The FCC pushed back comment deadlines to the early fall in its telco special-access regulatory review so parties can review industry data that has been submitted to the agency but not yet released, a Wireline Bureau public notice said Wednesday. The deadline for initial comments on a further NPRM is now Sept. 25, and Oct. 16 for replies. The previous deadlines were July 1 and July 22. The FCC hasn't said when it will release the industry data. Special access covers services traditionally offered over ILEC higher-capacity DS1 and DS3 lines (24 and 672 voice-grade equivalents, respectively) connecting to businesses or providing interoffice transport. Competitors say they often need regulated wholesale access to the ILEC circuits to serve businesses or provide backhaul. The Bells and other ILECs say the market is increasingly competitive and regulation is not only unnecessary but counterproductive because it discourages investment in more-robust fiber networks.
The FCC Wireline Bureau published a list of census blocks deemed "extremely high-cost" for USF support purposes in areas served by price-cap telcos, in a public notice Tuesday. The census blocks are generally not eligible for Connect America Fund Phase II model-based support, the notice said, but price-cap telcos accepting such support in a state can substitute the identified locations in lieu of those in other census blocks to meet their broadband deployment duties in a state, provided that the total number of locations served is larger than or equal to the number of locations in eligible census blocks that must be served under the duties. The list includes 151,505 extremely high-cost census blocks with varying numbers of locations. (There are more than 11 million census blocks in the U.S., said a Census Bureau Web page). Extremely high-cost census blocks that aren't targeted for CAF Phase II broadband deployment will be included in the Phase II reverse auction the FCC expects to hold some time after carriers decide whether to accept support, the notice said. Those decisions are due Aug. 27, but Frontier already has announced it will accept all $283.4 million in annual support it was offered by the FCC (see 1506160039).
Verizon offered unions representing 38,000 wireline employees 2 percent wage increases the next two years and a $1,000 lump sum payment in the third year as part of a three-year contract offer, the company said in a news release Monday. Opening labor talks, Verizon made the comprehensive offer to the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers at the outset "to encourage a substantive and productive dialogue," said Robert Mudge, wireline operations executive vice president. Verizon said the proposed pay increases were contingent on signing an agreement by Aug. 1, and would add to an average annual salary and benefit package of $130,000 for Verizon associates in the east. Pension-eligible associates could choose between continuing to earn benefits under a traditional pension plan with some limitations and forgoing a 401(k) company match, or opting for an enhanced 401(k) plan currently offered to management (including a bigger company match) with a frozen pension benefit, the release said. Verizon called the combined pension and 401(k) benefits for employees hired before Oct. 28, 2012, a structure "from another era." Noting Verizon associates' healthcare costs were above the national average and calling cost control "essential," the carrier proposed an increase of $8.10 per week for individual healthcare premiums and said "other reasonable cost controls" were needed to keep the wireline business competitive. Mudge said fiber deployment had positioned Verizon for growth, but the company's "cost structure has not changed nearly fast enough to align with today's market realities and consumer needs." Verizon said it seeks more flexibility to manage the workforce "consistent with customer demands." Tami Erwin, president of Verizon's Consumer and Mass Business unit, said, "We need contractual changes that position us to compete with new and emerging technologies." The last contract negotiations lasted 15 months in 2011-12, the release noted. IBEW representatives had no comment. CWA issued a statement Tuesday from Dennis Trainor, District 1 vice president, that said: “Verizon’s claims about the pay increases they put on the bargaining table yesterday are simply a smokescreen designed to hide the harsh reality of their concessionary demands: deep cuts to pension benefits, skyrocketing increases in medical costs, and the complete elimination of job security. Despite $9.6 billion in profits in 2014 and $44 million in compensation to their top five executives, Verizon wants to eliminate middle-class jobs and let customer service deteriorate. Their proposals would slash thousands of jobs and leave our remaining members with a diminished standard of living at the end of any new contract."
The FCC Wireline Bureau sought comment on Birch Communications' proposed buy of Sage Telecom Communications assets in a public notice posted Friday in docket 15-139. Both companies are CLECs, with Birch offering or certified to offer telecom or data services to residential and business customers in all 50 states and D.C., and Sage offering telecom or data services to residential and business customers in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin, the PN said. Birch would obtain certain Sage "customer accounts and receivables, certain customer agreements and contracts, certain vendor agreements and contracts, certain equipment and certain intellectual property," said the PN. Initial comments are due July 6, replies July 13. In their application, Birch and Sage said the transaction is entitled to presumptive streamlined treatment because it would leave Birch with less than 10 percent of the interstate long-distance market, Birch would provide competitive telecom services only in areas served by a dominant ILEC, and neither applicant is regulated as dominant in any service. The applicants said the transaction is also in the public interest because it will allow Birch to expand its business and achieve economies of scale, strengthening its ability to expand its offerings to a broader customer base, while Sage's affected customers will have access to the same service quality and expanded offerings.
