BloostonLaw Telecom Update Published by the Law Offices of Blooston, Mordkofsky, Dickens, Duffy & Prendergast, LLP [Portions reproduced here with the firm's permission.] www.bloostonlaw.com |
| Vol. 12, No. 30 | x July 29, 2009 |
 IMPORTANT DEADLINES Last Call! The following deadlines are now in effect. If you have not complied with any of them, you should contact us immediately. JULY 31: FCC FORM 507, UNIVERSAL SERVICE QUARTERLY LINE COUNT UPDATE. JULY 31: FCC FORM 525, COMPETITIVE CARRIER LINE COUNT QUARTERLY REPORT. JULY 31: REPORT OF EXTENSION OF CREDIT TO FEDERAL CANDIDATES. JULY 31: SECTION 43.61(a) INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS TRAFFIC REPORTS. JULY 31: CARRIER IDENTIFICATION CODE (CIC) REPORTS DUE. AUGUST 1: FTC BEGINS ENFORCEMENT OF RED FLAG RULES. AUGUST 3: FCC FORM 499-Q, TELECOMMUNICATIONS REPORTING WORKSHEET. AUGUST 3: FCC FORM 502, NUMBER UTILIZATION AND FORECAST REPORT. More information on these and other upcoming important deadlines can be found on page 5 [below]. |
NOTICE TO CLIENTS: The BloostonLaw Telecom Update newsletter will be on vacation during the month of August. We will resume publication on September 9. Meanwhile, we will keep clients informed via memos and special supplements.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Incumbent providers should watch for Public Notice of NOFA applications overlapping their service areas. Senate confirms Clyburn, Baker, Adelstein. Obama Administration changes policy on lobbyists. FCC releases data on local exchange competition. VITAL MEETINGS & DEADLINES
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Incumbent Providers Should Watch For Public Notice Of NOFA Applications Overlapping Their Service Areas The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Rural Utilities Service (RUS) recently released a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document for each broadband program, and will also be releasing a Public Notice providing the proposed service areas for all Infrastructure applications. Existing telecom service providers will want to keep close watch for applications proposing projects in areas in which they already provide broadband service, and be prepared to show that their area is not “unserved.” The FAQ was released late in the evening on July 23, 2009. The 13-page document contains an aggregation of questions that have been posed to the agencies during the Workshop program and via email along with their responses in order to facilitate the application process. Topics include Applying for Funds, Infrastructure Issues, Public Computer Center and Sustainable Adoption Issues, Eligibility and Matching, and the Review and Award Process. The document is currently available at responses in order to facilitate the application process. Topics include Applying for Funds, Infrastructure Issues, Public Computer Center and Sustainable Adoption Issues, Eligibility and Matching, and the Review and Award Process. The document is currently available at responses in order to facilitate the application process. Topics include Applying for Funds, Infrastructure Issues, Public Computer Center and Sustainable Adoption Issues, Eligibility and Matching, and the Review and Award Process. The document is currently available at http://www.broadbandusa.gov/faq.htm, under the FAQ heading. In the future, NTIA and RUS will also be posting a Public Notice containing the proposed service areas for each Broadband Infrastructure application. The Notice will likewise be made available at www.broadbandusa.gov, and will remain available for a period of 30 days. According to the NOFA, the Public Notice will provide existing service providers an opportunity to submit to the agencies information regarding their service offerings. There is no indication as to when the Public Notice will be made available. The Public Notice is especially important given the potential volume of information and the limited time during which you will be permitted to submit information on your service offerings within the areas applicants are proposing service. Stimulus applicants can demonstrate that a proposed service area is underserved for broadband purposes by satisfying one of three criteria: (1) no more than 50 percent of the households in the proposed funded service area have access to facilities-based, terrestrial broadband service at greater than the minimum broadband transmission speed of at least 768 kilobits per second (kbps) downstream and 200 kbps upstream; (2) no fixed or mobile broadband service provider advertises broadband transmission speeds of at least three megabits per second (mbps) downstream in the proposed funded service area; or (3) the rate of broadband subscribership for the proposed funded service area is 40 percent of households or less. An area qualifies as “unserved” if at least 90 percent of households in the proposed funded service area lack access to facilities-based, terrestrial broadband service, either fixed or mobile, at the minimum broadband transmission speed specified in the NOFA. For underserved areas, an incumbent service provider will presumably have to refute all three criteria to establish that an area is “served.” If you have any questions, please contact Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak. SENATE CONFIRMS CLYBURN, BAKER, ADELSTEIN: The U.S. Senate last Friday confirmed the nominations of Mignon Clyburn and Meredith Attwell Baker to be FCC Commissioners, and Jonathan Adelstein to be Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service (RUS). BloostonLaw contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and John Prendergast. OBAMA ADMINISTRATION CHANGES