The California Public Utilities Commission will audit carriers for compliance with the state’s April 2023 shift to connections-based contribution to universal service public purpose programs. In a Wednesday ruling, CPUC Administrative Law Judge Hazlyn Fortune directed the agency's utility audit branch to ensure carriers are reporting and remitting the surcharge in a reasonable manner and as directed in the CPUC's October 2022 decision (docket R.21-03-002). T-Mobile has resisted the contribution mechanism change in the courts (see 2310170042). In a separate ruling Wednesday, ALJ Robyn Purchia clarified that California LifeLine pilot programs using federal affordable connectivity program (ACP) funds will continue through at least May 31. "If the ACP receives additional federal funding, the pilot programs may continue up to June 8, 2025," said the ALJ: If the ACP doesn't receive more funding by April 30, providers must notify California LifeLine customers by May 1 "that their service may be discontinued or otherwise changed."

Several industry groups, state officials and organizations raised concerns about a pending request for the FCC to grant a brief amnesty period for Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction and Connect America Fund Phase II auction support recipients that are unable to fulfill their deployment obligations (see 2403060031). Groups urged the FCC in comments posted Wednesday in docket 19-126 to ensure providers that relinquish locations be prohibited from seeking support through NTIA's broadband, equity, access and deployment program for the same locations.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission will award $21 million for broadband from this year’s state universal service fund reverse auction, the PSC said in a Tuesday order. Great Plains Communications, the Hamilton Consortium, Midstates Communications and Pinpoint Communications won awards. The commission redistributed Nebraska USF support that was unused by or withheld from Frontier Communications and Windstream, using the cash to bring broadband-capable voice to rural areas where the two carriers had historically provided only traditional voice service. “This process is proving to be a valuable method in ensuring distributed NUSF funds are being used for broadband buildout to Nebraska’s unserved areas,” said PSC Chair Dan Watermeier (R).

The Missouri Public Service Commission decreased a relay service fee on phone bills to 6 cents from 10 cents monthly, effective June 1, the PSC said Friday. In the same order, the PSC discontinued analog captioned telephone service, which it said has a “steadily declining” user base. T-Mobile, whose contract as CapTel provider expires Oct. 31, 2025, must give users 30 days’ notice before ending service, the PSC said. “The specific date for discontinuing the service should be mutually agreeable to T-Mobile and” PSC staff. Missouri’s public counsel supported a review of relay services in September in case TO-2024-0033 (see 2309080075). Elsewhere, on Thursday the District of Columbia PSC approved a Verizon application to decrease its D.C. Universal Service Trust Fund surcharge, effective next month. The monthly surcharge will be 3 cents per Centrex line, a decrease of 1 cent, and 22 cents per non-Centrex line, an 8-cent decrease, said the PSC order (case FC988-1410). “Verizon DC represents that the decrease in the surcharge is due to the line loss experienced in 2023.”

A Thursday Senate Commerce Committee hearing is likely to highlight stark differences between panel leaders’ competing proposals for a spectrum legislative package, including whether it should mandate sales of specific bands before NTIA completes studies of those frequencies in keeping with the Biden administration’s national spectrum strategy (see 2403120006). Lawmakers’ apparent failure to reach a deal allocating additional money for the FCC’s affordable connectivity program and Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2403190062) as part of a FY 2024 still-unreleased “minibus” spending package also ratchets up the pressure for a spectrum bill to use future auction revenue to pay for multiple telecom priorities, officials and lobbyists told us.

Industry largely welcomed an FCC proposal to rely on the broadband serviceable location fabric for updating and verifying compliance with certain high-cost program support recipients’ deployment obligations in comments posted Monday in docket 10-90 (see 2402130058). Some sought assurances and support thresholds for rural carriers and those nearing their final deployment milestones.

Advocates of additional federal funding for the FCC’s affordable connectivity program and Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program were closely monitoring congressional negotiations Friday in hopes appropriators would reach a deal addressing both priorities as part of a second tranche of FY 2024 spending bills lawmakers want approved before midnight March 22. Rip-and-replace supporters voiced strong optimism that the next “minibus” package would include $3.08 billion to fully fund that program. ACP backers were, at least privately, growing less hopeful of a deal including their priority.

The FCC’s March 7 response opposing Essential Network Technologies and MetComm.net's Feb. 26 emergency motion to expedite consideration of the companies' E-rate program appeal “confirms that the motion should be granted,” according to the petitioners’ reply Wednesday (docket 24-1027) at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

The FCC’s March 7 response opposing Essential Network Technologies and MetComm.net's Feb. 26 emergency motion to expedite consideration of the companies' E-rate program appeal “confirms that the motion should be granted,” according to the petitioners’ reply Wednesday (docket 24-1027) at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

The entire Arizona Corporation Commission refused hiking monthly surcharges on customer bills for the state’s high-cost fund, despite projections that the Arizona Universal Service Fund (AUSF) will soon run out of cash. The ACC's lone Democrat joined four Republican commissioners in voting against increased surcharges during a livestreamed meeting Tuesday. Staff warned last month that the AUSF would be depleted by the end of April, meaning no more payments starting May for funding AUSF administrator Solix or Frontier Communications, the only company in the state receiving this high-cost support (see 2402280038). Frontier supported staff’s proposal to increase the monthly surcharge on customer bills. However, Arizona commissioners said during the livestreamed meeting that they preferred addressing the issue through an upcoming Frontier rate case planned for this fall. Commissioner Kevin Thompson (R) can’t support increasing the AUSF fee, he said. “Let’s look at this in the rate case and have a broader discussion on the merits of the AUSF as we go forward.” Arizona commissioners also declined raising AUSF contribution rates in 2022 and 2023 (see 2312050032).