Washington Watch 04/16/2014
| April 16, 2014 | |
Contents
IP Transition
Reply Comments Filed on Rural Broadband Experiments FNPRM
State Members File Reply on FCC Proposal for IP Transition Data Collection Initiative
AT&T Responds to Confidentiality Challenge of Proposed IP Trials
USF/ICC Transformation Order
NARUC Seeks Freeze of Current Urban Rate Floor
Public Knowledge et al. Express Concern with Local Service Rate Floor Increase
AARP Expresses Concern with Compliance Deadline for Local Service Rate Floor
Rural Wireless Carriers Request FCC Halt Phase Down of High-Cost Support
ACA Discusses USF Order, FNPRM for April Open Meeting
U.S. Cellular Discusses April 23 Open Meeting CAF Item
Frontier Discusses Potential CAF Phase II Changes
SDTA, Golden West Discuss Broadband, E-rate, Rate Floor, and Retransmission Consent
Universal Service
WISPA Files Proposal to Modernize ETC Designation Process
Numbering
Neustar Says Commission Itself Should Select Next LNP Administrator
Telcordia Responds to Neustar Suggestions for LNP Administrator Selection Process
Consumer Advisory Council
FCC Consumer Advisory Committee Next Meeting May 19
Today’s News Clips
Rural Broadband Group: Utility Bill Inserts Might Help Spread the Good Word
Google Acquires Drone Maker Titan Aerospace to Spread Web
IP TransitionReply Comments Filed on Rural Broadband Experiments FNPERM In addition to Replies listed in a previous edition of Washington Watch, replies were filed on April 14, 2014, on the FNPRM proposing rural broadband experiments. The American Cable Association said the Commission should select projects based on clear and objective measurements of cost-effectiveness and broadband performance that are most likely to be sustainable and are proposed by financeable providers. The Fiber to the Home Council Americas asserts the selection process should be as objective as possible, using cost-effectiveness as the primary selective criterion, the Commission should favor projects that will maximize the deployment of robust, scalable all-fiber broadband, giving greater weight to proposals that seek to provide ultra-high-speed connectivity to rural areas, and should ensure that the widest diversity of providers can apply for Experiment funds. USTelecom provided an analysis it prepared of the expressions of interest for rural broadband trials submitted to the Commission, separated into four categories: expressions with both census tracts and funding; expressions with census tracts but no funding; expressions with a request for funding but no census tracts listed; and general expressions of interest with neither tracts nor funding. USTelecom said the results of its analysis suggest most of the substantive expressions of interest sought levels of funding substantially greater than the CAF Phase II model-based support in the relevant census tracts. Other replies filed by: Utilities Telecom Council PC Telecom List of all replies filed State Members File Reply on FCC Proposal for IP Transition Data Collection Initiative The State Members of Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Telecommunications Services filed reply comments on April 14, 2014, in response to the FCC’s proposal for an Ongoing Data Initiative proposal, which the IP Transitions Order stated is intended to develop “a more comprehensive factual account of the technology transitions and how they are impacting network values.” The state members urged the FCC to leverage the states’ expertise in collecting consumer complaints on telecommunications services, acknowledge the states’ capacity to conduct outreach and consumer education, and work closely with state commissions who are well positioned to provide input on local issues and concerns. AT&T Responds to Confidentiality Challenge of Proposed IP Trials AT&T filed a Reply on April 15, 2014, to a Challenge filed by Public Knowledge and the National Consumer Law Center, of portions of its proposed IP transition trials that AT&T designated as confidential. AT&T said it does not oppose the challenge as it relates to certain information regarding the percentage of Carbon Hill’s population that will have access to AT&T’s IP-based services that was inadvertently disclosed in a press briefing. AT&T did say, however, the Challenge’s request for public disclosure of the timeline under which the trial will be conducted should be rejected, as that information is highly confidential and entitled to protection from disclosure under both Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act and the Second Protective Order.USF/ICC Transformation OrderNARUC Seeks Freeze of Current Urban Rate Floor NARUC filed a Petition on April 15, 2014, asking the Commission to freeze the current $14 urban rate floor pending release of data underlying the calculation and methodology of the $20.46 rate, and solicitation of public comment on such data and methods. It cited numerous concerns and issues surrounding the rate floor, including concerns raised by Chairman Wheeler and Commissioner Pai, as support for maintaining the current rate floor pending further investigation and comment. Public Knowledge et al. Express Concern with Local Service Rate Floor Increase Public Knowledge, the National Consumer Law Center, the Center for Media Justice, Common Cause, the Center for Rural Strategies, and the Rural Broadband Policy Group filed a letter on April 15, 2014, asking the Commission to take prompt action regarding the impending increase in the basic voice service rate floor. AARP Expresses Concern with Compliance Deadline for Local Service Rate Floor AARP filed a letter on April 15, 2014, expressing concern with the upcoming local service rate floor deadline. It said that the rate increase is not consistent with the Transformation Order’s statement that the implementation would be gradual and that the principles of rate shock avoidance apply. AARP said if the Commission decides that it must continue to increase rural rates toward their urban counterparts, it should phase-in the increases over no less than a three-year period, capping increases at $2 per year, and that revenue increases experienced by rural ILECs should be offset by decreases in the draw from the fund. Rural Wireless Carriers Request FCC Halt Phase Down of High-Cost Support The Rural Wireless Association sent a letter to Chairman Wheeler on April 14, 2014, requesting that the FCC immediately halt the phase-down of USF support for high-cost wireless carriers because the Mobility Fund Phase II will not be operational or implemented by June 30, 2014. ACA Discusses USF Order, FNPRM for April Open Meeting The American Cable Association met with Chairman Wheeler’s Legal Advisor on April 14, 2014, to discuss the CAF Phase II program and related items on the Tentative Agenda