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.
National Safe Digging Month
April 2015 will once again be National Safe Digging Month, the time of year when all Common Ground Alliance stakeholders come together to communicate how important it is that professionals and homeowners alike call 811 and follow the safe digging process to help prevent injuries, property damage and inconvenient outages.
To assist damage prevention stakeholders in the promoting National Safe Digging Month, CGA has created a full suite of tools – ads, news releases, grassroots marketing programs and more – in the new 2014 CGA Communications Plan. State specific information can be found at http://www.call811.com/state-specific.aspx.
TELECOM
FCC
The FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Second Report and Order, and Order on Reconsideration seeking comment on proposals to improve its Part 4 outage reporting rules. Specifically, it seeks to apply “nearly a decade of experience administering the [Network Outage Reporting System] NORS program and analyzing outage reports, which has provided perspective on those aspects of the Part 4 rules that might be refined so as to improve the quality and usefulness of the outage data the Commission receives. Our primary goal remains ensuring the reliability and resiliency of the Nation’s communications system, and in particular strengthening the Nation’s 911 system.” Comments and Reply Comments will be due 30 and 45 days respectively after publication in the Federal Register. TMI Regulatory Bulletin Service subscribers, watch for a TMI Bulletin.
NTIA/FirstNet
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration / First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) announced that it is extending the comment period for its recently released Second Notice to ensure interested parties have additional time to provide meaningful responses. Comments will now be accepted through April 28, 2015.
As an independent authority within the NTIA, FirstNet is responsible to take all actions necessary to ensure the building, deployment, and operation of a nationwide public safety broadband network (NPSBN). FirstNet is seeking comment its preliminary conclusions on a range of issues, including the equipment for use on the FirstNet network, the nature and application of FirstNet’s required network policies, FirstNet’s presentation of a state plan and its implications for the rights and duties of other stakeholders, and the rights of States choosing to assume responsibility to build and operate a state-wide radio access network. FirstNet believes “that consideration of these preliminary conclusions and ultimately making final determinations on these matters will further guide all parties with regard to the building, deployment, and operation of the NPSBN.”
North Dakota
A new law removes ILEC pricing restrictions on rates for basic service. HB 1375 signed by the Governor deletes the following language: “The monthly price of residence service for telecommunications companies with over fifty thousand subscribers may be up to eighteen dollars.” It also deletes reference to chapter 49.21 and section 49.02.01.1 in regard to changes in essential telecommunications services prices.
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ENERGY
2015 Demand Response & Smart Grid Announces 2015 National Town Meeting
On May 26-28, 2015, the Demand Response and Smart Grid’s National Town Meeting will be held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC (1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW). The event will focus on the business and policy aspects of demand response and its enabling technologies and applications. There will be roundtable discussions featuring experts in demand response and smart grid who discuss with each other and with the audience the latest trends, issues, and business developments. The National Town Meeting also features panel discussions, case studies, and presentations of best practices.
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NEW Workshop! We have overflow dates for a 2nd Telecom Regulatory Workshop on May 18 & 19, 2015!
