Clyburn to USF Critics: Don’t Sue
Democratic FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn urged critics of the recent Universal Service Fund changes not to take their claims to court. “Instead, I ask that we work together to complete and perfect these reform efforts,” Clyburn told an audience Tuesday in Boston for a broadband conference. “By doing so, we can ensure that the transition of the fund from voice to broadband opens the door for every citizen to become a part of our digital economy. When that occurs, the decade-long struggle to achieve these reforms will have been well worth the effort.”
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Analysts have said they expect lawsuits opposing the USF order (CD Oct 28 p1) to come from states’ rights advocates because it preempts state authority over intercarrier compensation rates, from telcos who are losing revenue and who might well argue that Sections 251 and 252 of the Telecom Act don’t apply to broadband Internet, and from cable or wireless companies angry about the first refusal provisions in the order.
But Clyburn and outgoing Commissioner Michael Copps are expected to lobby NARUC next week to stay out of court, an FCC official told us. Clyburn and her staff were instrumental in getting states’ early, tacit approval of the USF reform process (CD May 31 p7). She, Copps and the rest of FCC staff will now tell opponents of the reforms that the order strikes “a careful balance” and that litigation could derail the entire system, the official said.
"The Chairman crafted a plan ... which will transform the way we spend $4.5 billion of the high-cost portion of USF each year,” Clyburn said. “The commissioners unanimously approved his plan because ultimately it will make the fund more efficient and effective. First, this plan provides for speedy broadband deployment to unserved consumers, with an injection of capital in 2012, for both fixed and mobile technologies. While we begin to transition legacy support from those areas that don’t need assistance, we can begin to make a difference in those areas that are lacking broadband service. Second, this plan ensures that money will be shifted from supporting multiple networks, in areas that don’t need support to operate, to areas where a broadband network is still needed. Third, it requires that providers meet firm deadlines with appropriate accountability for the money spent and oversight by the FCC and state commissions."
It’s still unclear when the public will get a chance to read the order. Staff is continuing its editing this week and -- though the commission had hoped to publish the order ahead of NARUC’s meeting in St. Louis on Monday -- it likely won’t be ready until well into next week at the earliest, the FCC official said.
Ex parte notices filed on the universal service docket indicate parties were still being asked questions by commission staff as late as last week. Copps’ outgoing aide, Margaret McCarthy, called Free Press Nov. 3 with questions about the proposed subscriber line charges, Free Press said in its ex parte notice (http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7021745412). And even as the commissioners were voting to approve the order on Oct. 27, Wireline Bureau staffer Brad Gillen was calling Wiltshire & Grannis telecom lawyer John Nakahata with questions about how to manage support in rural Alaska, Nakahata said in an ex parte notice (http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7021739659).