POLICY ON LOBBYISTS: The Obama administration has reversed itself and will now allow lobbyists to meet and have telephone discussions with government officials regarding economic recovery projects. The lifting of the ban comes after lobbyists have challenged the White House on its restrictions. In March, President Obama announced that government officials would not be allowed to consider the views of lobbyists regarding specific stimulus projects unless the requests are put in writing. The materials also had to be posted on an agency’s website within three business days of receipt. Lobbyists have said that the policy was one more example of the administration's disdain for their industry. Now, the revised rules will allow government personnel to accept meetings and calls from federally registered lobbyists on the implementation of stimulus projects. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) last Friday issued new guidelines regarding the administration's communications with registered lobbyists about economic recovery funds. Lobbyists can make their cases—and agency officials can listen to them—at "widely attended gatherings." Government officials have to ask whether the person they are talking to at such events is a federally registered lobbyist speaking on behalf of a client. Agency officials are required to promptly disclose on the Internet all oral and written communications with lobbyists concerning policy or projects funded under the recovery act. They also have to disclose any written communications with lobbyists regarding pending applications for competitive funding. The one caveat, however, is that lobbyists can talk to agency representatives only about logistical issues or general questions regarding stimulus grants. Agency officials have to document any discussion with a lobbyist that veers toward advocacy of stimulus policy or a particular project. Government officials are still banned from talking to lobbyists representing companies that have already applied for grants and are awaiting a competitive decision. In those cases, agency officials are allowed to accept "oral communication" only if the matter is purely logistical. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak. FCC RELEASES DATA ON LOCAL EXCHANGE COMPETITION: The FCC has released new data on local telephone service competition in the United States. Twice a year, all incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) and competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) are required to report basic information about their local telephone service, and all facilities-based mobile telephony providers are required to provide information about their subscribers, pursuant to the FCC’s local telephone competition and broadband data gathering program (FCC Form 477). The statistics released reflect data as of June 30, 2008. Summary Statistics: End-user customers obtained local telephone service by utilizing approximately 124.6 million ILEC switched access lines, 30.0 million CLEC switched access lines, and 255.3 million mobile telephony service subscriptions at the end of June 2008. Of the 30.0 million CLEC end-user switched access lines, 9.4 million lines were provided over coaxial cable connections. The 9.4 million lines represent about 71% of the 13.1 million end-user switched access lines that CLECs reported providing over their own local loop facilities. Mobile telephony service providers reported 255.3 million subscribers at the end of June 2008, which is 17.0 million, or 7%, more than a year earlier. About 8% of these subscribers were billed by mobile telephony service resellers. There was at least one CLEC serving customers in 82% of the nation’s Zip Codes at the end of June 2008. About 97% of United States households resided in those Zip Codes. Moreover, multiple carriers reported providing local telephone service in the major population centers of the country. The 30.0 million lines reported by CLECs is about 19% of the 154.7 million total end-user switched access lines reported for the end of June 2008. CLECs reported 12.4 million (or 14%) of the 89.6 million lines that served residential end users and 17.7 million (or 27%) of the 64.7 million lines that served business, institutional, and government customers. CLECs reported providing 44% of their end-user switched access lines over their own local loop facilities, 36% by using unbundled network elements (UNEs) that they leased from other carriers, and 20% through resale arrangements with unaffiliated carriers. ILECs reported providing about 11% fewer UNE loops with switching (referred to as the UNE-Platform) to unaffiliated carriers at the end of June 2008 than they reported six months earlier (4.9 million compared to 5.5 million) and about 7% fewer UNE loops without switching (3.8 million compared to 4.1 million). ILECs were the pre-subscribed interstate long distance carrier for 59% of the switched access lines they provided to end users, while CLECs were the interstate long distance carrier for 79% of their switched access lines. FCC RELEASES FORM 477 HIGH SPEED, ADVANCED SERVICES DATA: The FCC has released the final High-Speed Services for Internet Access report to be based on the old Form 477 data collection requirements. The FCC has collected basic service information from broadband providers on a semiannual basis since 2000. Statistics released as of June 30, 2008, are the last to be based on data collected under the previous Form 477 requirements. Under the previous requirements, filers were required to identify the number of subscribers they had in each state, broken down by speed tier and technology. Filers were also