Industry News

Opportunities Remain for Hosting a Congressional Telco Visit

The associations acknowledge that the USF is in need of reform, but this should be accomplished in a comprehensive manner;

Rate-of-return (RoR) regulation, which has a proven record of success in fostering broadband deployment in rural areas, should not be replaced with incentive regulation, which has been shown not to work;

Resources should not be committed to developing "procurement" auction mechanisms, as these also would place rural consumers at risk;

The potential for an urban/rural digital divide remains a concern, which underscores the need for well-designed support programs that include investment incentives and continued support for rural broadband network infrastructure. (Source:  OPASTCO 411, 8/12/10)

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Corning Cable Systems is Now Live on YouTube™

You can view it at http://www.youtube.com/corningcablesystems. Customer feedback has shown that customers in our industry, like many, have a strong preference for YouTube as a medium for delivering product videos. Potential customers who are not familiar with fiber optics or Corning Cable Systems are very likely to use YouTube to search for videos about fiber optics, particularly "how-to" installation videos.

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Enablence's "BeyondBroadband" Newsletter

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Rural Associations File Comments on FCC's Proposed Changes to Pole Attachment Rules

OPASTCO, the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA), the Western Telecommunications Alliance (WTA) and the Eastern Rural Telecom Association (ERTA) filed initial comments responding to the May 20, 2010, Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding the FCC's proposed changes to its pole attachment rules.  The associations reminded the Commission that pole attachment rules have a long history, and any changes in the rules will affect small rural incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs).  The associations also urged the Commission to address four key components that will strongly affect small rural ILECs:

The Commission should adopt the lowest telecom rate for broadband connections;

A pole attachment ILEC dispute resolution mechanism will enhance rural broadband deployment;

The proposed five-stage made-ready time line appears appropriate for requests for fewer than 100 poles;

The Commission must consider the economic impacts of new pole attachment rules on small rural ILECs.

For more information, contact OPASTCO Business Development Director/Sr. Policy Analyst Steve Pastorkovich at sfp@opastco.org or 202/659-0715. (Source: OPASTCO 411, 8/17/10)

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USAC Launches Payment Quality Assurance Program to Monitor USF Payments, Potential Trends

In an effort to determine if payments made to USF program beneficiaries were made in accordance with program rules, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) this week launched the Payment Quality Assurance (PQA) Program.  The PQA Program enables USAC to provide to the FCC accurate, timely information about payments across all four of the USF programs, while eliminating the burdensome attestation audit program that has been in place for the past several years.   

NTCA staff and members have worked diligently to improve the universal service audit process, and last summer our efforts were rewarded when language included in the committee reports that accompany the House and Senate Financial Services appropriations bills highlighted many of NTCA’s concerns, including the onerous nature of the audit process and auditors’ general lack of understanding of the telecom industry and the USF program itself.

In recognition of that, USAC designed the PQA Program to be a less burdensome way to indentify improper payment trends that may be developing.  It consists of a five-step process to assess payments made to program beneficiaries.  The process will apply to randomly selected groups of beneficiaries on a monthly basis.  PQA participants receive a letter by email from USAC specifying the payment under assessment, instructions about what information and documents to gather and how to submit these materials. Participants in the High Cost and Low Income Programs will have 15 business days to gather and submit their materials.

PQA assessments are not audits and will not entirely replace USAC’s standard audit process.  They are not performed by auditors and do not require on-site work by USAC staff. PQA assessments take significantly less time than audits and, unlike audits—which focus on annual payment amounts—PQA assessments are meant only to gather information about individual payments and generate estimates of program-wide rates of improper payments.

Access an FAQ about the program and the PQA documentation requirements online.  (Source:  NTCA 8/18/10)

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GAO Releases Report on Wireless Industry

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report examining changes in the wireless industry since 2000.  The report presents analysis of data from both government and private sources; case studies of the role of wireless communications in both urban and rural communities; and interviews of stakeholders representing consumers, local and state agencies and officials, and other segments of the wireless industry.  The GAO recommends that the FCC should assess whether or not expanding its original data collection objectives for the wireless industry would help it better satisfy its requirement to review competitive market conditions with respect to commercial mobile services.  Such data collection has included pricing information, special access rates, capital expenditures and equipment costs.

