FCC Bureau Partially Grants Windstream Waiver to Make Up for Uncollected Halo Charges
FCC staff partially granted a Windstream waiver petition seeking added compensation to make up for intrastate access charges it billed to Halo Wireless in 2010-11 but was unable to collect (see 1509020059). The Wireline Bureau said it was acting "consistent…
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with precedent" to allow Windstream to recover through intercarrier compensation (ICC) certain funds that it wasn't able to collect from Halo "due to an access charge avoidance scheme and subsequent bankruptcy" filing. "Windstream demonstrates good cause to include in its recovery calculations revenue associated with traffic eligible for compensation that was terminated during [FY 2011] and that otherwise meets the criteria spelled out in our revenue recovery rules," said a bureau order Wednesday in docket 01-92. "Including such revenue in Windstream’s revenue calculations, subject to [certain] conditions ... conforms to the policies underlying the recovery mechanism" adopted in a 2011 USF/ICC overhaul order, said the bureau. The 2011 order set terminating access-charge rates on a downward path to zero. Windstream welcomed the waiver. It enables the company "to recover important universal service funding withheld because of an improper avoidance scheme by Halo Wireless," emailed Senior Vice President Eric Einhorn. "We are pleased that the Commission agreed that Halo’s ploy to disguise traffic should not deny Windstream of vital and valid universal service support.”