required to identify all Zip Codes in which they had at least one high-speed connection (defined as any connection delivering service at speeds exceeding 200 kilobits per second (kbps) in at least one direction) in service. According to the June 2008 data, there are no Zip Codes where there is not at least one such connection. The FCC and others have recognized these requirements as insufficiently granular or precise to inform necessary policymaking. In June 2008, the FCC released a Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration, which together implemented significant improvements to the way in which the Commission collects data on these services. As part of these improvements, which were effective for the March 2009 collection of data as of year-end 2008, providers of wired broadband, fixed-wireless broadband, and satellite-based broadband connections report subscriber counts at the Census Tract level rather than the state level, and all filers report their connections in accordance with an increased number of upload and download transmission speed tiers. In conjunction with measures underway pursuant to the Broadband Data Improvement Act and the Recovery Act, the new Form 477 data will provide the Commission and the public with a more valuable resource for evaluating the state of broadband in the country. The findings of the attached report are summarized as follows: High-Speed Lines: High-speed lines, defined as connections delivering services at speeds exceeding 200 kbps in at least one direction, increased by 10% during the first half of 2008, from 121.2 million to 132.8 million lines in service, following a 20% increase, from 101.0 million to 121.2 million lines, during the second half of 2007. For the full twelve-month period ending June 30, 2008, high-speed lines increased by 32% from 101.0 million to 132.8 million (or 31.8 million lines) compared to a 55% increase, from 65.0 million to 101.0 million lines (or 36.0 million lines), in the twelve-month period ending June 30, 2007. Of the 132.8 million total high-speed lines reported as of June 30, 2008, 79.1 million served primarily residential end users. Cable modem service represented 46.7% of these lines while 34.1% were asymmetric DSL (ADSL) connections, 0.1% were symmetric DSL (SDSL) or traditional wireline connections, 2.7% were fiber connections to the end user premises, and 16.4% used other types of technology including satellite, terrestrial fixed or mobile wireless (on a licensed or unlicensed basis), and electric power line. High-speed ADSL increased by 0.5 million lines during the first half of 2008, fiber connections increased by 0.5 million lines, and cable modem service increased by 1.7 million lines. For the full twelve-month period ending June 30, 2008, ADSL increased by 2.2 million lines, fiber connections increased by 1.1 million lines, and cable modem service increased by 3.8 million lines. Advanced Services Lines: Advanced services lines, defined as connections delivering services at speeds exceeding 200 kbps in both directions, increased by 10% during the first half of 2008, from 80.3 million to 88.4 million lines, compared to a 15% increase, from 69.6 million to 80.3 million lines, during the second half of 2007. For the full twelve-month period ending June 30, 2008, advanced services lines increased 27% from 69.6 million to 88.4 million (or 18.8 million lines). Of the 88.4 million advanced services lines reported as of June 30, 2008, 55.5% were at least 2.5 mbps in the faster direction and 44.5% were slower than 2.5 mbps in the faster direction. Of the 88.4 million advanced services lines, 74.5 million served primarily residential end users. Cable modem service represented 49.2% of these lines while 31.3% were ADSL connections, 0.2% were SDSL or traditional wireline connections, 2.9% were fiber connections to the end user premises, and 16.5% used other types of technology including satellite, terrestrial fixed or mobile wireless (on a licensed or unlicensed basis), and electric power line. SEN. HUTCHISON INTRODUCES “CONNECTING ACT OF 2009”: Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, has introduced legislation to engage the private sector and encourage investment in the deployment of broadband. “Broadband deployment is a national priority requiring a comprehensive approach that encourages private sector investment in our unserved areas and reform of existing federal programs to make sure we are spending scarce public resources in the most effective way. We must also take steps to increase adoption of broadband technology by individuals, educational institutions, small businesses, and health care providers. My legislation provides this framework and allows local communities to play a bigger role in determining the technology and infrastructure that best suits their needs.” The Connecting Act of 2009 is designed to stimulate investment and economic development activity over the next five years. The legislation creates limited duration tax credits that will encourage companies to make investments that they might otherwise delay due to the economic downturn. Under the bill, targeted incentives will provide companies immediate access to capital and encourage broadband investment to maintain and improve infrastructure. The bill would also create a technology-neutral bond program that will allow communities, rather than federal bureaucrats, to raise funds for construction, assess their own infrastructure needs, and adopt the broadband technologies that are most appropriate, Hutchison said. The legislation would also reform and streamline the numerous federal programs supporting broadband to focus broadband deployment funding in a coordinated manner. The Administration earmarked $7.2 billion for broadband deployment in the stimulus bill. However, the funding was made available before the Federal Communications Commission finished mapping broadband availability or completing a comprehensive national broadband plan, Hutchison noted. