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DA 18-793
Released:  July 31, 2018

WIRELINE COMPETITION BUREAU SEEKS COMMENT ON NTCA PETITION FOR TEMPORARY WAIVER 
WC Docket Nos. 11-42, 09-197, 10-90

Comment Date: August 30, 2018
Reply Comment Date: September 14, 2018
By this Public Notice, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) seeks comment on the Petition for Temporary Waiver filed by NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association (NTCA). See Petition for Temporary Waiver of NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association, WC Docket Nos. 11-42, 09-197, 10-90 (filed July 23, 2018) (NTCA Petition).
  NTCA, on behalf of its members and similarly situated operators, requests a temporary waiver from the Bureau’s updated Lifeline minimum service standards, “applicable to fixed, wireline broadband Internet access service . . . eligible for support by the Lifeline Universal Service Fund . . . program,” which are scheduled to take effect on December 1, 2018. NTCA Petition at 1.
  The minimum service standards for fixed broadband speeds are scheduled to increase to 18 Mbps downstream and 2 Mbps upstream, from 15 Mbps and 2 Mbps, respectively.  See Wireline Competition Bureau Announces Updated Lifeline Minimum Service Standards and Indexed Budget Amount, WC Docket No. 11-42, DA 18-739 (WCB Jul. 18, 2018).

Interested parties may file comments and reply comments on or before the respective dates indicated above.  Comments may be filed using the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), or by filing paper copies.
· Electronic Filers:  Comments may be filed electronically using the Internet by accessing the ECFS:  https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/
· Paper Filers:  Parties who choose to file by paper must file an original and one copy of each filing.  Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail.  All filings must be addressed to the Commission’s Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.
o All hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission’s Secretary must be delivered to FCC Headquarters at 445 12th St., SW, Room TW-A325, Washington, DC 20554.  The filing hours are 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.   All hand deliveries must be held together with rubber bands or fasteners.  Any envelopes and boxes must be disposed of before entering the building.  
o Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9050 Junction Drive, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701.
o U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority mail must be addressed to 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554.
	People with Disabilities:  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).
	The proceeding this petition initiates shall be treated as a “permit-but-disclose” proceeding in accordance with the Commission’s ex parte rules. 47 CFR §§ 1.1200 et seq.
  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.
For further information, please contact Michelle Schaefer, Telecommunications Access Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau at (202) 418-2705 or via email at michelle.schaefer@fcc.gov.
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