Tension exists between language in the Universal Service Fund/intercarrier compensation order that requires all frozen support be used for network investment while stating frozen interstate access support (IAS) funding will continue to be treated as legacy IAS, lawyers for AT&T reported telling FCC Wireline Bureau officials Monday (http://xrl.us/bmy4wd). The telco said it supports USTelecom’s position that providers should “immediately be relieved of their legacy eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) designations and obligations where and when they do not receive high-cost support,” said the ex parte filing. The company wants the commission to clarify that new reporting requirements don’t apply to competitive ETCs and frozen support recipients whose high-cost support is being eliminated; that tribal contact requirements apply only to recipients of Tribal Fund support; and that, when the new standardized federal reporting rules apply to a ETC, the commission will preempt all legacy state universal service fund reporting requirements that would otherwise apply to that ETC.

Nothing brings disparate interests together like the prospect of a six-month extension to comply with new FCC rules. Often at odds, post-paid wireline carriers, pre-paid wireless carriers and state commissions unanimously supported a waiver request by incumbent local exchange carriers to postpone until Oct. 1 the implementation of several rules established in the Lifeline Order -- as long as the waiver applies to everyone else, too. The petition, filed by USTelecom, the Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance, NTCA, OPASTCO, the Western Telecommunications Alliance and the Eastern Rural Telecom Association, asked the FCC to waive the effective date of a new rule implementing a flat $9.25 Lifeline benefit and eliminating the Link-Up discount on non-Tribal lands from April 2 until Oct. 1 (CD March 12 p9).

The FCC cleared the way for more than 1,000 FM translator stations to go on-air in two items that also start work on an upcoming opportunity for tribes and community groups to seek new low-power stations on that band. An order and a rulemaking notice released Monday night appeared to largely track with drafts the Media Bureau circulated for a vote (CD Feb 9 p6), which commissioners approved as also expected (CD March 8 p12) before Wednesday’s agency meeting. The items said new rules for a 2003 application window for translators will expand the pool of construction permits issued from Auction 83 by 29 percent to 4,500 and possibly more. The next window for LPFM seekers to get permits for those stations may be the last, the commission said, asking about changes to some ownership rules.

The “clock has stopped” on the FCC’s 45-day review period of Sandwich Isle Communications’ petition for waiver of certain universal service support rules while the Wireline Bureau waits for more detailed financial information, bureau Chief Sharon Gillett said in a letter Tuesday (http://xrl.us/bmx5gp). The Universal Service Fund/intercarrier compensation order implemented a prioritized 45-day review process of waiver petitions filed by providers serving tribal lands and insular areas. The Hawaiian telco in December filed a petition for waiver of section 54.302 of the commission’s rules, implemented as part of the USF/intercarrier comp order, establishing a total limit on high-cost universal service support of $250 per line per month beginning July 1. The bureau stopped the clock to request additional details on capital leases, payments and payables to affiliates, plant-specific expense, network operations expense, non-regulated income, and employee compensation. The bureau also seeks an explanation of Sandwich Isle’s past and expected growth, to determine whether the telco’s expected additional expenses are “reasonable.” Third parties will have an opportunity to comment on the new details, Gillett said.

States and local governments need to have a “seat at the table” as Congress mulls new cybersecurity measures for owners of critical infrastructure, said Pam Walker, director of government affairs for the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). Walker and other cybersecurity professionals on Monday discussed the important role that states must play in shoring up the nation’s cyberdefense at the National League of Cities conference.

Timeframes for implementation of the FCC Lifeline order are “unrealistic and could harm the very consumers the program is intended to benefit,” said a petition by USTelecom, the Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance, NTCA, OPASTCO, Western Telecommunications Alliance and Eastern Rural Telecom Association (http://xrl.us/bmxmxs). They asked the commission to postpone until October the effective date for establishment of the interim flat-rate reimbursement amount of $9.25, for elimination of Link Up in non-tribal lands for eligible telecom carriers and for calculation of the Link Up discount for residents of tribal lands. “These tasks cannot realistically be completed within the relatively short time period (less than 60 days) contemplated under the Order,” the petition said. Petitioners sought clarification of several aspects of new certification requirements under Section 54.407(d) of the rules.

TracFone said it withdrew a Dec. 1, 2010, petition for declaratory ruling on Lifeline and eligible telecom carrier issues in light of the FCC’s recent Lifeline reform order (CD Feb 1 p1). “In the Lifeline Reform Order, the Commission addressed some of the issues set forth in TracFone’s petition,” the company said (http://xrl.us/bmwk9m). “The Commission’s elimination of Link Up support to all ETCs on non-Tribal lands mooted TracFone’s request for a declaratory ruling confirming that an ETC is not eligible to receive Link Up benefits unless it ... imposes on its customers a customary charge for commencing telecommunications service.”

Only eligible telecom carriers may participate in Auction 901 for the Connect America Fund Mobility Fund Phase I support, with the exception of tribal entities, the FCC said in a public notice Friday (http://xrl.us/bmuwax). It said common carriers should petition the commission of any state where they seek designation, and those carriers not subject to the jurisdiction of the relevant state commission should petition the FCC for designation. ETCs must satisfy various service obligations, and a party’s designation as an ETC may be conditioned upon the party winning support from the Mobility Fund. Auction 901 will offer up to $300 million in one-time support to carriers who commit to provide 3G or better service in a currently uncovered area.

Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., said she'll propose legislation to establish a seat on the USF joint-board for a representative of Indian tribes. According to her proposed bill, the tribal representative would be nominated by the FCC’s Office of Native Affairs and Policy.

Senators gave mixed praise to the Senate Cybersecurity Act Tuesday, both commending the bill for addressing cyberthreats to the U.S. and citing a lack of procedural cohesion over its development. The Cybersecurity Act (http://xrl.us/bmr4rs) gives the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the authority to lead the nation’s cybersecurity response and fortify the nation’s critical infrastructure and federal networks. The legislation provides a framework for sharing cyberthreat information between the federal government and the private sector, amends the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), strengthens the partnership between DHS and the Department of Defense (DOD), increases cybersecurity research and development and cybersecurity recruitment and training.