FCC Commissioners Michael O'Rielly and Mignon Clyburn backed means-testing USF support for broadband/telecom service in high-cost areas. It's "time to fix a fundamental structural defect" in the program, which is the subsidization of communications access for people "who don't need or deserve governmental assistance," they said in a rare joint blog post Wednesday. They sought comment on various questions and hope to bring the issue before the commission "in the very near future." O'Rielly recently said he and Clyburn were working on a draft item (see 1705180061). Representatives of Chairman Ajit Pai, USTelecom and NTCA declined comment.

State regulators welcomed news the USF contribution factor may not change in Q3, but some voiced continued concern about the long-term trend toward rising assessments on telecom carriers. "Fortunately, the USF assessment factor won't be increasing this quarter due to lower than anticipated demand on the E-rate program," emailed South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner Chris Nelson Friday.

State regulators welcomed news the USF contribution factor may not change in Q3, but some voiced continued concern about the long-term trend toward rising assessments on telecom carriers. "Fortunately, the USF assessment factor won't be increasing this quarter due to lower than anticipated demand on the E-rate program," emailed South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner Chris Nelson Friday.

ITTA and USTelecom asked the FCC to ease business data service regulations for some rural telcos by allowing them to opt into recently adopted relief for price-cap carriers. "Rate-of-return carriers that receive universal service fund ('USF') support based on theoretical cost models (termed 'model-based rate-of-return carriers) must comply with legacy regulation only for their BDS offerings," said a petition for rulemaking Thursday. "Costs of such rate-of-return regulations for these carriers now outweigh the benefits of the regulation." The petition "requests that model-based rate-of-return carriers be permitted to opt into existing price cap regulation for their provision of BDS, subject to certain conditions. ... Continued compliance with rate-[of]-return-based rate regulation, including tariffing, tariff review plans, cost studies, and associated requirements, entails significant costs that are difficult for model-based rate-of-return carriers to recover in the competitive marketplace."

ITTA and USTelecom asked the FCC to ease business data service regulations for some rural telcos by allowing them to opt into recently adopted relief for price-cap carriers. "Rate-of-return carriers that receive universal service fund ('USF') support based on theoretical cost models (termed 'model-based rate-of-return carriers) must comply with legacy regulation only for their BDS offerings," said a petition for rulemaking Thursday. "Costs of such rate-of-return regulations for these carriers now outweigh the benefits of the regulation." The petition "requests that model-based rate-of-return carriers be permitted to opt into existing price cap regulation for their provision of BDS, subject to certain conditions. ... Continued compliance with rate-[of]-return-based rate regulation, including tariffing, tariff review plans, cost studies, and associated requirements, entails significant costs that are difficult for model-based rate-of-return carriers to recover in the competitive marketplace."

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 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.”

The industry USF contribution factor could stay in Q3 at 17.4 percent of carriers' U.S. interstate and international (long-distance) telecom end-user revenue, industry consultant Billy Jack Gregg emailed Wednesday. Previously, he projected the Q3 contribution (assessment) factor could spike to 19.6 percent, based on Universal Service Administrative Co.'s estimate for quarterly USF subsidy demand (see 1705030049). That sparked some concerns (see 1705040059).

Municipal broadband is risky for cities, but the cost of doing nothing may be higher, said former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) in response to a paper by the University of Pennsylvania Law School showing more than half of muni broadband projects are operating in the red. Penn law professor Christopher Yoo released the report at an event livestreamed Wednesday from Washington. Acting alone, the private sector is unlikely to spread broadband everywhere it’s needed, Colorado government officials said Tuesday at Mountain Connect, a municipal broadband conference streamed from Dillon.

Municipal broadband is risky for cities, but the cost of doing nothing may be higher, said former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) in response to a paper by the University of Pennsylvania Law School showing more than half of muni broadband projects are operating in the red. Penn law professor Christopher Yoo released the report at an event livestreamed Wednesday from Washington. Acting alone, the private sector is unlikely to spread broadband everywhere it’s needed, Colorado government officials said Tuesday at Mountain Connect, a municipal broadband conference streamed from Dillon.

The industry USF contribution factor could stay in Q3 at 17.4 percent of carriers' U.S. interstate and international (long-distance) telecom end-user revenue, industry consultant Billy Jack Gregg emailed Wednesday. Previously, he projected the Q3 contribution (assessment) factor could spike to 19.6 percent, based on Universal Service Administrative Co.'s estimate for quarterly USF subsidy demand (see 1705030049). That sparked some concerns (see 1705040059).