The FCC seeks comment on Funds for Learning’s petition for 80 percent discount level funding for priority 2 services under the E-rate program, the Wireline Bureau said in a public notice. The Universal Service Administrative Co. has recommended that the commission reject the request and Funds has urged the commission to reject USAC’s advice. Funds said USAC’s recommendation “is premature given that: (1) demand at the 80 percent discount level … stands at approximately” $279 million, “yet $400 million in unused funds is currently available … and (2) there is a strong possibility that unused E-rate funding earmarked specifically for funding year 2010 will become available to fund all requests at the 80 percent discount level,” the public notice said. Comments on the matter are due March 7, replies March 14.

The public switched telephone network may be dwindling, but its intercarrier compensation regime has guaranteed high-quality voice service, and proponents of the broadband transition ought to take care that they don’t destroy service for the sake of their technological revolution, Free Conference Call CEO David Erickson said Tuesday. “We shouldn’t go out of our way to regulate out the old system just because some people on this call think it’s a dying business,” Erickson said in a conference call debate over the FCC’s proposed reforms of the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation regime. An AT&T executive said PSTN is quickly becoming a thing of the past, while the panel’s moderator said the transition away from that network is inevitable.

The public switched telephone network may be dwindling, but its intercarrier compensation regime has guaranteed high-quality voice service, and proponents of the broadband transition ought to take care that they don’t destroy service for the sake of their technological revolution, Free Conference Call CEO David Erickson said Tuesday. “We shouldn’t go out of our way to regulate out the old system just because some people on this call think it’s a dying business,” Erickson said in a conference call debate over the FCC’s proposed reforms of the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation regime. An AT&T executive said PSTN is quickly becoming a thing of the past, while the panel’s moderator said the transition away from that network is inevitable.

Arguments that Verizon Wireless wasn’t eligible for high-cost Universal Service Fund support in states such as Nevada “cannot be squared” with the FCC’s “rules and decisions,” the carrier said in meetings with the Wireline Bureau. “For example, in the Corr Wireless Order, the commission gave Verizon Wireless two options for receiving high-cost support: Option A, which would have capped the company’s universal service at levels established at the time of the Verizon Wireless-Alltel merger, or Option B, under which its ‘high-cost universal service support will be recalculated each quarter based on current data for that quarter,'” the carrier said in an ex parte notice released Friday. “Option B necessarily contemplates that Verizon Wireless and its affiliated companies remain eligible to receive high-cost support following Verizon Wireless’ acquisition of RCC and Alltel and furthermore, that its eligibility is not limited to legacy Alltel or RCC lines.” Verizon Wireless bought Alltel for $28.1 billion in early 2009 but agreed to phase out high-cost support 20 percent each year for five years as a deal condition. Competitive ETCs have accused Verizon of improperly obtaining USF support by using Alltel’s ETC designation to get support for non-Alltel lines. Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto is investigating, and there are similar accusations in Wisconsin (CD Feb 7 p6). Verizon officials have cast the controversy as the result of state and CETC anxiety over commission plans to phase out competitive funding altogether.

The FCC should impose net neutrality conditions on the CenturyLink-Qwest deal, Free Press said in meetings with commission staff. In an ex parte notice published Friday, the group that supports such rules said it also asked the commission to require the merged company to forgo Universal Service Fund support for broadband projects. “We noted that the merging parties are making, and will be held to buildout requirements as a condition of the merger and that the combined entity should not expect to use USF monies to meet these commitments,” Free Press Policy Counsel Aparna Sridhar wrote in the notice.

The FCC’s net neutrality order became a small part of the larger federal budget game after the House Thursday night passed an amendment to the Continuing Resolution sponsored by Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore. Breaking mostly along party lines, the House voted 244-181 to approve the amendment. It would ban FCC implementation of net neutrality rules until the Continuing Resolution expires Sept. 30. A final vote on the CR was expected late Friday. The House also passed an amendment to cut the agency’s chief diversity officer. That position has been held by Mark Lloyd, who drew heat from the political right for what some thought was support of the fairness doctrine, which he said he never backed.

The Universal Service Administrative Company should “examine, identify, explain and categorize the cause(s) of error(s)” found in a series of audits of the high-cost fund, FCC Managing Director Steven VanRoekel said in one of three letters to USAC published Thursday. The audits, released in a final report in December, found, among other problems, “inadequate/missing” documents, “inaccurate line count/loop data,” accounting problems, errors in subscriber lists, eligibility problems and revenue reporting errors. VanRoekel said “we recognize and appreciate USAC’s efforts to date in indentifying and reducing improper payments under the high-cost program,” but a tighter review is “critical in further reducing improper payments and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of administration for the high-cost program.” In a separate letter published Thursday, VanRoekel asked USAC to explain why it wants to put furniture and other “fixed assets” purchased with Universal Service Fund cash on USAC’s own books. For “several years,” USF was “billed based upon USF profit and loss expenses rather than USAC’s actual cash disbursements,” VanRoekel said. But USAC has claimed that “this methodology understated USF expenses and resulted in a cumulative adjustment to USAC’s administrative expenses and a reduction in USAC’s Due To/Due From balance.” USAC has said it wants to modify its bookkeeping so the $16.5 million that USF spent on furniture, computers and other fixed assets should be chalked up to USAC’s accounts. “Given USAC’s past accounting practices for USF fixed assets and to further consider USAC’s proposal, we are requesting that USAC provide us with a legal and accounting justification for recording all fixed assets,” VanRoekel said. Finally, VanRoekel ordered USAC to conduct disaster recovery tests “of all its major applications and general support systems” at least once per year, to re-authorize “all systems under USAC control” every three years “or when a significant change to the information system occurs” and to “document a security authorization letter for the USAC General Support System that includes the authorization decision, terms and conditions.” An FCC official described the directives as a housecleaning necessary to help the FCC in its proposed overhaul of the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation regime.

A broad state role is critical to modernize and streamline Universal Service and Intercarrier Compensation policies, state members of the Federal-State USF Joint Board told an FCC workshop Thursday. Speakers debated proposed changes in fund size.

President Obama’s broadband stimulus program was “vindicated” by new NTIA findings that up to two-thirds of America’s schools can’t get broadband at speeds they need, NTIA Administrator Lawrence Strickling said Thursday, after NTIA unveiled its new broadband map. The map indicated that up to 10 percent of Americans can’t get broadband. The map is based on more than 125 million searchable records in the new mapping database, with information from some 1,600 broadband companies. “All of these records can be analyzed in countless ways,” Strickling said. “But the data continues to show that a digital divide continues to exist.”

President Barack Obama’s broadband stimulus program was “vindicated” by new NTIA findings that up to two-thirds of America’s schools can’t get broadband at speeds they need, NTIA Administrator Lawrence Strickling. Thursday, the agency unveiled its new broadband map. The map indicated that up to 10 percent of Americans can’t get broadband. The map is based on more than 125 million searchable records in the new mapping database, with information from some 1,600 broadband companies. “All of these records can be analyzed in countless ways,” Strickling said. “But the data continues to show that a digital divide continues to exist."