The Regulatory Mix

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

 

FCC

The FCC released the agenda and panelist information for its Workshop on E-Rate Funded Fiber Build Projects scheduled for May 20, 2015. See the Regulatory Mix dated 4/9/15. The Workshop will provide E-rate applicants, providers, and state and local policy makers with information and tools for planning fiber build projects under the new E-rate rules, with a focus on issues applicants need to consider in order to choose the most cost-effective option for deploying fiber.

  • For Panel 1, “Overview of E-rate Fiber Rules,” the FCC’s Managing Director will discuss the changes the FCC adopted to the E-rate rules in the Second E-rate Modernization Order to allow schools and libraries more options for applying for E-rate funding for fiber builds beginning in funding year 2016.
  • For Panel 2, “Statewide and Regional Case Studies” and Panel 3, “School District and Local Case Studies,” presenters will provide brief summaries of their fiber build projects and help explore the lessons learned from past projects that will be relevant to E-rate applicants seeking E-rate funding for new fiber builds.
  • For Panel 4, “Fiber Planning Tools,” presenters will demonstrate mapping, data analysis, and cost modeling tools designed to assess bandwidth demand and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of fiber build options.

 

LNPA Transition

The FCC is seeking comment on the North American Portability Management LLC’s (NAPM LLC) Transition Oversight Plan relating to the FCC’s conditional selection of Telcordia Technologies, Inc. d/b/a iconectiv as the next local number portability administrator (LNPA). Interested parties may file comments on or before May 21, 2015, and reply comments on or before June 1, 2015. Among other things, the Plan will include dispute resolution mechanisms, a three-phase testing procedure; and stakeholder outreach and education. The NAPM LLC intends to engage the North American Numbering Council as the mechanism through which industry stakeholders, including small providers and state regulators, can participate.

 

Open Internet

The FCC has denied three petitions for stay of its Open Internet/Net Neutrality rules. See our 2/27/15 Blog FCC Adopts Net Neutrality Rules. TMI Regulatory Bulletin Service subscribers watch for a TMI Bulletin.

 

New York

The Public Utility Law Project of New York, Inc. (PULP) wrote a letter to the PSC urging them to proceed with a study on the state of telecommunications in New York. The letter says “It is undeniable that in the ten years since the Competition III order [case 05-C-0616], judging by the Commission’s own metrics, telephone service quality has suffered, cable television service quality has suffered, household telephone penetration has dropped to an unprecedented low, and lifeline membership has plummeted alarmingly. Consequently, the Public Utility Law Project finds it inconceivable that the Commission has issued no broad-based public study upon which to base the sweeping remedial actions necessary to reverse the crumbling of New York’s telephony services sector.” PULP asks that the PUC

  • reassess whether failure to meet telephone service quality metrics should return to being based upon service to all customers (not just Lifeline customers);
  • investigate what caused the 62% drop in Verizon’s Lifeline customers and the methodology of USAC’s recertification;
  • address the decline in overall household subscribership, the decline in Lifeline, and the decline in service quality compliance and require all telecommunications companies providing residential telephone service to participate in case 14-C-0370); and
  • make the telecom study publicly available without undue delay (including all reasons for the delay).

 

Rural Call Completion Reporting

 

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