FCC Weighs CAF I Order Tweaks; Draft Dismissal of Voice Support Plan May Stick
FCC officials are discussing tweaking a Connect America Fund Phase I draft order on commissioners' meeting agenda Thursday, we're told. But the agency may not back off very much planned dismissal of a USTelecom proposal for interim ILEC voice service support in currently unsubsidized areas.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
"We understand discussions are ongoing regarding the draft," emailed Mike Saperstein, USTelecom vice president-law and policy. "The FCC should reconsider the portions of the text that perpetuate an unfunded mandate, requiring carriers to serve hard to reach areas without federal funding support." USTelecom and ILEC members last week urged the FCC to fund their mandated voice services in certain extremely high-cost areas, or at least remove draft language they said would "prematurely" dismiss a USTelecom proposal for interim voice funding. "Our proposal will not be ripe until after all CAF 2 auction results are known," Saperstein told us now.
The voice service obligation without subsidies is "patently unfair," Consolidated Communications Vice President-Regulatory Michael Skrivan told us Wednesday. He was part of the USTelecom-led group that lobbied the FCC. "Everything I’ve heard is the FCC is going to dismiss our proposal." He said the draft's transitions away from legacy support and toward, in some cases, model-based support "seem reasonable." The ILECs last week said the draft took "a reasonable approach to addressing the immediate task of disaggregating frozen support."
Saperstein said it's critical the FCC at least fix language on the "availability and sufficiency" of eligible telecom carriers. "The draft language is not technology neutral and contrary to the Communications Act," he said. "Their proposed total company review for showings of additional support should be limited to a review of the economics of the areas at issue.”
FCC officials didn't comment on the CAF I draft or on an IP captioned telephone service draft order, Further NPRM and order also on the agenda.