Emergency Communications, IP Transition, Net Neutrality to Be Focus of NARUC's D.C. Meeting

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is likely to address during a Tuesday morning session the commission’s upcoming Feb. 26 votes on new net neutrality rules and two petitions seeking FCC pre-emption of state municipal broadband restrictions, said National Regulatory Research Institute Principal Researcher Sherry Lichtenberg. "I can't imagine he wouldn't," she said. The FCC is expected to vote for Title II reclassification of broadband in its net neutrality rulemaking and approve the municipal broadband petitions from the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga and Wilson, North Carolina. NARUC voted in July to support new FCC net neutrality rules that relied on Telecom Act Section 706 for jurisdictional authority, with Titles I, II and III as backup authorities (see report in the July 21, 2014, issue). The group opposes FCC pre-emption of state municipal broadband laws but hasn’t taken a stance on the merits of municipal broadband networks. NARUC Telecom Committee Chairman Chris Nelson, who's moderating Wheeler’s session, told us he plans to ask Wheeler about many of the top issues the FCC is currently debating but didn’t say how much time he planned to spend on any one topic.

Net neutrality is likely be the main focus of a Tuesday afternoon panel with staff from the House and Senate Commerce committees, said Nelson, chairman of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. “I think there will be considerable talk from the staff about the various net neutrality proposals that Congress is looking at and comparing and contrasting those with what the FCC is working on.” Staffers on the panel are to include Senate Commerce Republican Counsel Greg Orlando, Senate Commerce Deputy Democratic Staff Director Chris Day and House Commerce Republican Counsel Kelsey Guyselman. There has been increasing partisan pressure on Capitol Hill over net neutrality, with Republicans accusing the White House of lobbying against GOP-led net neutrality legislation and exerting undue influence on the FCC’s rulemaking (see 1502090049). No members of Congress are expected to speak on telecom-related panels during NARUC’s meeting, a contrast from the group’s February 2014 meeting, which included an appearance from then-Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mark Pryor, D-Ark. (see report in the Feb. 12, 2014, issue).

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai is to speak during a panel Monday on 911 dialing on multiline phone systems, which will focus on how direct dialing problems on such systems can be corrected and on how state regulators can address the issue. Pai has led efforts to improve 911 dialing at major U.S. hotel chains and reported substantial progress from the chains in January. Pai has also criticized the FCC for not allowing direct 911 dialing on the phone system at its D.C. headquarters (see 1501230039). An earlier panel Monday will focus on the 2014 National Emergency Communications Plan, while a Wednesday panel will focus on technology issues of improving wireless 911 location accuracy. Emergency communications issues are continuing to be a focus for NARUC because of the April 2014 multistate 911 outage, which “brought to the forefront the fact that there may be some technical things that we need to start paying attention to” to ensure the system continues functioning, Nelson said. The FCC said in October that a “preventable software error” at an Intrado 911 call processing center in Englewood, Colorado, was responsible for the outage (see 1410170057).

Two panels will focus on the IP transition. A Saturday panel will focus on technology issues that telcos are encountering as they transition to IP and the problems that electric utilities that rely on wireline frame relay and other TDM services to support critical control data face as telcos discontinue those services. A Sunday panel will be on the role state regulators play in the IP transition to protect consumers. The panel will include Rebekah Goodheart, aide to FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, Lichtenberg said. Other sessions will include a Saturday afternoon panel on Lifeline reform, a Sunday afternoon panel on anti-cramming rules, a Monday afternoon panel on Connect America Fund Phase II and a Tuesday morning panel on new telecom technologies.

The IP transition resolution the Telecom Committee is considering would essentially ask the FCC to continue to “keep us in the loop” on IP transition issues that touch on areas of state jurisdiction, Lichtenberg said. The resolution would ask the FCC to continue collaborating with state regulators on issues in the IP transition NPRM that deal with consumer protections and public safety, including possible rules for battery backup power for 911 dialing. The resolution would also seek FCC requirements on consumer education on IP transition issues. “There’s an ongoing discussion about whether the IP transition will require consumers to be the ones who provide backup power [for 911], and that’s making some of the states very nervous,” Lichtenberg said. There have been “issues raised about whether consumers are ready for that transition, Nelson said. “This is simple vigilance, wanting to make sure that we make a pretty sound statement that these customers need to be taken care of in the transition.”

The resolution seeking an FCC response to the CPUC’s NORS petition would seek an answer to a “pretty simple question,” Nelson said. “I think the intent of the resolution is to say this is still an issue and it’s something we think states and the feds can work together [on] to serve the people we all work for.” The Staff Telecom Subcommittee is to vote Sunday on their recommendation on the two resolutions, while the Telecom Committee will vote on the resolutions Tuesday. If the Telecom Committee passes the resolutions, they would then move on for final consideration at NARUC’s board meeting Wednesday.