No major changes were made to the final Further NPRM approved during the FCC's Thursday meeting tightening rules for gateway providers to curb illegal robocalls originating abroad, according to our comparison to the draft (see 2109240060). Comments will be due 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, 60 days for replies.
The FCC Wireline Bureau released its annual Form 499-A telecom reporting worksheet and instructions for reporting 2021 revenue in 2022, said a public notice Friday in docket 06-122. It also released a quarterly Form 499-Q telecom reporting worksheet and instructions to report this year’s projected and collected revenue.
The FCC Wireline Bureau extended Inteliquent's waiver of access stimulation rules for the fifth time, until Dec. 1, citing COVID-19, said an order Thursday in docket 18-155 (see 2103230060). The bureau granted a three-month waiver instead of the six months Inteliquent sought due to the pandemic's “rapidly changing circumstances.”
NTCA asked FCC Wireline Bureau staff to act on the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates' petition for reconsideration of the phase-down of Lifeline voice-only support set for Dec. 1, said an ex parte posted Thursday in docket 11-42 (see 2108030072). There's a “need for swift commission action on the NASUCA petition” because “many low-income consumers continue to rely on voice service for critical communications,” the group said.
Industry and advocates disagreed whether the FCC should include ancillary fees or security and surveillance costs in inmate calling services rates, in comments posted Tuesday in docket 12-375 (see 2105200044). Security and surveillance costs "are neither necessary for the provision of communication services nor do they serve [ICS] consumers or the general public," said Worth Rises. There's "no reason that the staff time of a correctional officer should be reflected in rates for phone service, and security and surveillance should not be a profit center," said the United Church of Christ, New America's Open Technology Institute, Free Press, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, National Consumer Law Center and Public Knowledge. Global Tel*Link and the National Sheriffs Association (NSA) disagreed. Facilities' costs "must include the security and surveillance costs" for providing ICS, said GTL. NSA said some security and administrative tasks are "directly related to and necessary for the provision of inmate calling services." The Prison Policy Initiative asked the FCC to prohibit revenue-sharing agreements between providers and third-party financial institutions. "We do not understand the justification for an ancillary charge in this circumstance above $3.00 and as high as $6.95" for single-call services, said NASUCA. Ensure sufficient cost recovery for facilities if site commissions are regulated, said Pay Tel. Securus backed "phasing out" site commissions from rates and "eliminating duplicative ancillary service charges." NCIC asked the FCC to consider NSA's 2015 data that suggested relying on facilities-based ICS costs rather than provider-generated proposals to develop permanent ICS rates. PPI said NSA's study "suffers from a plethora of problems." Consider how other states are adopting intrastate rates, said the California Public Utilities Commission: Those rates "are multiple times lower than the FCC's proposed interstate rate caps," and the agency should consider if its proposed caps are too high "in light of the ICS providers’ assertions that they incur little to no cost differential to provide interstate versus intrastate calling services." Commenters overwhelmingly backed efforts to expand access to telecom relay services for deaf and hard of hearing incarcerated people. Publicize "the importance of facilities and ICS providers asking individuals whether they require TRS upfront," asked Hamilton Relay. It may not be "administratively feasible" to allow incarcerated individuals to choose their IP captioned telephone service provider, said ClearCaptions. Amend TRS rules "to the maximal extent necessary" to limit barriers to access to communications services for deaf and hard of hearing incarcerated people, said a coalition that included Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Communications Services for the Deaf, Hearing Loss Association of America, and National Disability Rights Network. Prohibit ICS providers from charging for "all forms of TRS calls," they said.
Duke Energy Florida (DEF) asked the FCC Enforcement Bureau to reconsider parts of its Aug. 27 order granting AT&T's pole attachment complaint, said a petition posted Tuesday in proceeding No. 20-276 (see 2108300033). Duke said the bureau “misapplied the standard of proof" under the FCC's 2011 order and "incorrectly rejected evidence presented by [Duke] regarding the value of the net material advantages to AT&T under the joint use agreement." AT&T's entitlement to the old telecom rate "does not allow DEF to recoup its actual costs associated with the JUA," the utility said.
The FCC Wireline Bureau waived certain Connect America Fund filing obligations for Nucla-Naturita Telephone, said an order posted in Wednesday's Daily Digest. The provider sought waiver for failing to timely file certifications for about 300 locations in March 2019. The bureau said NNTC "mistakenly certified only the first page of its location submission instead of certifying each page."
The FCC Enforcement Bureau denied Wide Voice's petition for reconsideration of its June 9 order granting AT&T and Verizon's complaint about access stimulation rule violations, said an order posted Tuesday in docket 20-362 (see 2106090080). Wide Voice's challenge to the order's conclusion on call congestion “does not identify any material error, omission, or reason warranting a change in the order’s conclusion” and “does not present any evidence of bad faith discovery tactics,” the order said. The bureau also dismissed the petition on procedural grounds. Attorneys for Wide Voice didn't comment.
The FCC Wireline Bureau wants comments by Oct. 8, replies by Oct. 15, in docket 21-340 on Stonepeak's proposed buy of Lumen's Latin American business, said a public notice listed in Monday's Daily Digest (see 2107260056).
The FCC committed more than $1.2 billion in Emergency Connectivity Fund support for 3,040 schools, 260 libraries and 24 consortiums, it said Friday (see 2108250032). "The enthusiastic response to this program highlights just how much help is needed, and we look forward to providing additional support through our second application window that opens on September 28," said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. An additional round of funding commitments is expected "in coming weeks," said the agency.