Comments are due Oct. 16, replies Oct. 31, on Tin Can’s petition for a declaratory ruling that its services don’t constitute interconnected VoIP under Title II of the Communications Act, said a public notice in Tuesday’s Daily Digest. Tin Can provides “restricted access to whitelisted contacts through the Public Switched Telephone Network.” If the FCC instead determines that the VoIP rules apply to Tin Can’s service, the company wants the FCC to waive its VoIP regulatory requirements, the notice said.
The FCC continues to hear from people with family members in prison as they challenge a Wireline Bureau order delaying some incarcerated people’s communications service (IPCS) deadlines until April 1, 2027 (see 2507310049). “Contrary to the baseless claims made by the opposition, which is dominated by the predatory correctional telecom industry itself, the delay will significantly harm families impacted by incarceration,” said a comment by Karen Christenson this week in docket 23-62.
A second amended class-action complaint about AT&T ownership of legacy telecom cables laden with toxic lead (see 2311270004) still hasn't alleged enough facts to show that the company knowingly acted wrongly or with an intent to deceive, according to the company. In a motion to dismiss filed with the U.S. District Court for Northern Texas (docket 3:24-cv-01196), AT&T said the plaintiffs ignore the fact that more than two years after Wall Street Journal articles about the old telecom infrastructure and its environmental risks, which prompted the litigation, "none of those purported risks has come to fruition." The plaintiffs also haven't adequately pleaded actionable falsity for any alleged misstatement or omission, AT&T added.
California, New York and other “blue” states supported an application for review asking the FCC to rescind a Wireline Bureau order delaying some incarcerated people’s communications service (IPCS) deadlines until April 1, 2027 (see 2507310049). Other groups also supported the review in filings posted Tuesday in docket 23-62.
NTCA urged the FCC to tweak the enhanced alternative Connect America cost model (E-ACAM) “in a manner that captures as accurately as possible the effects on costs associated with location changes.” An NTCA representative discussed the program with a Wireline Bureau staffer, said a filing Monday in docket 10-90. NTCA favors applying the threshold for support adjustments in a manner that mitigates volatility in support levels, so providers can deliver “on the obligations of the program consistent with a reasonable understanding of such obligations at the time of program elections despite lingering concerns” and outdated data in the national broadband map, the group said. The FCC should also use its map as a “starting point rather than as a ‘finish line’ for assessments of would-be competitive presence.”
The FCC Enforcement Bureau on Monday removed the certification of Chase Tech from the commission’s robocall mitigation database. The company’s certification “was found to contain false information regarding the Company as it submitted personal identification information of an individual who is unaffiliated with the Company, thus making the certification deficient under the Commission’s rules,” the bureau said.
The FCC Wireline Bureau has rejected a petition by CRC Communications asking for a waiver of agency rules about Connect America Fund Phase II noncompliance. In a docket 10-90 order Friday, the bureau said that while CRC argued that its subcontractor, WiValley, going out of business made it unable to fulfill its CAF Phase II carrier obligations, CRC didn't explain how it failed to notice it wasn't actually offering service meeting FCC requirements despite certifying that it was. CRC will be subject to CAF Phase II noncompliance measures if it doesn't serve its required number of locations, the bureau said.
Comments are due Sept. 26, replies Oct. 3, on Plains Internet’s request to transfer all its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund obligations in Wyoming to Visionary Communications, said a public notice Friday. Plains, which is based in Texas, provides voice and broadband to 5,300 customers. Visionary, based in Wyoming, provides communications services there and in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico and Washington.
Consolidated Communications is planning to end legacy voice service for more than 36,000 subscribers in six states as soon as Jan. 27. In a series of FCC applications posted Thursday, Consolidated said that in each case, it has overbuilt its copper network with fiber and will transition residential subscribers of its basic local exchange services to a VoIP replacement. To be transitioned are 4,176 subscribers in six exchanges in Pennsylvania, 13,624 subscribers in 11 exchanges in Texas, 4,701 subscribers in five exchanges in Illinois, 8,490 subscribers in 38 New England exchanges in Maine and New Hampshire, and 5,147 subscribers in 17 Vermont exchanges, Consolidated said.
Alphabet's Starfish Infrastructure is planning a private, non-common carrier subsea fiber-optic cable system connecting the U.S. to Bermuda, the Azores and Spain. Sol would be the first cable system connecting Florida to Southern Europe and the second directly connecting the U.S. to the Azores, Starfish told the FCC in an application Wednesday. It said demand for additional capacity between the U.S. and Southern Europe "continues to increase substantially each year."