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PC World and other sources report that Gmail users made over a million calls in the first 24 hours that Google’s newest feature, Gmail phone calling, was avail-able. The feature, which is currently only available to U.S. Gmail users, allows users to place free phone calls anywhere in the United States and Canada, and offers significantly reduced rates for international calls for countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Argentina, China, and Japan. International rates are as low as two cents per minute. It is anticipated that Google may start charging for domestic calls once the service catches on. Google had already joined the parade of competitive sources of phone service with its introduction of "Google Voice", but the new service targets the approximately 175 million Gmail users. (Source:  BloostonLaw 8/26/10)

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ITTA Presses for FCC Action on Phantom Traffic, Obligations of PSTN Users

FCC News

National Telephone Discount Lifeline Awareness Week
September 13-19, 2010

NARUC, the Federal Communications Commission, and the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates are designating September 13-19 - the first week after Labor Day - as "National Telephone Discount Lifeline Awareness Week."   Based on a resolution the NARUC Board of Directors passed at the 2009 Summer Committee Meetings, the Week is designed to both raise awareness of and participation in Lifeline and Link-Up, two federal/State programs that help make telephone service more affordable for qualified customers.  Both the FCC and NARUC websites provide outreach information.

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FCC Releases First Quarter 2010 Report on Informal Consumer Inquiries and Complaints

The Commission has released its first quarter 2010 report on informal consumer inquiries and complaints.  Wireline complaints increased by nearly two percent first quarter of 2010 to 26,391 from 25,925 in the fourth quarter of 2009.  Telephone Consumer Protection Act - Other Issues, Telephone Consumer Protection Act  - Do Not Call List and Telephone Consumer Protection Act - Unsolicited Fax ranked as the top categories of Wireline Telecommunciations complaints, and when combined, totaled more than 84 percent of the complaints in the reported sub-categories.  (Source: OPASTCO 411, 8/17/10)

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The deadline for small wireline and wireless carriers to comply with the one-business day porting of simple wire-line and simple intermodal port requests has been set as February 2, 2011.

On May 13, 2009, the Commission adopted a Report and Order (the Porting Interval Order) reducing the porting interval for all entities subject to its local number portability (LNP) rules from four business days to one business day for simple wireline-to-wireline and simple intermodal port requests. Under the LNP rules, all providers follow the standardized fields, provisioning flows, and mandatory business hours. While most carriers were required to implement simple wireline and intermodal ports by Au-gust 2, 2010, small providers were given an additional six months to comply.

Small providers also have options for seeking modification of the new LNP interval requirements, such as the ability to petition a State commission for suspension or modification of section 251(b) (which includes the "duty to provide, to the extent technically feasible, number portability in accordance with requirements prescribed by the Commission") under section 251(f)(2) of the Act. Small providers can also apply for a waiver of the one-business day porting interval under the Commission's rules where it would be unduly economically burdensome for the provider to implement the reduced porting interval.   (Source:  BloostonLaw 8/13/10)

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Legislation to Increase Broadband Stimulus by $4 Billion Introduced in Senate

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) introduced S. 3710, the Broadband Program Reauthorization Act, which would allocate $2 billion each in fiscal year 2011 appropriations funding for the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).  Projects supported by BIP funding would be required to serve predominantly rural areas, and priority would be given to applications for projects that would give end-users a choice of service providers; applications made by current or former RUS borrowers; and for projects that would be fully funded were the application approved.  (Source:  OPASTCO 411, 8/10/10)

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Customer Identity Information Protection Bill Introduced in Senate

Sens. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-W. Va.) last week introduced S. 3742, the Data Security and Breach Notification Act of 2010, which would require businesses and non-profit organizations that own or possess data containing personal information to establish reasonable security policies and procedures to protect such data.  In the event of a security breach, businesses would be required to notify each individual whose information was acquired or accessed as a result of the breach within 60 days.  (Source:  OPASTCO 411, 8/12/10)

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Latest Round of Broadband Stimulus Recipients Announced

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the USDA Rural Utilities Service (RUS) announced the most recent recipients of broadband stimulus award funding.  This group of recipients includes support for the creation of broadband public safety networks, which will be constructed in California, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico and North Carolina.  For the complete list of recipients and project descriptions, please visit the White House's website.