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak. RTG FILES PETITION TO DENY TRANSFER OF LICENSES FROM VERIZON TO AT&T: The Rural Telecommunications Group (RTG) recently filed a petition to deny the applications of AT&T and Verizon Wireless to transfer control of certain licenses to AT&T with respect to the Verizon-Alltel merger or, in the alternative, to place significant conditions on any grant to ensure that the availability, price and quality of service provided by rural wireless carriers to rural consumers is not threatened or harmed. Replies to oppositions to the petitions to deny are due August 6. Clients should reference WT Docket No. 09-104. The proposed transaction between AT&T and Verizon Wireless, involves predominantly rural markets and will harm RTG’s members and its member subscribers. The Applicants have failed to show that the Applications would be consistent with the public interest, convenience and necessity. The 79 Cellular Market Areas (CMAs) involved in this proposed transaction and that comprise the Applications consist of predominantly rural areas of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains where RTG members operate CMRS facilities. If the Applications are granted, Applicants will operate as a duopoly in many of these markets, and RTG members operating in these markets will not be able to effectively compete in these markets due to the ability and incentive of AT&T and Verizon to leverage their duopolistic power to behave in an anticompetitive manner. BloostonLaw contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, John Prendergast, and Cary Mitchell. USDA ISSUES NOFA FOR RHS, RBS: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) pertaining to the Rural Housing Service (RHS), Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS), and Rural Utilities Service (RUS). These agencies are administered through USDA’s Office of Rural Development (RD). This Notice announces the availability of stimulus assistance provided pursuant to Title 1 of Division A of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009 (ARRA). The NOFA states that applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until funds are expended. Program funding expires September 30, 2010. Although the Broadband program is mentioned, the NOFA states that “Rural Development anticipates making Direct Broadband loans and grants available to eligible entities using Recovery Act funds. Further information regarding Broadband loans and grants will be provided separately in a subsequent NOFA or a series of NOFAs.” In addition to the “Buy American” provision, this NOFA subjects projects to wage-rate requirements. That is, Recovery Act projects will be subject to the Davis-Bacon Act provisions, which require laborers to be compensated “at rates not less than those prevailing on projects of a character similar in the locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor.” Projects must also comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and the Endangered Species Act, as well as meet various reporting requirements. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak. JULY 31: FCC FORM 507, UNIVERSAL SERVICE QUARTERLY LINE COUNT UPDATE. Line count updates are required to recalculate a carrier's per line universal service support, and is filed with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). This information must be submitted on July 31 each year by all rate-of-return incumbent carriers, and on a quarterly basis if a competitive eligible telecommunications carrier (CETC) has initiated service in the rate-of-return incumbent carrier’s service area and reported line count data to USAC in the rate-of-return incumbent carrier’s service area, in order for the incumbent carrier to be eligible to receive Interstate Common Line Support (ICLS). This quarterly filing is due July 31 and covers lines served as of December 31, 2007. Incumbent carriers filing on a quarterly basis must also file on September 30 (for lines served as of March 31, 2008); December 30 (for lines served as of June 30, 2008), and March 31, 2009, for lines served as of September 30, 2008).. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak. JULY 31: FCC FORM 525, COMPETITIVE CARRIER LINE COUNT QUARTERLY REPORT. Competitive eligible telecommunications carriers (CETCs) are eligible to receive high cost support if they serve lines in an incumbent carrier’s service area, and that incumbent carrier receives high cost support. CETCs are eligible to receive the same per-line support amount received by the incumbent carrier in whose study area the CETC serves lines. Unlike the incumbent carriers, CETCs will use FCC Form 525 to submit their line count data to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). This quarterly report must be filed by the last business day of March (for lines served as of September 30 of the previous year); the last business day of July (for lines served as of December 31 of the previous year); the last business day of September (for lines served as of March 31 of the current year); and the last business day of December (for lines served as of June 30 of the current year). CETCs must file the number of working loops served in the service area of an incumbent carrier, disaggregated by the incumbent carrier’s cost zones, if applicable, for High Cost Loop (HCL), Local Switching Support (LSS), Long Term Support (LTS), and Interstate Common Line Support (ICLS). ICLS will also require the loops to be reported by customer class as further described below. For Interstate Access Support (IAS), CETCs must file the number of working loops served in the service area of an incumbent carrier by Unbundled Network Element (UNE) zone and customer class. Working loops provided by CETCs in service areas of non-rural incumbents receiving High Cost Model (HCM) support must be filed by wire center or other methodology as determined by the state regulatory authority. CETCs may choose to complete FCC Form 525 and submit it to USAC, or designate an agent to file the form on its behalf. