Telecom Resolutions Expected To Be Heavily Discussed at NARUC
One of two telecom-related resolutions on the agenda for the NARUC meeting Nov. 8-11 in Austin is expected to be controversial, but both should generate discussion, said a number of state commissioners. The first resolution is to preserve competition on government-subsidized networks. Nebraska Public Service Commissioners Crystal Rhoades and Tim Schram are the sponsors. The second resolution is for NARUC to endorse the FCC Task Force on Optimal Public Safety Answering Point Architecture Working Group 3’s recently released report. Washington Utilities and Transportation Commissioner Philip Jones, who chaired the working group, helped write the report and sponsored the resolution.
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The goal of the first resolution is to spark a conversation about how networks that are funded largely with taxpayer dollars will be operated, Rhoades said in an interview Thursday. "We need to discuss how we're going to have competitive markets and how we're going to make the best use of networks." Those that have accepted FCC Connect America Fund (CAF) funds would prefer to retain control over their networks and not have other carriers use them, she said. But she said NARUC's intent with this resolution isn't to encourage the FCC to make a decision that would prevent carriers from charging a fee for use of these networks, but rather to open the discussion about whether other carriers should have an opportunity to benefit from these federally funded networks. "We're not saying it should be free, we're not saying nobody should make money here," Rhoades said. "What we're saying is the consumers have paid for this network, and because they paid for this network, we ought to make sure that there is strong, viable competition and that the consumers receive everything possible from that."
This resolution says "let's create competition," said National Regulatory Research Institute Principal Researcher Sherry Lichtenberg, but it's controversial because some FCC rules say competition doesn't have to happen on those networks. The goal of this resolution is for the FCC to say, "If we give you CAF money to build broadband networks, you must open those networks to competition," Lichtenberg said in an interview Thursday. "It's really simple, but I'm guessing [any change] would require the FCC to issue an order changing the [triennial review remand order]." Carriers likely will be unhappy with the idea that they have to share a network they built themselves, she said. Lichtenberg said she wouldn't be surprised if the resolution is tabled at the meeting.
The second resolution tells the FCC that NARUC is taking the report about next-generation 911 from Working Group 3 seriously and that the commission should do the same, said South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner Chris Nelson in an interview Thursday. It also asks Congress to look into the possibility of using spectrum auction proceeds to assist in developing NG-911 networks, he said. The report allows states to see an entire menu of funding options for NG-911 if they aren't happy with their current options, Nelson said. It's not something that needs to be 100 percent endorsed, but it gives a list of options allowing local officials to determine the best way for their municipalities to update to next-gen technology, he said.
This is fundamentally an issue of state and county concern because they have jurisdiction over 911, Jones said. The report also addresses how the states and counties can find funding, and he said the group was encouraged to be bold. Considerations outlined in the report include a network connection fee on upstream bandwidth and prepaid wireless 911 fee collection, which has been controversial in a number of states, Jones said. Some of the carriers and network providers will likely have questions about network connection and upstream bandwidth fees, he said, and some wireless officials may have a problem with the statement in the report that said "there may be some money left on the table from the prepaid wireless fee," Jones said. "I think all states are generally in favor of the principle of N-911."
The National Emergency Number Association is happy with both the findings in the report as well as the resolution that Jones wrote because it shows that a lot of officials are trying to advance NG-911, said CEO Brian Fontes in an interview Thursday. Even though the resolution is being introduced mainly so that NARUC can lobby about NG-911, Fontes said it's encouraging to have NARUC endorsing the report because it will eventually affect how 911 is modernized nationally. "By having this type of endorsement, it gives all of the regulatory bodies throughout the country a document to turn to that they know NARUC endorses," he said.