Today:  FCC Filing Deadlines for NY Broadband Program, FCC Approved NECA Average Schedule Settlement Formulas, NPAC Transition, Utah Lifeline Conference 

FCC Filing Deadlines For NY Broadband Program

The FCC announced the results of its New NY Broadband Program Phase 3 auction.  The eleven winning bidders must now submit long-form applications to the Commission before 6:00 p.m. ET on Monday, June 4, 2018.  By November 14, 2018: (1) any applicant not yet designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) in the areas in which it seeks Connect America Phase II support must submit to its relevant ETC designation order to the FCC, along with a letter from an officer of the applicant certifying that the applicant has been designated as an ETC in the areas in which it is seeking Connect America Phase II support; and (2) any applicant that did not provide three years of audited financial statements to New York must submit to the FCC financial statements from the prior fiscal year that are audited by a certified public accountant.  The winning bidders will serve 8,642 census blocks and 47,580 locations.  The total estimated CAF II award is $66,696,851.

FCC Approves NECA Average Schedule Settlement Formulas

The FCC approved the formulas for average schedule interstate settlement disbursements in connection with the provision of interstate access services proposed by the National Carrier Exchange Association, Inc. (NECA) for a one-year period beginning July 1, 2018.  The formulas reflect the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), to be effective both for a one-year period beginning July 1, 2018, and for the period beginning January 1, 2018, though June 30, 2018.

NPAC Transition

The Transition Oversight Manager (TOM) for the transition of the local number portability administrator from Neustar, Inc. to iconectiv  announced that it successfully transitioned  Number Portability Administration Center (NPAC) services for the Western, Southwest, and West Coast regions to the new NPAC on the morning of May 20, 2018.  As a result, the NPAC maintenance window has closed, and NPAC users in all regions may now submit porting transactions to the iconectiv NPAC.  The TOM noted that this does not impact users of Wireless Do-Not-Call, Enhanced Law Enforcement Platform, or Interactive Voice Response services.

Utah Lifeline Conference

The Utah PSC announced it would hold a technical conference on June 13, 2018, to discuss self-certification procedures for Lifeline customers in light of the delay in implementing the National Verifier System.  That system had been scheduled to be in use in Utah in March 2018, but has been delayed. In the past, the PSC relied on the on the Department of Workforce Services (DWS) to provide evaluations of eligibility for wireline Lifeline customers receiving the Utah Lifeline benefit and allowed the customers of ETCs that provide only the Federal benefit to use a self-certification process controlled by FCC/USAC rules.  After June 30, 2018, DWS will no longer provide Lifeline eligibility verification.  As a result, all ETC customers, receiving either the Utah or Federal benefit, will need to be certified using the FCC/USAC’s self-certification process.

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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s daily blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.