Speakers at NARUC winter meeting panel on special access agreed impartial performance standards for special access were of vital interest to telecom suppliers and buyers. Chip Casteel, WorldCom dir.-regulatory affairs, said improving incumbent telco accountability for special access provisioning was critical to development of effective local competition. He said lack of universal special access performance metrics meant unpredictable provisioning, which would upset CLEC business planning. Casteel said long distance entry would give Bell companies incentives to retain their overwhelming dominance in special access market so they could offer customers one-stop shop. Melissa Newman of Qwest said major question in special access standards debate was “which is the ‘right’ standard.” She said if there were to be national minimum performance metrics, they should be few in number and uniform for all providers. She suggested most useful general measures would be order confirm time, percent completed on time, percent done correctly first time, outage restoration time. Carl Johnson of N.Y. PSC staff said that 6 years after passage of Telecom Act, Verizon still had more than 80% share of special access market. He said Verizon special access service quality generally had been good up until adoption of price cap regulation in 1995, after which time quality plummeted for variety of reasons and didn’t get back to anything approaching good until late in 2000. He said PSC requirements such as credits to wholesale and retail customers for late special access installations could address intrastate service, but bulk of special access was interstate and it was up to FCC to develop and enforce performance standards. Brian Moir, partner with Moir & Hardman, said bulk of dedicated service contracts between big users and carriers consisted of performance metrics and guarantees. Special access today, he said, is mostly for data circuits essential to customers’ business operations. Performance is key for biggest users, he said, and they tend to stay with biggest provider because they are more likely to get performance they must have.

This is “do-or-die” year for telecom bills in state legislatures. Except in 2 states, all telecom bills pending in 2002 sessions must pass before this year’s adjournment or they're dead. Only in N.J. and Va. can bills from this year carry over to 2003. Accordingly, many state lawmakers are making swift decisions on early telecom measures even as floodgates have opened to new telecom-related legislation. In this report, we're updating status of previously-reported bills and noting significant new legislation that’s recently been introduced. Bills are grouped by subject, with advancing/defeated bills mentioned first in each group.

Qwest and AT&T Wireless have nearly doubled capacity in Wasatch Valley, Utah, to handle influx of cellular traffic for Winter Olympic Games, said Sharon Kingman, managing dir.- telecom for Salt Lake City Olympic Committee (SLOC). Target of system design has been to complete 98% of wireless calls, goal that hadn’t been problem so far, although she said system was expected to get its first serious test in Fri. night opening ceremonies. For public safety wireless operations, federal Public Safety Wireless Network Program (PSWN), joint initiative of Depts. of Justice and Treasury, has installed interoperability system linking DoJ and local public safety agencies. “The lack of communications interoperability -- the ability of public safety personnel from one agency to communicate via radio with personnel from other agencies, on demand and in real time -- is a critical public safety problem that is not unique to the Salt Lake region,” PSWN Program Mgr. Rick Murphy said last week.

Region 24 800 MHz National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee (NPSPAC) and Region 24 700 MHz Regional Planning Committee, both in Mo., plan meetings April 11 at Kansas City Police Dept. and, in part, will discuss Nextel proposal to reband 800 MHz public safety spectrum. Region 33 700 MHz Public Safety Planning Committee plans April 9 meeting at Ohio Emergency Operations Center in Columbus. Region 13 800 MHz NPSPAC and 700 MHz Planning Committee also plan meetings Feb. 26 in Taylorville, Ill.

Saying PTV’s “broadband-like” DTV services can provide high-speed access to rural areas, and homeland security, public broadcasters are making push for regulatory classification of PTV stations’ proposed high-speed educational services using DTV technology as broadband service. APTS Vp-Policy Marilyn Mohrman-Gillis said APTS hoped PTV would be included in any “funding opportunities” that might emerge in legislation to spur broadband deployment. In comments filed with NTIA, APTS urged agency to recognize distinction between advanced services and high- speed services within definition of broadband and to include one-way delivery of high-speed services using digital technology in definition.

Homeland security was dominant theme in President Bush’s FY 2003 budget proposal released Mon., with new money for securing telecom facilities among leading priorities. Some $3.5 billion would be allocated to assist first responders to emergencies in wake of Sept. 11, including support for landline and wireless telecom networks, twelvefold increase over FY 2002. Administration also outlined proposals for auctioning broadcast spectrum for 3G wireless and again proposed fines for broadcasters continuing to use analog spectrum after 2006.

FCC Chief of Staff Marsha MacBride told Public Safety National Coordination Committee (NCC) Fri. that public safety interoperability and other issues were part of emphasis of Commission’s homeland security efforts. MacBride was named by FCC Chmn. Powell in Nov. to head agency’s Homeland Security Policy Council. In presentation to NCC, MacBride outlined homeland security efforts that were stressing broader areas than in past for network protection, including mass media and wireless. Network Reliability & Interoperability Council (NRIC), which played key coordinating role during FCC’s Y2K efforts, is refocused on homeland security, including lessons learned and existing vulnerabilities, MacBride said. Composition of NRIC has shifted from historical wireline emphasis to include wireless, cable and Internet service providers, she said. In broadcasting and multichannel video programming, Commission is starting Federal Advisory Committee (FAC) to examine infrastructure reliability and security issues. Among other themes that emerged during NCC general membership meeting was need for better public safety interoperability, which has gained renewed public attention following Sept. 11 attacks.

