Adoption of numbers-based system as part of Universal Service Fund reform would have a negative effect on “important emergency communications services” if the fee is imposed on vehicle telematics services, such as OnStar or ATX, APCO and the National Emergency Number Association warned the FCC. Telematics companies were also at the FCC for recent meetings to ask the FCC not to impose the fee on their lines, a step proposed in all three rulemakings on USF reform now before commissioners.
Four members of the FCC pledged to work together on broad intercarrier compensation and Universal Service Fund reform, for a vote at the Dec. 18 FCC meeting. The four cited growing consensus on several issues teed up for decision, in a statement they all signed. But FCC Chairman Kevin Martin questioned whether his colleagues will really be ready to reach a decision in December. The letter was released just before midnight Wednesday, as the FCC responded to a writ of mandamus by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit addressing the so-called ISP remand (CD Nov 6 p1).
Failing to win colleagues’ support, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin deleted an overhaul of the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation from Tuesday’s meeting agenda. The order remains on circulation, but the agency will vote on no items related to USF or intercarrier compensation at the meeting, an FCC spokesman said. In a joint statement, the other four commissioners laid the blame on the chairman.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s push to act on a complex Nov. 4 agenda has fueled intense lobbying, letter writing, phone calls and meetings with advisors, according to interviews with analysts, lobbyists and Hill staffers. The activity level, common in administrations whose ends are near, is heightened by high-profile issues affecting a wide array of players. The “order of magnitude” is big in a compressed time period, said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Blair Levin.
Two trade association for small rural carriers said they back the FCC’s overhaul plan for the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation, after FCC Chairman Kevin Martin agreed to several concessions for rate-of-return carriers. The Western Telecommunications Alliance and the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies approved the plan after “numerous direct conversations” with Martin, including a conference call Tuesday night ending around 7:45 p.m., directly before the start of sunshine. The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association called the endorsement “very risky and dangerous.”
With a lobbying ban looming, telecom interests are making feverish last-minute pitches to sway commissioners on possible overhauls for the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation. Unless the FCC says otherwise, lobbying on the issue ends sometime Tuesday, with release of the commission’s sunshine notice for the Nov. 4 meeting. Verizon recently joined AT&T and Qwest in endorsing comprehensive reform.
Broadcasters’ fears of more regulations on how to serve their communities (CD Sept 4 p4) won’t be realized in 2008, if comments by two FCC members -- one supporting new rules, the other opposing -- are a guide. Both Commissioner Michael Copps, long an advocate of localism rules, and Commissioner Robert McDowell, a foe of such rules, said Monday in separate interviews that the FCC is running out of time to address the issue this year. But Copps still wants comprehensive rule reform.
The FCC seems to be setting up intercarrier compensation and Universal Service Fund overhaul proposals for its Nov. 4 meeting. Whether Chairman Kevin Martin will propose a complete overhaul there was still fluid, sources said. A court order gave the commission until Nov. 5 to explain the statutory basis for its ISP-bound traffic compensation regime. Industry officials said the Wireline Bureau is soliciting comments on several comprehensive proposals.
The FCC will reform intercarrier compensation and the Universal Service Fund together, perhaps this year, Tom Tauke, Verizon executive vice president, told reporters Thursday. “If [reform is] going to happen, it’s going to happen in a package,” Tauke said. Two months ago, he doubted intercarrier reform could happen this year, he said. Taking compensation together with USF distribution and contribution is “a lot to swallow,” but court pressure and growing industry consensus makes him optimistic, Tauke said. Now is the “last best chance” for the telecom and technology sector to ally and reform an “unsustainable” system, he said.
The Rural Cellular Association formally challenged an FCC interim cap on the Universal Service Fund high-cost program, filing a reconsideration petition over the weekend. The group was expected to file a motion for stay on Monday, but hadn’t at our deadline. The reconsideration petition also was signed by small wireless competitive eligible telecommunications carriers. “The high-cost fund ‘emergency’ alleged by the commission is a farce,” said RCA Executive Director Eric Peterson. “The decision to implement the cap is based on inaccurate facts, false assumptions, flawed legal reasoning and ignores Congressional direction and the principle of competitive neutrality.”