Telco and cable interests opposed a consumer group petition for reconsideration that asked the FCC to put more of the onus and cost for implementing new backup power solutions on fixed-service providers and less on consumers (see 1511170042). Rules in an August tech transition order (see 1508060044) "promote access to 911 service by customers of non-line-powered, fixed voice service providers during commercial power outages in a manner that appropriately reflects consumer expectations regarding access to emergency communications," said the American Cable Association, NCTA and USTelecom in a filing Thursday in docket 14-174. "The Commission’s actions were based upon extensive comments from all interests, including Petitioners, and substantial evidence about the diminishing reliance that consumers have elected to place on line-powered voice service. The Petition counters none of these facts and thus offers no basis for the Commission to make any change to those rules, and therefore it should be rejected." In its opposition posted Friday, CenturyLink said the petition filed by the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) and other groups "is procedurally infirm and otherwise without merit." The ITTA, NTCA and Fiber to the Home Council Americas filed oppositions last week (here, here and here). The NASUCA petition did pick up backing from the International Association of Fire Chiefs earlier last week, which said the order abandoned core public safety and consumer protection principles. "In enabling new technologies for 911, the standard of performance should be reliability that is at least equivalent to the current universal access landline telephone network. The Rule and Order fail to meet this standard," the IAFC said in a letter to the FCC. "The IAFC supports the petitioners’ request and respectfully requests the FCC reconsider its Rule and Order as outlined by the petitioners and place responsibility upon the carriers for ensuring the continuity of 911 communications. The Rule and Order as written will negatively impact the ability of individuals to reach 911."

The FCC Monday released the text of an order partially granting a USTelecom petition for ILEC forbearance relief from certain regulatory requirements. "We grant full or partial forbearance from the majority of categories of requirements covered by the petition for forbearance filed by the United States Telecom Association (USTelecom) pursuant to section 10 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended," said the 90-page order, which was adopted by commissioners Dec. 17 (see 1512170052). The order (in docket 14-192) included partial dissents from three commissioners, though not on the same parts in all three cases.

Disagreements whether a proposed permanent ban on Internet access taxes should have been included in customs reauthorization legislation have left the bill stalled in the Senate and fogged up the prospect for quick movement of the trade legislation on the Senate floor. Because that language was inserted into the act’s conference report after being omitted from the original customs bills passed by the House and Senate, it could be subject to a point of order, which supporters of the ban would need 60 votes to waive, said a lobbyist and congressional staffer. The House passed the bill, Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (HR-644), Dec. 11, but the Senate hasn't scheduled a vote on the bill.

The FCC is looking to overhaul rate-of-return USF systems fairly early in 2016, rural telco representatives told us. To support and spur broadband deployment, the commission is pursuing a two-track plan that would both modernize legacy subsidy flows and give rural carriers an optional new mechanism based on a cost model, they said Wednesday. The FCC’s “message to industry is ‘let’s keep working and see where we get to,’” said Lynn Follansbee, USTelecom vice president-law and policy. “I have no doubt that we will get to an order sometime early next year.”

Federal judges denied the motion of William Cunningham to file an amicus brief in the FCC net neutrality and broadband reclassification case (USTelecom v. FCC, No. 15-1063). A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a short order Monday denying the motion without further comment. Cunningham had asked Dec. 7 that his amicus brief be allowed months after a deadline because he isn't a lawyer and didn't have access to the court's "ECF System" for making filings.

The FCC partially granted an incumbent telco request to extend the comment period in the rulemaking on special access business data services. An order issued Monday by the Wireline Bureau in docket 05-25 extended initial and reply comment deadlines to Jan. 22 and Feb. 19, respectively; they had been Jan. 6 and Feb. 5. USTelecom joined by ITTA filed a joint petition asking the deadlines be extended until at least 12 weeks after business market data submitted by industry parties was declared final and all software tools sought by the petitioners to analyze the data were made available (see 1511100068). "Even with the data set subject to refresh, parties have been able to perform significant analysis," the bureau said. "Although we find the Joint Petitioners have not demonstrated the need for a twelve week extension of time, we will extend the comment deadlines by an additional two and a half weeks to account for the upcoming data refresh."

The FCC gave incumbent telcos relief from “obsolete” phone regulations while preserving others it said are needed to protect consumers and competition. The commission approved an order at Thursday’s meeting granting several USTelecom requests that the agency forbear from requiring ILECs to meet certain requirements on wholesale network access (including to some conduits), stand-alone residential long-distance service, and “enhanced services.” But it denied ILECs relief from duties to provide voice service in certain rural areas, safeguards for “enterprise” stand-alone long-distance service, and a prohibition against “contract tariffs” for business data services in some areas.

An FCC draft order to grant USTelecom's forbearance petition in various areas is expected to be adopted Thursday without major changes despite CLEC pushback, agency officials told us Wednesday. XO and others pressed the FCC not to give ILECs relief from duties to share newly deployed feeder conduits with competitors at regulated rates (see 1512110062). They said USTelecom hadn't justified the forbearance and the competitors still need regulated access to such "entrance conduits" to reach the buildings of business customers. But the commission appears unlikely to back off the draft's proposal to give ILECs relief from regulated sharing of entrance conduits for “greenfield" developments, the officials said. A CLEC representative suggested Wednesday the agency could be setting a bad precedent. "If they let it go through as is, you have to ask: are they creating a low bar for future forbearance petitions?" the CLEC representative said. "A lot of this stuff is market specific. Are they going to allow them to skate by without the evidence." The commission is to vote at its Thursday meeting on a draft order on the USTelecom petition (see 1512100063), and agency officials indicated the item would give incumbent telcos relief from several requirements, including to offer wholesale access (see 1511240070 and 1511250047).

The FCC Wireline Bureau received generally good marks on its productivity from communications industry representatives we interviewed for this Communications Daily Special Report, even amid gradually declining budgets and staff sizes at the agency overall (see 1512150011). The bureau is seen by most as working hard to generate a large number of regulatory actions on a wide array of complex and contentious issues, with progress in addressing some backlogs. “I can’t think of any specific areas where the Wireline Competition Bureau is lagging,” said Micah Caldwell, ITTA vice president-regulatory affairs. Caldwell was the only person interviewed for this article willing to be cited by name; the rest either requested anonymity or declined to comment altogether on the bureau’s output and performance.

Rural telcos are taking different tactical approaches as the FCC looks to overhaul rate-of-return USF subsidies for the broadband era. NTCA this week suggested a two-step path for giving rate-of-return carriers the option of receiving high-cost funding support based on a broadband cost model. The small-carrier RLEC group said the FCC could “adopt the concept of a model-based support option in relatively short order” that defines "key parameters" -- along with a standalone-broadband fix and other changes -- while taking more time to fine-tune the model. But ITTA, representing midsize carriers, said the FCC should soon approve a model-based mechanism in one order.