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FCC Waives 5-Year Reports for 2013, Clarifies Other ETC Annual Reporting Requirements

Posted on May 17, 2013

All ETCs will be required to file an annual report in 2013 pursuant to Rule 54.313, but in a recent Order the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) has tweaked and clarified certain reporting requirements.  The Order (1) waives the five-year service quality improvement plans reporting requirement for rate-of-return eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) in 2013; and (2) provides additional clarification of particular reporting obligations for 2013 and 2014.  First, the Bureau granted a limited waiver of the requirement that rate-of-return ETCs submit a five-year plan in 2013, though five-year plans will be required for their 2014 annual reports.  Because Connect America Phase (CAF) II price-cap carriers will be required to file their first five-year plans on July 1, 2014, this waiver brings conformity in five-year plan filing dates across all incumbent ETCs.

Additionally, the Bureau clarifies the following with respect to annual ETC reporting requirements:

  • Incumbent carrier ETCs will be required to file for 2013 information regarding (i) their holding company, operating companies, ETC affiliates and any branding in response to section 54.313(a)(8); (ii) their CAF-ICC certification, if applicable, in response to section 54.313(d); (iii) their financial information, if a privately held rate-of-return carrier, in response to section 54.313(f)(2); and (iv) their satellite backhaul certification, if applicable, in response to section 54.313(g).  Note that these additional requirements are in effect for 2013 reports but are still pending OMB approval.  The Bureau notes that it will give affected ETCs at least 30 days after approval is announced in the Federal Register to file the relevant information required in the 2013 annual report.
  • Regarding broadband-related data to be provided by rate-of-return ETCs in 2014, the Bureau clarifies that the relevant “customer” is the end-user customer of the retail broadband Internet access service, regardless of whether that customer purchases that retail service directly from the ETC or from an Internet service provider that purchases the ETC’s wholesale broadband transmission service offering.  The Bureau also clarifies that certifications regarding reasonable steps to offer broadband service must pertain to the provision of broadband Internet access either directly or indirectly to end-user customers.

For additional information, please contact Bob Silverman.

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FCC Grants Interim Waiver of Environmental Notice Requirements for Temporary Towers

Posted on May 17, 2013

The FCC has granted an interim waiver, pending initiation and completion of a rulemaking proceeding, of its Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) pre-construction environmental public notice requirements for temporary towers. This waiver will allow for the timely erection of temporary towers in response to unanticipated needs or short-term capacity constraints without creating significant risk of environmental harms. The environmental public notice requirement for ASRs is intended to facilitate public involvement in agency decisions that may affect the environment. Prior to filing a completed ASR application for a new antenna structure or a modification that involves a substantial increase in size; the applicant must provide local and national notice. CTIA-The Wireless Association filed a petition for an expedited rulemaking requesting an exception from the ASR public notice requirements to prevent disruption where a temporary facility is required to be deployed rapidly. CTIA noted that most two-month towers will be cell sites on light trucks (COLTs) and cell sites on wheels (COWs). The FCC’s interim waiver will apply to temporary towers that: (1) will be in use for 60 days or less; (2) require notice of construction to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); (3) do not require marking or lighting under FAA regulations; (4) will be less than 200 feet in height; and (5) involve no or minimal ground disturbance. The FCC stated that the interim waiver will remain in effect pending the initiation and completion of a rulemaking proceeding to consider CTIA’s request to permanently exempt two month towers form the ASR public notice procedures.

For additional information, please contact Marjorie Spivak.

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Rural Representatives Included by Genachowski on FCC’s CSRIC

Posted on May 17, 2013

The FCC has released a public notice announcing the names of the 57 newly appointed members to its Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC or Council).  Outgoing FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski formally appointed the members to the Council, which is a federal advisory committee that will provide recommendations to the FCC regarding best practices and actions the Commission may take to ensure the security, reliability, and interoperability of communications systems.  Larissa L. Herda, CEO and President of tw telecom, inc. is the new Chairwoman of CSRIC.  The rest of the Council members represent a diverse and balanced mix of viewpoint from:  public safety organizations; federal, state and local government agencies; the communications industry; organizations representing Internet users; utility companies; public interest organizations; and other experts.  The newly appointed Council members all have terms lasting two years.  Included on CSRIC is Mehran Nazari, Technology Advisor to RTG – The Rural Wireless Advocate, and Eric Woody, of the rural mobile operator Union Wireless.

