The FCC Wireline Bureau announced a new “rate floor” of $20.46 a month Thursday (http://bit.ly/1eWEVvf). It’s part of the agency’s attempts to phase out excessive subsidies for basic phone service, “which allowed some phone companies to charge their customers as little as $5 a month” when the average suburban or urban customer was paying $16, said Chief Julie Veach in a statement (http://fcc.us/Ny4wTU). “The reforms have been gradually eliminating these excessive subsidies to level the playing field for all consumers and contain the cost of the program, which is funded by universal service fees ultimately paid by consumers.” A new rate survey found that the average monthly rate in urban and suburban areas is $20.46, higher than the agency expected, an FCC official told us, so the bureau is seeking comment on extending the phase-in. Comments in docket 10-90 are due March 21, replies March 31. Commissioner Ajit Pai opposes the rate floor, saying in a statement that it’s equivalent to “a rate hike of up to 46 percent in the next few months.” Pai opposed what he called an “FCC-initiated increase” in rural phone bills (http://fcc.us/OFnuJ2): “Why should the FCC saddle rural Americans with rate increases when doing so may not save the Universal Service Fund a dime and may in fact divert scarce funds away from broadband deployment? And why should the FCC override state-set rates to raise costs for consumers?” The economy is good for many in Washington, D.C., but “a recovery hasn’t yet reached much of rural America,” Pai said. “Let’s not add to the challenges our fellow citizens face by increasing their phone bills. Instead, let’s freeze the rate floor indefinitely and reexamine this misguided policy."

Comments are due April 3 in response to a petition by the National Exchange Carrier Association on behalf of its rate-of-return member carriers asking the FCC for a waiver of section 51.909(a)(4) of its rules for the 2014-15 tariff period, said a public notice Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1j4Gte7). That section requires NECA to adjust its switched access rate caps if a carrier enters or exits the association. “NECA states that a waiver would avoid the need for tariff revisions at the federal and state levels required to effectuate de minimis changes in rates associated with 2014 pool election changes and will better serve the public interest than strict enforcement for the upcoming year,” the notice said.

Some last-mile ISPs are playing “chicken” with the Internet, said Level 3 General Counsel Michael Mooney in a blog post Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1j4E3Mr). Contrary to popular belief, Internet access for the end-user doesn’t necessarily slow down simply because lots of people are using the Internet at the same time, Mooney said. It also slows down when “ISPs try to strong arm the content providers into paying” by “refusing to increase the size of their networks unless their tolls are paid,” he said. “These ISPs are placing a bet that because content providers have no other way to get their content to the ISPs subscribers, that they will cave in and start paying them.” Level 3 has in many cases “offered to sit with the ISP to hammer out a fair, equitable, scalable and resilient network architecture, but to no avail,” Mooney said. VoIP calls, online video and interactive Web browsing are all at risk, he said. “Some say network neutrality is a solution looking for a problem. We disagree.” The FCC should address interconnection issues as part of its net neutrality proceeding, Mooney wrote in a follow-up comment. “In the same way as last mile ISPs should not be able to discriminate directly against third party provided content, they should not be able to do the same thing indirectly by forcing content companies and intermediary providers into a no win choice of either paying the ISP arbitrary tolls or suffering through lower bitrates and degraded service quality for streaming video.” Netflix recently agreed to a paid peering deal with Comcast, and others besides Mooney want the FCC to address whether such pacts should be allowed (CD March 5 p1).

The Association of BellTel Retirees -- a group of retirees from Verizon Communications, Verizon predecessors Bell Atlantic, Nynex and GTE, and Verizon spinoff Idearc Media -- said Tuesday it’s pursuing two resolutions at Verizon’s next shareholder meeting that would give more administrative power to the telco’s shareholders. Verizon’s annual shareholder meeting is May 1 in Phoenix. One resolution would require Verizon’s board to obtain shareholder approval for severance and termination payment packages offered to senior executives when they are above a specific threshold, the group said. A second resolution would amend Verizon’s company bylaws to allow shareholders to nominate a “limited” number of members of the telco’s board so Verizon management “will not have sole power to select all board members,” the BellTel group said in a news release. The group said it has previously won votes on three other resolutions at shareholder meetings and has negotiated eight other proposals off the ballot.

