The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association is still concerned about “the many questions still swirling” regarding implementation of the changes made last fall to reimbursable capital costs through the USF, it told an aide to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski Wednesday, according to an ex parte filing (http://xrl.us/bm9yfi). NTCA urged the commission to take the time to evaluate “through a data-driven process” the impact of those changes on rural customers, “and the fundamental objectives of universal service."
The FCC Wireline Bureau Thursday granted four petitions seeking temporary waivers of a June 1 deadline to implement new Lifeline eligibility rules (http://xrl.us/bm9yxb). The bureau gave USTelecom a six-month extension for 13 of the states indicated in its petition, as well as the eligible telecom carriers in those states that rely on the state to sign someone up for Lifeline. It also granted extensions for California to transition to a new third-party vendor and enable collection of partial Social Security information and dates of birth; and to Oregon and Colorado, which need to change their state laws to reflect new federal rules.
Representatives from Dickey Rural Telephone Cooperative met with FCC Wireline Bureau officials and an aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel last week to discuss how the company might “salvage” its efforts to continue broadband service “in light of USF reforms and the resulting curtailment of universal support that DRTC had been receiving,” according to an ex parte notice (http://xrl.us/bm9ph8). Dickey will have to suspend its free Internet classes and “Rural PC Project,” which subsidizes computers for those in Dickey’s rural service area, the coop said, “thus ending ... successful broadband adoption initiatives."
New intercarrier compensation and USF reform measures adopted in last fall’s FCC order and further notice create too much uncertainty to support future investment in network upgrades, representatives of the Iowa Telecommunications Association told an aide to Commissioner Mignon Clyburn Wednesday (http://xrl.us/bm9axr). They provided examples of Iowa companies that have “delayed or halted” plans to upgrade broadband networks to their customers because of this uncertainty. They also urged the commission to develop a “reasonable” waiver process, and to take strong action on the ongoing call completion problems faced by rural customers.
BOSTON -- State telecom regulators took a largely dim view of the FCC’s ability to regulate state and local policy matters, as they grappled with the potential components of a prospective 2013 Telecom Act. Speaking on a Cable Show panel on public utility commissions late Tuesday, state regulators generally agreed that any proposed broad new telecom law should have the FCC set fewer specific rules while allowing them more leeway to regulate local issues as they see fit. Speaking earlier at the conference, aides to legislators had said the 1996 Telecom Act may be updated, though it could take years (CD May 22 p5).
BOSTON -- Usage-based data pricing can spur competition in broadband, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said of ISPs’ moves to systems not always charging flat prices regardless of consumption. NCTA CEO Michael Powell asked Genachowski about the practice in a Q-and-A Tuesday at The Cable Show, noting ISPs of all sorts, including cable operators, are starting to charge based on consumption. “Business model innovation is very important, particularly in new areas like broadband,” Genachowski replied. The commission’s 2010 net neutrality order allowed such practices. Nonprofits that backed the order criticized Genachowski’s remarks, while AT&T supported the comments.
BOSTON -- Updating the Telecom Act or 1992 Cable Act is on the radar screens of aides from both parties on the House and Senate Commerce committees, they told a panel Monday at the Cable Show. They generally agreed that any update to the 1996 law could take years, and some said a more piecemeal approach could move on Capitol Hill more quickly but still would take time. Representatives from both parties said their bosses backed the FCC’s approach to reforming the USF, with an aide to Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., saying that if the commission doesn’t keep up its momentum on the contribution side, the Hill could eventually step in.
The FCC seeks to identify additional regulations ripe for retrospective analysis, the agency said in its final plan for retrospective analysis of existing rules, released Friday. The commission seeks to review Section 11 of the Communications Act, the regulatory flexibility rules, broadcast ownership rules, paperwork reduction and forbearance request rules, it said. Other retrospective reviews are related to issues like USF, broadcast TV spectrum, the emergency alert system, digital encryption, outage reporting requirements, wireless E-911 location accuracy and 700 MHz interoperability. The FCC also seeks to identify rules that may have a disproportionate or undue impact on certain entities, including regulations involving foreign ownership, pole attachment and antenna structures. The agency would also consider whether a regulation has been subject to frequent requests for waivers or been identified as needing revision. Other factors the FCC may consider include the need to eliminate overlapping or duplicative regulations, the need to eliminate conflicts or inconsistencies with other rules and the need to simplify or clarify regulatory language. Commissioner Ajit Pai said that in light of the importance of the analysis, the 2012 biennial review should take the form of commission-level action rather than bureau-level recommendations. Section 11 of the Communications Act requires the commission to review every two years all regulations that apply to the operations or activities of service providers and determine whether those regulations are “no longer necessary in the public interest as the result of meaningful economic competition between providers of such service,” he said. Following the review, the agency is then required “to repeal or modify any regulation it determines to be no longer necessary in the public interest,” he said. “Releasing the Final Plan for Retrospective Reform is a result of the hard work of our staff, and affirms the agency’s extensive efforts to eliminate unnecessary regulations,” Chairman Julius Genachowski said. “The FCC continues to make strong progress toward our goal of being a model of excellence in government."
Correcting the rule for calculation of the baseline for the phase-down of competitive eligible telecom carrier support will “avoid discrimination and prevent the phase-out of CETC support from disadvantaging T-Mobile and its customers relative to other wireless carriers,” T-Mobile USA told FCC Wireline Bureau officials Tuesday, according to an ex parte filing (http://xrl.us/bm8i34). The USF-intercarrier compensation order intended a monthly baseline measure for phase-down to approximate what CETCs would currently receive, had the identical support rule been retained, but the rule for calculating the monthly baseline support amount is “fundamentally inconsistent” with the order on this issue and should be revised, T-Mobile said.
FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell wants President Barack Obama to make federal agencies give the government more cooperation as the administration, commission and lawmakers want to reallocate public and privately held frequencies for wireless broadband. “I've been disappointed, I think, in the executive branch” for not doing more to encourage government to find frequencies it can move off of in favor of commercial deployment, he said Thursday. He praised the NTIA’s March report pegging at $18 billion what it would cost the government to vacate the 1755-1850 MHz band in a process it said would take 10 years (CD March 28 p1), saying that agency may not have gotten all the cooperation it needed from others. McDowell also said that at initial impression he prefers that telcos contribute to the USF based on a metric related to the amount of phone numbers a company has, he said in a taped interview to be shown this weekend on C-SPAN.