Cal. PUC Comr. Susan Kennedy introduced a revised version of the Telecom Consumer Bill of Rights that she said would give consumers more rights for Internet and DSL service. Her revision states the general rights of consumers but lacks the detailed regulations and implementation rules of the original document. Kennedy was at the forefront of shelving the original bill of rights. Her revised proposal says consumers should have the right to select the service of their choice and to keep their phone number in the process, and to full disclosure of the provider’s 911 capabilities. It also restates general consumer rights to clear and complete disclosure of the benefits and limitations of services, and their rates and terms. It says consumers should be able to buy DSL service without having to also buy the provider’s voice telephone service and have the right to access lawful Internet content without broadband-provider interference. Kennedy proposed that each principle of consumers’ rights be examined to determine whether the rights can be secured through existing laws and regulations or if new ones must be adopted. She said the PUC “went crazy” with its previous document and tried to regulate all the details of interactions between carrier and customer. Kennedy called for comment/reply cycles and evidentiary hearings on use of existing and proposed regulations to enforce consumers’ rights: “The bottom line is that there are many ways in which this commission can protect consumers’ rights. We just have to think outside of the old regulatory boxes.”

House Commerce Committee Vice Chmn. Pickering (R- Miss.) will speak Wed. at a telecom-media conference sponsored by the Stanford Washington Research Group. At a recent House Telecom Subcommittee hearing on Internet protocol (IP)-enabled video, Pickering laid out his views on broadband policy and predictions for proposed “IP- enabled” legislation addressing VoIP, video and other broadband services. Pickering said there are some areas of consensus on the committee on how IP-enabled legislation should proceed. The bill primarily should regulate IP services at the federal level, and should include some social regulation, such as mandates on 911 and the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), Pickering said. But there is no consensus on how to treat content traveling over IP networks and how networks should be allowed to interconnect, he said. Pickering emphasized that “the old world is over,” with much of the 1996 Telecom Act no longer relevant. He said consolidation is coming and that at some point, there may be only 2 Bells: East and West. Though he sees concentration in the wireless and cable industry, “concentration is not necessarily a negative thing,” he said. Pickering said the principles of the 1996 Act remain achievable, mainly the maximization of competition while maximizing investment. “The danger here is duopoly,” he said, calling it essential to maintain 3-5 competitors while being realistic about regulatory parity. “It’s not possible to have regulatory parity,” Pickering said. “It is possible to have fairness.” Other speakers at the conference will include: FCC Comr. Adelstein, Colin Crowell, counsel to House Telecom Subcommittee ranking Democrat Markey (Mass.), and James Assey, counsel to Senate Commerce Committee ranking Democrat Inouye (Hawaii). The event will include panels on media mergers, access charges and universal service for rural carriers, and regulatory issues between telephone and cable networks. Former Secy. of State Colin Powell will keynote during dinner Wed. evening. The conference is scheduled for 12:30 - 5:30 p.m. Wed. at the J.W. Marriott in Washington.

Sprint can’t unilaterally deploy phase I or phase II E-911 services because of challenges presented by LEC and PSAP readiness, it told the FCC in a quarterly report. Sprint said it installed the network systems to support Phase II service nationwide almost 3 years ago, but “the vast majority of PSAPs have not requested the deployment of either Phase I or II services.” Sprint also said it has distributed more than 37 million GPS-enabled handsets. But despite that “significant capital investment, ubiquitous deployment of these services does not appear to be likely any time in the near future,” the firm said. Despite those challenges, Sprint’s E-911 service deployment rates remain “steady,” according to the company. Spring said it has completed about 400 phase I and II system deployments for various PSAPs across the U.S., and launched phase I services to 2,498 PSAPs and phase II to 1,591 PSAPs. Separately, Cingular tallied 3,524 PSAP requests for phase I service on its GSM networks, 3,300 of which have been deployed; 194 are in progress. Cingular said it also has received 2,350 PSAP requests for phase II service on the same networks, of which 1,891 have been deployed and 459 are in progress. As for Cingular’s TDMA networks, the company said it has received 3,183 PSAP requests for phase I service, of which 2,998 have been deployed and 185 are in progress. Cingular also received 2,080 requests for phase II services, of which 1,670 have been deployed and 410 are in progress. Cingular said its phase II service meets Commission network-based accuracy requirements of 100 meters for 67% of calls and 300 meters for 95%. Verizon Wireless said since its last quarterly report, it has deployed phase I services to another 28 PSAPs, for 2,845 total covering 192 million residents in parts or all of 48 states. Verizon Wireless said it has deployed phase II E- 911 service to an additional 169 PSAPs to 1,797 total serving 148 million residents in 42 states.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va -- Comr. Abernathy called for a change in the Sunshine rules to let FCC commissioners meet in private as needed to get consensus on complex issues out of the public eye. Abernathy told the FCBA annual retreat held here Fri. and Sat. that 1970s-vintage rules work against development of policy on critical but complicated issues.