for the Commission’s April Open Meeting. ACA suggested the Commission adopt the CAF Phase II cost model, begin the challenge process, and work to complete competitive bidding rules, and urged the Commission not to delay implementation should it decide to seek comment on increasing the broadband speed obligation from 4/1 Mbps to 10 Mbps downstream. U.S. Cellular Discusses April 23 Open Meeting CAF Item U.S. Cellular met with Commissioner Clyburn’s staff on April 10, 2014, and with Chairman Wheeler and Commissioners Rosenworcel, Pai and O’Rielly’s staff on April 14, to discuss several aspects of the Connect America Fund item scheduled to be adopted at the April 23 Open Meeting. It said any change to the scheduled July 1 pause in the phase down of legacy support to competitive wireless carriers requires a process consistent with the Administrative Procedure Act. It urged the FCC to seek comment on removing the Right-of-First-Refusal for price cap carriers should Mobility Fund II be shifted into the CAF, and discussed the possibility of increasing the speed requirement to 10 Mbps, noting that any increase in speed should be made after new spectrum comes on the market. Frontier Discusses Potential CAF Phase II Changes Frontier spoke by phone with Chairman Wheeler’s Legal Advisor on April 10 and 14, 2014, to discuss potential changes to CAF Phase II. Frontier emphasized that if the Commission is considering increasing the CAF Phase II obligations, then it must also consider adjusting other terms of support, including increasing the length of the funding term and adjusting the level of broadband necessary for an area to be considered served by an unsubsidized competitor to match the CAF Phase II service obligations. Frontier also discussed the difficulty of deploying a higher-speed service to every CAF Phase II location. SDTA, Golden West Discuss Broadband, E-rate, Rate Floor, and Retransmission Consent The South Dakota Telecommunications Association and Golden West Telecommunications Cooperative met with Chairman Wheeler and staff of the Office of Native Affairs and Policy on April 10, 2014, to provide information on broadband services and speeds that have been deployed in the service and tribal areas served by the rural carrier members of SDTA and Golden West. They also discussed E-rate modernization, specifically the fiber connections and broadband capacity and speeds presently available to hundreds of South Dakota schools through SDTA member companies' and SDN Communications’ network facilities. They also discussed a number of high cost funding related issues for rural rate-of-return carriers, and the increasing difficulties faced by ROR carriers in not having the ability to sell standalone broadband services to end user customers without losing per-line high-cost funding.Universal ServiceWISPA Files Proposal to Modernize ETC Designation Process The Wireless Internet Service Providers Association filed a letter on April 15, 2014, describing its proposal for modernizing the ETC designation process. WISPA recommended the Commission adopt a single set of rules that would be applicable to all three CAF programs and any other CAF funding program. WISPA also said, if implemented, these rules would allow any company to obtain ETC status after being selected for funding for the specific funded area and specific funding program.NumberingNeustar Says Commission Itself Should Select Next LNP Administrator Neustar filed a letter on April 14, 2014, to follow up on an issue addressed in its April 8 letter suggesting the Commission not delegate to the Wireline Competition Bureau the LNPA selection decision. Neustar said nothing in any prior Commission Order has authorized the Bureau to act on the NANC’s recommendation for selection of the LNPA for the period following expiration of the current LNPA contract. Telcordia Responds to Neustar Suggestions for LNP Administrator Selection Process Telcordia filed a letter on April 15, 2014, in response to Neustar’s April 8, 2014 letter requesting further public comment prior to the selection of the next Local Number Portability Administrator. Telcordia claimed that Neustar is attempting to delay the LNPA selection process to extend its current contract, and argued that additional notice and comment is not required, and could potentially harm the competitive process.Consumer Advisory CouncilFCC Consumer Advisory Committee Next Meeting May 19 The FCC issued a Public Notice on April 15, 2014, announcing the next meeting of its Consumer Advisory Committee will take place on May 19, 2014. The Committee will reaffirm recommendations adopted at its March 28, 2014 meeting regarding the IP transition, E-rate, a workshop to assess requirements for wireless medical test beds, and a commendation to the Commission regarding its recent TV caption quality rule.Today’s News ClipsRural broadband group: Utility bill inserts might help spread the good word By Scott M. Fulton III FierceEnterpriseCommunications Last May, the Pew Research Center's estimate of U.S. households receiving broadband service (or, if you prefer specificity, households that believe they have broadband service) rose to 70 percent. That means three U.S. households out of ten don't receive broadband, and an estimated 27 percent of households don't receive Internet service at all. The rural broadband association NTCA declared in a report released Friday (.pdf) that "a significant segment of society is not using the Internet." Citing figures from the FCC, NTCA spotted exactly where that segment resides: While some 98.2 percent of metropolitan U.S. residents have access to connections of 3 Mbps or above, only 76.3 percent of rural U.S. residents have the same access to bandwidth. http://www.fierceenterprisecommunications.com/story/rural-broadband-group-utility-bill-inserts-might-help-spread-good-word/2014-04-14 Google Acquires Drone Maker Titan Aerospace to Spread Web By Brian Womack Bloomberg Google Inc. (GOOGL) is adding drones to its fleets of robots and driverless cars. The Internet-search company said yesterday that it acquired Titan Aerospace, a maker of high-altitude, solar-powered satellites that provides access to data services around the world. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Google is looking for new ways to offer online services to users through Project Loon, which it unveiled last year to help connect people in rural or remote areas to the Web using balloons and other machinery. The drones also provide high-resolution images of the earth, navigation and mapping services, and atmospheric monitoring systems. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-14/google-acquires-drone-maker-titan-aerospace-to-spread-web.htmlEditor: Teresa Evert | Assistant Editor: Shawn O'Brien |
|
