Groups Oppose FCC Plan to Ease Telco Consumer Duties; Bells Dispute ADT, AICC Calls
Consumer and labor advocates objected to FCC draft plans to relax consumer protection and education mandates when telcos discontinue legacy telecom services in favor of IP-based fiber and wireless offerings. Verizon and AT&T disputed ADT Security Services and Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC) concerns that a proposed "alternative options test" could effectively scrap an "adequate replacement test" and its interoperability requirements. Parties made closing arguments before lobbying restrictions took effect heading into this coming Thursday's commissioners' meeting that includes a draft order to streamline discontinuance duties.
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The draft "will dismantle" more "common sense" protections the FCC began rolling back in November as industry phases out copper-based services, said several groups. The safeguards are "meant to provide consumers with adequate, reliable replacement services, educational materials, and purposeful processes" during the transition to advanced networks, said a filing posted Friday in docket 17-84 by the Center for Rural Strategies, Greenlining Institute, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Kentucky Resources Council, National Digital Inclusion Alliance and Public Knowledge. The protections are "critical in areas still operating" copper networks, "like much of rural America," they said. "These communities could benefit from an upgrade to 21st century networks, but not if local monopoly carriers are free to eliminate or change their current service without advanced notice, or ensure it’s replaced with an equally adequate service."
The FCC "is poised to create loopholes" to Section 214 discontinuance rules under the Communications Act allowing "carriers to opt out of requirements that historically have served as a check and balance between consumers and industry," the groups said. "The Order reduces carrier responsibility and allows carriers to abruptly turn off legacy services, even if the replacement service will not provide the same quality support or device compatibility as the legacy service. Without educational outreach requirements created by the previous Commission, consumers will be left to rely on their carriers for honest, plain language information about network changes -- something most consumers do not trust their providers to provide."
Common Cause and PK said 2016 carrier educational and outreach duties needing Office of Management and Budget approval never took effect, but that wasn't disclosed in a November Further NPRM. They said the revelation came in ILEC comments -- with the FCC confirming only in a draft footnote the rules weren't in effect -- alleging the agency "misled" consumers and violated the Administrative Procedure Act. Chairman Ajit Pai should "be transparent and disclose why the educational and outreach requirements of the 2016 Order never went into effect," said a joint letter, which seeks another further notice so interested parties can respond.
Educational and outreach duties actually facilitate the transition, the Communications Workers of America said: "By giving people the information they need to prepare for change and the reassurance that they will not be left with inferior service, consumers will be less likely to resist change and more willing to make a smooth transfer."
Verizon opposed ADT and AICC calls to add interoperability and compatibility requirements to the proposed alternative operations test meant to help streamline the discontinuance process (see 1805250038 and 1805310048). Such obligations "would deny providers the flexibility intended by the Commission in this proceeding to facilitate network transitions and usher in more advanced services," Verizon said. "Alarm companies today have long recognized that consumers have already widely adopted alternatives to traditional [phone] services and work with providers to ensure that alarms work over these systems; adopting new requirements in the alternative options test ignores the realities of today’s technologies."
AT&T targeted "baseless" ADT and AICC arguments that telcos discontinuing services should be required to show that their next-generation voice services are interoperable with key offerings such as alarm systems. "Consumers know what they want and need, and they would not have abandoned TDM services in droves if the alternative services did not meet their needs," AT&T said. "A good example is the service functionality of cable-provided digital voice services, which were not subject to a service interoperability mandate. These services work with the vast majority of alarm systems, and fax machines."
Discontinuance Notebook
CenturyLink dismissed Global Grid Telecom's opposition to the telco's bid to discontinue a "Call Event and Management Signaling Service" as raising no issues (see 1805300039). "GGT does not dispute any of the statements in CenturyLink’s Application, including the fact that there are no subscribers to CEMSS," CenturyLink said.