|
|
|
|
Click on the Headline of Interest to go to the Article Advisory Opinion - Excavation Exclusions OPASTCO, Allies Meet with FCC to Discuss Rural LSS Pew Releases Broadband Adoption Survey Results 8th Circuit Ruling Raises Question About Whether Common Carriers Must Publish Terms, Rates IRS Reverses Itself on Cell Phone Tax
FCC Approves CenturyTel/Embarq Merger - Now CenturyLink Proposed Third Quarter '09 USF Contribution Factor Published Reply Comment Deadline for National Broadband Plan NOI Extended to July 21 8th Circuit Ruling Raises Question About Whether Common Carriers Must Publish Terms, Rates House Commerce Committee Releases Information on USF High-Cost Support, Forbearance Process Barton, Stearns Send Letter on USF Contribution Factor to Acting FCC Chairman Copps GAO Releases Report on Broadband Deployment GAO Publishes Report on Consumer Wireless Satisfaction Broadband Conduit Bill Introduced in Senate Broadband Pricing Bill Introduced in House House Agriculture Subcommittee Hearing on Rural Broadband Programs: July 9
"Buy American" Exemption for Broadband Stimulus Projects Websites/Articles Relating to Broadband Stimulus
PLACE YOUR AD HERE! CONTACT US On June 16, 2009, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada granted the petition by the PUC Staff to open a rulemaking docket to consider revising the Nevada Administrative Code sections applicable to the reporting of accidents by public utilities and requiring the reporting of service outages. CLICK HERE and scroll to Docket No. 09-05016 to view the order and comments by the parties. Advisory Opinion - Excavation Exclusions On June 15, 2009, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada issued an Advisory Opinion regarding when an excavation should notify the association of operators when in an area owned by the excavator. On June 29, 2009, the Commission Staff submitted a Petition for Reconsideration upon the findings of the Advisory Order. The documents are available by clicking on the highlighted links above.
Belt cincher 2009 Deadline for early-bird/hotel reservations - july 17, 2009!!! Make sure to get your registration and payment into the Nevada Telecommunications Association before July 17th in order to get the Belt Cincher discount. After July 17th the price goes up to $300 for convention registration. REGISTER NOW!
Hotel rooms are reduced or are the same price as last year! Cut off for our Group Rate ends July 17th. MAKE RESERVATIONS!
See Headlines OPASTCO, Allies Meet with FCC to Discuss Rural LSS OPASTCO, the Coalition for Equity in Switching Support, the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA), Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom, and Star Telephone Membership Cooperative met June 4 with FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell's office to discuss the need for the Commission to remedy the discrimination in calculating local switching support (LSS) for certain rural local exchange carriers that will extend for another year as a result of a recently adopted rule change in CC Docket No. 80-286. The group described the critical role LSS provides and the detriment that will arise should the FCC not correct the change. Pew Releases Broadband Adoption Survey Results The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project yesterday released the results of its April 2009 survey on broadband adoption. The survey found that 63 percent of adult Americans now have broadband Internet connections at home, and that the average monthly bill for service currently is $39. Both the survey questions and full report can be accessed from Pew Internet's Website. The National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) has filed with the FCC its minutes of use (MOU) report for the first quarter of 2009, and the second, third and fourth quarters of 2008. The report includes company-reported MOUs for non-NECA Common Line tariff participants and derived MOUs for carriers participating in NECA's Common Line Pool from Jan. 2008 through Dec. 2008. Proposed Third Quarter '09 USF Contribution Factor Published
The FCC's Office of Managing Director
announced last Friday that the proposed Universal Service Fund (USF)
contribution factor for the third quarter of 2009 will increase to 0.129
or 12.9 percent.
Please visit the FCC's Public Notice
for additional information on projected USF demand and administrative
expenses.
Reply Comment Deadline for National Broadband Plan NOI
Extended to July 21
The FCC announced yesterday that it has
extended the deadline for reply comments on its National Broadband Plan
Notice of Inquiry (NOI). The new deadline is July 21. For more
information,
please refer to the FCC Order.
