FCC Meeting with NARUC Commissioners on USF; States Disappointed of Exclusion in Deliberation
ST. LOUIS -- State members of the USF Federal/State Joint Board, the Federal/State Jurisdictional Separation Joint Board and the Federal/State Joint Conference on Advanced Services were schedule to meet with the FCC officials attending the NARUC meeting in here late Monday, after our deadline, John Burke, chair of the NARUC telecom committee told us. The FCC attendees, including Commissioners Michael Copps, Mignon Clyburn, Wireline Bureau Chief Sharon Gillett and Deputy Bureau Chief Carol Mattey, were expected to talk about the timing of the release of the full universal service fund/intercarrier compensation order and an overview of what is in the order, Burke said.
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!
There might be further discussions and separate meetings with state commissioners on Lifeline and Link-Up overhaul, Burke said. There are indications of preemption of state authorities in the order, though the level of preemption is uncertain at this point, he said. It’s fair to say that there would be lawsuits, he said, saying states wouldn’t be the only challengers. Burke and several other state commissioners attending the NARUC meeting told us they're aware of Commissioner Clyburn’s recent comments (CD Nov 11 p1) urging USF order critics not to take their claims to court.
It appears that the FCC understands the importance of states going forward, Burke said. States are in a position that the FCC can never be in, he said. A three-way partnership among the FCC, state regulators and the industry is needed in a broadband world, he said. This means “we might have to live with some disappointments” but “it’s the way that it’s going to have to be,” he said. There’s nothing wrong with the industry taking the lead on initiatives like USF, but it would be helpful to include state regulators and consumer advocates like NASUCA in the process to ensure ratepayers to have a solid input, he said. Although it did not accept their recommendations, Burke said the FCC has reached out to states in an open and inclusive way throughout the USF proceeding and that should continue the outreach effort in future proceedings that affect states.
While waiting for details of the order, USF Joint Board Chair James Cawley said it’s “unfortunate” that the FCC chose not to include the Joint Board in its deliberations in its final order, he said during the NARUC Telecom Committee meeting Monday. It appears that the Joint Board’s recommendations have been ignored, except for issues like ETC designation, he said. Cawley said he had personally asked the FCC to make a referral to the Joint Board so state members can have a more active role in the next step of USF overhaul. The Federal/State Joint Conference on Advanced Services expects to take on issues like potential impact of the USF overhaul on small and rural providers, said Indiana Utility Regulatory Commissioner Larry Landis, state chair of the joint conference.
Meanwhile, the NARUC telecom committee passed two of its proposed resolutions (CD Nov 3 p10) with minor changes, and tabled the proposed resolution that calls for extending a broadband outage reporting requirement. Officials had expected the FCC to take on the issue at its December meeting. The cost related to submitting outage reports is substantial, said Robert Mayer, USTelecom state and industry affairs vice president, at the committee meeting. Reliable data on cost associated with application of outage reporting requirements to IP networks is critical, he said. The amended cramming resolution urged the FCC to mandate that all voice service providers offer a free blocking option of third-party provider charges. At the meeting, Jackie McCarthy, CTIA director of state regulatory affairs, noted the patchwork of different state regulations on cramming. The second approved resolution urged the FCC to investigate the extent to which public interest broadband deployment and adoption obligations imposed on merger applications are being met.