The FCC special access comment deadline was extended to Oct. 6, said a notice in Tuesday’s Federal Register (http://1.usa.gov/OtSqfF). The nearly five-month extension will give the FCC more time to collect data on the special access market before the submission of comments and replies, the notice said. The Wireline Bureau expects to begin collecting data this summer, after the Office of Management and Budget approves the collection, the notice said. Replies in docket 05-25 will be due Nov. 17.

The special access market is “in the midst of a major transition in terms of technology, consumer demand and competition,” USTelecom told an aide to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Thursday, an ex parte filing said (http://bit.ly/1qMGILO). It’s “essential” that cable companies be required to provide “the same detailed market data as other competitors in this marketplace,” since cable’s role in the market “has been one of the most debated questions” in connection with the pending data request, USTelecom said. CLECs have argued that cable companies don’t offer competitive alternatives to business customers due to technological inadequacy or lack of “business acumen,” yet “somehow, the cable industry will exceed $10 billion in business services revenues this year,” USTelecom said. Cable network capabilities have also “long been able to deliver the equivalent of ILEC TDM-based dedicated connections,” the association of ILECs said. It’s crucial that the commission analyze “cable’s highly successful participation in the business services marketplace,” it said.

The FCC has been working on the issue of rural call completion, a spokesman said, as Minnesota and other states are considering legislation on the issue (CD March 12 p15). The FCC has taken “major steps to remedy the serious and unacceptable problem of long-distance calls failing to reach rural homes and businesses,” said the spokesman. “Last October, it unanimously adopted new rules [http://fcc.us/1dVCJXR] that provide immediate solutions -- including barring false ring tones for calls that don’t connect -- while ensuring that the agency has the information it needs” (CD Oct 29 p2). The spokesman also noted two recent FCC enforcement actions. On Feb. 20, Windstream agreed to pay $2.5 million and implement a three-year plan to improve its performance to resolve (http://fcc.us/1gnKAye) an FCC investigation into the company’s rural call completion practices (CD Feb 21 p15). A year ago, Level 3 agreed (http://bit.ly/1iFJuNg) to pay nearly $1 million to the U.S. Treasury and meet call completion benchmarks in response to a separate FCC investigation (CD March 13/13 p7). “These actions build on a series of steps taken by the FCC to address this problem in previous years, including clarifying our rules, working closely with state commissions, carriers, industry standards-setting bodies and more,” said the spokesman by email. “Long-term, the FCC’s comprehensive reform of intercarrier compensation is gradually reducing the intercarrier fees that are at the root of the problem, largely eliminating incentives for practices that appear to be undermining the reliability of rural service. We are working hard on every front to eliminate this serious problem.” Thursday, Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., introduced a bill (CD March 14 p7) addressing rural call completion problems (see separate report above in this issue).

Comments are due March 27, replies April 7 in FCC docket 13-75 on a petition for reconsideration of the 911 reliability order’s requirements regarding “diversity audits of critical 911 circuits,” said a Public Safety Bureau public notice Friday (http://bit.ly/1fxpqtb). Intrado seeks guidance that providers “may take reasonable alternative measures to meet the Commission’s standards in lieu of implementing any of the best practices adopted by the Order,” the notice said, quoting the company’s filing: “This would include confirming that Providers may take reasonable alternative measures instead of conducting Diversity Audits, Tagging Critical 911 Circuits, or auditing Monitoring Links."

The FCC should create an “Upgrade Fund” to facilitate widespread fiber investment in schools and libraries, the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute told a Wireline Bureau official March 7, according to an ex parte letter posted Thursday (http://bit.ly/1gfooCc). Robust fiber investments will ultimately lead to a “better and more efficient E-rate program,” as fiber connectivity will “soon be a necessity in the world of digitally-driven learning.” A fiber infrastructure will allow the technology “to scale along with school and library needs,” New America said. Data collection processes within the E-rate program can be enhanced to support integration with other data sets such as those maintained by the National Center for Education Statistics, the filing said. The group also urged the FCC to make the data available to researchers and the public more broadly.

A proposed service-based IP transition experiment would focus on helping the elderly embrace modern technology. The proposal by Santel Communications Cooperative in Mitchell, S.D., would bring new technologies to the elderly “in a way that is educational, comfortable, and valuable for the individuals we serve,” said the proposal, filed Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1fusLt3). The program would have “young, tech-savvy instructors reach out to elderly populations within the environments in which the elderly are comfortable,” Santel said. “We will approach the communications chasm on two fronts: first, addressing discomfort with devices; and second, teaching individuals how to use these new communications Internet Protocol technology tools to enrich their connection with their friends and loved ones.”