Washington Watch 04/22/2014
| April 22, 2014 | |
Contents
USF/ICC Transformation Order
Commissioner Pai Issues Statement on Increases in Rural Local Phone Rates
Arkansas Congressmen, Senator Express Concern With Rate Floor Increases
Small Company Coalition Files Updated Summary of Alternative Universal Service Broadband Proposal
Call Completion
FCC Seeks Comments on Call Attempt Data Criteria in Rural Call Completion Order
Vonage Acknowledges Compliance With Call Ring Rule
Open Internet
National Hispanic Media Coalition, Free Press, et al. Discuss Open Internet Rules
Stanford Law School Professor Discusses Net Neutrality Rules
Communications Chambers Submits Policy Report on Settlement-Free Peering
Universal Service
LEAD Commission Discusses E-rate Modernization
The Quilt Discusses E-rate Reform
Broadband
Crown Point, Trumansburg to Detariff Wireline Broadband Internet Access Service
Open Meeting
FCC Changes September Open Meeting Date
FCC Process Reform
Consumers Union Discusses Consumer Complaint Database
Today’s News Clips
5 States to Watch in the Community Broadband Fight
USF/ICC Transformation OrderCommissioner Pai Issues Statement on Increases in Rural Local Phone Rates Commissioner Pai issued a statement on April 21, 2014, after the Wireline Competition Bureau announcedthe posting on the FCC’s website of the fixed voice services data collected in the urban rate survey. Commissioner Pai said even though the Bureau’s data reveal that the local phone rate in Washington, DC is $14.10, the FCC is on the precipice of raising rates for rural Americans from $14.00 to $20.46. Commissioner Pai said rural Americans will then have to pay 45 percent more for local phone service than those living in our nation’s capital, and noted this rate increase will not save the government any money. Arkansas Congressmen, Senator Express Concern With Rate Floor Increases Reps. Tom Cotton, Rick Crawford, Tim Griffin, Steve Womack, and Sen. John Boozman, all representing Arkansas, sent a letter to Chairman Wheeler on April 2, 2014, expressing concern over a potential increase in the local service rate floor, from $14 to $20.46. They said, “the rate floor mechanism, in effect, offers certain rural telecom companies money to raise customers’ phone bills, with the price increases matched dollar-for-dollar from the federal universal service fund. This perverse incentive structure is negatively impacting rural customers and is skewing the business costs of investing in the provision of rural service.” Small Company Coalition Files Updated Summary of Alternative Universal Service Broadband Proposal The Small Company Coalition filed an updated summary of its alternative universal broadband service proposal on April 21, 2014. Components of the proposal include: a broadband high-cost loop fund, rate-of-return carrier specific funding, broadband high-cost loop recovery adjustment, and making support available only to build out to customers without broadband service available from a competitor and/or to maintain a broadband-centric network. The SCC said its proposal works similar to the previous HCLS-algorithm but includes broadband-centric cost study categories that would result in cost recoveries via CAF-related broadband funding.Call CompletionFCC Seeks Comments on Call Attempt Data Criteria in Rural Call Completion Order The Wireline Competition Bureau issued a Public Notice on April 21, 2014, seeking comment on whether to modify or provide assistance regarding the criteria described in Appendix C of the Rural Call Completion Order, in response to questions from Level 3 and Verizon on the answered and ring no answer categories of call attempts. The Notice indicates Level 3 and Verizon have explained that release cause code 16 is also used to indicate that the calling party has hung up before the called party answered, and asks if the description of answered call in Appendix C should be revised. The Notice also asks whether the description of ring no answer call attempts in Appendix C should be revised to provide clearer guidance to covered providers. Comments are due 7 days after publication in the Federal Register. Vonage Acknowledges Compliance With Call Ring Rule Vonage filed a letter on April 17, 2014, notifying the FCC of its compliance with the call ringing rule for which Vonage had requested and obtained additional time to complete rollout of the software required to deploy its call ringing solution. Vonage reported that 100 percent of its traffic is now on the new media delivery system.Open InternetNational Hispanic Media Coalition, Free Press, et al. Discuss Open Internet Rules The National Hispanic Media Coalition, Free Press, and the National Association of Latino Independent Producers met withstaff of Chairman Wheeler and Wireline Competition Bureau and Office of the General Counsel staff on April 16, 2014, to discuss the remand of the Open Internet rules. They asserted the transmission component of broadband Internet access service must be classified by the