Public safety groups asked FCC Wed. to be more active in testing conducted by wireless carriers for upcoming number portability and pooling deadlines to take account of 911 system impact. National Emergency Number Assn. (NENA), Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials International and National Assn. of Nine One One Administrators want Commission to enforce its wireline-to-wireless number portability nondegradation rules to require wireless carriers to deliver 911 Phase 2 data in customer service area. Wireless carriers face Nov. 24 deadline for both number portability and pooling requirements and large carriers have been urging FCC to exercise forbearance on portability deadline. Filing by NENA and others challenges “the near-simultaneous implementation of wireless local number portability and number pooling, on the one hand, and wireless enhanced 911 Phase 2 service on the other hand.” Public safety groups told Commission they weren’t taking position on forbearance petition on portability filed by Verizon Wireless. Groups said their aim was to ensure 911 service wasn’t degraded by implementation of either wireless number pooling or portability requirements. They said: “A wireless carrier should not be permitted to accept a customer switching from a wireline carrier and retaining the wire telephone number unless the wireless carrier is capable of delivering to the customer Phase 2 wireless E911 service.” They also argued that wireless carrier, if FCC regulations were enforced, shouldn’t be allowed to accept customer from another wireless carrier and retain same wireless phone number “unless its E911 service matches or surpasses that of the losing carrier.” Wireless number portability testing by industry should involve FCC oversight to make sure all wireless carriers involved had test results that showed no degradation or interruption in national networks, “particularly as this applies to 911 and emergency services’ access,” NENA said: “The FCC should make it clear to the wireless industry leadership that it is essential that each wireless carrier have substantial proof, prior to wireless number portability/pooling implementation, that there will be no loss or diminution of 911 service and access to emergency services/public safety.” Groups said “summit meeting” of experts “in the very near future” would help resolve key issues with existing timelines. “Any negative impact could affect several million wireless 911 customers in first year of wireless number portability/pooling implementation,” NENA said.

House consideration of data deregulation legislation is entirely in hands of House Speaker Hastert (R-Ill.), and it almost certainly will move straight to floor without need for supporters to attach measure to other legislation, several industry observers and congressional staffers said. Although House leadership last month delayed Rules Committee from setting parameters for floor debate on bill (HR-1542) before recess, observers pointed out that Hastert was committed to getting legislation to floor for vote, possibly as early as March. Precursor Group CEO Scott Cleland said “Rules Committee is a creature of the speaker,” so it’s routine matter for Hastert to give go-ahead to Chmn. Dreier (R-Cal.) to determine how many amendments would be accepted and to set ground rules for debate: “This is all about the availability of floor time.”

Proposal for “interim” financing model for dealing with waste CE products emerged at last week’s meeting of National Electronics Product Stewardship (NEPSI) in Tampa, stakeholders said. Proposal that won backing of state and local govts. entails adoption of system with end-of-life fees that would evolve into model financed by front-end fees, said Scott Cassel, dir. of Mass.-based Product Stewardship Institute. State and local govts. have advocated front-end model where cost of waste collection, management and recycling are included in price of CE product. Industry preferred model operating on end-of-life fees that govts. object to because it places undue burden on taxpayers. Stakeholders already had reached agreement to drop taxpayer or ratepayer and extended producer responsibility (mainly industry-financed) models from purview of deliberations. Speaking for govts., Cassel said they were prepared to back new proposal if there was certainty that system eventually would change into front-end financing. Proposal was also considered to have old electronic products covered by end-of-life fees and newer ones by front-end fees. Industry hasn’t taken position on those proposals, said Heather Bowman, EIA dir.-environmental affairs. They are possibilities that could be investigated, she said, and were intended “as a way to solve a complex problem.” Another important issue was Internet sales of products that was akin to online sales tax issue, Cassel said. It was vital to ensure that companies selling products over Internet adhere to financing system and collection programs that were being developed to avoid free riders, he said. Other issues that came up, Cassel said, included: (1) Developing shared responsibility system that was perceived as fair by all groups and was cost- effective. (2) Incentives for design and return of used products. (3) Free-rider problem. Stakeholder meeting was preceded by design workshop that for first time opened channel of communication between product design engineers and recyclers, he said. While top manufacturers, including IBM, Sharp, Panasonic, Phillips and Sony, were represented at meeting, retailers were conspicuous by their absence, Cassel said. Bowman said absence of retailers didn’t mean they weren’t engaged and they might have decided to keep away because of tight budgets.