The GOP overcame Democratic opposition to FCC process reform proposals, approving two bills Wednesday in the House Communications Subcommittee. On a party line vote, the subcommittee voted 14-9 on HR-3309, which requires rulemaking shot clocks, cost-benefit analyses and a variety of other process changes. However, Democrats supported HR-3310, a bill that would consolidate many FCC reports and eliminate others. The subcommittee approved that bill by voice vote but said more work needs to be done before the next markup in the full committee.

ST. LOUIS -- While some panelists at NARUC’s annual meeting see a continuing state role in a broadband world, others urged regulators to be mindful of market changes that have resulted in loss of revenue. And while some said they can live with the FCC’s Universal Service Fund order, others find it unacceptable.

The FCC “put the cart before the horse” when it ordered that relinquished Universal Service Fund cash shouldn’t be redistributed among a state’s eligible telecom carriers, telecom lawyer Todd Daubert told an appellate panel Tuesday. That January order paved the way for last month’s universal service order (CD Jan 4 p2), but Daubert,representing the Rural Cellular Association and the Universal Service for America Coalition before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, said the FCC exceeded the “plain language” of Section 254(d) of the Telecom Act.

ST. LOUIS -- The FCC is careful not to disturb states’ role as it revamps the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation system, said Wireline Bureau officials at NARUC’s annual meeting Tuesday. They didn’t address the timing of the order’s release, though several state officials expect it to be out before Thanksgiving.

ST. LOUIS -- Instead of taking the FCC to court, state regulators and consumer advocates should focus on working together with the FCC on implementing the Universal Service Fund revamp, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said at NARUC’s annual meeting Tuesday. The FCC, which took many of the Federal/State USF Joint Board’s recommendations as it works to finalize the order, seeks to strengthen the federal/state partnership going forward, he said. Meanwhile, the outgoing commissioner said he plans to continue to advocate for media reform even after leaving the FCC.

Democratic FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn urged critics of the recent Universal Service Fund changes not to take their claims to court. “Instead, I ask that we work together to complete and perfect these reform efforts,” Clyburn told an audience Tuesday in Boston for a broadband conference. “By doing so, we can ensure that the transition of the fund from voice to broadband opens the door for every citizen to become a part of our digital economy. When that occurs, the decade-long struggle to achieve these reforms will have been well worth the effort.”

The FCC’s Universal Service Fund reform “reflects yesterday’s logic” and is “fundamentally wrong for our time,” Aspen Institute scholar Blair Levin told a symposium in Charlotte, N.C., Monday. The Connect America Fund, approved by the commission last month (CD Nov 4 p8), “focuses us on how to deliver a subsidy” when it “should focus us on how to deliver high-performance services,” Levin said. “In sum, we need to refocus government’s efforts from the view that its prime purpose is to lower rates for wireline telephone users in rural areas with the purpose of increasing the value of digitally delivered services -- particularly essential public services like education, public safety, job training and healthcare -- for the economy and society,” Levin said. FCC officials didn’t comment.

Bestel is asking the FCC to return some $27,000 in late fees that were “abusively assessed” by the Universal Service Administrative Co., Bestel said in an appeal published Thursday. USAC has been mailing invoices to the company’s old Mexico City address since last year, Bestel said, despite the company’s efforts to change its mailing address (http://xrl.us/bmhsac). “Upon receiving its first invoice nearly two months after the original due date, Bestel USA contacted USAC customer service and was informed that the company was not getting the invoices because the address registered with USAC was a non-working address in Mexico,” the company claimed in Thursday’s appeal. “Bestel USA was advised by USAC’s personnel to change its corporate address to an address in the United States (a requirement that is not present in the Commission’s rules). The company attempted to make this change over the phone, to ensure that invoices would be mailed to a working address as quickly as possible. USAC staff, however, refused to change the address, and instead demanded that the company send a revised Form 499-A to make the change. USAC’s actions are contrary to the public interest, not required by Commission rules, and harm the integrity of the Fund.” USAC didn’t comment.

Eighth floor staff will continue to work through the weekend on the massive Universal Service Fund order, and the FCC hopes to have it published before the Veterans’ Day holiday, Nov. 11, a commission official said. The 400-page order was adopted without dissent at the October meeting (CD Oct 21 p1) but it wasn’t in shape for publication, officials have said. None of the revisions are substantive, but there have been enough to create days of extra work, the official said. After it moves off the eighth floor, the FCC’s information technology team will have to integrate the disparate pages into a coherent document and other staff will have to cross-reference it to make sure all is properly aligned, the FCC official said.

The FCC’s Universal Service Fund overhaul should be manageable for CenturyLink, though the company will have a better understanding after it sees the full order, CEO Glen Post said during the company’s Q3 earnings call Wednesday. In the long run, the company would benefit from the revamp, he said. CenturyLink’s Q3 profit fell 40 percent year-over-year to $140 million on acquisition-related expenses, though the company posted higher revenue versus the same period last year. The most recent acquisition is cloud computing firm Savvis for $2.5 billion in cash and stock plus net debt of some $700 million. The cloud computing unit continued to expand its data centers, adding space in two cities in Q3, with plans to expand into three new cities in Q4. The company continued to shed access lines. It posted a reduction in line loss of over 20 percent versus the same period last year. As of the end of September, CenturyLink had 14.8 million access lines, down from more than 15 million at the end of Q2 2011. But the line loss was offset by a net increase of 57,000 in the number of high-speed Internet customers in the quarter. The company continued expanding its fiber to the tower initiative, adding some 1,000 fiber builds. It ended the quarter with some 8,900 fiber-connected towers and plans to complete some 900 additional sites by the end of the year. The fiber buildout is helping the company roll out its IPTV services, Post said. About 70 percent of CenturyLink’s IPTV customers subscribe to a triple-play voice, video and data bundle.