FCC Intercarrier Compensation NPRM Targeting Arbitrage Looks About Same as Draft

appeared to be virtually the same as a draft. The FCC proposed to eliminate financial incentives for arbitrage by giving "access-stimulating LECs" two choices for connecting to long-distance carriers (interexchange carriers or IXCs), said the text in docket 18-155: "First, an access-stimulating LEC can choose to be financially responsible for calls delivered to its network so it, rather than IXCs, pays for the delivery of calls to its end office or the functional equivalent. Or, second, instead of accepting this financial responsibility, an access-stimulating LEC can choose to accept direct connections either from the IXC or an intermediate access provider of the IXC’s choice, allowing IXCs to bypass intermediate access providers selected by the access-stimulating LEC." A diagram on page 6 depicting the possible arrangements wasn't in the draft. The notice sought comment on a similar but broader CenturyLink proposal: "Rather than focusing on access-stimulating LECs, CenturyLink recommends shifting financial responsibility to any LEC that declines to accept a request for direct interconnection for the purpose of terminating access traffic." Alternatively, the FCC sought comment "on moving all traffic bound for an access-stimulating LEC to bill-and-keep" (zero payments). It asked whether to revise its "access stimulation" definition and on other alleged "arbitrage schemes and ways to eradicate" them. AT&T applauded the review of "wasteful and ongoing access stimulation schemes which hurt consumers by driving up market costs." The telco and others proposed "a framework by which access stimulators would bear the financial responsibility for their activities, which the FCC includes in this [NPRM]," said Executive Vice President Joan Marsh Wednesday.