Frontier Plan for Cost-Assignment Relief Draws No Opposing Comments
Frontier's recent compliance plan for taking advantage of cost-assignment deregulation under an FCC forbearance order drew no opposition or other responses in FCC docket 12-61 by the May 28 deadline for initial comments. "The fact that no comments in opposition…
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were filed to Frontier's proposal perhaps is a sign that there is beginning to emerge a consensus that elimination of certain legacy regulations is so common-sensical that it is illogical to oppose them," Free State Foundation President Randolph May told us Monday in an email. Frontier on March 17 filed its plan for complying with continuing accounting requirements under the law and FCC regulations, which is a necessary step for gaining the partial cost-assignment forbearance relief granted to incumbent LECs. Frontier noted various actions it was taking to ensure it could provide certain accounting information to the commission in a timely manner, if requested, and that it was certifying its compliance with Section 254(k) of the Communications Act. In a blog Wednesday, Free State Foundation Research Fellow Seth Cooper said Frontier was seeking partial relief from Part 32 rules in particular, which include "nearly 70 pages of complex accounting requirements mandating maintenance of a separate accounting system" beyond its system using generally accepted accounting principles. "Yes, the FCC should certainly approve Frontier's compliance plan and grant partial forbearance relief from Part 32," Cooper said. "But in light of today's dynamic and competitive market conditions, no compliance plan should be required. Instead, the Commission should relieve carriers from costly duplicate accounting systems requirements altogether. The Commission has authority under Section 10 to act now and grant across-the-board forbearance relief from all cost accounting rules." Reply comments are due June 12.