the regulatory mixThe 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

 

Nevada

The PUC will hold a workshop on April 23, 2014, to obtain comment on proposed revisions to its rules concerning lifeline eligibility, including the certification of wireline and wireless Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (ETCs). Comments on the proposed rule changes may be filed by April 17, 2014. The proposed rules are substantially the same as those proposed in October 2013. TMI Regulatory Bulletin Service subscribers see Nevada Bulletin dated October 21, 2013. The workshop may also include discussion of any overlap between the rule revisions proposed in this docket (13-06019) and those under consideration in Docket 13-06021 (establishment of Lifeline administrator).

 

Oregon

The PUC will hold a prehearing conference on April 4, 2014, to set the schedule for the second phase of its proceeding considering the annual reports of Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (ETCs). In June 2013, the PUC approved a stipulation as to the schedule to be used for filing reports in 2013. The parties to that stipulation agreed to re-visit the issue of annual ETC recertification reports after October 2013 in order to consider whether the reporting requirements should be modified for 2014 and subsequent years.

 

Texas

The PUC has dismissed a Staff petition seeking to declassify certain Texas Universal Service Fund compliance reports submitted by ILECs receiving high cost support and filed confidentially. The reports at issue are the five-year plans describing proposed improvements to the ILECs’ networks. Staff claimed the information was public information under the Texas Public Information Act (PIA) and should be declassified. The ILECs claimed the data was deemed confidential by the Texas legislature and had been determined by the Attorney General to be confidential financial information under the PIA.  

 

 

 

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