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’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau announced the availability of the FCC’s Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) Text-to-911 Readiness and Certification Registry. The Registry lists PSAPs that are ready to receive text-to-911 messages and provides notice to CMRS and other providers of interconnected text messaging services of the date of PSAP readiness. The Registry lists each PSAP by FCC PSAP ID and name, county of operation, primary point of contact for coordinating text-to-911 service, method by which the PSAP will accept texts, and the state or local governing entity authorizing the PSAP to accept texts. The Registry is available for inspection on the FCC’s web page at http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/psap-text-911-readiness-and-certification. Covered text providers must begin routing 911 text messages to requesting PSAPs by June 30, 2015, or within six months of a valid PSAP request, whichever is later. The Registry shows the compliance date for each PSAP listed. The FCC will regularly update the Registry. Accordingly covered providers should periodically review the text-readiness of PSAPs in their service areas and reach out to these PSAPs as necessary to coordinate implementation of text-to-911 service.
February Open Meeting
The FCC released the tentative agenda for its February 26, 2015, Open Meeting. As expected, the agenda includes the following two items:
- Open Internet/Net Neutrality: A Report and Order on Remand, Declaratory Ruling, and Order that responds to the Verizon court remand and adopts strong open Internet rules, grounded in multiple sources of the FCC’s legal authority, to ensure that Americans reap the economic, social, and civic benefits of an open Internet today and into the future.
- Community Broadband: A Memorandum Opinion and Order addressing petitions filed by two municipal broadband providers asking that the FCC preempt provisions of state laws in North Carolina and Tennessee that restrict the abilities of communities to provide broadband.
Oklahoma
Seeking Comments on Proposed changes to Chapter 55 and to Chapter 59 rules
The Corporation Commission is seeking comment on a new set of proposed changes to its Chapter 55 (Telecommunications Services) rules. The newest proposal is broader than the one released in 2014 (TMI Regulatory Bulletin Service subscribers see Bulletin dated 8/12/14) and includes changes to rules concerning the withdrawal of competitive services and tariffs and promotions. Most of the changes are to the rules governing Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (ETCs). Comments on the proposed rules are due 2/16/15.
In addition, the Corporation Commission is seeking comment a new set of proposed changes to its Chapter 59 (Oklahoma Universal Service) rules. The newest proposal includes changes to rules concerning disputes of contribution amounts, what constitutes retail-billed Oklahoma intrastate revenues, and how over- or under-recovery of OUSF contributions from customers should be handled. Comments on the proposed rules are due 2/16/15.