The FCC has "ample statutory authority" and its rule on access stimulation is "reasonable," the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said Friday, denying Great Lakes Communications’ challenge to barring reciprocal compensation for long-distance and high-volume calls. Differential treatment of competitive carriers and rate-of-return carriers was reasonable because competitive carriers are "much more flexible” in their geographic footprint, Laurence Silberman wrote in per curiam order in case No. 19-1233. Silberman and Judges Robert Wilkins and Neomi Rao heard oral argument in May (see 2105040045). An attorney for Great Lakes didn’t comment.
USTelecom backs the Competitive Carriers Association and Nokia's request to proactively grant six-month extension for providers to “complete remove and replace initiatives,” it said in conversations with aides to FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and other commissioners’ staff, per a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-89 (see 2107070052). USTelecom said a scarcity in communications equipment and resin supply chain delays could slow the process for providers.
The FCC Wireline Bureau denied SpitwSpots' petition to claim emergency broadband benefit program reimbursement for a service that wasn't offered as of Dec. 1, said an order Wednesday in docket 20-445: The Dec. 1 restriction is “a statutory requirement that the commission cannot waive.”
FCC rules removing reference to the interoperability profile for relay user equipment for video relay service providers take effect Aug. 6, says Wednesday’s Federal Register. The document was initially scheduled for publication June 18 but withdrawn due to cancellation of that day’s publication in observance of Juneteenth (see 2106170068).
The FCC Wireline Bureau wants comment by Aug. 6, replies by Aug. 23 on whether to extend the letter of credit requirement waiver for Connect America Fund Phase II and rural broadband experiments support recipients beyond Dec. 31, said a public notice Tuesday on docket 10-90 (see 2006260031).
The FCC Wireline Bureau wants comment by July 20, replies by July 27, in docket 21-275 on Securus buying Embarq's Preferred inmate calling service, said a public notice Tuesday.
USTelecom asked the FCC Wireline Bureau and staff to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to dismiss Edison Electric Institute's petition for the commission to “reduce its authority” on awarding refunds in pole attachment complaint proceedings, said an ex parte letter posted Friday in docket 17-84 (see 2106110050). USTelecom said EEI’s claim that its petition was unopposed was because the commission hasn't sought comment. “The petition is, and will be, opposed,” USTelecom said. It “does not meet the legal requirements for a declaratory ruling because there is no controversy, uncertainty, or lack of guidance under the commission’s existing rules” and is “inappropriately attempting to seek reconsideration of commission precedent that correctly rejected a notice requirement and a one-size-fits-all statute of limitations for pole attachment complaints,” the letter said.
The FCC Office of Native Affairs and Policy and the Wireline Bureau scheduled a virtual training and listening session for tribal leaders on the Emergency Connectivity Fund July 15 from 2-4 p.m. EDT, said a public notice in Thursday’s Daily Digest. The event will also be live-streamed on the commission’s YouTube channel.
The FCC Wireline Bureau wants comments by Aug. 2 on proposed changes to the 2022 annual and quarterly telecom reporting worksheets, and instructions for reporting 2021 revenue, said a public notice Thursday in docket 06-122.
The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau announced new telecom relay service rates for FY 2021-22, said an order Wednesday in docket 03-123. Interstate rates are $4.1944 per minute for TTY-based TRS; $5.3254 for speech-to-speech relay service; $2.3662 for captioned telephone service; and $1.7146 for IP relay service. The order didn't address IP captioned telephone service and video relay service rates. The bureau approved a funding requirement of $1.3 billion based on compensation levels, projected demand and projected TRS fund administration expenses. The carrier contribution factors are 0.01331 for non-IP CTS TRS and 0.00831 for IP CTS. The bureau granted T-Mobile's request to renew its waiver to allow recovery of outreach costs and denied the provider's request for an increase in the recommended compensation level to cover indirect overhead costs. T-Mobile “has not demonstrated with particularity good cause to depart from the general rule prohibiting indirect recovery of overhead on a non-cost-causative basis,” the order said.