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 Briefing.
TELECOM
US Congress
The bipartisan encryption working group created by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), and Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI) to examine the many legal and policy issues surrounding encryption released a roadmap discussing the “path forward.” The roadmap is as follows:
- The working group will work diligently over the next several months to conduct its business with the goal of completing its work by the end of this Congress.
- Members and staff will conduct meetings with a variety of federal, state, and local government entities, former government officials, private industry and trade associations, civil society organizations, consultants and legal experts, academia, and cryptographers.
- Members and staff will participate in a variety of site visits to conduct meetings and receive technical briefings on encryption.
- Outside groups are encouraged to submit in writing white papers, scholarly articles, or testimony to facilitate the working group’s efforts. These can be emailed to EncryptionWG@mail.house.gov.
Members of the working group are Representatives Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Bill Johnson (R-OH), Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), and Joe Kennedy III (D-MA). Chairmen Goodlatte and Upton and Ranking Members Conyers and Pallone serve as ex officio members of the working group.
District of Columbia
The Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia opened three rulemaking proceedings regarding the rules governing local exchange carrier quality of service standards (found in Title 15 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations). Among other things, the amendments propose to waive the Public Utilities Reimbursement Fee for providers owing less than $12.00; establish standby battery backup unit requirements; and include new procedures for abandonment of copper facilities. Comments are due by May 15, 2016; reply comments are due by May 30, 2016. TMI Briefing Servicesubscribers see Briefing dated 4/19/16.
Kansas
The Kansas Corporation Commission established filing requirements for the July 2016 ICC/USF reform tariff filings. Blue Valley Tele-Communications, Columbus Communications Services, LLC, and LaHarpe Telephone Company must file revised intrastate access tariffs by May 6, 2016. Century Link must file its proposed intrastate access rates/tariff revisions and supporting calculation documentation by May 20, 2016. CLECs that have not incorporated a reference and/or URL to their interstate tariff in their intrastate tariff must file revised intrastate access tariffs and supporting documentation by June 10, 2016. TMI Briefing Servicesubscribers see Briefing dated 4/15/16.
