NCTA, CTIA Mostly Back USF, Intercarrier Comp Overhaul
With the proper revisions, major cable and wireless associations said, they would back FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s plan to overhaul the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation. Meanwhile, Qwest, congressmen and consumer advocates took sides. The FCC plans to vote Nov. 4 on the Martin plan. Sunshine was to have gone into effect Tuesday (CD Oct 28 p2).
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NCTA and CTIA urged overhaul, each lobbying for edits. NCTA asked the FCC to clarify that terminating rates may only go down and to halve the transition period to five years from ten. NCTA doesn’t want the FCC to clarify whether VoIP is a telecom or information service in this proceeding, but said if the agency classifies VoIP as an information service, it should preserve compensation and interconnection arrangements. The agency should make no immediate changes to interconnection rules, and instead should seek comment on the topic, NCTA said.
CTIA supports “the framework” of the orders at issue, it said in an ex parte filed Tuesday. But it urged the FCC to address concerns (CD Oct 24 p8) about the transition timeframe and changes to universal service contribution.
Communications Workers of America likes “the general framework” of the Martin draft, but wants the FCC to give more help to mid-sized carriers at risk from reduced access fees, it said in a late Monday letter to the chairman. “As currently structured, the draft proposal would have the unintended consequence of reduced investment in rural broadband,” it said. “Our employers have separately told us that the cumulative impact of the changes over four years would result in several hundred million dollars less in revenue” per carrier, CWA said. The FCC should establish a USF fund dedicated to mid-sized carrier broadband buildout, it said. The agency also should supplement current USF support with specific, one-time subsidies to ensure carriers can deploy 768 kbps broadband networks in high-cost areas, it said.
After last week voicing vague support for an overhaul, Qwest clarified Tuesday that it endorses Martin’s plan. “Now is the time for these necessary regulatory changes as the industry transitions to IP-based, broadband networks that will result in more competitive, innovative and next-generation services for all parts of the nation,” Shirley Bloomfield, Qwest senior vice president, said in a written statement.
Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and nine other senators from rural states urged the FCC to postpone adopting the Martin proposal. The commission should publish the plan in the Federal Register and seek public comment, the senators said. In another letter, three House Republicans from Ohio said the FCC should give the public 90 days to comment on the agency plan. In a third letter, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., took the other side, urging the FCC to “act expeditiously to implement its [overhaul] proposal.” Implementing the plan will “help eliminate the digital divide,” Thompson said.
The Consumers Union and Consumers Federation of America, AARP and the National Black Church Initiative counseled delay. “While we support intercarrier compensation reform, it is impossible to evaluate the impact of these massive rule changes on ratepayers and companies when the agency has not described the actual rule on paper, or in any kind of thorough manner that the public can evaluate,” said Consumers Union and Consumer Federation of America in a joint filing. Without more details, the groups can’t assess, for example, whether a proposed subscriber line charge cap increase will be fair for consumers, they said.
The AdHoc Telecommunications Users Committee rejected the FCC draft. Many of Martin’s proposed changes “constitute bad rate making policy and would harm American businesses and the economy at large,” AdHoc said. “The Commission must understand that its policies affect the economy at large, not just the industries it regulates.” Implementing Martin’s plan will kill 120,000 jobs and, over three years, shrink the gross domestic product by $36.5 billion, said AdHoc, citing a study by its consultant, Economics and Technology Inc. “It’s time for action,” agreed Tom Tauke, Verizon executive vice president, in a Tuesday written statement. “Further delay won’t make the solution to this problem any easier … While we don’t know the specifics of Chairman Martin’s plan, the direction set by the draft order is correct and Verizon supports it.”