Illinois Commerce Commission staff should file direct testimony Dec. 14 on Apollo’s buy of Lumen’s ILEC assets, said ICC Administrative Law Judge Marchant Johnson at a virtual prehearing conference Tuesday. A status hearing will be Dec. 21 at 10:30 a.m. CST, she said. It’s one of several state reviews getting underway (see 2110150030 and 2110120015).
Meetings and roundtables between North American Numbering Council members and the FCC are exempt from ex parte rules, said a public notice in Tuesday's Daily Digest. This is so the group can "develop and shape its advice and recommendations to the commission more efficiently and effectively." The exemption applies only to presentations from NANC members on behalf of the group, not on an individual member's own or organization's behalf.
The FCC Wireline Bureau wants comments by Nov. 26, replies by Dec. 27, in docket 17-59 on a Further NPRM that would require gateway providers to implement Stir/Shaken caller ID authentication and perform robocall mitigation, says Tuesday's Federal Register. Commissioners approved the item during the agency's September meeting despite some industry concerns (see 2109240060).
The FTC and Frontier Communications will go to trial July 5 on the agency's claim the telco misrepresented its speeds to DSL customers, wrote U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Judge Gary Klausner in an order posted Monday in case 2:21-cv-04155 (see 2110040066).
The FCC Wireline Bureau granted a request by groups including Public Knowledge, the Communications Workers of America and Incompas to extend the comment period for Embarq's, now Century/Lumen, petition to discontinue its legacy phone service, said an order Friday in docket 21-298 (see 2110180067). Comments are now due by Nov. 24, replies Dec. 16.
The FCC Wireline Bureau wants comments by Nov. 5, replies by Nov. 12, on Liberty Mobile USVI's proposed buy of Broadband VI, said a public notice Friday in docket 21-386. Liberty would acquire 96% of Broadband VI. Liberty's "experienced management team" would assume operations of Broadband VI, including its Connect USVI Fund obligations.
Telcos’ Texas USF lawsuit against the Public Utility Commission “is precisely the type of suit that sovereign immunity is designed to prevent,” said the PUC and the Texas attorney general office in a Thursday brief at the Texas Appeals Court for the 3rd Judicial District in Austin. Appellants seek to control how the PUC exercises discretionary authority from the legislature, effectively asking the court “to compel the PUC to nearly double the assessment rate imposed on Texans to fund the TUSF,” they said in a brief provided by plaintiff Texas Statewide Telephone Cooperative. The state appellees asked the court to affirm a lower court’s ruling to dismiss the rural LECs' complaint about the PUC not fully funding state USF (see 2106210048). TSTCI is reviewing the brief, CEO Weldon Gray said Thursday.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau sent cease-and-desist letters to Duratel, Primo Dialler and PZ/Illum Telecommunication demanding the network providers stop permitting apparent illegal robocalls. Duratel and PZ/Illum were found to have apparently originated "substantial numbers of government imposter scam calls." Primo Dialler was found to have apparently originated robocalls that "threatened utility discontinuation and offered fake credit card rate reductions." This "should serve as a warning sign to other entities that believe the FCC has turned a blind eye to this issue," said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on Thursday.
More than 1,700 additional winning FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I bids, totaling more than $550 million, are ready to be authorized, said a Wireline Bureau public notice in docket 19-126. Letters of credit and bankruptcy opinion letters are due 6 p.m. EDT Nov. 3. “This is good news for consumers waiting far too long for broadband in parts of the country that have yet to be served,” said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The bureau denied two providers waivers for the program, in another order Wednesday. It partially denied LTD Broadband's petition for waiver of the June 7 deadline to receive eligible telecom carrier designation in Iowa, Nebraska and North Dakota. LTD "failed to provide a compelling rationale or demonstrate special circumstances" to warrant waiving the deadline. Staff denied NW Fiber's petition for waiver of the Jan. 29 deadline to submit long-form applications: The company continues "to miss required deadlines and failed to complete the requirements of the program."
Oakland's council voted 7-0 to pass legislation to require ISP choice in multiple tenant environments, in a consent agenda at a virtual meeting Tuesday. The proposal cleared a council committee last month (see 2109290031). It's "a direct concrete step municipalities can take to mitigate our broken broadband marketplace,” emailed Media Alliance Executive Director Tracy Rosenberg. “By granting every occupant the unchallenged right to use any provider that can service them, residents can use the most affordable and reliable services available to them” and competitive ISPs “can get footholds in new regions.” This follows a similar San Francisco law. Mayoral approval isn't needed, and the ordinance will become law Dec. 19, said Rosenberg: “The city will start sending out notifications to property owners shortly.”