The FCC Wireline Bureau granted limited waiver on broadband performance test report Connect America Fund Phase II requirements, said an order Friday. "Reasonable assumptions" on speed and latency information required by Universal Service Administrative Co. are OK, it said.

Healthcare providers seeking support from a $200 million FCC COVID-19 telehealth fund (see 2003300048) must follow guidance in a public notice in Thursday's Daily Digest. They should seek an eligibility determination from the Universal Service Administrative Co. and an FCC registration number.

Healthcare providers seeking support from a $200 million FCC COVID-19 telehealth fund (see 2003300048) must follow guidance in a public notice in Thursday's Daily Digest. They should seek an eligibility determination from the Universal Service Administrative Co. and an FCC registration number.

Some seek to upgrade rural internet speeds amid the public health crisis by overhauling the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF). Increasing standards could fit into a legislative agenda likely focused on COVID-19, rural officials said in interviews this week. Consumer advocates urged the California Public Utilities Commission to reprioritize CASF. Comments were due Thursday.

Litigation may be next for T-Mobile and the California Public Utilities Commission, after the carrier closed on buying Sprint without OK (see 2004010069). Assigned Commissioner Cliff Rechtschaffen ruled Wednesday that T-Mobile and Sprint may not combine California operations until after the PUC issues a final decision. Both carriers “have California subsidiaries that are public utility telephone corporations under state law, and subject to the jurisdiction of this agency,” so merging California operations needs commission OK, the commissioner wrote in docket A.18-07-011. T-Mobile didn’t comment Thursday. Litigation is certain, blogged Tellus Venture Associates President Steve Blum, predicting the carriers will ignore the order. “T-Mobile says its mobile business isn’t governed by California law. Rechtschaffen says it is, and it’s a good bet his fellow commissioners agree.” The agency “could sue to enforce its claimed jurisdiction over wireless mergers,” American Enterprise Institute Daniel Lyons blogged Thursday. “Even if it won, it would be difficult to unwind the merger.” Stakes “may be higher than simply California’s ability to attach conditions to the deal,” he said. “Other states may be satisfied with the law’s present ambiguity and have reason to fear a court battle that might limit state authority further.” Communications Workers of America slammed closing early, commenting to seek conditions to preserve jobs, current pay levels and employee rights. The California Emerging Technology Fund mostly supported the CPUC’s proposed conditional OK, asking the commission make the carriers' commitments to CETF enforceable and scale back some new proposed conditions. Proposed conditions aren’t enforceable and don’t mitigate anti-competitive effects, commented CPUC’s Public Advocates Office. They don’t protect universal service, said The Utility Reform Network. The deal would harm communities of color, said the Greenlining Institute.

Litigation may be next for T-Mobile and the California Public Utilities Commission, after the carrier closed on buying Sprint without OK (see 2004010069). Assigned Commissioner Cliff Rechtschaffen ruled Wednesday that T-Mobile and Sprint may not combine California operations until after the PUC issues a final decision. Both carriers “have California subsidiaries that are public utility telephone corporations under state law, and subject to the jurisdiction of this agency,” so merging California operations needs commission OK, the commissioner wrote in docket A.18-07-011. T-Mobile didn’t comment Thursday. Litigation is certain, blogged Tellus Venture Associates President Steve Blum, predicting the carriers will ignore the order. “T-Mobile says its mobile business isn’t governed by California law. Rechtschaffen says it is, and it’s a good bet his fellow commissioners agree.” The agency “could sue to enforce its claimed jurisdiction over wireless mergers,” American Enterprise Institute Daniel Lyons blogged Thursday. “Even if it won, it would be difficult to unwind the merger.” Stakes “may be higher than simply California’s ability to attach conditions to the deal,” he said. “Other states may be satisfied with the law’s present ambiguity and have reason to fear a court battle that might limit state authority further.” Communications Workers of America slammed closing early, commenting to seek conditions to preserve jobs, current pay levels and employee rights. The California Emerging Technology Fund mostly supported the CPUC’s proposed conditional OK, asking the commission make the carriers' commitments to CETF enforceable and scale back some new proposed conditions. Proposed conditions aren’t enforceable and don’t mitigate anti-competitive effects, commented CPUC’s Public Advocates Office. They don’t protect universal service, said The Utility Reform Network. The deal would harm communities of color, said the Greenlining Institute.

The FCC Wireline Bureau extended E-rate deadlines to alleviate administrative burdens on school administrators transitioning to online learning and libraries dealing with COVID-19, it said Wednesday on docket 02-6. The order extends one year to June 30, 2021, the service implementation deadline for special construction for all funding year 2019 applicants and to Sept. 30, 2021, for nonrecurring services for FY 2019. It grants schools and libraries an automatic 60-day extension to file requests for review or waiver of Universal Service Administrative Co. decisions; gives an automatic 120-day extension of invoice filing deadline; and allows an additional 30-day extension to respond to certain USAC information requests. Last month, the bureau directed USAC to extend the deadline for FY 2020 E-rate applications to April 29, and temporarily waived gift rules (see 2003180054).

The FCC Wireline Bureau extended E-rate deadlines to alleviate administrative burdens on school administrators transitioning to online learning and libraries dealing with COVID-19, it said Wednesday on docket 02-6. The order extends one year to June 30, 2021, the service implementation deadline for special construction for all funding year 2019 applicants and to Sept. 30, 2021, for nonrecurring services for FY 2019. It grants schools and libraries an automatic 60-day extension to file requests for review or waiver of Universal Service Administrative Co. decisions; gives an automatic 120-day extension of invoice filing deadline; and allows an additional 30-day extension to respond to certain USAC information requests. Last month, the bureau directed USAC to extend the deadline for FY 2020 E-rate applications to April 29, and temporarily waived gift rules (see 2003180054).

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Wednesday he will seek a vote at the April 23 commissioners' meeting on opening the 6 GHz band to sharing with Wi-Fi unlicensed (see [Ref2004010053]). Some consider it a capstone to his legacy. A few key details remain unclear. More will be revealed Thursday when the draft is released.

Commissioners 5-0 OK'd an NPRM to deregulate phone tariffing and eliminate interstate access charges on local phone bills (see 2003260043). The vote preceded Tuesday's meeting via teleconference (see 2003310067). The NPRM proposes detariffing subscriber line, access recovery, presubscribed interexchange carrier and line port charges, plus the special access surcharge. It seeks to "explicitly prohibit carriers from assessing any separate telephone access charges on customers' bills after those charges are deregulated and detariffed" because they are difficult to understand, the agency said. Commissioner Mike O'Rielly supports the deregulation, not the plans to prohibit carriers from continuing to list separate access charges on bills. "I find it somewhat strange and ironic to characterize these charges as deceptive, when it was the FCC that established the various access charges and all of their confusing terminology in the first place, and the item proposes to continue to use the charges as proxies for calculating rate-of-return carriers' Universal Service Fund support," he wrote. O'Rielly said it should be up to the carriers to determine how to itemize and describe charges: "It's not clear to me how forcing carriers to bury these costs in their rates, rather than providing discretion to itemize them, will ultimately provide better transparency." The FCC “today recognized the market for voice services has changed substantially since 1996, including the reality that ILECs are no longer a monopoly provider," said USTelecom Vice President-Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships Mike Saperstein. "This was an appropriate step by the commission to permit incumbent providers to price services in a way that reflects today’s competitive marketplace.” NTCA is waiting to see the NPRM.