NARUC Telecom Committee Adopts Two Proposed Resolutions, Subcommittee Tables One
AUSTIN -- NARUC's Telecom Committee adopted two of three proposed substantive telecom resolutions at its business meeting Monday, as expected (see 1510290050). The resolutions would accelerate the deployment of next-generation 911 systems, and expedite availability of remote areas funding (RAF) and Connect America Funding (CAF) to unserved and underserved areas where carriers haven't accepted funding. The resolution to preserve competition on government-supported networks was tabled by the subcommittee Sunday and will likely be reworked for a later meeting.
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The networks resolution met with strong opposition from telcos and some committee members during a closed session on Saturday, said commissioners who attended. The telecom subcommittee voted to table the resolution due to concerns from commissioners and industry officials. A commissioner could have reintroduced it in Monday’s committee meeting, but the sponsor, Nebraska Public Utilities Commissioner Crystal Rhoades, opted to tweak it and tackle competition at a later date with help from others.
“There were too many things that needed to be made,” Rhoades said after the meeting. “One of the concerns that was expressed that kind of resonated was that CAF II money had already been released, so there was concern about sort of changing the rules in the middle of the game, which I thought was a valid concern. There probably needs to be some additional comment and input from commissioners and industry to determine, ‘Does this get to the root of the issue, or are there other solutions we haven’t considered yet?’” Rhoades also said in the meeting that she would appreciate communication from industry officials because she wants an open conversation about preserving competition.
The NG-911 item was opposed by some committee members and industry officials because it would endorse a mostly complete, but not yet reviewed, report by Working Group 3 of the FCC Task Force on Optimal Public Safety Answering Points Architecture. Washington Utilities and Transportation Commissioner Phil Jones, who chaired the working group and sponsored the resolution, said the report is done and the FCC has made it clear that recommendations wouldn't be changed. But USTelecom Vice President Robert Mayer said he opposes the resolution because the task force is still reviewing the report and if NARUC were to endorse it and it's changed down the road, its meaning might change. He recommended waiting until February when the full report is complete. A CTIA representative agreed.
The RAF item was late-filed by California Public Utilities Commissioner Cathy Sandoval and staff and resolved to support the objectives of CAF and RAF. It also would urge the FCC to move quickly to implement the competitive bidding process for CAF Phase II and RAF to ensure availability of broadband facilities and services to the CAF II-defined and more remote areas of the country -- tribal regions -- where incumbent carriers have declined support from CAF II, it said. There was concern with the lateness of the resolution, both at the subcommittee and committee levels, but commissioners chose to adopt it because it would be too late to reintroduce it at the February meeting in Washington, D.C., Sandoval said. Despite the committee adoption, the full board could still choose not to adopt the resolution because it was late, said Telecom Committee Chairman Chris Nelson, South Dakota Public Utilities commissioner.