The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is meeting on Thursday to discuss the issues of ETC designation for LTD Broadband. LTD has asked MN PUC to remove the first item from their agenda…

LTD Broadband, LLC (“LTD”), by counsel, hereby respectfully requests deletion of Decision Item 1 from the Public Utilities Commission’s November 16, 2023 Agenda Meeting in light of recent developments at the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”).

On November 9, 2023, the FCC posted on its web site a list of Items on Circulation. That list indicates that, on that date, a written item concerning LTD’s Application for Review (“AFR”) was circulated among the FCC’s five commissioners for a vote. As the FCC’s web page states, the list of Items on Circulation “provides a compilation of the Commission level items that have been circulated and are pending action by the full Commission. This list is updated on a weekly basis.”1 Although the list does not establish when the FCC will act or the action it will take, it indicates that a draft order has been sent to the FCC commissioners for consideration and vote. Once that occurs, the written order would be adopted and released to the public.

The circulation of an item addressing LTD’s AFR justifies deletion of Decision Item 1 from the November 16 agenda. If the FCC dismisses or denies the AFR, LTD will review that decision and decide whether to seek further review or to cease prosecuting its RDOF long-form application. If it takes the latter step, then LTD would relinquish its ETC designation with respect to its RDOF locations and there will be no need for the Commission, other parties and LTD to expend time and resources on an unnecessary hearing. If the FCC grants LTD’s AFR and directs its staff to process LTD’s RDOF long-form application, then it may be appropriate at that time for the Commission to consider Decision Item 1. It is also possible that the FCC could grant the AFR in part or take some other action. But regardless of the action the FCC takes on the AFR, a written decision of any kind will inform whether the Commission may wish to undertake further proceedings, as well as the potential scope and purpose of any such proceedings.

Accordingly, in light of the new development at the FCC and upcoming action that could make these proceedings either unnecessary or more limited in scope, LTD respectfully requests that Decision Item 1 be deleted from the November 16 Agenda Meeting and that consideration of that item be deferred until after the FCC has acted on the AFR.