illegal calls," and said providers should give consumers, "especially seniors," adequate information about blocking and labeling. Consumers Union and others urged the FCC to require phone companies to implement caller ID authentication technology soon, act to counter legal calls unwanted by consumers, maintain an inclusive robocall definition and not require voice providers send "intercept" messages for blocked calls. "Focus on the tiny fraction of carriers and their customers that originate the vast majority of illegal calls, rather than imposing widespread burdens on carriers, legal call originators" and consumers, said Sprint. It urged more providers to participate in USTelecom's "traceback" initiative "identifying illegal callers for referral to the FTC and FCC for enforcement," and said call blocking should be done "judiciously." Consumers "are being channeled to block calls without measures in place requiring proper disclosures or provision of sufficient information to allow consumers to make informed decisions," said ACA International: "Carriers must not be able to block calls until the FCC issues rules for callers to challenge erroneously blocked or mislabeled calls." NTCA urged the FCC "to proceed with caution and an eye toward protecting consumers from dangers of 'false positives.'" Welcoming attention on false positives, Incompas said efforts "must be carefully considered to protect legitimate traffic."

Telcos opposed a request to redo an FCC order further easing telecom discontinuance duties and related regulatory processes (see 1806070021). Comments were posted Friday in docket 17-84 on Public Knowledge's Aug. 8 petition for reconsideration and motion to hold the June order in abeyance due to 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals litigation on a December order. PK's claims that the FCC "ignored the record" and "the Order eliminated consumer protections are unfounded, and its suggestion that the rules adopted in this Order could compromise critical federal agency missions is reckless and is equally unsupported," said USTelecom: "The Order reflects a careful balancing of the needs of consumers with the important goal of removing regulatory barriers that cause unnecessary costs or delay when carriers seek to transition from legacy services to next-generation broadband services." Verizon said PK "inaccurately describes" FCC "decisions and reasoning, and mischaracterizes the views" of NTIA, which "supports the Commission’s streamlining efforts." NTIA did note continuing concern about the impact on federal entities of some copper retirements and telecom service discontinuances (see 1807200057). PK "also seeks what it calls abeyance, but is actually a stay of the ... Order, by asking the Commission to keep its decision from becoming effective," Verizon said: "The Commission’s rules prohibit combining a motion for stay with any other requested relief," and it's "also substantively deficient." CenturyLink opposed PK's request to eliminate an "alternative options test." The test "permits a carrier to discontinue legacy voice service on a streamlined basis as part of a technology transition, after notifying affected customers, if the carrier shows that those customers will have access to at least two substitute voice services: stand-alone interconnected VoIP service from the discontinuing carrier itself and stand-alone facilities-based voice service from another provider," CenturyLink said. It knocked PK's claim that NTIA's concern "requires the Commission to reconsider" its test: "NTIA simply noted its continuing concern about the potential impact on government customers of legacy services being discontinued in remote or less populated areas and outside the scope of U.S. General Services Administration-negotiated contracts."

Some parties object to the FCC's plan to require use of a Lifeline national verifier in six states without ensuring an electronic interface for carriers and database access to determine low-income consumer eligibility. Lifeline providers and a NARUC official said the NV's lack of an application programming interface and automated access to key databases will complicate eligibility verification, increasing administrative costs, burdening consumers and undermining enrollment.

The FCC invited input on requests it revisit the broadband testing duties of Connect America Fund Phase II support recipients established in a July staff order. Oppositions will be due 15 days, replies 25 days, after Federal Register publication, said a public notice in docket 10-90 and Wednesday's Daily Digest. Petitions for reconsideration were filed jointly by USTelecom, ITTA and the Wireless ISP Association, and individually by Hughes Network Systems, Micronesian Telecommunications and ViaSat. NTCA and WTA filed applications for review appealing to the full commission (see 1809200035).

ISP groups challenged California's net neutrality law Wednesday in the same U.S. district court where DOJ filed suit Sunday (see 1809210059). Separately, they backed the U.S. solicitor general's request to the Supreme Court to vacate the 2017 ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirming the FCC's 2015 net neutrality order (see 1808030041). That case was scheduled for justices' Oct. 26 conference (in Daniel Berninger v. FCC, No. 17-498).