Telecom Act requires regulators to follow 2 ‘inherently contradic...
Telecom Act requires regulators to follow 2 “inherently contradictory paths” and that may be responsible for failures in reaching Act’s goals, National Regulatory Research Institute (NRRI) report said. Report, sponsored by NARUC and several state commissions, said Act’s goals…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
of robust competition and universal service created conflicts for regulators: “Even after 5 years of effort, regulators do not appear to have crafted an approach capable of accomplishing both objectives.” NRRI said problem was clear: “If universal service is pursued vigorously, the achievement of competitive goals may suffer, and, conversely, competition may be achieved at the expense of universal service goals.” Regulators have to maintain balance between 2, possibly taking “2-phased regulatory approach” that concentrates first on encouraging competition and then turns to expanding universal service, NRRI said. Report also recommended that regulators treat services defined as universal service and those that aren’t as “two separate regulatory sectors.” Those defined as universal service could be regulated under “social equity approach that stresses ubiquity of service, affordable pricing and subsidy payments.” Those outside definition could be regulated under “market equity approach that stresses free market entry and exit, efficient pricing and innovation,” report said. NRRI said report written by NRRI associate Phyllis Bernt didn’t necessarily reflect views of NRRI and NARUC -- 614-292-9404.