NARUC Resolutions Support Fast Wireline Number Ports, VoIP Numbering Access
State regulators adopted two policy resolutions on numbering at their annual convention in Anaheim, Calif. The motions approved by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners board call for the FCC to adopt a one- business-day number porting interval on simple wireline-to- wireline ports and urge that all interconnected VoIP providers be allowed direct access to the national phone number supply. The resolutions must be accepted by the convention as a whole before becoming NARUC policy, but rejection of board-approved resolutions rarely happens. The convention was to end Wednesday.
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The porting resolution said technology changes since 1997, when the current four-day porting interval was set, have made one-day, wireline-to-wireline number ports feasible except where the port involves multiple loops or multiple services on one loop. The resolution noted that the FCC is considering changing the porting interval. It cited consumer and industry frustration over the four-day interval, especially since the wireless industry routinely accomplishes wireless-to-wireless number ports within a single day and has a voluntary standard calling for simple ports to be completed within 2.5 hours.
Some industry representatives lobbied unsuccessfully to amend the resolution to support a two-day porting interval. They said some wireline carriers can’t accomplish one-day ports. But the amendment they wanted failed. The only successful amendment inserted a provision that any change to porting rules be “fair and equitable” for wireline carriers.
The second adopted telecom resolution urged the FCC to alter its Part 52 numbering rules to allow all types of interconnected VoIP providers to draw numbers directly from the national number pool and to have service-provider access to the number portability administration center. Today, only VoIP providers with FCC or state operating authority have direct access to the number supply. VoIP providers lacking a government license have to obtain numbers secondhand from a licensed carrier and have a licensed carrier act on their behalf to port numbers. The resolution said that if the FCC goes along, it should require any VoIP provider directly obtaining numbers from the national pool to report periodically on number consumption and forecast numbering needs. This resolution was adopted without any amendments.
In other NARUC events, telecom keynoter Dan Hesse, Embarq CEO, told state regulators that in the hypercompetitive converged telecom marketplace of the future their main role will be ensuring regulatory parity for all rivals. He urged regulators to lift taxation and tariffing burdens on Embarq that don’t apply to its wireless and cable competitors. He said with regulatory parity, “we can fight and fight well.” He said the current national regulatory structure is “stacked in the favor of cable companies and wireless providers,” and tends to make capital markets very leery of investments in wireline carriers’ fiber network projects. Regulation needs to change to fit the reality that communications convergence has made “unsustainable” old regulatory distinctions such as those between intrastate and interstate or between residential and business phone service.
NARUC’s second telecom keynote speaker, Cox Communications President Patrick Esser, said “behemoth Bells” still dominate voice services 11 years after Congress passed the Telecom Act to foster competition. He urged regulators to “keep a watchful eye” on the still-maturing competitive marketplace to ensure continued momentum. He said Verizon and AT&T still handle over 100 million switched access lines but are “gaining a foothold in video” with their U-verse and FIOS fiber services.
Esser said regulators must keep in mind three major policy objectives to ensure the maturation of a vibrant competitive telecom marketplace. 1.) Maintain circuit- switched interconnection protections and establish clear interconnection rights for VoIP providers. He said effective competition requires that consumers be able to connect with anyone else on the public switched network and that competing providers can interconnect at fair and reasonable rates. 2.) Keep voice regulation technology-neutral and focus on the user experience, not the technical platform. 3.) Let providers set prices except in the absence of sustainable facilities-based competition. He said regulators better serve the public by focusing on social goals like preventing fraud and abuse, ensuring public safety and preserving universal service.
Two themes emerged from major NARUC panel discussions. 1.) Competitive local carriers see the forbearance process at the FCC being abused by incumbents to get around dominant carrier obligations and to eviscerate the Telecom Act before market competition is mature, and called for changes to the requirements for forbearance. 2.) Internet content providers fear an FCC shift from pro-competitive network neutrality policies will embolden large telecom and cable providers to slow or block content, to avoid having to expand capacity or to discriminate among types of content to suit corporate aims.
NARUC elected Idaho Public Utilities Commissioner Marsha Smith president for 2007-2008. The group picked New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Commissioner Fred Butler as first vice president and Vermont Public Service Board Commissioner David Coen as second vice president.