NEW FCC MEMBERS WANT STATES’ VIEWS ON UNE-P, OTHER ISSUES

Comr. Martin said Commission didn’t “spend enough time listening” to states even on issues such as numbering where they had made major progress. “We need to give you more flexibility” in meeting numbering challenges, he said, adding he was “inclined toward” technology-specific overlay area codes as one option for addressing area code depletion. Martin, who also is chmn. of Federal-State Joint Board on Separations, said FCC could “do more to learn from the state commissions on broadband deployment and other areas as well. And I'm listening.”

Responding to question on UNE-P viability issue raised in NARUC resolution, Martin said FCC’s job was “to interpret the Telecom Act so that all the paths to entry it specifies are viable. But it’s not our place to be regulating entrants’ business strategies.” He said in current triennial UNE review required by Telecom Act, “we will see areas where reasonable minds can differ. Our question is whether our rules will deliver what the states require from us. I agree that this [UNEs] is a hot topic.”

Comr. Abernathy said she was “fortunate to have the state level to draw on in considering the issues we face. It’s critical for the FCC and states to work closely together.” She said recent case in point was reform of accounting regulations, where states provided “invaluable” input. “We appreciate states’ input when we do something within our jurisdiction that will affect your ability to do your jobs.” She said she valued NARUC policy resolutions as an indicator of state sentiment. She said she recognized FCC couldn’t “duplicate the knowledge base of the constituent groups” and shouldn’t try to do everything: “We must recognize there are limits to what we can achieve.” She said regulators “can’t ensure that competition will develop exactly as we predict. All we can do is make our best guess about what will happen.”

Comr. Copps said FCC-state cooperation and coordination “makes practical good sense. We and you are under similar budget pressures so it makes sense that we work in partnership to coordinate our efforts as much as possible.” Copps said events of Sept. 11 showed need and value of secure communications and said FCC and states both would have role in ensuring telecom security: “Most of our communications systems worked but some didn’t and we need to study why. The attacks also showed the reality of convergence as people hopped from one technology to another until they could get a message through.” Copps said consumer protection was another area where federal-state cooperation was critical, especially in dealing with slamming and other blatant marketplace abuses. Copps said he was “a strong believer in competition and I commend the states for their work in promoting competition.” A potential dark side to competition, he said, is industry consolidation: “We've historically always been distrustful of any excessive economic concentration.” Copps said universal access to available and affordable telecom service “should be a civil right, and that means both to basic and advanced services.” When asked how much government intervention was warranted for broadband development, Copps said broadband was becoming “a central infrastructure for this country… and could be an important stimulus to a U.S. economic recovery.” He said most businesses and carriers conceded that market forces alone won’t bring broadband to everybody. Copps said government and private interests had combined throughout modern history to build universal infrastructure for transportation and communications, “but we need more dialog on the respective roles of government and private enterprise in broadband service. Personally, I believe business should lead the way, with government providing a helping hand where necessary.”

On broadband question Martin said: “There’s no single solution, but it should be a national priority to remove any barriers and disincentives to broadband development that exist in our laws and regulations.” Abernathy said govt. should have role in bringing broadband service to schools and libraries, but otherwise broadband deployment should be left primarily to private sector. She said consumers didn’t want to pay large premium for broadband services currently available and weren’t likely to demand broadband until some application came about that they just couldn’t do without.