Cable Backs FCC Nationwide Number Portability Ideas; Others Urge Caution, Industry Reliance
Cable interests supported FCC actions to usher in nationwide number portability (NNP), but others urged caution and cited industry efforts. Replies were posted Friday and Monday on an NPRM and notice of inquiry text (see 1710240074), after some initial commenters,…
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including AT&T, Verizon and CTIA, recommended the FCC go slow (see 1712280027). The commission "should adopt its proposal to forbear from the toll dialing parity obligations that apply to [CLECs], but not to incumbent LECs," NCTA said in docket 17-244. It also urged the FCC to scrap an "N-1 query requirement, which requires the penultimate carrier in a call path to query the number portability database" while still ensuring "that the necessary database queries" occur. Charter Communications backed the FCC’s "aggressive but incremental approach" to ensure NNP benefits "as soon as practically possible," including by eliminating the N-1 and dialing-parity duties. Numbering administrator Neustar called a "Non-Geographic Location Routing Number" (NGLRN) approach "the only solution" that will achieve key objectives, and it said the FCC should task a North American Numbering Council working group to make recommendations. Backing "commercial agreements," CenturyLink urged the FCC to delay implementing NNP until after the transition from "legacy TDM" to IP networks, while Sprint said the NNP and IP transitions should coincide. Mark Lancaster -- who said he's a former NANC member with 39 years of telephony experience, the last 22 consulting for AT&T -- suggested the FCC set a date for changing the "terminating default" from TDM to IP. NTCA also backed commercial agreements, "pending a comprehensive consideration of other alternatives by industry experts." ATIS said its Packet Technologies and System Committee will "undertake a deeper technical analysis" of potential NNP approaches, with a final report expected late this year. General Communications said the FCC should "draw on the expertise of the NANC and its working groups, as well as ATIS" but shouldn't take away the ability of Alaskan consumers to choose long-distance providers under dialing parity. Iowa Network Services (Aureon), a provider of "centralized equal access," said the FCC should preserve CEA service so consumers can continue to choose their long-distance providers. INS opposed scrapping the N-1 requirement and requiring rural carriers to make "expensive" NNP upgrades, and offered to be a "gateway" to implement NGLRN in rural areas.