Verizon is expected to accept FCC Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II support in light of its pending sale of wireline systems in California, Florida and Texas to Frontier Communications (see 1502050059), said advocacy group officials in interviews this and last week. The company won't confirm that. It will submit a letter to the FCC on the funding, a Verizon spokesman told us Monday. Frontier had said in FCC filings that it will rely heavily on CAF Phase II funds to expand broadband to underserved and unserved areas of California and Texas. Because its transaction with Verizon likely won't be approved before the Thursday's CAF deadline, it can't apply to accept the federal funding for the states. Frontier has said it will accept the full $283.4 million in CAF Phase II support it's eligible for (see 1506160039).
Charter Communications filed for a rehearing of a Minnesota Public Utilities Commission order extending phone regulations (see 1507280060) to companies that provide services through fixed interconnected VoIP. The finding has consumer groups and lawyers alike talking about the bigger issue: Does Minnesota have the authority to regulate VoIP -- fixed or otherwise? On one side, some are saying that the PUC decision to regulate VoIP is against federal law. On the other, some consumer groups said the technology by which a service is delivered shouldn’t make it immune to regulation.
The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs and Public Safety bureaus' joint workshop Aug. 27 on promoting wider accessibility and increased use of the emergency alert system (EAS) (see 1508040030) will have three sessions, hear from Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and Public Safety Bureau Chief David Simpson, and include state and local officials, the FCC said in a public notice. The workshop will include a panel on ways to improve alert accessibility, such as synchronizing EAS audio and visual crawls, with Christian Vogler, director of Gallaudet University's Technology Access Program; Lillian McDonald, managing director of Twin Cities Public Television/Echo Minnesota Partnership; Charles McCobb, a program manager of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS); and Zainab Alkebsi, policy counsel at the National Association of the Deaf. A panel on promoting EAS use will be Jay English, APCO director-Comm Center & 9-1-1 services; Wade Witmer, IPAWS deputy director; Steve Souder, director of Fairfax County, Virginia's Department of Public Safety Communications; and Suzanne Goucher, Maine Association of Broadcasters CEO. The 1 to 4:30 p.m. workshop will be in the commission meeting room and streamed live at the FCC website. To register: John Evanoff, Public Safety Bureau attorney, at john.evanoff@fcc.gov or 202-418-0848.
Diversity in the tech and related industries is improving, and subject of much focus by large companies which still can do more to ease the burdens on minority-owned suppliers, executives said at an FCC workshop Thursday. Other experts have said similar in recent days, as more big tech companies are releasing more data about minority and female hiring (see 1508180055 and 1508120043). And Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said diversity is important and even part of the Telecom Act. Yet sometimes, diverse suppliers unprepared to land big orders can themselves be part of the problem, panelists said at the FCC's fourth annual event on supplier diversity.
A federal court slightly delayed briefing in Neustar's challenge to an FCC order giving Telcordia conditional rights to the next local number portability administrator (LNPA) contract (Neustar v. FCC, No. 15-1080). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Wednesday granted the joint motion of the Department of Justice, FCC and Neustar (the LNPA incumbent) to push back briefing due dates by a week or two to accommodate "competing work demands" (see 1508130042): Neustar's brief is now due Sept. 21; the FCC/DOJ's response Oct. 28; intervenors' brief supporting the FCC (CTIA, Telcordia and USTelecom) Nov. 12, Neustar's reply Nov. 25 and final briefs incorporating an appendix Dec. 17. Oral argument is usually held at least 45 days after briefing closes. Meanwhile, the FCC is moving ahead with efforts to transition the LNPA functions from Neustar to a Telcordia entity, subject to conditions and contract approval. Recognizing the need for certain communications between the LNPA entities, other telecom industry stakeholders and commission officials to carry out transition tasks seamlessly, the Wireline Bureau Tuesday exempted certain presentations from the agency's ex parte rules for disclosing FCC meetings and contacts, though it reminded parties that the agency can rely only on information placed on the record in making decisions.
The FCC’s push to extend Lifeline USF support to broadband is receiving support in early comments, but some state and local officials are concerned it could come at the expense of traditional phone services. Some Native American groups also have urged the commission to reach out more directly to tribal authorities to address their needs. Responding to several requests for more time, the FCC extended its Aug. 17 deadline to Aug. 31 for commenting on its NPRM to revamp its Lifeline USF support for low-income consumers (see 1508050032), but some parties filed comments in docket 11-42 by the original deadline.
States, many of which have never been very involved with telecom mergers and acquisitions, are losing what little authority they do have, experts said. They said that's bad for all stakeholders other than telcos. The state role always has been about documenting issues that could arise from an acquisition, because if the decision is left to only the FCC, harm unknown to federal officials could come to consumers, they said. Even in those states that still have a tough review process -- California and New York especially -- that authority doesn’t apply to all kinds of transactions, only to those in parts of the industry that the state commissions regulate.
Midsized telco wireline system acquisitions have produced broadband deployment and sharpened the landline consumer focus in affected states, telcos and interested parties said. Frontier Communications' takeover of Verizon (and AT&T) systems and CenturyLink’s takeover of Qwest generally receive good marks from state regulators, consumer advocates and others for completing difficult transitions and fulfilling most service obligations. But it’s not clear if FairPoint has recovered after choking on Verizon New England systems that increased its size sixfold; there is concern about Frontier’s pending acquisition of Verizon systems in California, Florida and Texas; and the sustainability of wireline telco business plans is in question.
CTIA asked the FCC to reconsider two “discrete” aspects of updated Lifeline program rules approved in June (see 1506180029). CTIA asked the FCC to reconsider declarations that Section 222(a) of the Communications Act “imposes a duty of confidentiality upon carriers, other than with respect to Customer Proprietary Network Information” and that Section 201(b) “imposes a duty upon carriers to implement data security measures.” The petition for partial reconsideration “seeks reconsideration solely with respect to the scope of the Commission’s authority under those two subsections of the Communications Act,” CTIA said Thursday. “CTIA’s member companies protect the privacy and security of wireless consumer information because consumers deserve and expect it,” General Counsel Tom Power said in a statement. “Members also abide by a wide array of state and federal privacy regulations. But in attempting to craft new data security rules specific to the Lifeline program, the FCC relied on the wrong laws to create additional regulation not authorized by Congress. The FCC’s fractured approach to data security is why CTIA supports even-handed regulation focused on the nature of the information, not the identity of the company holding it.”
Carriers and broadcasters face some quick decisions as the FCC moves toward the TV incentive auction, now projected to start March 29. Applications from both broadcasters and bidders for the spectrum they're willing to sell will be due at the FCC in a few months, agency officials said last week at the commission’s monthly meeting. One complicating factor for carriers is that the Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates in September, meaning raising capital to buy spectrum will become more expensive.