NCTA comments on cable ownership caps were criticized by telcos. Late Fri., NCTA said FCC Chmn. Martin’s plan for a 30% cable ownership cap is unneeded since there’s ample video competition, and Bells, including AT&T, don’t face limits in the number of landline subscribers they serve (CD March 19 p11). TV4Us, whose members include AT&T, called NCTA’s FCC filing “the cable industry’s latest mudslinging,” a spokeswoman said: “Unlike the cable industry’s yearly rate hikes and lack of competitive choices, consumers have real choices for their voice services” from phone companies. USTelecom made similar comments. “Fierce competition in the voice market has resulted in more choices and lower prices for consumers,” a spokesman said: “The telecom industry wants to bring that same level of competition to video services. We believe that the free market, not more government regulation, is the best way to accomplish that goal.”
The FCC Wireline Bureau has been asking industry parties to withdraw petitions that have languished for years without FCC action. The bureau wouldn’t comment but sources said they received phone calls and e-mails asking if they would be willing to pull the long-pending petitions. The FCC electronic filing logs for the last 2 weeks show more than a dozen industry notices of withdrawn petitions.
Phone and wireless industries Fri. demanded clarification of a House Commerce Committee pretexting bill (HR-936) to make sure marketing isn’t impeded. Ranking Member Barton (R-Tex.) said he had trouble understanding the industries’ objection, but said the committee might be able to address their concern.
Mass. consumers will benefit if the FCC shifts universal service contributions from a revenue base to phone numbers, a pro-numbers group said Fri., challenging predictions of harm to consumers by the Mass. Consumer Coalition and the Keep USF Fair Coalition (CD March 9 p10). Opponents used “incorrect data and ‘funny math,'” said the USF by the Numbers Coalition. The opposing group “exaggerates how high numbers- based assessments would be” and overstates what Mass. customers now contribute to USF, said USF by the Numbers, composed of AT&T, CTIA, NCTA, USTelecom, Verizon, VON Coalition, DSL.Net, GCI and IDT Corp.
Witnesses were in general agreement on reforming but maintaining the Universal Service Fund (USF), at a House Small Business Committee hearing on “advancing the innovation agenda” via telecom and IT. The 2-panel hearing featured exclusively company executives or lobbyists, so there was little disagreement. Main issues were USF reform, the research & development tax credit, Sarbanes-Oxley reform and net neutrality; after the hearing, Committee Chmn. Velsquez said moving forward on tech issues is on the Democratic agenda, but other issues will take precedence in the short term.
Cable operators got some clarity on VoIP interconnection rules from an FCC order saying incumbent LECs must give them interconnection rights and exchange traffic with cable systems. The Wireline Bureau order approved a Time Warner Cable (TWC) request seeking interconnection rights for certain types of phone calls. The order came after cable operators had argued before the Commission for such rights, and exactly a year after TWC complained to the agency about a S.C. PSC denial of a certificate it said it needed for interconnection agreements to sell VoIP (CD March 6 p12).
Telcoms hailed a House bill introduced Wed. to repeal the 3% federal excise tax on local phone service. The bipartisan bill (HR-1194) by Ways & Means Oversight Chmn. Lewis (D-Ga. ) and Ranking Member Ramstad (R-Minn.) is companion to a Senate measure (S-140) introduced in Jan. by Sens. Schemer (D-N.Y.) and Crapo (R-Ida.), members of the Finance Committee. New tax rules set in 2006 erased much of the tax, but it still applies to specialized equipment for the disabled, lifeline services and rental gear. A another bill (S-170), by Sen. Ensign(R-Nev.), would repeal the tax, but he doesn’t serve on Finance, where tax bills must originate. Verizon, USTelecom and AT&T all urged Congress to pass the measure and President Bush to sign it into law.
Wireless carriers are being misleading when they claim they must complete local service request (LSR) forms with 100-plus data fields, USTelecom told the FCC. The FCC wants comment on a Sprint Nextel-T-Mobile petition seeking simpler intermodal porting rules. “The LSR is a universal form used to order a wide range of services and facilities such as services for resale, unbundled network elements, directory listings, and number portability,” USTelecom said: “While the LSR forms used by many LECs may contain over 100 fields to cover orders for all of these types of services, the vast majority of those fields are not required for number portability requests.”
Some of the FCC’s interconnection rules “may no longer be necessary… as the result of meaningful economic competition,” Wireline Bureau staff said in a long report issued in the biennial review of regulations required by the Telecom Act. The staff didn’t outright recommend eliminating or modifying the “Part 51” equal access, network change disclosure and TELRIC rules but said all merit review.
Chiefs of USTelecom, NCTA and CTIA asked for a permanent ban on Internet access taxes in letters to the House and Senate. Walter McCormick, Kyle McSlarrow and Steve Largent asked members to support S-156 by Sens. Wyden (D-Ore.), McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sununu (R-N.H.), which would make permanent the ban set to expire in Nov.