The FCC asked a court to continue to hold in abeyance a technology transition case while the agency considers related wireline broadband issues. The agency said USTelecom challenged a regulatory interpretation of Communications Act Section 214 in two tech transition orders. "The Commission has initiated a rulemaking in which it proposes to reverse the statutory interpretation it adopted in those orders," said an FCC status report (in Pacer) Tuesday to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in USTelecom v. FCC, No. 15-1414. It noted the comment period for the wireline infrastructure deployment rulemaking closed July 17 (see 1706160041 and 1707170047), and added: "The FCC’s staff currently is reviewing the record ... and will prepare a draft order to present to the Commissioners for a vote." The FCC is interested in taking infrastructure deployment actions by year-end, said Jonathan Adelstein, CEO of the Wireless Infrastructure Association and a member of the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, Friday (see 1708180043).

Telco officials urged the FCC to launch a rulemaking to permit rate-of-return carriers receiving model-based USF support to opt into relaxed price-cap business data service regulations. There was "only one comment substantively opposing" an ITTA/USTelecom petition for rulemaking, "and that comment was, in reality, an improper attempt to relitigate the Commission’s actions with respect to business data services for price cap carriers," said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 17-144 on a discussion ITTA, USTelecom and Consolidated Communications officials had with Wireline Bureau Chief Kris Monteith and other staffers. Sprint opposed the petition outright, though others raised concerns about some aspects of it (see 1707060051 and 1707070030). The petition "is designed to further move model-based rate-of-return carriers towards price cap regulation by removing one of the last vestiges of legacy rate-of-return regulation applicable to such carriers," the telco filing said. The officials also discussed the applicability of a BDS "competitive market test to model-based rate-of-return carriers, the need for such carriers to continue receiving [Connect America Fund-intercarrier compensation] support and for an associated exception to the 'all or nothing' rule, and the public interest rationales underlying the petition."

Kelley Drye elects Marisa Lorenzo partner and Mike Dover promoted to special counsel, both in the Communications Practice Group ... Technology Policy Institute adds John Horrigan, ex-Pew Research Center, as senior fellow ... Alan Devlin, ex-FTC Competition Bureau (see 1707050037), rejoins Latham & Watkins as counsel, Global Antitrust & Competition practice in the Litigation & Trial Department, working on issues including transactions and intellectual property ... USTelecom promotes Robert Mayer to senior vice president-cybersecurity ... Pandora hires Todd Novick, ex-WTTG Washington, as political, advocacy and government East Coast sales manager.

Business data service litigants proposed a consensus briefing schedule and format to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, reviewing four petitions challenging the FCC April BDS order (see 1704200020). Opening briefs of two sets of petitioners that basically believe the order was overly regulatory or overly deregulatory would be due Sept. 26, with the brief of respondents FCC and DOJ due Nov. 10, briefs of different intervenors supporting different parts of the order due Nov. 17, and reply briefs of petitioners due Dec. 11 (final briefs incorporating an appendix would be Jan. 2), said a motion (in Pacer) filed Thursday by CenturyLink on behalf of "all other Petitioners, Respondents, and Intervenors" in Citizens Telecommunications v. FCC, No. 17-2296, and consolidated cases. The motion, which proposed word limits for briefs, said it tried to streamline the arguments and briefs. It said telco petitioners CenturyLink and Citizens expect to argue the order reduces price-cap ILEC rates more quickly than justified in areas that remain regulated. It said petitioners Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee, BT Americas, Granite Telecommunications, Incompas, Sprint and Windstream joined by Access Point, Alpheus Communications, New Horizon Communications and Xchange Telecom expect to argue the order deregulated price-cap ILEC rates in areas without adequate competition and without adequate notice, justification and factual support. Telco intervenors AT&T, CenturyLink and USTelecom, and cable intervenors NCTA and Comcast expect to defend different aspects of deregulation, while intervenors Ad Hoc and others expect to defend rate reductions, the motion said.

