T-Mobile will take California regulators to federal court over a decision to switch state USF contribution to a connections-based mechanism. In a complaint Wednesday against the California Public Utilities Commission (case 3:23-cv-00483), T-Mobile and subsidiaries urged the U.S. District Court of Northern California to preliminarily enjoin a $1.11 monthly per-line fee from taking effect April 1. A consumer advocate scoffed Thursday at T-Mobile’s claim that the order hurts low-income households.

Republicans’ return to a House majority is unlikely to mean a big shift in the chamber’s approach to space policy and legislative priorities since those matters have generally been an area of bipartisan cooperation, policy experts said in interviews. The House Commerce Committee made its first foray into space matters for this Congress Thursday via a Communications Subcommittee hearing (see 2301270076) that lobbyists saw as a precursor to panel leaders’ plans to prioritize advancing legislation to revamp the FCC’s satellite licensing rules. House Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., staked the panel's claim to a role in space policy, saying during the hearing it has "been far too long since Congress reassessed the role of satellite technology in the communications marketplace and whether or not our regulatory environment encourages investment and innovation in the space economy, or hampers it."

State commissioners may consider draft telecom resolutions on the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) and the agency’s spectrum auction authority at NARUC’s Feb. 12-15 meeting. NARUC distributed drafts Tuesday. The RDOF resolution by Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Chairman Gladys Brown Dutrieuille would address situations where the FCC rejected a bidder’s long-form application, as the agency did with SpaceX and LTD Broadband. The resolution would urge the FCC to make sure any proceeds won by the disqualified bidder for a specific area should remain in that jurisdiction. The draft notes “the underlying need for support … in those jurisdictions identified as eligible for the Auction 904 support will remain notwithstanding any final order of the FCC and the courts rejecting any bidder application.” The FCC should refer the matter to the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service to recommend procedures and requirements that would apply to RDOF support retained in those places, the draft said. Also, NARUC may consider a draft resolution by Nebraska Public Service Commissioner Tim Schram (R) that would urge Congress to extend the FCC’s auction authority beyond March. Divert some proceeds to state grants for next-generation 911 and the FCC’s “rip and replace” program that requires carriers receiving federal subsidies to remove equipment from Chinese vendors that may pose a security risk. Current 911 funding isn’t enough for NG-911 and some need more funding to start rip-and-replace projects, the draft notes.

Legislators in two western states weighed extensions Tuesday to state telecom subsidies. Small rural telcos testified at livestreamed hearings that high-cost support provided by the Colorado and Washington state programs remains vital. Meanwhile, an Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) state USF rulemaking could be imminent.

Central Telecom Long Distance engages in “slamming, cramming, and unclear and insufficiently specific billing practices,” in violation of the Communications Act, alleged a DOJ complaint Monday (docket 23-cv-259) against the interexchange carrier in U.S. District Court for Colorado in Denver.

The FCC will do more to help survivors of domestic violence get access to communications services during the agency's Feb. 16 meeting (see 2301250061). Commissioners will consider a draft NPRM on implementing the Safe Connections Act. The draft item would seek comment on the law's requirement that mobile providers separate a survivor's phone line from an abuser within two business days after receiving the request, said a fact sheet. The item would seek comment on whether there are "operational and technical limitations" that covered providers may face to complete such a request. It also proposes to require that consumer-facing call logs and text message records omit calls or texts made to hotlines listed in a central database created by the commission and updated monthly. If adopted, the item will seek comment on ways to streamline enrollment in Lifeline and the affordable connectivity program for survivors facing financial hardship. "We believe that these measures will aid survivors who lack meaningful support and communications options when establishing independence from an abuser," the draft item said. Comments would be due 30 days after Federal Register publication, 60 days for replies. The agency will also seek comment on ways to encourage tribal participation in E-rate, said a draft NPRM also set for the February agenda. The draft item asks for feedback on creating a separate or extended filing window for tribal libraries, simplifying E-rate cost allocation rules, and increasing the maximum discount rate level and funding floor for tribal schools and libraries. It also seeks comment on allowing tribal college libraries to be eligible for E-rate funds, defining “Tribal” in E-rate and adding a tribal representative to the Universal Service Administrative Corp. The draft also asks whether “similar reforms may be needed to encourage greater participation by non-Tribal applicants, particularly if they face barriers that impede equitable access” to E-rate. The draft NPRM would also direct the Office of Native Affairs and Policy and the Wireline Bureau to “conduct government-to-government consultation as appropriate with Tribal Nations” on the issues raised in the NPRM. Comments would be due 45 days after FR publication, replies 75 days after.

The Rural Wireless Association urged the FCC to explore “potential alternatives” to a 5G Fund for rural areas, in a meeting with Wireline Bureau and Office of Economic and Analytics staff. “RWA described how its members have deployed and are operating mobile networks in areas not served by the nationwide providers, providing needed connectivity to their customers and the public generally,” RWA said in a filing posted Wednesday in docket 20-32. “In many cases, this could not have been done without the Universal Service Fund support the carriers receive through the Mobility Fund, and now those carriers are using their USF support to upgrade to 5G coverage,” the filing said: “RWA explained that the current 5G Fund framework risks undermining this progress, stranding those networks, and wasting current USF support because it lacks a reasonable transition between the legacy support mechanism and a future 5G Fund.” Broadband data collection maps “appear to contain significant overstatement of coverage in rural areas, as was the case with prior mapping efforts,” the group said.

The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a 180-day temporary denial order Dec. 13 against three people and two companies for illegally sending controlled exports to Russia as part of a Moscow-led sanctions evasion scheme. Along with the denial order, DOJ indicted the three individuals, along with others, on charges related to the illegal exports, including money laundering, wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiring to defraud the U.S.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals scheduled March 17 oral argument in Consumers’ Research’s legal challenge of the FCC’s Universal Service Fund’s Q4 2021 contribution factor, said a notice Tuesday (docket 21-3886). The time allotted for oral argument is 15 minutes per side, said the notice. Consumers’ Research’s various cases, including another filed last month in the 6th Circuit (see 2212280038), argue the USF contribution factor is an unconstitutional tax because it's imposed by the FCC rather than by Congress, and that the FCC has violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

The National Tribal Telecommunications Association backed a petition for rulemaking filed by the Alaska Remote Carrier Coalition that would address the middle-mile transport expenses in "ultra-high" cost areas of Alaska, in comments posted Friday in docket RM-11938. The proposed Alaska middle-mile expense support plan would assist carriers participating in the Alaska Plan, Alternative Connect America Model and the Connect America Fund Phase II programs. NTTA asked the FCC to consider expanding eligibility beyond those covered in the petition, noting that middle-mile costs aren't supported "in any way by federal or state universal service programs" for many providers and are "essentially treated as 'non regulated' costs to be borne by the unregulated internet service provider."