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
California
The California PUC has scheduled a workshop on Tuesday, December 3, 2013, starting at 10:00 a.m. to discuss a reasonable performance bond amount for CPCN and Wireless Identification Registration (WIR) holders. (There will be a listening-only phone bridge.) The bond was initially set at an amount of $25,000 for both CPCN and WIR holders. The agenda includes the following discussion points:
- Criteria for determining revisions to the existing performance bond requirement for CPCN and WIR holders including (i) Amount of the Bond, (ii) Terms and Conditions of the bond – monetary sanctions, continuous, CPUC as oblige, and (iii) Applicability – covers existing, transferees, or only new applicants
- Exemptions to the Bond Requirement
- Alternatives to a Performance Bond including (i) Irrevocable Standby Letter of Credit, (ii) Escrow, and (iii) Sight Draft Letter of Credit
FCC
The FCC is seeking comment on proposed audit procedures to be used during biennial Lifeline audits. Under the FCC’s rules, every eligible telecommunications carrier providing Lifeline services that receives $5 million or more from the USF annually must conduct a biennial audit using an independent audit firm. The audit plan is intended to provide standard procedures for the independent auditors. Comments on the proposed Plan are due December 13, 2013; reply comments are due December 30, 2013.
