NAPM Reports Progress, Risks; Comcast Backs Manual Rollback; Neustar Cites Concerns, Offer
Parties updated the FCC this week on the local number portability administrator transition, complicated by a dispute over a contingency rollback plan to incumbent Neustar if the systems of incoming LNPA iconectiv initially fail. North American Portability Management said the transition is progressing and remains on track for a "final acceptance date" of May 25 "but faces some risks." Backed by the FCC, NAPM's transition oversight manager (TOM) facilitated "intensive" daily sessions among stakeholders "in an effort to identify a mutually-agreed approach for contingency rollback" under the May 25 deadline, said NAPM's February LNPA report Wednesday in docket 09-109. "These sessions concluded on February 16, 2018 without agreement" (see 1802200051). Chairman Ajit Pai had asked the parties to agree by Feb. 16 (see 1802020070). "To mitigate risk during the active transition period, significant effort has been spent in establishing an industry-led contingency rollback plan," NAPM said.
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Comcast supported completing the transition without delay, saying it did "thorough testing" of its readiness, and April 8 Southeast regional cutover to iconectiv's systems is "designed to minimize impacts to the industry in several ways," including by occurring on a Sunday. "As one of a limited number of wireline providers that ports numbers on Sunday, Comcast is comfortable with the process to manually reissue its transactions in the unlikely event that a catastrophic failure occurs after cutover," said its filing on a meeting with Pai aides. Despite the low likelihood rollback is necessary, Comcast is amenable to engaging in manual rollback testing if it doesn't delay the transition.
Citing NAPM and TOM's refusal to "agree to any reliable, workable contingency rollback" consistent with Pai's goal of avoiding disruption, Neustar said iconectiv and NAPM "apparently seek to convince the Commission that either such possible disruption is unimportant or that the Commission should mandate Neustar's participation in the unreliable, unworkable, and untested manual contingency rollback approach." The "positions are not practicable and inconsistent" with Pai "seeking a seamless transition," said Neustar, which favors an automated rollback plan. A footnote: "Should consensus now be reached among the parties on a mutually acceptable and tested automated rollback plan, Neustar would be willing to develop and deliver such solution under its existing Transition Services Agreements with no additional charges to the industry."