Federal Legislation
House Commerce Committee Releases Information on USF
High-Cost Support, Forbearance Process
The House Committee
on Energy and Commerce recently released the following information:
Barton, Stearns Send Letter on USF Contribution Factor to Acting FCC Chairman Copps Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, sent on June 9 a letter regarding the Universal Service Fund's (USF) contribution factor to Acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps. Barton and Stearns expressed concern that a proposed increase in the contribution factor would be unduly burdensome for consumers; that the USF has grown to become unsustainable; and they requested that the FCC provide to Congress and the public additional information pertaining to the need for a greater contribution factor at the time of each proposed increase. GAO Releases Report on Broadband Deployment The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released the report, "Broadband Deployment Plan Should Include Performance Goals and Measures to Guide Federal Investment," in which the agency provides an overview of the current status of various federal initiatives to fully deploy broadband access throughout the U.S. The report identifies, however, that access gaps remain, primarily in rural areas, and that federal support likely will be needed to eliminate these and help maintain parity in the quality of service available in urban and suburban areas. The report also offers comparison of U.S. broadband policy with those of other OECD countries, as well the state-level perspective. GAO Publishes Report on Consumer Wireless Satisfaction The Government Accountability Office (GAO) yesterday issued a report, "Telecommunications: Preliminary Observations about Consumer Satisfaction and Problems with Wireless Phone Service and FCC's Efforts to Assist Consumers with Complaints." The report draws from the results of 1,143 adult wireless phone users surveyed in recent months. Both the full report and its highlights can be accessed from the GAO's Website. Broadband Conduit Bill Introduced in Senate S. 1266, "The Broadband Conduit Deployment Act of 2009," was introduced Monday in the Senate by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.). The bill would require states to install broadband conduits as part of any federally funded transportation project, such as a new highway or the addition of a new lane or shoulder to an existing highway. Last month, the House of Representatives' version, H.R. 2428, was introduced by Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Rick Boucher (D-Va.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.). Broadband Pricing Bill Introduced in House Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) yesterday introduced H.R. 2902, "The Broadband Internet Fairness Act," which addresses usage-based pricing by larger broadband service providers. Under this bill, broadband service providers with two million or more customers would be required to submit plans to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in consultation with the FCC, if they plan to adopt usage-based pricing tiers. The FTC could move to prohibit such pricing were rates, terms and conditions deemed unreasonable or discriminatory. Public hearings on such plans also would be held, and penalties would be incurred by service providers that did not comply with these rules. House Agriculture Subcommittee Hearing on Rural Broadband Programs: July 9 The House Subcommittee on Rural Development, Specialty Crops, and Foreign Agriculture will hold a hearing Thursday, July 9, beginning at 1:00 P.M. PT to review rural broadband programs.
Back to top
See Headlines Websites/Articles Relating to Broadband Stimulus Much is being published regarding the broadband-related funding portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. A good source of timely articles and information can be found at Benton Foundation Website http://www.benton.org/node/20455. Others include http://www.broadband4all.com/, http://www.occamnetworks.com/bsp/, http://www.calix.com/bbs/
Back to top
July 14, 2009 - NECA,
Webcasts on Wireless Interconnection Agreements
July 14, 2009 - USTelecom Webinar,
It’s all Gone HD! Overcoming the Hurdles to Supplying HD Voice and
Resolving the Codec War
July 19-22, 2009 - NARUC Summer Meetings,
Seattle, WA. For more information
http://summer.narucmeetings.org/
July 25-29, 2009 - OPASTCO
46th
Annual Summer Convention and Tradeshow
August 20, 2009 - USTelecom Webinar,
IPTV Delivery – One Size Does Not Fit All
Fall, 2009 - NTCA and Telecom Training Associates
technical training seminars - Discounts Seminar Series for 2009
Copyright ©
Nevada Telecommunications Association. All rights
reserved. |
