Tauke Endorses Mapping, Wireless Consumer Protection Bills
Congress should pass legislation regulating wireless customer service policies to make industry practices uniform, said Verizon Executive Vice President Tom Tauke in a briefing with reporters Monday. He praised broadband mapping legislation that would create a nationwide database measuring the level of broadband deployment throughout the nation. The effort could help increase access in rural areas, he said.
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But Verizon opposes using Universal Service Fund revenue for broadband, Tauke said. Existing law provides targeted funding for broadband in rural areas, through the Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities Services, Tauke said. Changes in rules governing USF could also open up opportunities to use existing funds for broadband. “At the moment, I do not see a need for an ongoing monthly subsidy” for broadband in addition to other USF assessments on industry, he said.
As for net neutrality, Tauke said he was aware that House Telecom Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey, D-Mass., was working on legislation being billed as a “compromise” aimed at appealing to industry. “I still don’t see the need for congressional action on this issue,” Tauke said. A better option is for industry to formulate standards for behavior that companies would agree to follow, he said. The standards could be reviewed by the FCC, and if violations occur, the FCC, FTC or Justice Department could take action.
“I'm not going to say we will never consider [supporting] legislation,” Tauke said. But there has been “considerable” discussion about the issue over the past three years, and scant evidence that a “significant problem” exists that can’t be addressed with existing policy. Imposing laws and regulations on a fast-changing industry could backfire by “freezing” innovation, Tauke said.
Tauke praised legislation that Markey is considering to create a federal framework for wireless customer-service plans (CD Feb 11 p7). He also said a federal framework regulating IP services is needed. “We believe 2008 is the year we need to tackle and make progress” on this issue, Tauke said. “We need to begin the process of treating voice services like data.” Having 50 state frameworks makes no sense, he said, referring to laws with varying rules on matters such as VoIP access charges.
The customer service plan is likely to deal with early termination fees, which gave the industry a black eye when the iPhone was introduced last year. Markey, however, is said to be considering allowing state enforcement of federal guidelines, a step that Tauke says he doesn’t support. That wouldn’t be “appropriate,” Tauke said. The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissions is expected to announce next week at its winter meeting in Washington that it supports a federal framework, he said.
Tauke said he supports S-2171 introduced in October by Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., which would require national rules for wireless (CD Oct 19 p3). But he disagrees with S-2033, introduced in September by Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and John Rockefeller of West Virginia. It would require wireless companies to give clear explanations of their contracts. Pryor said when he introduced the bill that he didn’t want to preempt state and local authority, but a federal framework is the best approach.
FCC Support for High-Cost Fund Expected
The FCC will soon have majority support for an interim cap on the wireless high-cost fund, Tauke told reporters. “We do expect that the majority of the FCC will support the cap on the wireless high-cost fund, and I think it will be evident in the next few weeks,” he said. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and Commissioner Deborah Tate support the cap, and Commissioner Michael Copps opposes it. That would leave Commissioners Robert McDowell and Jonathan Adelstein. Tauke wouldn’t say who he expected to tip the balance, but said: “There’s only three, so it’s really easy to figure out.” An industry source said, “Verizon is optimistic that McDowell will ultimately be the third vote for the cap.” The issue is “under active consideration” in McDowell’s office, an FCC source said.