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak. JULY 31: REPORT OF EXTENSION OF CREDIT TO FEDERAL CANDIDATES. This report (in letter format) must be filed by January 30 and July 31 of each year, but ONLY if the carrier extended unsecured credit to a candidate for a Federal elected office during the reporting period. BloostonLaw contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, John Prendergast, and Richard Rubino. JULY 31: SECTION 43.61(a) INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS TRAFFIC REPORTS. All common carriers that provided international facilities-based and facilities-resale switched and private line services, or pure switched resale services, during calendar year 2007, are required to file the report regardless of the amount of traffic they provided. Facilities-based services are provided using international transmission facilities owned in whole or in part by the carrier providing the service. Facilities-resale services are provided by a carrier utilizing international circuits leased from other reporting international carriers. International facilities-based and facilities-resale switched message telephone and private line services data must be filed on a country-by-country, region and world total basis. International switched telegraph, telex and other miscellaneous services data may be filed on a region and world total basis only. Carriers that provided international pure switched resale services for the calendar year may file world totals only. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak. JULY 31: CARRIER IDENTIFICATION CODE (CIC) REPORTS DUE. Carrier Identification Code (CIC) Reports must be filed by July 31 of each year. These reports are required of all carriers who have been assigned a CIC code by NANPA. Failure to file could result in an effort by NANPA to reclaim it, although according to the Guidelines this process is initiated with a letter from NANPA regarding the apparent non-use of the CIC code. The assignee can then respond with an explanation. (Guidelines Section 6.2). The CIC Reporting Requirement is included in the CIC Assignment Guidelines, produced by ATIS. According to section 1.4 of that document: At the direction of the NANPA, the access providers and the entities who are assigned CICs will be requested to provide access and usage information to the NANPA, on a semi-annual basis to ensure effective management of the CIC resource. (Holders of codes may respond to the request at their own election). Access provider and entity reports shall be submitted to NANPA no later than January 31 for the period ending December 31, and no later than July 31 for the period ending June 30. It is also referenced in the NANPA Technical Requirements Document, which states at 7.18.6: CIC holders shall provide a usage report to the NANPA per the industry CIC guidelines … The NAS shall be capable of accepting CIC usage reports per guideline requirements on January 31 for the period ending December 31 and no later than July 31 for the period ending June 30. These reports may also be mailed and accepted by the NANPA in paper form. Finally, according to the NANPA website: If no local exchange carrier reports access or usage for a given CIC, NANPA is obliged to reclaim it. The semi-annual utilization and access reporting mechanism is described at length in the guidelines. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak. AUGUST 1: FTC BEGINS ENFORCEMENT OF RED FLAG RULES. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has delayed enforcement of the “Red Flag” Rules for 90 days until August 1, 2009, to give creditors and financial institutions additional time to implement identity theft programs. Under the new rules, all businesses that maintain a creditor-debtor relationship with customers, including virtually all telecommunications carriers (but other companies as well), must adopt written procedures designed to detect the relevant warning signs of identity theft, and implement an appropriate response. The Red Flag compliance program was in place as of November 1, 2008. But the FTC will not enforce the rules until August 1, 2009, meaning only that a business will not be subject to enforcement action by the FTC if it delays implementing the program until August 1. The FTC announcement does not affect other federal agencies’ enforcement of the original Nov. 1, 2008, compliance deadline for institutions subject to their oversight. Other liabilities may be incurred if a violation occurs in the meantime. The requirements are not just binding on telcos and wireless carriers that are serving the public on a common carrier basis. They also apply to any “creditor” (which includes entities that defer payment for goods or services) that has “covered accounts” (accounts used mostly for personal, family or household purposes). This also may affect private user clients, as well as many telecom carriers’ non-regulated affiliates and