FairPoint Communications has filed a petition with the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) seeking limited waiver of section 54.312(c) of the Commission’s rules. Specifically, FairPoint requests permission to submit the locations and census blocks in which it deployed broadband, but for which it was not authorized, in order to satisfy the requirements for Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase I Round 2 support. Carriers electing CAF Phase I Round 2 support were required to notify the FCC, USAC, and the affected state of the wire centers and census blocks in which broadband would be deployed using that support, in order to ensure that targeted locations were unserved at the time. The FCC then conducted a challenge process permitting others to demonstrate that a listed census block was already served. In its submissions to the required authorities, FairPoint inadvertently associated 1,027 locations with the census block number of the serving nodes of the locations, instead of with the census block numbers containing the locations themselves. However, FairPoint has determined that none of the locations to which it deployed broadband in Virginia using CAF Phase I, Round 2 support were already served within the meaning of the FCC’s rule. FairPoint proposes that the Bureau conduct a challenge process to confirm whether the locations in those previously unidentified census blocks were served at the time FairPoint received CAF support. For all those locations not disqualified as a result of this challenge process, FairPoint requests that it be allowed to keep the support associated with the locations. The Wireline Competition Bureau seeks comment on FairPoint’s petition. Comments are due May 4, 2017, and reply comments are due May 19, 2017.
