FCC Defends Denial of USF Filing Waiver to SureWest/Consolidated in DC Circuit Case

The FCC told a court it reasonably denied SureWest Telephone a waiver from a federally mandated USF state certification deadline the company missed in 2012 (see 1610260025). "This Court has repeatedly stressed that agencies should not waive their rules except where special circumstances warrant deviation and a waiver is in the public interest," said an FCC/DOJ brief Wednesday to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that responded to arguments raised by Consolidated Communications, which took over SureWest. "SureWest’s confusion regarding the Commission’s rules -- which caused a filing error not remedied for many months -- is not the kind of special circumstance that can justify a waiver." In a 2016 concurring statement, then-Commissioner Ajit Pai agreed SureWest wasn't entitled to a waiver due to a simple mistake but said the decision to withhold $2.9 million in interstate common line support "for this minor filing error -- as we are required to do under our rules -- is exceedingly harsh." The case is Consolidated Communications of California v. FCC, No. 16-1431.