subsidiaries. BloostonLaw has prepared a Red Flag Compliance Manual to help your company achieve compliance with the Red Flag Rules. Please contact Gerry Duffy (202-828-5528) or Mary Sisak (202-828-5554) with any questions or to request the manual. AUGUST 3: FCC FORM 499-Q, TELECOMMUNICATIONS REPORTING WORKSHEET. All telecommunications common carriers that expect to contribute more than $10,000 to federal Universal Service Fund (USF) support mechanisms must file this quarterly form. (Normally this form is due on August 1, but because August 1 falls on a Saturday this year, the next business day is Monday, August 3.) This filing requirement applies to wireline and wireless carriers (including CMRS, paging, and other commercial service providers), as well as resellers. It also applies to certain Private Mobile Radio Service (PMRS) licensees, such as for-profit paging and messaging, dispatch and two-way mobile radio services. The FCC has modified this form in light of its recent decision to establish interim measures for USF contribution assessments. The form contains revenue information from the prior quarter plus projections for the next quarter. Form 499-Q relates only to USF contributions. It does not relate to the cost recovery mechanisms for the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Fund, the North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA), and the shared costs of local number portability (LNP), which are covered in the annual form (Form 499-A) that was due April 1. For-profit private radio service providers that are “de minimis” (those that contribute less than $10,000 per year to the USF) do not have to file the 499-A or 499-Q. However, they must fill out the form and retain the relevant calculations as well as documentation of their contribution base revenues for three years. De minimis telecom carriers must actually file the Form 499-A, but not the 499-Q. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak. AUGUST 3: FCC FORM 502, NUMBER UTILIZATION AND FORECAST REPORT. Any wireline or wireless carrier (including CMRS and paging companies) that have received number blocks—including 100, 1,000, or 10,000 number blocks—from the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA), a Pooling Administrator, or from another carrier, must file Form 502 by August 3. (Normally, this filing would be due August 1, but this year August 1 falls on a Saturday, and agency rules require the filing be submitted the first business day thereafter.) Carriers porting numbers for the purpose of transferring an established customer’s service to another service provider must also report, but the carrier receiving numbers through porting does not (for the reporting period in which the port occurs). Resold services should also be treated like ported numbers, meaning the carrier transferring the resold service to another carrier is required to report those numbers but the carrier receiving such numbers should not report them. New this year is that reporting carriers are required to include their FCC Registration Number (FRN). Reporting carriers file utilization and forecast reports semiannually on or before February 1 for the preceding six-month reporting period ending December 31, and on or before August 1 for the preceding six-month reporting period ending June 30. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak. AUGUST 31: COPYRIGHT STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS. The Copyright Statement of Accounts form plus royalty payment for the first half of calendar year 2009 is due to be filed September 1 at the Library of Congress’ Copyright Office by cable TV service providers. BloostonLaw contact: Gerry Duffy. SEPTEMBER 1: FCC FORM 477, LOCAL COMPETITION AND BROADBAND REPORTING FORM. This is a more detailed form from those in the past, but it is the same one required to be filed last March. Who Must File Form 477: Three types of entities must file this form. (1) Facilities-based Providers of Broadband Connections to End User Locations: Entities that are facilities-based providers of broadband connections – which are wired “lines” or wireless “channels” that enable the end user to receive information from and/or send information to the Internet at information transfer rates exceeding 200 kbps in at least one direction – must complete and file the applicable portions of this form for each state in which the entity provides one or more such connections to end user locations. For the purposes of Form 477, an entity is a “facilities-based” provider of broadband connections to end user locations if it owns the portion of the physical facility that terminates at the end user location, if it obtains unbundled network elements (UNEs), special access lines, or other leased facilities that terminate at the end user location and provisions/equips them as broadband, or if it provisions/equips a broadband wireless channel to the end user location over licensed or unlicensed spectrum. Such entities include incumbent and competitive local exchange carriers (LECs), cable system operators, fixed wireless service providers (including “wireless ISPs”), terrestrial mobile wireless service providers, satellite mobile wireless service providers, MMDS/BRS providers, electric utilities, municipalities, and other entities. (Such entities do not include equipment suppliers unless the equipment supplier uses the equipment to provision a broadband connection that it offers to the public for sale. Such entities also do not include providers of fixed wireless services (e.g., “Wi-Fi” and other wireless ethernet, or wireless local area network, applications) that only enable local distribution