FCC Probes Interest in USF/ICC Transformation Order Petitions

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau has pending before it eight petitions for reconsideration of various aspects of the intercarrier compensation provisions of the Universal Service Fund/ USF/Intercarrier Compensation Transformation Order. Each of the Petitions was filed in 2011 and no entities have filed comments or ex parte submissions regarding these petitions for several years. In addition, the various requests for relief in the Petitions appear to be moot or are otherwise no longer relevant in light of regulatory changes, including ongoing intercarrier compensation and universal service reforms, that have occurred since these filings were made. Now the Bureau seeks to assess the Petitioners’ continuing interests in these petitions, and to efficiently resolve issues that are no longer contested. The FCC, therefore, plans to dismiss each Petition with prejudice unless a Petitioner files a notice in the relevant dockets within 45 days of the date of Federal Register publication of this Public Notice specifying that it objects to the dismissal of its Petition. Upon release of this Public Notice, the FCC will send copies to the Petitioners.