Price caps remain the dominant form of retail rate regulation for large and mid-sized incumbent telcos in the U.S. They are employed by 38 states plus D.C., Communications Daily’s survey of state regulatory schemes showed. In the other states, regulation ranges from rate- of-return (ROR) to full retail rate deregulation. Regulators in 4 states and D.C. are considering new price regulation plans for their largest incumbents, while 2 other states are considering major modifications to existing regulatory regimes. Most small incumbents remain under rate of return regulation, while CLECs operate under minimal regulation across the country.

Mediacom and Sprint signed a multiyear deal to provide VoIP telephony to Mediacom subscribers, they said. Sprint will assist with provisioning, switching and termination of traffic to the public switched network, as well as with 911 services, number portability and operator and directory services, under the deal. Sprint already has similar agreements with several other cable companies.

Certain mobile satellite service (MSS) operators will be required to file reports before and after establishing their FCC-mandated 911 emergency call centers, the FCC said in an order Wed. The Commission adopted E911 rules in Nov., including a requirement that MSS operators providing interconnected voice service must have call centers (CD Nov 14 p1). A further notice of proposed rulemaking adopted simultaneously asked about reporting and record keeping requirements. In Wed.’s order, the Commission said reporting before implementation would encourage planning and discussions between operators and the public safety community: “Advance notification will inform stakeholders how MSS carriers intend to connect with [public safety answering points (PSAPS)]… These discussions may be instrumental in ensuring that MSS carriers have the necessary resources to handle effectively emergency call traffic.” The Commission set a preimplementation report deadline for Oct. 11, 4 months ahead of the call center deadline of Feb. 11, 2005. In addition to identifying the carrier, the reports should: (1) Describe the carrier coverage area. (2) Provide the call center location and plans for routing emergency calls. (3) Describe how customers will learn about call center features. (4) Describe any problems experienced in organizing the center. MSS operators that have already established call centers, like Globalstar and Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV), still must file a report. The FCC said it will consider requests for extensions of the call center deployment deadline. The order also requires postimplementation reports on the status of the centers, requiring information on each call received and the fate of the calls (whether they were forwarded to PSAPS). The reports, which won’t include customer-specific information, will be due once a year with annual reports already file by the operators. The first postimplementation deadline is Oct. 15, 2005, the Commission said. Meanwhile, the Commission said it will address in a later proceeding the remaining issues from the FNPRM -- how an ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) would affect MSS call center implementation and E911 rules for multiline telephone systems.

ASPEN, Colo. -- FCC Comr. Abernathy said that as long as the Telecom Act remains as written, broadband regulation will be contested in court and leave few parties satisfied. Her comments Mon. at the Progress & Freedom Foundation Aspen Summit came after a series of CEOs accused regulators of having stymied investment and created regulatory uncertainty. Abernathy was careful not to formally ask Congress for a rewrite, but said “if they do that and I get new direction from Congress, that would be great. It would make my life easier.”

Qwest’s Colo. bid for broad retail rate deregulation got support from a surprising quarter -- local rival MCI, which told the PUC that it supports “substantial rate deregulation at the retail level.” MCI said it was time to “clear out the regulatory underbrush” of retail rate regulation in a competitive market, “which probably ends up being counterproductive for consumers.” MCI said the PUC should concentrate its regulatory efforts on wholesale rates, because local and interexchange competitors are still dependent on access to Qwest’s network to reach substantial numbers of customers. Qwest in July proposed to replace its price cap system with one that would deregulate retail rates for everything other than residential basic exchange, which is capped by state law, and certain public interest services like 911. Qwest temporarily withdrew that petition but plans to refile it in Oct. so the required legal notice to its customers can be sent out as an insert in regular monthly bills rather than by a special mailing. The petition was opposed by consumer interests who said there isn’t enough competition statewide to justify major rate deregulation.

VoIP providers are forming the Global IP Alliance to demonstrate to state, national and international regulators that the industry is capable of self-governance. The alliance, expected to be formally announced in the next several weeks, will be led by Pulver.com and consist of ILECs, CLECs, IXCs and pure VoIP providers from around the world. “We want to make sure we represent all points of view globally,” said Pulver.com Gen. Counsel Jonathan Askin, who will be exec. dir. of the alliance. He said the group has attracted “a lot of” U.S. VoIP providers and “a couple of” European ones, but he said “we need to get more Asian” companies. The initial members will include SBC, Global Crossing, Skype, KMC, Volo and Pulver.com.

Vonage said it now offers its subscribers 311 dialing for city information services by routing such calls to the public information center in the customer’s area. It said the 311 feature is available free to all customers who have activated their dialing 911 service. Vonage customers can access 311 services in 13 markets across the U.S., including N.Y., L.A., Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Dallas and Washington.

Without giving much support to an SBC IP’s petition for waiver of the FCC’s rules regarding access to numbering resources, telecom carriers and states generally agreed in comments the Commission should focus on its IP-Enabled Services proceeding, which addresses issues raised by SBC IP.

With Vonage v. Minn. PUC oral arguments expected in Oct., Vonage urged the FCC during an ex parte meeting last week to act “expeditiously” on its pending petition concerning the jurisdictional nature of its service. “If the FCC chooses to act later, the [U.S. Appeals Court, St. Louis,] will render the decision prior to the FCC, and the Commission will be bound by the court decision,” Vonage attorney William Wilhelm told us: “If the FCC wants to set a precedent, it would have to act on the matter before the court ruling.” The 8th Circuit is expected to issue its decision this year. With respect to VoIP 911 services, Vonage said it continued to “devote substantial resources toward the development of standards and technology necessary to facilitate VoIP 911 services.” It said it was “a signatory to the NENA Statement of Principle with respect to the development of VoIP.” But it said it “concurs with NENA’s opposition to the fragmentation of 911 and agrees that consumer expectations for 911 are national and therefore require jurisdictional leadership and resources from the Federal Government.” Noting that the FCC promised to provide that leadership in its IP services rulemaking, Vonage said it would support Commission action that would endorse “a national approach to IP 911 that would marshal the regional expertise of the public safety community but preclude disparate state approach.” It urged the Commission to approach the development of VoIP 911 “just as it oversaw the national deployment of 911 for commercial mobile radio services.”

The Cal. legislature passed a bill (AB-911) that would impose a civil fine up to $200 on people who knowingly use the 911 phone system for non-emergency calls. Under the bill sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger R), first offenders would get a warning and educational material on proper 911 use. Repeat offenders would face $50-$200 fines.