For additional information, please contact Daryl Zakov.

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TracFone Asks FCC to Prohibit In-Person Distribution of Lifeline Phones

Posted on May 17, 2013

TracFone Wireless, Inc. (TracFone) has filed a petition asking the FCC to amend its rules to prohibit in-person distribution of handsets to prospective Lifeline customers.  TracFone’s rulemaking petition cites two purposes for the proposed rule: (1) to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of universal service fund resources, and (2) to improve the perception of the Lifeline program in the face of critics who have called for its elimination.  According to TracFone, Lifeline providers or their third-party agents often set up temporary booths or tents in parking lots or neighborhoods for the purpose of signing up consumers for prepaid wireless Lifeline service consisting of a free monthly allotment of minutes and a free handset.  TracFone argues that such situations invite opportunities for fraud (i.e., failure to properly verify customer eligibility).  TracFone offers prepaid wireless Lifeline service that provides a free handset to consumers when they initially sign up for service, but sends its handsets to subscribers via overnight delivery service only after they have submitted completed application forms.  Comments on TracFone’s petition are due on or before June 17, 2013, and reply comments are due July 2, 2013.

For additional information, please contact Tony Veach.

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Staff Report Recommends Changing Rate of Return to 8 Percent

Posted on May 17, 2013

The Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) has released a staff report that recommends changing the authorized rate of return for local exchange carriers (LECs).  As all rural incumbent LECs will recall, the further notice of proposed rulemaking that accompanied the USF/ICC Transformation Order sought comment on represcribing the authorized interstate rate of return for rate-of-return carriers, because it has not been updated since 1990 when it was reduced from 12 percent to 11.25 percent.  The Commission also stated that it no longer agreed that a rate of return of 11.25 percent is necessarily “just and reasonable” as required by the Communications Act.  In the staff report, the Bureau recommends that the FCC consider establishing the authorized rate of return between 8.06 percent and 8.72 percent.  Comment is requested on the data and procedures recommended in the report for updating the authorized rate of return.  Comments are due on or before July 25, 2013, and reply comments are due August 26, 2013.

For additional information, please contact Tony Veach.

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$450M of Unused E-Rate Funds to be Carried Forward

Posted on May 17, 2013

The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has announced that $450 million in unused funds will be carried forward to increase universal service schools and libraries program (E-Rate Program) disbursements in funding year 2013.  The E-Rate Program has a $2.25 billion annual funding cap that is adjusted annually due to inflation, but the FCC’s rules allow unused E-Rate funds to be carried forward for use in excess of the annual cap.  The excess funds will help ensure there is funding for all eligible priority one funding requests received in 2013.

For additional information, please contact Tony Veach.

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Wireline Bureau Sets Process for Challenging CAF Phase II Eligible Areas and Acceptance of State-Level Commitments

Posted on May 16, 2013

The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) has adopted a Report and Order that sets the framework for the challenge process that will be used to determine areas eligible for Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II support and establishes the procedures that price cap carriers will use to accept funding.  Pursuant to reforms adopted in the USF/ICC Transformation Order, Phase II of the CAF will offer model-based support to price-cap carriers for a term of five years, and if a carrier accepts support, it must make a “state-level commitment” to serve all eligible locations in its service territory in a state with voice and broadband service that complies with certain performance criteria.  The Report and Order states that the Bureau will publish an initial list of census blocks that are presumed unserved by an unsubsidized competitor and thus eligible for support, and parties will then have 45 days to challenge the list by presenting specific evidence showing that certain blocks should be excluded or included.  Parties will be allowed to oppose challenges but will also be required to present evidence.  Following the challenge period and finalization of CAF Phase II eligible areas, the Bureau will release a Public Notice announcing the CAF Phase II model-based support amounts for each incumbent price cap carrier’s eligible census blocks within a given state.  Price cap carriers will then be given 120 days to accept or decline that support on a state-by-state basis.  The timeframe for Phase II of the CAF remains in a state of flux, although the Bureau recently adopted an order finalizing parts of the CAF Phase II cost model.

