FCC Targets USF Implementation, Consumer, Public Safety Issues, Bureau Chiefs Say
Implementing the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation order, tackling consumer issues like bill shock and cramming, and developing a framework for Next Generation 911 are priorities for FCC this year, bureau chiefs said during NARUC’s telecom committee meeting Tuesday.
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The FCC is working on issues related to contribution, Wireline Bureau Chief Sharon Gillett told us after the meeting. She didn’t comment on timing of a potential FCC action, saying only it’s a long and massive order and “we are working on it.” Commissioner Robert McDowell had said he hopes the FCC will issue an order addressing contribution issues which were left unsettled in the USF order (CD Jan 9 p1). He also hopes the FCC will release a rulemaking reforming contribution early in the year. The commission is reviewing things like petitions for reconsideration, and comments on the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking approved as part of the USF order, Gillett told NARUC’s telecom committee. The commission wants to engage states in its decision-making process and appreciates the help from states in understanding issues on the ground, she said.
Meanwhile, on the recently released lifeline order, Gillet said the agency wants to work with states to streamline the certification and verification procedures. State regulators are happy with the lifeline order, which adopted many recommendations by the USF Federal/State Joint Board, John Burke, chair of the NARUC telecom committee, told us Wednesday. “The FCC did a very good job” and the order is a “giant step” toward bringing more oversight to the program, Nebraska Public Service Commissioner Anne Boyle told us.
The Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau is tackling issues including bill shock, cramming and robot call issues, Bureau Chief Joel Gurin said. The bureau is analyzing comments on cramming and looking to move to final rulemaking, he said. It’s an issue where information sharing by states plays a critical role, he said. The bureau is also looking at initiatives to provide more consumer information like mobile broadband performance, he said. James Schlichting, senior deputy wireless bureau chief, noted that spectrum auction is one element of the payroll tax proposal. The wireless bureau is working on the mobility fund as part of the USF order, he said.
A broadband outage reporting requirement, which is on the agenda for the FCC’s Feb. 15 meeting, is part of the reliability and resilience issue that the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau is working on, said Bureau Chief David Furth. Collaboration with federal and state agencies is the key to issues like cybersecurity and transition to NG911 systems, he said.