Sandwich Isles Communications faces $77 million in repayment duties and proposed fines from the FCC for violations and apparent violations of the USF high-cost program in Hawaii, with more repayments to come. The commission also ruled against SIC in a cost dispute with AT&T and the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) over an undersea cable. The agency noted Sandwich Isles has continuing obligations to its customers and can't discontinue telecom service without express authorization.
Members of Senate leadership didn’t rule out a possible leadership-level deal under discussion to reconfirm FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel before Congress leaves in a matter of days. But the bipartisan Commerce Committee legislation stalled as a result of her holdup is likely doomed this session, its author and his principal telecom staffer said. A deal on Rosenworcel is believed to be the key to moving these bills through the Senate.
Consolidated Communications plans to buy FairPoint Communications in an all-stock transaction valued at about $1.5 billion, including debt, the companies said Monday. The combining of the midsized incumbent telcos is expected to close by mid-2017, subject to standard closing conditions, including federal and state regulatory approvals, they said, noting the boards of both companies already gave unanimous approvals. Analysts told us they don't expect major regulatory obstacles.
Most of the FCC's broadband privacy rules will take effect Jan. 3, said a summary of the agency's order published in the Federal Register Friday. Not yet taking effect are four sections of the order that contain information collection requirements that haven't been approved by the Office of Management and Budget. Another section, 64.2005, takes effect March 2. The FCC adopted the broadband privacy order 3-2 (see 1610270036), but it's seen as likely to be reversed after the Republican election victory (see 1611090034). The privacy order was based on the commission's reclassification of broadband under Title II of the Communications Act, which itself is seen as highly vulnerable .
A California probe into telecom market competition could foreshadow an increased state oversight role next year when the FCC changes political parties, officials said. Supporting a 5-0 decision Thursday by the California Public Utilities Commission, CPUC Commissioner Mike Florio said the state must aggressively oversee telecom due to the possibility of a weakened federal commission under a President Donald Trump. The CPUC ordered a staff report on competition, requiring communications providers to report data on voice and broadband subscribers and business data services. The commission flagged competitive bottlenecks in the telecom market and teed up a rulemaking on access to poles.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit surprised many on both sides of the fight over net neutrality rules and broadband reclassification when it upheld the FCC across the board. After Dec. 4, 2015, oral argument on industry challenges to the 2015 rules (see Part III of this Special Report, 1610130014), the D.C. Circuit issued its decision June 14. That ruling was the subject of two Communications Daily Bulletins that day (see 1606140010 and 1606140012) and many more later stories. This final Part IV of the net neutrality Special Report focuses on the court ruling and continuing challenges.
Even before the FCC released its net neutrality rules on March 12, 2015, ISP interests signaled they would take the agency to court. The likes of CTIA and NCTA predicted lawsuits, as reported in Part I of this Special Report (see 1609150017). Even FCC officials predicted such suits -- accurately, as it turned out. This Part II focuses on how litigation came to pass. Part III reports how the commission won an initial court case (see 1610130014).
A large majority of Americans remain unable to text 911 for help in emergency situations, but some local authorities continue to question calls to support SMS at public safety answering points (PSAPs), 911 officials said in interviews. The National Emergency Number Association is frustrated the rollout isn’t going faster, said NENA Director-Government Affairs Trey Forgety. “If everyone made a decision that text-to-911 had to be implemented before the end of the year 2017, it could be done easily.” Localities are sympathetic to the need for text-to-911 but worry there's not a sufficient business model to move forward, said Fire Chief Don Crowson of Arlington, Texas. “We’re not resistant. We’re concerned.”
The latest iteration of net neutrality rules formally kicked off with a 3-2 party-line vote by FCC members in front of a standing-room-only crowd on Feb. 26, 2015. After many twists and turns in a lengthy process with millions of comments submitted, that included a significant course correction by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, the final order was released in March 2015. It reclassified broadband as a Title II telecom service subject to some common-carrier regulation under the Communications Act.
Another American Enterprise Institute scholar, Roslyn Layton, was added to the FCC landing team of President-elect Donald Trump, his transition team said Tuesday in a release on various appointments. Layton is a critic of FCC orders on net neutrality and broadband privacy and efforts to regulate set-top boxes, a skeptic of regulating zero-rating plans, and a proponent of government-industry spectrum sharing.