Securus intends to offer subscription plans in addition to per-minute calls if granted its petition for a waiver of FCC per-minute call requirements for inmate calling services, the ICS provider told us Monday after others said the petition appeared to be a request to offer subscription plans only (see 2111180059). “We developed our subscription model as a result of many meetings with justice-impacted families, all of whom expressed a clear desire to see a new, innovative approach to pricing," emailed a spokesperson: "Our goal is to make communications more accessible and affordable while balancing the needs of public safety, which is why we are surprised and disappointed to see opposition about conducting a pilot program designed to learn more about different ways to better serve loved ones.” The subscription pricing model has "options within itself," she said: "We hope to work with the FCC to make this a viable option across the country.”
LTD Broadband petitioned the FCC Wireline Bureau Monday for reconsideration of its October order denying the company additional time to obtain eligible telecom carrier designation in Iowa, Nebraska and North Dakota to participate in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction (see 2110200054). The bureau "was incorrect to impute to LTD complete responsibility" for its former attorney's "entirely unexpected gross misconduct," the petition said in docket 19-126. The bureau "cannot play 'pick and choose' in how stringently the ETC designation deadline is applied, deciding 'winners' and 'losers' based potentially on factors other than the specific facts in the record before it," LTD said.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a motion to intervene in Consumers Research's challenge of the FCC's USF Q4 contribution factor, in an order posted Thursday in case 21-3886 (see 2111010070). Filing the petition were the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, National Digital Inclusion Alliance, Center for Media Justice, Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition, USTelcom, NTCA and the Competitive Carriers Association. The groups are allowed to file intervener briefs and "any determination regarding oral argument, including time allotted, if any, to the intervenors are reserved to the ultimate merits panel," the order said.
Comments are due Dec. 20, replies Jan. 18, in docket 03-123 on an FCC NPRM on modifying the compensation methodology for IP relay service supported by the Telecom Relay Service Fund, says Thursday's Federal Register. Commissioners approved the item in August (see 2108050038).
Tata Communications sought an extension of its limited waiver for 2022 of FCC rules for revenue reporting, said a petition Tuesday in docket 06-122. The Wireline Bureau previously granted a waiver for reporting years 2020 and 2021 of the 12% limited international revenue exemption-qualifying threshold (see 2103250039).
The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau extended until June 30 the current tiered compensation rates for video relay service supported by the Telecom Relay Services Fund, absent additional action by the commission before then, said an order listed in Monday's Daily Digest. Commissioners previously extended the rates until Dec. 31 (see Notebook 2105200044). The bureau cited the "inherently complex" nature of setting VRS rates and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The FCC Wireline Bureau is seeking comment on a Securus petition to waive rules that inmate calling services calls be charged to customers on a per minute basis: Comments are due Jan. 7, replies Jan. 21, in docket 12-375. Securus says it started piloting subscriptions for intrastate calls in 2020, which it now offers at eight correctional facilities. “Subscribers pay a flat monthly fee for up to 100 calls per month or 25 calls per week,” said a public notice Friday: The ICS provider asserts the program “is in jeopardy because it ‘cannot definitively determine if a call is intrastate when a subscription plan call is made’ since many of the calls are ‘made to wireless phones whose exact physical location is difficult to determine.’”
Bluebird moved to withdraw without prejudice its petition to preempt the rights-of-way fees it was being charged by Columbia, Missouri, said a motion posted Tuesday in FCC docket 21-323. Bluebird said the city agreed not to collect the fees in question and instead charge a revenue-based fee (see 2110130058).
More than $700 million in FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction support is ready to be authorized for 50 providers serving more than 400,000 locations in 26 states, said a Wireline Bureau public notice in docket 19-126. Winning bidders must submit letters of credit and bankruptcy opinion letters by Nov. 30. Wednesday's announcement "highlights the agency’s commitment to supporting even more opportunities to connect hundreds of thousands of Americans to high-speed, reliable broadband service while doing our due diligence to ensure the applicants can deliver to these unserved communities as promised,” said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Conexon, First Light Fiber, Mediacom and MidCo were among winning bidders ready to be authorized.
Allow emergency broadband benefit providers to receive reimbursement for tablets that can make cellular calls, StandUp Wireless asked FCC Wireline Bureau staff in an ex parte letter posted Tuesday in docket 20-445. StandUp filed a petition in October seeking a waiver of EBB rules excluding these devices. Its EBB customers "are frustrated with their inability to use their connected device to fully utilize the company’s bundled service offering of unlimited voice, text and 8 GB of mobile broadband data" because it "had to remove the cellular voice and text functionality from the tablets," the company said.