The FCC Wireline Bureau sought comment on claims from Arvig Enterprises and Rural Communications Holding that their enhanced alternative connect America cost model support offers were “incorrectly calculated” because Midcontinent Communications “was incorrectly classified as an unsubsidized competitor offering voice service.” Comments are due Sept. 13 in docket 10-90, a notice in Thursday’s Daily Digest said.
Representatives of the Coalition of Concerned Utilities met with FCC Wireline Bureau staff about the group’s stance on pole attachment rules. “We emphasized that pole owners, existing communications attachers, and new communications attachers all must act responsibly and collaboratively to promote the deployment of broadband service to unserved and underserved areas,” a filing posted Thursday in docket 17-84 said: “We discussed efforts by utility pole owners to accommodate the volume of new attachment requests, and the considerable workforce constraints to be overcome.”
The FCC should establish "clear timelines" for large pole orders as part of its final order streamlining the pole attachment process, the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition told the Wireline Bureau in a meeting (see 2403140068). The group said in an ex parte filing Monday in docket 17-84 that there should be "clearly defined and equitable standards for pole replacement costs." SHLB also sought clarification on costs associated with pole replacements, suggesting that pole owners be responsible for "at least 50 percent of the cost of pole replacements, given that they will own and benefit financially from the new pole." The group also opposed Edison Electric Institute's petition concerning the definition of a "grandfathered" pole (see 2402260073).
The FCC Wireline Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics made available the final incarcerated people's communications services database for 2024. Released Monday, the database was used to develop rate caps and other changes adopted in the commission's recent IPCS order implementing the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022, a public notice said (see 2407180039). The database includes two datasets IPCS providers submitted in response to the 2023 mandatory data collection. The first dataset includes cost and revenue information used to determine the upper and lower bounds of the zones of reasonableness. The other dataset includes geocoding information on facility locations.
The FCC adopted a revised five-year compensation plan for IP-captioned telephone service supported by the telecom relay service (see 2406180063). In an order Wednesday in docket 03-123, the commission established separate compensation formulas for IP CTS supported by communications assistants (CA) and automatic speech recognition-only. The compensation rate for CA-assisted service will be $1.35 per minute effective immediately through June 30. ASR-only service will transition to a cost-based rate, "allowing providers time to adapt their operations," the order said. The rate for this service will be $1.17 per minute and decrease by about 10% to $1.05 in 2025-26 and to 95 cents in 2026-27. Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington concurred in part with the order. The FCC "should be operating consistent with" the trend of technological innovation, Carr said in a statement. "While my specific suggestions did not make it into the final decision today, I appreciate that my colleagues have included changes that can help incentivize continued, long-term investment in ASR technologies."
The FCC Wireline Bureau denied requests from Community Hospital Corp. and Interfacing Co. of Texas to waive the FY 2022 invoice filing deadline for all Healthcare Connect Fund program participants. In an order Monday in docket 02-60, the bureau noted it has granted individual waivers and will continue doing so "where good cause exists." It's "inappropriate to grant a widespread waiver when an individualized approach to addressing requests for waivers is available and more suitable for the circumstances," the order said.
The FCC wants comments by Aug. 28, replies by Sept. 12, in docket 03-123 on Bond Communications' application for certification to provide video relay service funded by the Telecom Relay Service Fund, a Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau public notice said Monday.
Sorenson and CaptionCall urged the FCC to ensure IP-captioned telephone service providers are compensated to support communications assistant-based and automatic speech recognition-based services (see 2407110029). The companies said in a meeting with an aide to Commissioner Nathan Simington that a $1.67 per minute rate with "a rate floor no lower than $1 for ASR would result in savings to the TRS Fund," according to an ex parte filing Wednesday in docket 03-123. The FCC should also "consider the costs of reaching hard-of-hearing Americans who need IP CTS but are unaware of it, and the needs of elderly consumers for support in their homes with installation of purpose-built phones," Sorenson and CaptionCall said.
Hamilton Relay urged the FCC to preserve adequate rate caps that IP captioned telephone service (IP CTS) providers may recover for the cost of providing services with a communications assistant (CA), according to an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 03-123. The company said in separate meetings with aides to Commissioners Nathan Simington and Anna Gomez that CA’s are needed for about 25% of all IP CTS (see 2406180063). “A failure to preserve CA’s is a failure to preserve functional equivalency,” Hamilton said.
The FCC wants comments by Aug. 19, replies Sept. 3, in docket 80-286 on whether it should extend by six years its freeze on federal-state jurisdictional separations of telecom costs and revenue, said a public notice Monday. Commissioners approved the NPRM earlier this month (see 2407020017).