and sharing of a premises broad-band facility.) (2) Providers of Wired or Fixed Wireless Local Telephone Services: Incumbent and competitive LECs must complete and file the applicable portions of the form for each state in which they provide local exchange service to one or more end user customers (which may include “dial-up” ISPs). (3) Providers of Mobile Telephony Services: Facilities-based providers of mobile telephony services must complete and file the applicable portions of this form for each state in which they serve one or more mobile telephony subscribers. A mobile telephony service is a real-time, two-way switched voice service that is interconnected with the public switched network using an in-network switching facility that enables the provider to reuse frequencies and accomplish seamless handoff of subscriber calls. Obvious examples include cellular, PCS, and “covered” SMR carriers, but may include services provided on other wireless spectrum such as AWS, BRS and 700 MHz if configured to fit the above definition. A mobile telephony service provider is considered “facilities-based” if it serves a subscriber using spectrum for which the entity holds a license, that it manages, or for which it has obtained the right to use via lease or other arrangement (e.g., with a Band Manager).
BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak. SEPTEMBER 30: FCC FORM 507, UNIVERSAL SERVICE QUARTERLY LINE COUNT UPDATE. Line count updates are required to recalculate a carrier's per line universal service support, and is filed with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). This information must be submitted on July 31 each year by all rate-of-return incumbent carriers, and on a quarterly basis if a competitive eligible telecommunications carrier (CETC) has initiated service in the rate-of-return incumbent carrier’s service area and reported line count data to USAC in the rate-of-return incumbent carrier’s service area, in order for the incumbent carrier to be eligible to receive Interstate Common Line Support (ICLS). This quarterly filing is due July 31 and covers lines served as of December 31, 2007. Incumbent carriers filing on a quarterly basis must also file on September 30 (for lines served as of March 31, 2008); December 30 (for lines served as of June 30, 2008), and March 31, 2009, for lines served as of September 30, 2008).. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak. SEPTEMBER 30: FCC FORM 525, COMPETITIVE CARRIER LINE COUNT QUARTERLY REPORT. Competitive eligible telecommunications carriers (CETCs) are eligible to receive high cost support if they serve lines in an incumbent carrier’s service area, and that incumbent carrier receives high cost support. CETCs are eligible to receive the same per-line support amount received by the incumbent carrier in whose study area the CETC serves lines. Unlike the incumbent carriers, CETCs will use FCC Form 525 to submit their line count data to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). This quarterly report must be filed by the last business day of March (for lines served as of September 30 of the previous year); the last business day of July (for lines served as of December 31 of the previous year); the last business day of September (for lines served as of March 31 of the current year); and the last business day of December (for lines served as of June 30 of the current year). CETCs must file the number of working loops served in the service area of an incumbent carrier, disaggregated by the incumbent carrier’s cost zones, if applicable, for High Cost Loop (HCL), Local Switching Support (LSS), Long Term Support (LTS), and Interstate Common Line Support (ICLS). ICLS will also require the loops to be reported by customer class as further described below. For Interstate Access Support (IAS), CETCs must file the number of working loops served in the service area of an incumbent carrier by Unbundled Network Element (UNE) zone and customer class. Working loops provided by CETCs in service areas of non-rural incumbents receiving High Cost Model (HCM) support must be filed by wire center or other methodology as determined by the state regulatory authority. CETCs may choose to complete FCC Form 525 and submit it to USAC, or designate an agent to file the form on its behalf. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak. OCTOBER 1: STATE CERTIFICATION OF UNIVERSAL SERVICE SUPPORT. State regulatory commissions must certify by October 1 that eligible rural carriers are using universal service support for the intended purposes. State commissions must file this annual certification with the FCC and the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) stating that all federal high-cost support provided to rural incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) and competitive eligible telecommunications carriers (CETCs) serving lines in rural ILEC service areas "will be used only for the provision, maintenance, and upgrading of facilities and services for which the support is intended." Failure of a state commission to provide certification will mean that non-certified carriers in that state will not receive high-cost support for the first quarter of 2008. If you have any doubts about your state's status, contact your state commission immediately. Carriers not subject to state jurisdiction must certify directly to the FCC and USAC. