FCC-proposed 2019 regulatory fee hikes aren't transparent and the agency didn't provide enough information about them to form a basis for substantive comments, said satellite carriers, 50 state broadcaster associations and Incompas in comments posted through Monday in docket 19-105 by Friday's comment deadline. Similar criticisms were raised by NAB and other broadcasters in earlier comments (see 1906070063).

Incompas and competitive LEC members want the FCC to protect access to unbundled network elements (UNEs) from ILECs, they noted, posted Tuesday in docket 18-141. Members use the UNEs to deliver competitive services to both residential consumers and business customers, offering specialized services that ILECs "cannot or will not provide," Incompas said. Over time, CLECs are able to transition some of their customers to their own fiber-based networks, Incompas added, noted it's more difficult to do so when states approve substantially higher rates that ILECs can charge for UNE access. The Incompas group met with nine FCC staffers, including Wireline Bureau Chief Kris Monteith and Office of Economics and Analytics Associate Chief Eric Ralph, to urge the agency to reject USTelecom's forbearance petition (see 1905130050). USTelecom says forbearance from requirements to sell transport services as UNEs would promote competitive market conditions (see 1905280043).

Rural telecom carriers stand to gain some and lose some if T-Mobile buys Sprint and the carriers live up to the conditions they offered (see 1905200004) to clear the way for likely FCC OK, insiders say. Many remain skeptical that a new T-Mobile would be willing or able to build a 5G wireless infrastructure covering two-thirds of the rural U.S. population and 99 percent of the country within six years.

Rural telecom carriers stand to gain some and lose some if T-Mobile buys Sprint and the carriers live up to the conditions they offered (see 1905200004) to clear the way for likely FCC OK, insiders say. Many remain skeptical that a new T-Mobile would be willing or able to build a 5G wireless infrastructure covering two-thirds of the rural U.S. population and 99 percent of the country within six years.

Chairman Ajit Pai told fellow commissioners Friday a Further NPRM on robocalls is being changed to add a proposal that the FCC mandate secure handling of asserted information using tokens (Shaken) and secure telephone identity revisited (Stir) technology if major voice providers don’t comply with demands that it be implemented by year-end, officials said. The change came after the start of the sunshine period on the item, closing off outreach.

Chairman Ajit Pai told fellow commissioners Friday a Further NPRM on robocalls is being changed to add a proposal that the FCC mandate secure handling of asserted information using tokens (Shaken) and secure telephone identity revisited (Stir) technology if major voice providers don’t comply with demands that it be implemented by year-end, officials said. The change came after the start of the sunshine period on the item, closing off outreach.

ILECs and competitive LECs pressed opposing sides in replies mainly posted Wednesday in FCC docket 18-141 on a USTelecom petition for forbearance from selling unbundled network elements (UNEs) to rivals (see 1905230043). Incompas said the FCC should "not rely on unreliable data" in broadband coverage maps. Incompas said USTelecom hasn't met the burden of proof to demonstrate competitors are providing fiber in significant quantity. Access to unbundled loops and transport helps CLECs build customer bases and then deploy their own fiber networks, sometimes in markets unserved by others, Incompas said. It cited member telcos in the California counties of San Bernardino, Kern, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo that have no competing broadband provider even though the counties were deemed competitive in business data services order data submitted by USTelecom. CenturyLink believes Incompas is overstating the significance of UNEs "based on anecdotal narratives." AT&T said there's no "verifiable evidence that there is a large number of such locations" where a CLEC using UNEs is the only available broadband provider. AT&T said in many areas, "CLECs can economically deploy their own facilities." It doubted any CLEC will discontinue a broadband offering due to forbearance. USTelecom noted some CLECs have deployed transport networks that could or do bypass ILEC transport. Frontier Communications suggested CLECs no longer be viewed as the primary market competitor to ILECs, but over time "technological change has shown that cable and wireless have emerged as robust competitors, with cable companies becoming the dominant fixed broadband providers and wireless companies the dominant voice providers." The petition would be deemed granted absent FCC action by Aug. 2.

Interests representing ILECs and competitive LECs pressed opposing sides in replies mainly posted Wednesday in FCC docket 18-141 on a USTelecom petition for forbearance from selling unbundled network elements (UNEs) to competing telcos (see 1905140012). Incompas argued the Wireline Bureau "should not rely on unreliable data" in current broadband coverage maps (see 1905230043) in deciding, and that USTelecom "attempts to use the predictions of eventual competition made over two years ago to substitute for proof of actual competition today." Incompas said USTelecom hasn't met the burden of proof under forbearance procedures to demonstrate competitors are providing fiber in significant quantity to justify relief to ILECs from selling UNEs.

The promise of a rapid buildout of 5G infrastructure, especially across rural communities, justifies moving the U.S. from a market with four major wireless providers to three, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr suggested last week in an interview on C-SPAN. There appear to be enough commissioner votes to approve T-Mobile's buy of Sprint, following promises the combined company would commit to building out 5G infrastructure within three years to 97 percent of the U.S. population (see 1905200051). DOJ hasn't publicly weighed in.

U.S. broadband coverage maps are deeply flawed and cannot be used to "burn the bridge to broadband," Incompas CEO Chip Pickering blogged. The FCC uses broadband maps to help inform deployment and competition policy, he said, but its reliance on Census block data "has created an inaccurate fairy tale of broadband availability." Pickering argued Thursday "the FCC must immediately reject any proposals based on the current broadband maps' flawed data," starting with a USTelecom petition for forbearance from requirements that ILECs sell transport network services to competitive LECs as an unbundled network element (UNE). Incompas says competition in the business-to-business market would be especially threatened in rural markets without facilities-based competition (see 1905140012). A USTelecom spokesperson said that the 1996 unbundling rules are obsolete, noting the group and members "are leading the charge to help improve the FCC's Form 477 broadband data collection process, particularly for rural areas where current data can be upgraded." The telco group said in a recent filing that Form 477 census block data "is more than adequate for assessing the presence and feasibility of competition for last-mile facilities without reliance on UNEs" (see 1905220066). USTelecom said it has proposed limiting forbearance relief to census blocks that are less than a square mile on average, "where the so-called 'bridge to broadband' has already been built by facilities-based providers and/or our cable competitors."