Some parties opposed a Great Plains Communications request for waiver relief that the telco says would cause "an extreme increase of switched access rates as a result of leaving the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) traffic sensitive pool" (see 1706300038). South Dakota Telecommunications and the North Dakota Association of Telecommunications Carriers said Great Plains "presented no unique circumstances that would justify a waiver." It needs a waiver "solely because of matters bearing upon its due diligence before exiting the NECA switched access pool," said their reply, posted Wednesday in docket 10-90. But Great Plains said initial comments "confirm that special circumstances exist and granting the requested relief is in the public interest." A "diverse set of commenters" -- including Verizon, USTelecom, ITTA and Consolidated Companies -- "agree that a nearly 150% increase in switched access rates not only undermines the transition to bill-and-keep, but could also exacerbate rural call completion problems and increase rates to consumers and businesses in Nebraska," Great Plains said. Nebraska legacy rate-of-return carriers are concerned granting the waiver, plus "identical or substantially similar waiver petitions by other RLECs seeking like treatment that are certain to follow, will adversely affect those RLECs that remained -- in fact, that in many cases were forced to remain -- on the Rate of Return [RoR] Path by increasing the percentage reductions of their High Cost Loop Support and Connect America Fund - Broadband Loop Support ('CAF-BLS') imposed by [FCC] budget control mechanisms." WTA also voiced concern about "me-too" waivers that could disrupt others' funding, but proposed a solution. NECA said the FCC "should consider the fact that a number of carriers electing to exit the NECA pools may experience significant percentage increases in rates."

Putting limits on legal blocking of calls and making voice providers offer free caller ID authentication by the end of 2018 were among filers' suggestions in comments in docket 17-97 on a call authentication notice on inquiry. There also was broad, but not universal, opposition to mandating any approach. Commissioners adopted the NOI at the July meeting (see 1707130054), with comments due Monday and replies Sept. 13.

A court set oral argument for 9:30 a.m. Oct. 26 on an ILEC challenge to FCC orders that granted incumbent telcos only partial forbearance from USF service obligations. Three-judge panels reviewing a case will usually be named 30 days prior to argument, said the order (in Pacer) of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in AT&T v. FCC, No. 15-1038, which listed USTelecom and CenturyLink as intervenors. Price-cap telco and FCC briefs last year argued the merits of commission decisions leaving carriers subject to unsubsidized legacy USF voice duties on an interim basis in areas where they don't receive new broadband-oriented Connect America Fund support (see 1607120073, 1609070029 and 1609300037).

House Commerce Committee’s meetings last week with communications and tech sector officials about the path forward on net neutrality legislation yielded some progress, underscoring that longstanding roadblocks remain to agreement on a consensus bill (see 1708070068), lobbyists told us. House Commerce staffers met with stakeholders in multiple sessions on how to modify a 2015 discussion draft from then-committee Chairman Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., current Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., that House Commerce is using as a starting point (see 1506040046 and 1707310066).

The FCC now has a full house, with Brendan Carr and Jessica Rosenworcel sworn in as commissioners Friday. Meanwhile, the FCC found middle ground on net neutrality replies, extending the deadline for two weeks, from Wednesday until Aug. 30. It took a little longer than expected for Carr and Rosenworcel to be sworn in because of delays in transmitting their paperwork from the White House to the FCC (see 1708090065). Tom Green, head-human resources management, swore in both commissioners.

Parties backed an FCC proposal to end payphone auditing and reporting duties that the commission said appear outdated, in comments posted in docket 17-141 Wednesday and Thursday responding to an NPRM (see 1706220036). The annual duties apply to carriers completing payphone calls to ensure payphone operators are properly compensated, and were waived for 2017 and 18 amid the rulemaking. "While popular at one time, payphones have become virtually extinct since the current Commission rules were adopted," commented USTelecom. "Eliminate 47 C.F.R § 64.1320(f) relating to the annual payphone tracking system audit requirement; eliminate or significantly amend 47 C.F.R. § 64.1310(a)(3) relating to the requirement of a quarterly sworn statement by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of any carrier that completes calls originating from payphones (Completing Carrier); eliminate 47 C.F.R. §§ 64.1301(a-d) relating to expired interim requirements; and eliminate 47 C.F.R. §§ 64.1320(a)-(e) and (g) relating to the initial payphone call tracking system audit and attendant requirements." Also supporting eliminating some or all those rules: ITTA, Verizon, CenturyLink, Cincinnati Bell Any Distance, Puerto Rico Telephone, Sprint and NCTA.