Vonage should spell out to customers that its 911 service isn’t “normal,” Mich. Attorney Gen. Mike Cox (R) told the company last week in a notice of intended action (NIA) against Vonage. “Emergency calls made through Vonage’s service are often routed through call centers that may not be answered outside of regular business hours,” Cox said: “I don’t know about most people, but I don’t have the ability to time my emergencies.” And emergency service personnel might not be able to identify callers or their addresses if the call does go through, Cox added. His office plans to sue for injunctive relief and civil penalties if Vonage doesn’t respond to the NIA within 10 days.

The Mich. PSC told state lawmakers any bill to extend, amend or replace the expiring Mich. Telecom Act should include provisions giving the PSC explicit consumer-protection and 911 jurisdiction over VoIP services. A recently introduced bill (HB-4600) would end rate regulation of all retail telecom services but give the PSC explicit jurisdiction over wholesale services and consumer protection. But the bill doesn’t specifically mention VoIP. PSC Chmn. Peter Lark said the state act is silent on VoIP, which didn’t exist when that law was written, so VoIP users have no PSC recourse for problems. The PSC wants legislative authority to monitor VoIP’s effects on the state, its service providers and its citizens, and the power to implement “non-intrusive” registration mechanisms for VoIP providers so the PSC knows who they are and whom to contact about customer complaints and 911 public safety issues. The PSC said a recent inquiry into VoIP issues (Case U-14073) showed lack of 911 access and uncertainty about consumer safeguards to be major public concerns about VoIP service. The PSC said the jurisdiction it seeks wouldn’t conflict with the FCC Vonage decision that preempted state regulation of VoIP rates and terms.

FCC Chmn. Martin said Tues. he’s eyeing “the May time frame” for possible FCC adoption of a rule requiring VoIP providers to offer customers emergency 911 dialing. Speaking before the House Appropriations subcommittee, Martin said he was accelerating from June to May a staff deadline for proposed regulations making VoIP compliant with E-911 service (CD April 27 p1). After the hearing, he told reporters he hoped to have the staff proposal ready to offer to other commissioners in time for them to vote on it in May. It’s possible that vote could occur at the May 19 open agenda meeting, although that would require a 3-week lead time under Commission rules, he said. VoIP providers offer some E-911 capability although it often is limited to routing customers’ calls to non- emergency “administrative” lines in call centers. By contrast, wireline callers are routed directly to the emergency response officials where screens show callers’ phone numbers and locations. The National Emergency Number Assn. (NENA) has been working to solve the problem, which is heightened by VoIP phones’ non-geographic numbers and mobility. Vonage on its own has been seeking access to Bell networks to test a solution based on what wireless carriers use and is on the verge of a major test with Verizon. SBC, which had been resisting Vonage’s test for technical reasons, told the company in an April 18 letter it was willing to try to reach a commercial agreement. SBC said it would “do a technical, economic and regulatory assessment” of Vonage’s proposal for access to the selective routers used for emergency calls. In the letter, SBC Exec. Vp Christopher Rice disagreed with Vonage’s view that its access plan didn’t require any new functions. “It is apparent that while the requested functionality has some similarities to what is available to wireless carriers, it is not the same,” SBC said. SBC also asked Vonage to outline the functions it seeks that can’t be obtained by going through CLECs for access. SBC also warned that Vonage will have to get agreements from all of the public safety entities it accesses before SBC can make an interface available for delivery of the 911 calls.

Same questions, different chairman. FCC Chmn. Martin on Tues. again found House Appropriations Committee members grilling him on indecency issues. Last year former Chmn. Michael Powell faced many of the same questions. Indecency led the topic list at the FCC oversight hearing of the Science, State, Justice, Commerce (SSJC) Subcommittee, where Martin made his first appearance on the Hill as chmn.

Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle (R) signed a 911 bill (HB- 313) that makes it a crime to knowingly use 911 to make a false report of a fire or knowingly file any other type of false emergency report or complaint. Violations would be punishable as a criminal misdemeanor with fines and/or up to 12 months in jail. The new law is intended to deter abuse of 911 and ensure the system is used only for legitimate emergency situations.

A cable cut on April 21 outside Helena, Mont., knocked out telephone, Internet, wireless and 911 access in Missoula city and county, and affected portions of Butte and Kalispell. Workers excavating a sandpit sliced into the Qwest underground cable at around 8:30 a.m. The county’s 911 systems were back on line in 10-20 min. by switching them to backup circuits. Other services were out for about 3 hours. Local emergency officials said Qwest made restoration of 911 its top priority and acted quickly to ensure 911 calls got through.