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 Briefing.
TELECOM
FCC
Telecom Service to Cuba
The FCC is seeking comment by December 4, 2015, on removing Cuba from its “Exclusion List for International Section 214 Authorizations”. The Exclusion List identifies particular facilities and/or countries that are not included in a global facilities-based Section 214 application, and, therefore, require a separate international Section 214 authorization. The separate Section 214 application is processed on a non-streamlined basis, in coordination with the U.S. Department of State. Cuba is the only country currently remaining on the Exclusion List. Reply comments are due December 9, 2015.
If Cuba is removed from the Exclusion List, U.S. international carriers would no longer be required to request specific authority to provide facilities-based telecommunications services from the United States to Cuba. Instead, the U.S.-Cuba route would be included in a global facilities-based Section 214 authorization along with all other countries, and carriers with existing global Section 214 authorizations would not need to take any further action, or seek additional authority, to begin providing telecommunications services from the United States to Cuba.
Open Meeting
The FCC announced the tentative agenda for its December 17, 2015, Open Meeting, as follows:
- US Telecom Petition for Forbearance: The FCC will consider a Memorandum Opinion and Order addressing a petition from USTelecom that seeks forbearance from various categories of statutory and FCC requirements applicable to incumbent local exchange carriers.
- Part 25 Rules for Space Stations and Earth Stations: The FCC will consider a Second Report and Order that streamlines, eliminates or updates numerous provisions of Part 25 of the FCC’s rules governing licensing and operation of space stations and earth stations for the provision of satellite communication services.
New York
The New York PSC has approved a request on behalf of the telecom industry for an all-services distributed overlay to the same geographic area covered by the existing 212/646/917 NPA. The PSC also directed each affected carrier to provide its plan for public education and outreach by January 7, 2016, for approval by the Director of the Office of Consumer Services. TMI Briefing Service subscribers see Briefing dated 11/24/15.