CWA, People's Counsel Back DC Copper/Voice Retirement Plan; Verizon Opposed
Proposed District of Columbia copper abandonment regulations got support from the Communications Workers of America and the D.C. Office of People's Counsel, and opposition from Verizon. The CWA said it believes the D.C. Public Service Commission should strengthen its proposed rules, which also would cover voice service discontinuances, and the Office of People's Counsel suggested "minor" tweaks. Verizon said the proposals were unnecessary, would duplicate FCC rules and impede the transition "to better networks by inviting lengthy and costly investigations prior to any copper retirement and requiring unique notices in the District" without adding value to customers. Verizon previously objected to the D.C. PSC's plan (see 1604200046). Comments were filed Monday in docket RM27-2016-2. Replies are due Aug. 15.
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The proposals took on more importance because of two developments, CWA said. It cited a D.C. PSC September order requiring Verizon to maintain its copper network and let customers retain or return to copper-based service as long as a price-cap settlement is in effect, but it said Verizon is now urging the D.C. City Council to scrap that plan. "With this maneuver, Verizon attempts to eliminate through legislation the consumer protections for copper customers that the DC PSC's recent Order requires," the CWA commented. Second, it said Verizon had been granted an extension to 2019 on planned fiber deployment in the District, leaving many Verizon customers dependent on copper facilities for now.
CWA supports extending service discontinuance rules to all telecom service providers, including Verizon, requiring them to provide a detailed "Exit Plan" for PSC approval if they seek to abandon telecom services in the local exchange voice market. The union "strongly supports" various requirements, particularly a proposal to prevent a provider from discontinuing service until all affected customers have migrated to other carriers. "These provisions are necessary to ensure that no one is left behind in the technology transition, particularly if Verizon -- the only provider with carrier-of-last-resort obligations to serve everyone in the District -- were to elect to abandon regulated voice service," it said. Parties need time to review an Exit Plan and CWA urged the PSC to extend a proposed 30-day deadline for initial review.
CWA said it backs the PSC's "proposed advanced notice rules for copper abandonment, which mandate 90 days for retail customers, 180 days for wholesale customers, and 270 days for utilities." It supported the PSC's proposal to extend its rules to cover "de facto copper abandonment" to protect consumers from "purposeful negligence." CWA also asked the commission to amend a proposal that would allow providers to avoid advance notice when engaged in "emergency repairs" that replace copper with fiber to resume service. It said the "loophole opens the door" to abuse because "Verizon has adopted a deceptive policy throughout its landline footprint (except in the District) called Fiber is the Only Fix" in which customers seeking copper repairs are pressured to switch to fiber (see 1606160054 and 1607140027). The PSC should add language to ensure any such fiber switches in emergency repairs are voluntary, it said.
The Office of People's Counsel supported the proposed notice and reporting duties for retiring copper and abandoning voice service. It specifically backed the proposals to apply consumer protections for voice service to all telecom service providers and require advance notice for copper abandonment. The PSC should "make minor revisions" to clarify that certain duties apply to the abandonment of copper facilities and give the public 30 days instead of 15 days to provide input, the OPC commented. It also said the commission should consider using "bright-line criteria" to review proposed copper abandonment.
Verizon said D.C. customers would "suffer" from delayed migrations to resolve service issues" under the proposed rules. "The FCC’s comprehensive copper retirement rules negate the need for any District-specific requirements," it commented. "The FCC maintained a notice-only regime for copper retirements, but extended the timeframe for notice to the FCC and affected competitor. The FCC imposed for the first time a retail customer notice in advance of any copper retirement." Verizon then cited various specific FCC requirements, including "advanced notice of copper retirements to state regulatory agencies such as the [D.C.] Commission." The D.C. PSC's proposal would duplicate the FCC rules and consumer notice requirements, invite protracted copper retirement proceedings and hinder fiber deployment, the telco said.
Verizon said the D.C. PSC should "modernize" its service discontinuance rules to reflect the competitive market. "As wireless, VoIP, and IP-based services have exploded in popularity, subscribership in traditional regulated local exchange voice services has reached an all-time low. Providers should be allowed to respond to these rapid and irreversible market changes by quickly withdrawing services customers no longer want in order to focus on providing those they do," it said.