Rural Carriers Ask Congress for Help on Roaming
Backers of FCC rules requiring large carriers to provide automatic roaming at “just and reasonable” rates say an FCC proceeding on the issue is stalled, so they're going to Capitol Hill. Members of a coalition of rural carriers have scheduled visits with House and Senate members. They hope to prompt questions about roaming at oversight hearings featuring Chmn. Martin, plus written communications to the FCC.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
“This is where we were months ago. It’s all about convincing the chairman to do something,” a source who represents rural carriers said: “If it’s going to go anywhere it’s going to have to be though oversight of the FCC… We need to convince congressional leaders that this is something that needs to be taken care of… I don’t think that Martin is against it, it’s just not on his front burner. The key is to get it there.”
Martin has nothing new to say about roaming, he indicated at a news conference last week. Other commissioners, particularly Adelstein, have expressed sympathy, but sources said the issue isn’t a priority for Martin.
Lobbyists for rural carriers plan meetings with Sens. McCain (R-Ariz.), Snowe (R-Maine), Stevens (R-Alaska), and Dorgan (D-N.D.). In the House, Commerce Committee Chmn. Dingell (D-Mich.), among others, is interested in roaming.
The fight over roaming pits small carriers against large. Large carriers say there’s no evidence of discrimination and no need for new rules. Small carriers say their subscribers often have no service outside their service territories or have to pay 50 cents a minute or more to roam. European regulators require automatic roaming and have pressed carriers to cut rates. Attorneys for the small carriers hope the FCC will follow Europe’s lead.
A hurdle is the image of new roaming rules as imposition of additional regulation, a rural source said: “I would argue that there’s really no regulation involved. All we're looking for is… teeth that they actually have to allow carriers to roam.”
Holly Henderson, a lawyer with SouthernLink, told us roaming is a major concern for her company. The issue has been before the Commission for a decade with little action, she said, noting that reply comments on the main roaming proceeding have been in for a year. In April, small carriers asked the FCC to require carriers to submit otherwise confidential information on roaming agreements.
“We aren’t seeing a lot of activity on this proceeding at all at the Commission and we're starting to look to Capitol Hill for support,” Henderson said: “We think there are members who have rural areas in their districts who will understand the importance to their constituents… This is crucial issue to us. If you look at the history of the Commission, this is actually the 3rd proceeding over the last 10 years, and the first 2 really didn’t lead to any conclusions from the Commission at all. We'd hate to see this 3rd proceeding really just kind of go the way of the first 2.”