Sprint asked the FCC for authorization to stop providing long-distance services and associated features to wireline customers in three months. In an application filed at the commission Friday pursuant to Section 214 of the Communications Act, Sprint said it had received approval to stop offering the wireline long-distance service to new customers on Jan. 5 and plans to discontinue providing the services to its remaining customers Sept. 19, or as soon as it gets regulatory approval. "The specific Sprint wireline consumer long-distance services and associated features being discontinued are Message Telecommunications Service (i.e., 1+ long distance) ('MTS'), FŌNCARD, Directory Assistance, and Operator Service (collectively, the 'Sprint Services'), as well as all consumer pricing plans associated with the Sprint Services," Sprint said. Sprint said its exit plans wouldn't cause material harm because customers can easily obtain alternative long-distance services from other wireline providers, wireless providers -- including Sprint -- and VoIP providers. Sprint attached to its application a copy of a June 15 letter to wireline customers noting its plans to stop providing service, which it said gave them "ample time" to switch to other providers.
The FCC sent letters to Frontier and Verizon Wednesday requesting more information about Frontier's buyout (see 1502050059) of Verizon's wireline systems in California, Texas and Florida. The letters follow a Communications Workers of America request for both companies to provide the FCC with additional information about the details of the sale (see 1506010027). In the information requests, both companies are asked to respond to questions about potential financial issues, transition plans, functionality and service quality, broadband deployment improvement, capital expenditure plans, and potential savings. The FCC asked that written responses to each question in the letters be sent by July 1 "in order to expedite consideration" of the companies' sale application. "Frontier acknowledges that requests for further information are all part of the process in obtaining FCC and regulatory approval," a Frontier spokesperson said. "We will continue to provide information where appropriate." Verizon declined to comment on the FCC's request.
Small rural telcos continue to reach more customers with high-speed fiber lines, said an NTCA news release Wednesday citing a survey of members. The report "found that 45 percent of survey respondents deploying fiber serve at least 50 percent of their customers using fiber to the home (FTTH), up from 41 percent in 2013." In addition, 85 percent of respondents indicated they had a long-term fiber strategy, with 74 percent of those planning to offer fiber to the node to over three-quarters of their customers by the end of 2017; and 83 percent of respondents' customers have access to broadband speeds of 10 Mbps or greater, up from 66 percent the year before, though the majority of respondents' customers subscribe to 3 Mbps speeds or faster. Twenty percent of NTCA members participated in the winter 2014 online survey, said the group.
The FCC Wireline Bureau took several actions Monday on rural broadband experiments under the Connect America Fund. The bureau order in docket 14-259 denied a request from LDT Broadband for an extension of time to obtain a commitment letter for a letter of credit. The order also dismissed as moot the requests of Aristotle and WorldCall for waiver or extension of the Jan. 6 deadline to remain under consideration for rural broadband support. And the order removed one additional provisionally selected bidder, Halstad, from further consideration for failing to file a letter of credit commitment letter from a top 100 bank.
Consumer Watchdog petitioned the FCC Monday to enact rules requiring edge provider Internet companies like Facebook and Google to honor Do Not Track requests sent from a consumer’s Web browser, a Consumer Watchdog news release said. “New rules protecting net neutrality and reclassifying broadband Internet access providers as common carriers that went into effect last Friday do not extend privacy protections to edge providers,” CW said. “Because the FCC has found that concerns about Internet privacy can hinder broadband deployment, rules to protect privacy, such as requiring companies to honor DNT requests, are necessary to promote improved broadband use.” All four major Web browsers, Apple's Safari, Google's Chrome, Mozilla's Firefox and Microsoft's Internet Explorer, have the capability to send a DNT request, but edge providers are under no obligation to honor it and most don't, said CW's release. “Ensuring that ISPs respect their customers’ privacy is important, but privacy rules covering companies like Google and Facebook are also necessary if people are going to trust the Internet,” said Consumer Watchdog Privacy Project Director John Simpson. “The FCC clearly has the authority it needs and must do everything it can to build that trust if it is to succeed in promoting timely broadband deployment.” Consumer Watchdog has proposed that edge providers’ offering a first-party online service that received a DNT request be prohibited from selling, sharing or otherwise transferring the personal information of the consumer to any other entity, including a third-party online service. Edge providers offering a third-party online service would also be required under the proposed rule to honor DNT requests and not collect or store consumers' personal data, it said. The FCC didn't comment.
The FCC is seeking comment by July 27 on proposed rules to make permanent its program distributing communications equipment to low-income deaf-blind individuals, a Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau public notice said Wednesday. A summary of the NPRM with the proposed rules was published in that day's Federal Register, triggering the 45- and 60-day comment deadlines, with replies due Aug. 10. The iCanConnect program, which operates with up to $10 million from the Telecom Relay Service Fund, provides individuals who have combined hearing and vision loss with equipment -- such as Braille-enabled devices, magnifiers and vibrating alerts -- giving them communications access. The NPRM was adopted May 21 (see 1505210056).