USTelecom issued three white papers on the business broadband market since the 1996 Telecom Act. The papers look at the Internet economy growth, the rise of competition in the broadband business market and the FCC's related role (see here, here and here), said a USTelecom release. "These papers document the huge successes in this marketplace, which are exactly the competitive outcome Congress envisioned, and that the FCC has said it wants to see,” said USTelecom CEO Walter McCormick. “We hope the FCC will innovate with us by modernizing policy and regulation so industry can leverage the competition we have today to a greater future for tomorrow.” The FCC is reviewing special access services in the business broadband market.

The Senate voted 75-20 Tuesday to approve the conference version of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (HR-644), with language from the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (PITFA) attached, as expected (see 1602100061). President Barack Obama intends to sign HR-644, the White House said in a statement. The House passed the conference version of HR-644 in December (see 1512110058). Industry stakeholders praised Senate passage of HR-644 with the PITFA language intact. Some also noted what they view as a renewed fight against consideration of the Marketplace Fairness Act (S-698), which would let states tax remote sellers that have annual revenue exceeding $1 million.

Any FCC broadband privacy rules should be consistent with the FTC approach, which is “flexible” and “time-tested,” said seven communications industry groups as a related rulemaking looms. The FTC framework is “grounded in prohibiting unfairness and deception” and protects consumer privacy while accommodating innovative models in a dynamic market, said the American Cable Association, Competitive Carriers Association, CTA, CTIA, Internet Commerce Coalition, NCTA and USTelecom, which sent a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Thursday. Three weeks ago, consumer-oriented groups urged the FCC to start a broadband privacy rulemaking, in what observers said was a likely prelude to one (see 1601190077). The FCC could consider a broadband privacy Further NPRM at its March 31 meeting, informed sources told us Thursday.

Charter Communications' broadband-related commitments should be extended to 10 years in any regulatory approval of its buying Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable, Public Knowledge said in an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in FCC docket 15-149. It recapped a meeting between PK and FCC staff including Owen Kendler, who's heading the commission working team overseeing the deals' review. At the meeting, PK argued Charter's proposed broadband-related conditions aren't enough to protect the public interest, largely because their three-year span is too short. "If the purpose of such conditions is, among other things, to protect consumers by ensuring that online video has an opportunity to grow without being thwarted by cable incumbents, then any such conditions must be of a sufficient duration to allow new competition to develop," PK said. The group said it did applaud Charter's aversion to data caps, "were the commitment to be sufficiently extended." It also said it highlighted a number of public interest dangers it saw in Charter/TWC/BHN. Also armed with a litany of dangers, Stop Mega Cable Coalition members met with FCC staff to urge the agency "solve or prevent the harms" that would come with the $89.1 billion deals, said a separate ex parte filing Tuesday in the docket. Involved in the meetings were coalition representatives from Common Cause, Consumers Union, Demand Progress, Dish Network, Future of Music Coalition, Open Technology Institute, NTCA, Public Knowledge, USTelecom and Zoom Telephonics. They met with FCC staffers including front-line representatives of Chairman Tom Wheeler, and separately with members of the transaction team including Kendler and Media Bureau Director Bill Lake. The meetings were Friday, the day USTelecom announced it was leaving the coalition over a disagreement about the goal of stopping Charter/TWC/BHN, with USTelecom interested in it being approved with conditions (see 1602050056). According to the ex parte, coalition members said dangers of Charter/TWC/BHN include the potential of New Charter and Comcast acting as gatekeepers to the over-the-top market due to their high-speed broadband market share, the outsized leverage New Charter would have over small and independent programmers, and the increased power New Charter would have to block out competing modem manufacturers. In a statement, Charter said its "pro-broadband and online video friendly approach, which has won the support of industry leaders like Netflix, includes no data caps, no usage based billing, a commitment to an open internet and a generous interconnection policy." Charter also said it "continue[s] to engage with the FCC on their thorough review of the pending transactions.”

Alaska Communications and USTelecom opposed General Communications Inc.'s petition for the FCC to reconsider its decision to relieve local telcos of equal access and dialing parity duties in rural Alaska as part of a broader order on a USTelecom forbearance request (see 1601280031). Both entities' opposition filings were posted Tuesday in docket 14-192. The FCC should dismiss GCI's petition as defective, or deny it because it failed to show the commission erred in providing the forbearance relief from the "outdated" rules, said Alaska Communications, which already had told us it would oppose the petition (see 1601290045). "The decision to forbear was a reasoned response to the dramatic changes in the wireline voice market since these requirements were established, and the equal access and dialing parity obligations are no longer necessary for competition and consumer protection going forward," USTelecom said.

The FCC would reduce rural telcos’ rate of return from 11.25 percent to 9.75 percent over six years under a USTelecom and NTCA proposal to revamp USF mechanisms for broadband coverage. The groups also proposed broadband buildout obligations requiring RLECs to reach up to 80 percent of unserved locations over five years and a screen for phasing out USF support in high-cost areas where unsubsidized competitors reach 85 percent of locations, said a filing posted Monday in docket 10-90. It summarized a meeting last week with senior FCC officials, including Chairman Tom Wheeler. NTCA, WTA and individual RLECs made separate filings citing concerns and offering proposals. Wheeler is said to be interested in circulating a draft order soon (see 1602040055).

CenturyLink and USTelecom sought to back AT&T's challenge to FCC decisions declining to remove price-cap telco "eligible telecom carrier" obligations to offer voice service in high-cost areas where they no longer receive USF subsidies under a broadband-oriented Connect America Fund (see 1601110036). "The result is an unfunded mandate," CenturyLink said in a Thursday motion for leave to intervene filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which is reviewing the case (AT&T v. FCC, No. 16-1002). USTelecom's motion said AT&T is challenging an FCC order issued in response to a USTelecom forbearance petition (see 1512170052). Meanwhile, Bruce Kushnick of the New Networks Institute said the FCC based much of its USTelecom forbearance order "on biased and manipulated information or else major facts were totally ignored." In a filing posted Thursday in docket 14-192, the institute asked the commission to investigate "the data used in this and every related FCC order." Kushnick alleged major telcos have manipulated their accounting to gain regulatory advantages (see 1512230049).

IDT Telecom received somewhat more support than opposition to its bid for an FCC rulemaking aimed at expanding the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Fund’s revenue base to include the intrastate revenue of industry contributors (see 1512210029). IDT’s petition got support from a coalition of consumer groups that advocate for the rights of the deaf and hard of hearing, and from some industry parties, including two video relay service (VRS) providers. But a VoIP industry group opposed the petition and an incumbent telco group said the FCC shouldn't make changes to the TRS Fund’s contribution at this time. The initial comments of parties were posted in docket 03-123 Thursday and Friday. The FCC currently assesses industry interstate and international telecom end-user revenue to pay for the TRS Fund.

Landline telcos' largest trade group quit a coalition of telcos, pay-TV providers, consumer groups and others that has been seeking to block Charter Communications' planned buys of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable. Meanwhile, FCC staff asked executives of two major programmers to discuss the pair of deals worth about $90 billion, said filings posted Friday in docket 15-149. The staffers are asking programmers questions about video market competition and past transaction conditions as part of the agency's review of Charter/TWC/BHN.

FCC talks with rural telcos over potential USF restructuring have intensified, industry filings this week indicate. USTelecom and NTCA executives have had a number of recent meetings with senior FCC officials, including Chairman Tom Wheeler, to discuss proposals to update rate-of-return USF mechanisms and related concerns, said filings for the groups in docket 10-90. Wheeler appears interested in circulating a draft order soon, informed sources told us Thursday. An FCC spokesman had no comment.