Debate over Details of Copper Retirement draft NPRM Seen Controversial
Questions FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is raising to lay out a clearer procedure for retiring copper -- in the draft NPRM he’s circulating -- probably won’t be opposed in concept by carriers, said industry and public interest officials. Details of how stringent the agency should be in determining whether there’s a sufficient alternative in place before approving retirement likely will be controversial, they said.
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.
Public Knowledge and other public interest groups have pushed for specific standards on call quality, network capacity during high usage, effectiveness with 911 and other factors to determine whether consumers would be harmed by losing copper, said Jodie Griffin, PK senior staff attorney. The group submitted a study in January suggesting specific metrics. What constitutes an equivalent service “is the $64,000 question,” an industry official told us. The replacement “is not going to be identical to the legacy network," said the official. "There’s gong to be a lot of debate over what’s an equivalent product.” The draft NPRM (see 1410310047) asks what changes should be made to the Communications Act Section 214 process, said a public interest official.
That Wheeler is raising the issue isn’t surprising, since January’s IP trials order (see 1401310038) included the concept of preserving consumer values during the transition, sources on both sides of the issue said. The draft NPRM also marked Wheeler's being able to return to his top priority, those on both sides of the debate said. “This was the thing that [Wheeler] came to the FCC to do, which is to manage the transition and see that it happens in a way that’s consistent with his values. That’s why he took this job,” said Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld. “But then the train got derailed by net neutrality stuff, and Comcast/Time Warner [Cable].”
Public Knowledge, meanwhile released a survey Thursday, saying landlines, despite the development of alternatives like VoIP and cellphones, remain used by 65 percent of those surveyed. Landlines were especially important for low-income people, with 72 percent of households with incomes less than $25,000 having a landline, said the study done in July of 2,149 people. The survey, which has a margin of error of 2.5 percent, found that 82 percent of those with landlines kept it for its reliability, another 73 percent for connection quality and 45 percent because it works during power outages. It said 36 percent said they kept the service because it works with medical monitoring devices, home security alarms or fax machines. Ensuring copper is replaced with equivalent services is not a matter of “being scared” of new technology, Griffin said, but because “important needs are being served by the existing network. You’re not going to stop needing a heart monitor because your company moves to a new network.”
Putting pressure on companies to negotiate, Feld said, is that Comcast and AT&T have transaction proposals pending before the commission. The
The draft NPRM also doesn't raise the issue of regulating VoIP under Title II because it focuses on what’s required to retire copper, not on prescribing mandates on other kinds of services, he said. But reclassification of VoIP remains an option some day, Feld said. The industry is more likely to push back on another aspect of the draft item, which, according to an agency fact sheet, tentatively concludes incumbents have to offer competitors equivalent services when retiring TDM (see 1411040060), Feld said. What an equivalent alternative means exactly is the key question, said an industry official. The impact of Republicans taking control of the Senate is unknown, with Feld noting GOP lawmakers have pushed for improved rural call completion, an issue related to landline service.
AT&T is committed “to working with the FCC, policymakers, our customers and others to ensure that the transition to the next-generation communications systems are reliable, ensure public safety and provide enhanced service for consumers," it said in a written statement. "That’s exactly why we are conducting a limited number of community trials to make sure … we fully understand the geographic, demographic, and economic challenges related to upgrading our nation’s communications infrastructure."
“The benefits of transitioning to new fiber and Internet Protocol networks will be enormous as many consumers and businesses have recognized by making the shift for their communications needs,” said USTelecom Senior Vice President-Law and Policy Jonathan Banks in a statement. “Just as we worked through the transition from analog to digital cell phones, and analog to digital television, we look forward to working with the FCC and all interested parties to make sure that the transition to these new networks happens smoothly so everyone benefits.”