NASUCA Wants More FCC Regulation on Numbering for VoIP, Fair Spectrum Auction Policies

Public advocates approved the spectrum resolution in advance of the incentive auction because they're concerned about the “concentration of wireless services,” NASUCA Telecom Committee Chairwoman Regina Costa, telecom director for The Utility Reform Network (TURN), told us. “Spectrum is a public resource, and fair access rules need to be applied.” The larger providers are holding onto spectrum that they're not using and that could be particularly useful in rural areas, said Wayne Jortner, senior counsel of the Maine Public Advocate office, in an interview. “This resolution prevents AT&T and Verizon to continue to aggregate spectrum, and it involves restrictions on carriers and their size.” NASUCA is asking federal regulators to employ “appropriate parameters in the upcoming 600 MHz incentive auction to ensure that smaller commercial mobile bidders have a legitimate opportunity to win a low-band spectrum,” said the resolution.

The North America Numbering Plan’s current process to split area codes into overlays is inefficient, said Costa. “To promote competition, alternative providers should be able to get telephone numbers,” she said. “States have led the way for numbering rules for landline and wireless, and the same conversation should apply to VoIP providers.” FCC measures have limited the number of area code relief requests in recent years, and it has extended the time “until the NANP faces exhaust,” said the resolution. The FCC recently granted a petition for VoIP trials, but it does not classify VoIP as a telecom service, said the resolution. NASUCA said it supports the application of number conservation measures to VoIP providers that “are given direct access numbers as an appropriate regulatory oversight."

Verizon’s implementation of Voice Link is meant only for areas with “chronic issues,” said Tom Maguire, the telco’s senior vice president-national operations support and pointman on the product. “It can’t be used for faxing or those with monitoring needs.” Verizon is always looking to provide better services to its customers, and Voice Link was brought into the market “sooner than expected” after superstorm Sandy, said Maguire on a panel. Verizon’s Network Evolution Program has the goal to best serve customers, he said. “We have been looking at how the marketplace is changing, and if we don’t stay ahead of the curve, we could be behind other companies today.” The Voice Link service on Fire Island and the New Jersey barrier islands fulfilled the company’s carrier of last resort obligations because residents were able to get a dial tone, said Maguire. “If someone has monitoring issues, we would not give them Voice Link because it does not support it."

XO Communications had problems with Verizon’s service in Manhattan after Sandy when Verizon decided to replace the copper lines with fiber on the wholesale side, but not to allow new subscribers to register, said Lisa Youngers, XO vice president-federal affairs. “As a result of Sandy, we realized that we needed more direction from the FCC.” She recommended the FCC require carriers to file Communications Act Section 214 applications when they make any changes and to provide the FCC with a disaster plan filing. “The inability to use copper after Sandy was not a copper retirement because it was not planned or noticed and no one had an expectation to use the service,” said Youngers. “We want the regulators to put us back in the same situation post-emergency by using the same or different transmission media so that we can provide for our current and future customers."

Telecom policy is still necessary to create an affordable operational telecom system, Costa told us. “As the technology transitions, it shows why public policy makers need to continue to question the industry.” There will always be a role for regulations, said Costa. “Technology was never the reason to change the protocol,” added Jortner.