For additional information, please contact Tony Veach.

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FCC Denies Petition for Use of 14.0-14.5 GHz Band by Critical Infrastructure Industry Users

Posted on May 16, 2013

The FCC has denied a 2008 petition for rulemaking filed by the Utilities Telecom Council and Winchester Cator, LLC (UTC/Winchester) that proposed a new secondary fixed service allocation in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band.  In its petition, UTC/Winchester advocated for use of the band by critical infrastructure industry (CII) users, such as electric utilities who could use the band to implement smart grid applications or first responders that may need additional communications channels.  UTC/Winchester also proposed the FCC issue rather than auction, a single nationwide license for the band to a CII entity that would function as a band manager and ensure stations operating in the band would not cause harmful interference to incumbent operations.  In denying the UTC/Winchester petition, the FCC initially found that UTC/Winchester’s licensing proposal would violate Section 309(j)(2)(A) of the Communications Act, and then explained  that the petition “makes assumptions about allocations, licensing and system operation that are not fully explained and that appear to rely on incorrect premises or that are inappropriate for the types of service that UTC-Winchester proposes.”  It should be noted that roughly a week earlier at its May 2013 open meeting, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing an air-ground mobile broadband service for planes, which would be a secondary allocation in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band.

For additional information, please contact Tony Veach.

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NECA Granted Waiver for De Minimis Changes to Traffic Sensitive Pool

Posted on May 15, 2013

The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) has granted the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) a limited waiver of the requirements in Section 51.909(a)(4) of the FCC’s rules which require an adjustment to pool switched access rate caps when carriers enter or exit NECA’s Traffic Sensitive Pool.  The waiver applies to the 2013-2014 annual access tariff filing period.  According to NECA’s April 9 petition, one rate-of-return carrier will enter NECA’s Traffic Sensitive Pool for the July 2013 – June 2014 tariff period and one carrier will exit the pool, which will impact rates by approximately 0.053 percent.  The Bureau agreed with NECA that the impact is de minimis and the costs of compliance with Section 51.909(a)(4) for the 2013-2014 tariff period outweigh the benefits, given the costs of notifying all NECA pool companies of the de minimis impact and requiring them to make corresponding tariff revisions within a very short timeframe.

For additional information, please contact Tony Veach.

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U.S. and Canada Agree on Interim Spectrum Sharing Arrangements

Posted on May 15, 2013

The FCC and Canada’s communications regulatory body, Industry Canada, have agreed on ten interim spectrum sharing arrangements covering wireless operations along the U.S.-Canada border.  According to an FCC news release, the spectrum sharing arrangements are expected to improve overall frequency coordination, facilitate the deployment of mobile broadband, improve public safety communications, and prevent interference problems along the shared border area of the two countries.  The 10 spectrum sharing arrangements cover the following:

  • 1850-1915 MHz and 1920-1995 MHZ for use by Personal Communications Services (PCS)
  • 1710-1755 and 2110-2155 MHz for use by Advanced Wireless Services (AWS)
  • 1670-1675 for use by Fixed and Mobile (except Aeronautical Mobile) Services
  • 1427-1432 MHz for use by Telemetry Systems and Subscriber Radio Systems
  • 4940-4990 MHz for use by Fixed and Mobile Services
  • 2155-2162 and 2500-2690 MHz for use by Terrestrial Stations
  • 849-851 and 894-896 MHz for use by Air-Ground Systems
  • 768-776 and 798-806 MHz for use by Land Mobile Services
  • 3650-3700 MHz for use by Fixed and Mobile Services
  • 160.200-161.580 MHz for use by Railroad Communications Systems

While the arrangements are considered interim, they were drafted in accordance with an existing spectrum treaty between the U.S. and Canada and may become part of that treaty or a replacement agreement.

For additional information, please contact Tony Veach.

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