The Oklahoma Corporation Commission backs TracFone’s Wireline Bureau petition to be able to retain data used to establish Lifeline eligibility, said an OCC filing posted Tuesday to FCC docket 12-23 (http://bit.ly/1fFL2DP). Other eligible telecom carriers in Oklahoma also should be waived from prohibitions on data retention, said OCC. “Providing for document retention, as requested by TracFone in its petition” would let the Public Utility Division “more readily identify ... errors which furthers the goal to ensure enrollment of only eligible Lifeline subscribers,” said OCC.
The FCC has set out the right standards as part of the ongoing IP transition data collection initiative, said a California Public Utilities Commission filing (http://tinyurl.com/ooxboub) posted Tuesday to FCC docket 13-5. The data is to measure consumer experience with the IP transition. The CPUC said the data should be gathered and collected through an open, transparent process. It should be collected from multiple sources, including in collaboration with other federal agencies, state, local, tribal governments and leaders, said CPUC. It said clear and consistent definitions and metrics are needed to provide a comprehensive picture of the technology transitions experience. The data should also be publicly available, CPUC said.
The proposed agreement between AT&T Michigan and Sprint to resolve their IP interconnection dispute was rejected by the Michigan Public Service Commission (http://tinyurl.com/nmuglcw) Tuesday. Sprint had sought a ruling saying AT&T was obligated under the 1996 Telecommunications Act to interconnect to them. AT&T had argued it was under no such requirement for IP interconnections. Under the proposed agreement filed Feb 25 (CD Feb 27 p16), the sides agreed all traffic Sprint exchanges with AT&T would be delivered in TDM format. They left the IP dispute in the air, saying should they not be able to resolve the issue, they may, on or around July 15, amend the agreement to include IP interconnection. The PSC ruled Tuesday that the sides have to file any contingency agreement they might have, should they not reach an agreement with the commission. The PSC said other providers have a right to see it to make sure their agreements with AT&T are fair. The agreement has to be filed by April 1. AT&T and Sprint had no comment.
A bill approved by the Missouri House of Representatives Thursday would change the state’s distinction as the only one in the nation that doesn’t charge wireless customers a 911 fee. HB-1573 (http://tinyurl.com/qj5fk43), sponsored by Rep. Jeanie Lauer (R), moves to the Senate where Lauer expects approval. The measure wouldn’t impose a statewide requirement. It authorizes local governments to impose a monthly fee of up to $1.50 on “any communications service capable of contacting 911” solely for funding 911 service in the jurisdiction, if approved by voters. The state now has a fee and sales tax on landlines to fund 911 services. As the number of customers who use that technology has dropped, it has caused a funding shortfall for 911 services, Lauer said.
Removal of the Alabama Public Services Commission’s authority to investigate customer complaints against phone companies (CD March 13 p14) “was not as big a deal as it seems,” said the author of the measure that removed the power, State Rep. Mike Hill, a Republican (http://bit.ly/PucWgY). The APSC had no regulatory authority over the companies, Hill wrote in an email Saturday in response to our inquiry the previous week. “The only thing the PSC was doing was acting as an answering service. They received the complaint, sent it to the phone company, and reported back to the resident when the phone company replied to them.” Customers who aren’t able to get satisfaction with their company can go to another provider, he said. The APSC was neutral on the bill. A spokeswoman said in an email that the agency handled 750 complaints last year. In most cases, customers complained to the APSC after being unable to resolve problems with their provider, the spokeswoman said.
The first discounted wireless plan for California’s LifeLine program was approved Tuesday by the California Public Utilities Commission. The CPUC selected Telscape Communications as the first authorized wireless provider for the state-funded LifeLine project, said a news release (http://bit.ly/1nhvOP9). Discounted wireless plans have been offered in the state under the federal Lifeline program. Telscape will offer three discounted plans, ranging from 1,000 voice minutes and 200 text messages for free to unlimited voice, text and data for $33.10 a month. LifeLine subsidies will allow Telscape to waive activation fees. The CPUC said it expects other wireless providers to be authorized in the future.
Residents in the Missouri communities of south Kansas City, Kansas City north, Grandview, Raytown and Gladstone are able to begin signing up to try to get Google Fiber. Google Fiber said on its blog (http://bit.ly/1gldDCz) that it’s deciding where to bring the high-speed Internet service next. A certain number of households in a “fiberhood” designated by the company need to sign up for the area to qualify for service. The company plans to bring Google Fiber to communities that meet the goal by the end of the year. The 21 fiberhoods in the Kansas City metropolitan area that didn’t meet the threshold in 2012 also have an opportunity to try again.
A measure that would make it easier for Michigan telecom companies to stop providing landline service (CD Feb 19 p11) passed the state House Tuesday. A leading critic said the measure is likely to survive a conference committee with the Senate and be enacted. SB-636 (http://1.usa.gov/1feaIv2) would allow ILECs including AT&T to stop providing landline service as of Jan. 1, 2017, without approval from the Michigan Public Service Commission. Under an amendment added to the bill, companies that drop landline service would be required to follow any guidelines, rules or regulations set out in the FCC IP transition trials. “AARP remains concerned that some people could be left without affordable, reliable phone service when this bill takes effect. Also, it does not provide the consumer protections that are in current telecommunications law,” said the critic, Melissa Seifert, AARP Michigan associate state director-governmental affairs, in a statement. Jim Murray, president of AT&T Michigan, said in a statement that the bill, if signed by Gov. Rick Snyder (R), would “update Michigan regulations to make it easier for phone companies like AT&T to invest in new, more efficient communications services.” Under the bill, ending landline service would still require FCC approval, but not from the MPSC. If a customer filed a complaint after the discontinuation of service, the MPSC would investigate whether the area still has comparable voice service, including VoIP and wireless, with reliable access to emergency service. If not, the MPSC could declare an emergency in the area, saying it’s not served by at least one voice service provider offering comparable voice service with reliable access to 911 and other emergency services. The MPSC could then ask other providers to voluntarily provide the service, including through VoIP or wireless, but it couldn’t force the current provider to do so. If there’s no willing provider, the provider that ended the service would be required to step back in. If VoIP, wireless or another technology were able to provide the service, the provider would not have to continue traditional landline service.
The Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communication System Authority awarded a $175 million contract to Motorola Solutions to develop a wireless public safety broadband network based on 4G LTE. The LA-RICS network will provide data communications to more than 34,000 law enforcement, fire service and health service workers and more than 80 public safety agencies, said the company in a news release Thursday (http://bit.ly/1gfdj4D). The contract follows June’s agreement where FirstNet allowed LA-RICS to lease access to FirstNet’s spectrum (CD June 20 p3). If all options are exercised, the contract calls for a five-phase project to design, construct, implement and maintain the LTE network. LA-RICS is funding the 231-site project primarily with federal grants from NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program.
The FCC should use required call completion reports as the basis for enforcement action, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUCO) said in a filing (http://bit.ly/NV2Ynx) posted online Wednesday. The Nebraska Public Service Commission in its own filing (http://bit.ly/1q7NmMm), also posted Wednesday, agreed. Both opposed a petition (http://bit.ly/1cvh2jf) by Sprint to reconsider using the completion reports in enforcement actions aimed at improving rural call completion. The PUCO said “call completion reports, by themselves, are not the basis for subsequent enforcement action. The reports contain specific measurements that allow the FCC to observe general call completion activity. If one or more reports contain measurement results that vary significantly from the results of all other reports, the FCC can review the underlying data and open an investigation if warranted. Reviews and investigations are not enforcement actions."