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.
The Regulatory Mix will not be published on July 4, 2014
in observance of the holiday
TELECOM
FCC
USAC Appeals
The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau announced it will begin applying the default comment cycle in §1.45 of the FCC’s rules to requests for review of decisions by the USAC concerning contributions to the federal USF. The default comment cycle provides 10 days for comments after the original appeal is filed and 5 days for replies. The Bureau said it may extend the comment cycle by public notice in individual cases “if a particular request for review raises complex or difficult issues of industry-wide significance to allow commenters sufficient time to fully respond to the issues presented. Interested parties, however, should not assume that the Bureau will so extend the comment period for any given request for review.” The new policy is effective immediately.
ICS Mandatory Data Collection
Global Tel*Link Corporation has requested an extension of time to respond to the FCC’s one-time mandatory data collection requirement adopted as part of its Inmate Calling Service Rates Order. See the Regulatory Mix dated June 18, 2014 and our Blog FCC Caps Interstate Inmate Calling Services Rates dated 8/9/13. GTL is seeking a 60-day extension or until September 15, 2014 to respond to the data collection.
NDBEDP Funding
The FCC announced the state funding allocations for the National Deaf-Blind
Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP) for the 2014-2015 Fund year. The NDBEDP is a program mandated by section 105 of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) that provides funding of up to $10 million annually for the distribution of communications equipment to low-income individuals who are deaf-blind.) The FCC certifies one entity per state as eligible to receive support for the local distribution of equipment to
low-income individuals who are deaf-blind.
Delaware
In May 2014 the PSC ordered changes to 26 Del. C. 4003 – Regulations Governing the Minimum Service Requirements For the Provision of Telephone Service for Public Use Within the State of Delaware. The changes were intended to make the PSC regulations consistent with the changes required by enactment of HB 96 (relating to jurisdiction of the PSC and public utilities providing telecommunication services). TMI Regulatory Bulletin Service subscribers see Bulletin dated July 9, 2013. A hearing was scheduled for July 23, 2014, and comments were due on or before August 7, 2014. Now PSC Staff has requested additional time to review and possible revise the rules and requests that the PSC delay the reopening of the docket. Therefore, the PSC has rescinded its order to reopen the docket.
