The Regulatory Mix, TMI’s daily blog of regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court, issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of a TMI Regulatory Bulletin.
TELECOM
Connecticut
On 12/17/13 AT&T announced that it has agreed to sell its incumbent local exchange operations in Connecticut to Connecticut-based Frontier Communications for $2.0 billion in cash. The transaction includes wireline network assets and consumer, business, and wholesale customer relationships. Connecticut’s Attorney General Jepsen issued the following statement in response to the proposed AT&T wireline sale to Frontier Communications.
“The proposed transaction could have substantial impact on the quality and affordability of wireline telephone, internet broadband and video services for residential and business customers throughout Connecticut. I will closely examine this deal and fight to ensure that the interests of the state of Connecticut and its residents are fully protected.
“My focus will be on evaluating the effect that this transaction will have on quality of service provided at reasonable rates, as well as the impact on competition, Connecticut’s workforce and the state’s efforts to streamline and improve the use and control of utility poles.
“Reliable and affordable wireline telephone service remains a critical public service in Connecticut. Even with the expanding use of wireless, landline service maintains a vital place in public safety and in the lives of many, many Connecticut residents, including our elderly and more vulnerable populations.”
FCC
The FCC published its Rural Call Completion Order in the Federal Register and announced the effective date for some of the new rules and the date for filing comments and reply comments.
- §64.2201, the rule prohibiting all providers (including interconnected and one-way VoIP providers) from generating ringing indication to the calling party until the terminating provider signals that the called party has been alerted to the incoming call will become effective January 31, 2014.
- §§64.2101 (Definitions) and 64.2109 (Requests for non-disclosure of reported data) will become effective January 16, 2014.
- The remainder of the substantive rules contain retention and reporting requirements that require Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval.
- Comments on the Further Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking are due January 16, 2014; reply comments are due February 18, 2014.
- Petitions for Reconsideration are due January 16, 2014.
