Hill opposition to intercarrier compensation proposals continued ...

suggests that the public at least have the chance to read the full proposed order prior to Commission consideration,” said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, ranking member of the House Commerce Committee. “It is clear that the FCC process … falls short of what is required,” said a letter signed by Senate Commerce Committee members from both parties. Federal law requires agencies to provide for public participation “through adequate notification and the opportunity for interested parties to provide comment,” said Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, Clair McCaskill, D-Mo., and Amy Klobuchar, D- Minn. The proposals for intercarrier compensation and universal service could “dramatically change the landscape of the telecommunications industry,” the letter said. “It would be negligent on the FCC’s part to introduce such regulatory uncertainty when the country is facing such uncertain economic times.” Barton said the USF proposal “misses the mark,” although the cap on high-cost spending is a “good start.” But it “locks in incumbent providers rather than bring competition to rural America,” Barton said. Based on an FCC briefing, Barton said, the suggested order would require only an incumbent rural wireline provider to face a competitive auction if it declines the subsidy to provide broadband throughout its study area. “This means the rural provider could continue to get the subsidy even if another provider could offer service more efficiently,” he said. He also criticized the proposal as failing to overhaul “inappropriate voice subsidies.” There’s “no end in sight” to a program that has cost Americans $51 billion over 10 years, Barton said.