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak. OCTOBER 1: LOCAL SWITCHING SUPPORT FORMS. All incumbent eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) serving study areas with 50,000 or fewer access lines must file projections for Local Switching Support (LSS) with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) no later than October 1 in order to receive LSS in calendar year 2006. Average schedule companies must submit USAC Form LSSa, and cost companies must submit USAC Form LSSc. Whereas the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) normally files these forms for participants in its Traffic Sensitive Pool, carriers maintaining their own interstate access tariffs for traffic sensitive services (or services that are otherwise not included in the pool) must file the forms themselves. Contact the firm if you need assistance with these forms. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak. OCTOBER 1: LOCAL SWITCHING SUPPORT FORMS. All incumbent eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) serving study areas with 50,000 or fewer access lines must file projections for Local Switching Support (LSS) with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) no later than October 1 in order to receive LSS in calendar year 2006. Average schedule companies must submit USAC Form LSSa, and cost companies must submit USAC Form LSSc. Whereas the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) normally files these forms for participants in its Traffic Sensitive Pool, carriers maintaining their own interstate access tariffs for traffic sensitive services (or services that are otherwise not included in the pool) must file the forms themselves. Contact the firm if you need assistance with these forms. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak. OCTOBER 19: FCC FORM 497, LOW INCOME QUARTERLY REPORT. This form, the Lifeline and Link-Up Worksheet, must be submitted to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) by all eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) that request reimbursement for participating in the low-income program. The form must be submitted by the third Monday after the end of each quarter. It is available at: www.universalservice.org. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak. NOVEMBER 1: FCC FORM 499-Q, TELECOMMUNICATIONS REPORTING WORKSHEET. All telecommunications common carriers that expect to contribute more than $10,000 to federal Universal Service Fund (USF) support mechanisms must file this quarterly form. This filing requirement applies to wireline and wireless carriers (including CMRS, paging, and other commercial service providers), as well as resellers. It also applies to certain Private Mobile Radio Service (PMRS) licensees, such as for-profit paging and messaging, dispatch and two-way mobile radio services. The FCC has modified this form in light of its recent decision to establish interim measures for USF contribution assessments. The form contains revenue information from the prior quarter plus projections for the next quarter. Form 499-Q relates only to USF contributions. It does not relate to the cost recovery mechanisms for the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Fund, the North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA), and the shared costs of local number portability (LNP), which are covered in the annual form (Form 499-A) that was due April 1. For-profit private radio service providers that are “de minimis” (those that contribute less than $10,000 per year to the USF) do not have to file the 499-A or 499-Q. However, they must fill out the form and retain the relevant calculations as well as documentation of their contribution base revenues for three years. De minimis telecom carriers must actually file the Form 499-A, but not the 499-Q. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak. VITAL MEETINGS & DEADLINES July 31 – FCC Form 507, Universal Service Quarterly Line Count Update, is due. July 31 – FCC Form 525, Competitive Carrier Line Count Quarterly Report, is due. July 31—Report of extension of credit to Federal candidates is due. July 31 – International Telecommunications Traffic Reports are due. July 31 – Carrier Identification Code (CIC) Reports are due. Aug. 1 – FTC enforcement of Red Flag rules takes effect. Aug. 3 – FCC Form 499-Q, Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet, is due. Aug. 3 – FCC Form 502, Number Utilization and Forecast Report, is due. Aug. 3 – Deadline for comments on FNPRM regarding improving one business day porting interval process (WC Docket No. 07-244). Aug. 5 – Auction No. 86 (unassigned BRS Auction) Seminar. Aug. 5 – Auction No. 86 (unassigned BRS Auction) Short-Form Filing Window Opens. Aug. 6 – Deadline for replies to oppositions to petitions to deny transfer of licenses from Verizon to AT&T with respect to Verizon-Alltel merger (WT Docket No. 09-104). Aug. 14 – Deadline for applications for NTIA, RUS broadband stimulus program funding. Aug. 14 – Deadline for applications for NTIA mapping grants. Aug. 18 – Auction No. 86 (unassigned BRS Auction) Short-Form Filing Deadline. Aug. 19 – Deadline for reply comments on fixing omission in 4.9 GHz rules (WP Docket No. 07-100). Aug. 21 – Deadline for comments on NTIA’s NOI regarding implementation of CSEA regarding AWS-1 auction relocation issues (Docket No. 0906231085–91085–01). Aug. 27 – FCC Open Meeting. Aug. 28 – Deadline for reply comments on Supplemental NOI regarding video competition report (2009 data) (MB Docket No. 07-269). Aug. 31 – Deadline for reply comments on FNPRM regarding improving one business day porting interval process (WC Docket No. 07-244). Aug. 31 – Deadline for comments on NTIA BTOP NOFA information collection requirement (RIN: 0660-ZA01). Aug. 31 – Copyright Statement of Accounts is due. Sept. 1 – Auction No. 79, FM Construction Permits. |
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