Commission as a Title II common carrier service to protect consumers from discriminatory practices and blocking. Stanford Law School Professor Discusses Net Neutrality Rules Stanford Law School Professor Barbara van Schewick met withCommissioner Clyburn and her Legal Advisor on April 16, 2014, to discuss the limitations Section 706 imposes on the Commission’s ability to adopt network neutrality rules. Professor van Schewick asserted net neutrality rules adopted under Section 706 provide significantly less protection than the FCC’s Open Internet Rules, and will provide little certainty to Internet service providers, result in high costs of regulation, and create a high risk of litigation. Communications Chambers Submits Policy Report on Settlement-Free Peering Communications Chambers submitted a Report to the Commission on April 18, 2014, entitled The attack on settlement-free peering and the risk of “access power” peering. The report, which focuses on European networks, supports a policy of settlement-free peering, i.e., IP interconnection based on reciprocal agreement without money changing hands. It notes while some access providers claim the practice of settlement-free peering must be abandoned and content and application providers should pay for peering, the case is not strong. The Report points out a content or application provider wishing to send traffic to a particular consumer has no choice but to deal with that consumer’s access provider, and paid peering shifts value to this least competitive part of the market, giving access providers a powerful lever to extract monopoly rents.Universal ServiceLEAD Commission Discusses E-rate Modernization Blair Levin, on behalf of the LEAD Commission, met with Commissioner Pai and his Chief of Staff on April 16, 2014, to discuss the implications of EducationSuperHighway’s recent study of E-rate recipients’ telecommunications and broadband spending, as well as the need for simplicity and transparency in the administration of the E-rate program. The Quilt Discusses E-rate Reform The Quilt met with Commissioner Rosenworcel’s Legal Advisor on April 16, 2014, to discuss E-rate reform. It explained that research and education networks have a long history of participating in the E-rate program, both as network providers and as consortium applicants on behalf of schools and libraries, and suggested the E-rate program should focus on supporting internal connections inside the school and library buildings and support greater capital investment. The Quilt also met with Office of Managing Director, Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis and Wireline Competition Bureau staff on April 16, 2014, and Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis staff on April 15, 2014, to discuss the same issues.BroadbandCrown Point, Trumansburg to Detariff Wireline Broadband Internet Access Service Crown Point Telephone and Trumansburg Telephone filed notices on April 21, 2014, to inform the FCC that as of July 1, 2014, they will discontinue offering wireline broadband Internet access service on a tariffed basis and will offer WBIAS on a permissive detariffed, common carriage basis.Open MeetingFCC Changes September Open Meeting Date The FCC announced on April 21, 2014, that the date for the September FCC Open Meeting is rescheduled from September 19 to September 30, 2014.FCC Process ReformConsumers Union Discusses Consumer Complaint Database Consumers Union met with Chairman Wheeler’s Special Counsel and Enforcement Bureau staff on April 17, 2014, to discuss the reasons the Commission should develop a publicly available, easily accessible, searchable consumer complaint database that is sortable according to certain specific criteria. Consumers Union reiterated that a successful consumer complaint database is one that allows members of the public to share their experiences with one another. Consumers Union said it has played a significant role in the development of public consumer complaint databases at other regulatory agencies, and said these efforts have resulted in real, palpable benefits for consumers.Today’s News Clips5 States to Watch in the Community Broadband Fight By Brian Heaton Government Technology The battle between local governments and telecommunications providers over the right to establish community broadband networks heated up over the last several months, as a number of bills were introduced that could have significant impact on municipalities in five states. Kansas, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Utah and Tennessee were all in the spotlight earlier this year regarding everything from de-facto bans on community networks to funding and development issues. Some of the bills were pulled off the table, while others have continued through their respective states’ legislative processes. http://www.govtech.com/network/5-States-to-Watch-in-the-Community-Broadband-Fight.htmlEditor: Teresa Evert | Assistant Editor: Shawn O'Brien |
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