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
Open Meeting
The FCC announced the agenda for its July 16, 2015, Open Meeting, which includes:
- Incentive Auction Procedures A Procedures Public Notice to commence the incentive auction in the first quarter of 2016. The Public Notice adopts a balanced set of auction procedures that will ensure an effective, efficient, and timely auction. The Public Notice also establishes and provides information on final procedures for setting the initial spectrum clearing target, qualifying to bid, and bidding in the reverse and forward auctions.
- Mobile Spectrum Holdings An Order on Reconsideration addressing petitions for reconsideration of certain aspects of the Mobile Spectrum Holdings Report and Order.
- Competitive Bidding A Report and Order, Order on Reconsideration, Third Order on Reconsideration, and a Third Report and Order that provides meaningful opportunities for small businesses, rural telephone companies, and businesses owned by members of minority groups and women to participate in the provision of spectrum-based services, and also strengthens the FCC’s rules to protect against unjust enrichment to ineligible entities.
The FCC will also consider an Enforcement Bureau item for which no identifying information was released and a Consent Agenda consisting of nine Media Bureau items.
Special Access Data Collection
The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) has released a list of the parities executing Acknowledgements of Confidentiality (Acknowledgements) in connection with their intent to seek access to data and information filed in response to the FCC’s Special Access Data Request. Companies that submitted confidential or highly confidential information in response to the collection have until July 17, 2015, to object to disclosure of their data and information to the requesting parties listed in the Attachment. The Bureau said it would separately announce the filing of any executed Acknowledgements received after the date of the Public Notice and would give data respondents an opportunity to object to the disclosure of their information to the additional entities. The Bureau will maintain a list of all parties that have sought access, and been granted access, to confidential and highly confidential information, on the following webpage: http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/acknowledgement-confidential-special-access-data-collection.
IP Transition
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler announced through a blog posting and Fact Sheet that he will be circulating two items in connection with the FCC’s proceeding on the IP transition. The items will be on the FCC’s August 6, 2015, Agenda. See our blog FCC-Moves-Forward-On-IP-Transition-Rules.
