PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12 th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: https://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 16-250 Released: March 4, 2016 WIRELINE COMPETITION BUREAU ANNOUNCES DEADLINE FOR EXISTING PROVIDERS TO NOTIFY PUERTO RICO TELEPHONE COMPANY THAT THEY SERVE CENSUS BLOCKS THAT PUERTO RICO TELEPHONE COMPANY PROPOSES TO SERVE WITH CONNECT AMERICA PHASE I INCREMENTAL SUPPORT WC Docket No. 10-90 Notifications Due: April 18, 2016 On February 19, 2016, Puerto Rico Telephone Company, Inc. (PRT) notified the Commission that it intends to modify its Connect America Phase I Round 2 (Phase I) incremental broadband deployment plans. 1 PRT submitted a list of 323 census blocks that it had not previously identified with its initial election where it now intends to serve locations using Phase I incremental support. 2 Under the requirements for Phase I incremental support, other providers now have 45 days to indicate that they already serve the identified blocks, and PRT must certify that to the best of its knowledge the locations it plans to serve are in fact unserved before it may commence construction. Existing providers therefore have until Monday, April 18, 2016 to notify PRT that they currently offer Internet service at speeds of 3 Mbps downstream and 768 kbps upstream or higher in the newly identified census blocks. 3 A machine readable list of the census blocks PRT intends to serve is available at https://transition.fcc.gov/wcb/PRT 2-29-16 List of Census Blocks _ as filed.xlsx. 1 Letter from Thomas J. Navin, Counsel to Puerto Rico Telephone Company, Inc., to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, WC Docket No. 10-90 (filed Feb. 19, 2016). 2 Letter from Thomas J. Navin, Counsel to Puerto Rico Telephone Company, Inc., to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, WC Docket No. 10-90, at Attach. (filed Feb. 29, 2016). PRT accepted Phase I support on August 23, 2013. Letter from Thomas J. Navin, Counsel to Puerto Rico Telephone Company, Inc., to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, WC Docket No. 10-90 (filed Aug. 23, 2013). PRT notified the Commission in February 2015 that it intended to modify its Phase I deployment plans to serve 230 newly identified census blocks and then subsequently removed three census blocks from its plan and made the required certifications for 227 census blocks. See Wireline Competition Bureau Announces Deadline for Existing Providers To Notify Puerto Rico Telephone Company or Hawaiian Telcom, Inc. That They Serve Census Blocks That The Price Cap Carriers Propose to Serve with Connect America Phase I Incremental Support, Public Notice, 30 FCC Rcd 1862 (WCB 2015); Letter from Thomas J. Navin, Counsel to Puerto Rico Telephone Company, Inc., to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, WC Docket No. 10-90, at Attach. (filed Sept. 17, 2015). 3 Connect America Fund, Order on Reconsideration, 28 FCC Rcd 10488, 10490-91, paras. 5-7 (2013). While we encourage existing providers to notify PRT directly, PRT will be deemed to have received an existing provider’s notification if the existing provider submits its notification via the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) in WC Docket No. 10-90. Id. at 10491, para. 7 n.21. 2This proceeding continues to be treated as a “permit-but-disclose” proceeding in accordance with the Commission’s ex parte rules. 4 Persons making ex parte presentations must file a copy of any written presentation or a memorandum summarizing any oral presentation within two business days after the presentation (unless a different deadline applicable to the Sunshine period applies). Persons making oral ex parte presentations are reminded that memoranda summarizing the presentation must (1) list all persons attending or otherwise participating in the meeting at which the ex parte presentation was made, and (2) summarize all data presented and arguments made during the presentation. If the presentation consisted in whole or in part of the presentation of data or arguments already reflected in the presenter’s written comments, memoranda or other filings in the proceeding, the presenter may provide citations to such data or arguments in his or her prior comments, memoranda, or other filings (specifying the relevant page and/or paragraph numbers where such data or arguments can be found) in lieu of summarizing them in the memorandum. Documents shown or given to Commission staff during ex parte meetings are deemed to be written ex parte presentations and must be filed consistent with rule 1.1206(b). In proceedings governed by rule 1.49(f) or for which the Commission has made available a method of electronic filing, written ex parte presentations and memoranda summarizing oral ex parte presentations, and all attachments thereto, must be filed through the electronic comment filing system available for that proceeding, and must be filed in their native format (e.g., .doc, .xml, .ppt, searchable .pdf). Participants in this proceeding should familiarize themselves with the Commission’s ex parte rules. To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (tty). Submissions will be publically available online via ECFS. 5 These documents will also be available for public inspection during regular business hours in the FCC Reference Information Center, which is located in Room CY-A257 at FCC Headquarters, 445 12 th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554. For additional information on this proceeding, contact Heidi Lankau (Heidi.Lankau@fcc.gov) of the Wireline Competition Bureau, Telecommunications Access Policy Division, (202) 418-7400. – FCC – 4 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.1200 et seq. 5 Documents will generally be available electronically in ASCII, Microsoft Word, and/or Adobe Acrobat.