Wireline, International Bureaus Urge Overhaul of Some Reporting Requirements
Staff at the FCC Wireline and International Bureaus recommended trimming some data gathering requirements from the FCC’s rulebook, but officials at the Wireless Bureau have dug in and are urging the commission to stick to the books, according to a public notice dated late Friday and circulated Tuesday. Under Section 11(a) of the 1996 Telecom Act, the FCC is required to determine whether rules should be repealed or amended “as the result of meaningful economic competition between providers of” telecom service. “Although the staff reviewed all rules within the scope of Section 11, they paid special attention in the 2010 biennial review to rules relating to data gathering,” the FCC said in Friday’s notice (http://xrl.us/bmm2j4). “That special focus on data collections was undertaken as part of the Commission’s reform agenda to improve data quality and processes, identify areas where additional data collection is needed, and eliminate unnecessary collections.”
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Most of the recommendations made Friday were made outside of Section 11 and will be handled in separate proceedings, the FCC said in Friday’s notice. The Wireline Bureau said sections or all of rules under Part 36, 43, 51 and Part 54, subparts G and T should be altered or abolished, Friday’s notice said. The International Bureau recommended alterations to the International Settlements Policy of Part 64, subpart J, as well as the Effective Competitive Opportunities test, Friday’s notice said.
Part 36 allows the FCC “to regulate interstate communications consistent with the dual federal-state system,” Friday’s notice said. That section of the rules is being reviewed in two separate proceedings and Wireline Bureau staff “believes that rules in Part 36, in their current form, may not be ‘necessary in the public interest,” Friday’s notice said. The FCC has referred the question to the Federal-State Joint Board on Separation “and awaits its recommendation,” Friday’s notice said.
Part 43 relates to the Automated Reporting Management Information System. Wireline staffers concluded that the rules “may not be necessary in the public interest in their current form as the result of meaningful economic competition between providers of telecommunications services,” Friday’s notice said. There are several proceedings under way and the Wireline Bureau “therefore recommends that the Commission consider revising those rules in the pending proceedings,” Friday’s notice said.
The Wireline Bureau staff said “some parts” of Part 51 interconnection rules need another look: “WCB recommends that the Commission consider in ongoing proceedings whether certain requirements remain necessary in the public interest in their current form as the result of competition between providers of telecommunications services,” Friday’s notice said. Specifically, the FCC ought to “consider revising the carry-over equal access obligations” and think about “modifications of the section 51.333 network change disclosure rules, as proposed by BellSouth in the 2006 Biennial Review,” Friday’s notice said.
On Part 64, subpart G, Wireline Bureau staffers said the FCC ought to rethink its rules on uncodified comparably efficient interconnection and open network architecture requirements. “WCB believes that the CEI/ONA reporting requirements may no longer be necessary in the public interest in their current form as the result of meaningful economic competition between providers of telecommunications service,” Friday’s notice said. A rulemaking is already underway there and the FCC should “consider repealing or modifying the CEI/ONA rules in the CEI/ONA NPRM proceeding,” Friday’s notice said. Subpart T also could be abolished, Friday’s notice said.
In its section of Friday’s notice, the International Bureau said some reporting requirements under Part 43 could be repealed or amended in the ongoing proceeding on docket 04-112. But the International Bureau also suggested rethinking the international settlements policy addressed in Part 64, subpart J, Friday’s recommendation said. These changes should be dealt with in docket 11-80. The International Bureau also said the effective competitive opportunities test required by Title III licenses could be revised or abolished, Friday’s notice said.
The Wireless Bureau reviewed several reporting requirements under Parts 1, 17, 20, 22, 24, 27, 80, 90, 95 and 101, Friday’s notice said. All of them were just fine by the Wireless Bureau, staff said.