Tuesday, July 1, 6:00 – 8:15 p.m.

10th Circuit Upholds FCC’s Universal Service and Inter-carrier Compensation Transformational Order: What's Next?

The FCBA State and Local Committee will host a CLE on Tuesday, July 1 from 6:00 – 8:15 p.m. entitled 10th Circuit Upholds FCC’s Universal Service and Inter-carrier Compensation Transformational Order: What's Next?  This program will be held at Wiley Rein LLP, 1776 K Street, NW.

Giving a complete victory to the Federal Communications Commission, on May 23, 2014, the Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the agency's 2011 overhaul of the Universal Service Fund and inter-carrier compensation systems.  The court rejected every argument raised by 31 separate petitioners seeking review of numerous specific aspects of the FCC's decision.  Key to the decision and the FCC’s jurisdiction over broadband services, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the FCC's legal authority to transform the nation's $4.5 billion annual USF “high-cost” fund into the “Connect America Fund” aimed at subsidizing broadband deployment to unserved or underserved areas (without designating broadband as a supported service subject to Title II regulation).  The order also required a gradual reduction of State-regulated inter-carrier compensation rates to zero in order to spur phone companies to upgrade their infrastructure to internet protocol-based network.  This CLE will examine (1) the prospects for appeal and (2) the implications of the decision going forward for the FCC’s regulation of broadband as well as broader implications for Chevron deference to federal agency decisions.