The Regulatory Mix from Technologies Management, Inc.

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 issued a Public Notice explaining its new procedures for handling disability access complaints. This includes complaints for telecommunications service (including interconnected VoIP service) and equipment. The Public Notice directs consumers to the various complaint forms on the FCC’s website, as well as a search form where they can find contact information for a company’s accessibility customer care representative. Bulletin subscribers: See TMI Regulatory Bulletin dated 11/18/13.

 

The FCC released a report on the Status of Local Competition as of December 31, 2012. The report is based on subscribership information reported by ILECs, CLECs, wireless providers, and interconnected VoIP providers on FCC Form 477. The report demonstrates continued growth in subscribership to interconnected VoIP and mobile telephony services and continued decline in subscribership to traditional wired telephone services. Read the report here

 

In response to the Report, FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai released a statement as follows:

“There can be no doubt, if ever there was, that the IP Transition is upon us. The FCC Wireline Competition Bureau’s Local Telephone Competition Report, issued today, observes that Americans continue to flee the copper networks of the 20th century. About one in seven households with copper dropped their landline last year, and 33.6 million Americans dropped their copper landlines over the past four years. And competition is rampant: 99.6 percent of Americans can choose from at least three wireline competitors, and 92 percent can choose from 10 or more. The evidence also shows that consumers are in fact exercising that choice: Interconnected VoIP providers added 14.6 million subscriptions over the last four years, and wireless providers added 43.6 million.

 

These changes underscore how dynamic the communications marketplace is. And yet, the FCC’s rules saddle one segment of the market with onerous, outdated burdens like tariffing and require the continued investment in last-generation technology. Now is the time to modernize our rules, to prepare for the all-IP future, to follow the lead of several states and end tariffing in the residential market. Now is the time to embrace the IP Transition.”

 

Nevada

The Nevada PUC has extended the deadline for Staff to file draft regulations in its proceeding concerning the selection and duties of an independent administrator to certify and recertify Lifeline service eligibility. Staff’s draft regulations must now be filed by December 30, 2013. Reply comments and/or alternative proposed language must be filed by January 2, 2014. (The previous dates were December 2, 2013 and December 20, 2013, respectively.)

 

Regulatory Bulletin Anchor Text

The Regulatory Mix will not be published on Thursday, November 29th or Friday, November 30th. The Mix will be back on Monday, December 2, 2013.