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
US Congress
House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Chairman John Thune (R-SD) co-authorized an Editorial disclosing plans for bipartisan legislation that would protect the open Internet. According to the Editorial, working together, the House and Senate agreed on a working proposal that would prohibit blocking and throttling (the selective slowing of data), and also ensure that Internet service providers could not charge a premium to prioritize content delivery. The Chairman said that: “In the coming days, we plan to pursue a public process to draft and enact bipartisan legislation that would protect the open Internet. We hope FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and the public will join Congress in working to build and enact a shared set of principles that will protect Internet users, promote innovation, encourage investment – and withstand legal challenge.” If the legislation is passed, it would provide an alternative to Title II (common carrier) regulation of Internet access service.
FCC
The FCC released the 2015 Forms 499-A and 499-Q and accompanying instructions. It also announced that, beginning with the April 2015 FCC Form 499-A and the May 2015 FCC Form 499-Q, contributors are required to file the FCC Forms electronically. Due to the de minimis nature of the revisions to the forms and accompanying instructions, the FCC did not seek public comment on the revisions.
Michigan
The Public Service Commission has scheduled a public hearing regarding the revision of its rule governing the responsibilities of multiline telephone system operators for the installation of equipment and software necessary to provide specific location information for a 9-1-1 call. The hearing will be held on February 12, 2015. To be considered, all comments must be received at the Commission no later than 5:00 p.m. on March 5, 2015, and should reference Case No. U-17721.
