A Vermont investigation and recent Washington state investigation into 911 outages highlight problems identified in an FCC report on an April 10 multistate outage (see 1410170057), industry executives and lawyers told us. The Vermont Public Service Board (PSB) will move ahead this week on investigating FairPoint Communications’ response to a Nov. 28 partial 911 outage as part of a larger investigation of the telco's service quality, which the state Department of Public Service requested last week (see 1412010037). The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission is reviewing a staff report released last week (see 1412030032) on an April 10 outage, which affected all of Washington and portions of six other states, a UTC spokeswoman said.
While NCTA and Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott joined those arguing that a Title II Communications Act net neutrality approach could lead to billions of dollars in state and local tax and fee increases on consumers, telecom attorneys and other advocates differed whether that would actually happen. That is partly because broadband may be considered an interstate service not subject to state and local tax, they said in interviews.
Most provisions in the October FCC order that eliminates the Dec. 31, 2016, deadline for public safety licensees using 700 MHz narrowband spectrum to transition their radio systems to 6.25 kHz technology will take effect Jan. 2, the commission said Tuesday in the Federal Register. Some rule changes included in the order await approval by the Office of Management and Budget, the FCC said. The order implements several rule changes beyond eliminating the narrowband deadline, including redesignating as available for public safety aircraft voice operations the channels in the 700 MHz band that are currently licensed for secondary trunking operations. The order allows voice operations on data interoperability channels on a secondary basis and reallocates the reserve channels on the narrowband into general-use channels (see 1410240032). The FCC said it would dismiss multiple waiver requests, including one from the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System Joint Powers Authority, as moot due to the order.
FCC Wireline Bureau Deputy Chief Matthew DelNero urged state and local governments Tuesday to comment on the IP transition rulemaking the commission adopted in late November seeking input on how the agency should deal with the transition away from copper. The FCC also approved a related declaratory ruling at its November meeting on FCC ability to require approvals for copper retirements (see 1411210037). The NPRM sought comment on how states, localities and tribal nations should be involved in IP transition rulemaking, along with clearer rules for determining when to allow incumbents to retire a “last-mile” service and battery backup standards. The FCC believes comments from states and localities will be particularly valuable on IP transition rules because they’re “the ones who are closest” to on-the-ground conditions in different parts of the U.S., DelNero said during an FCC seminar. The NPRM is awaiting Federal Register publication, he said.
In a move industry officials considered unusual for a lone FCC commissioner, Ajit Pai wrote Netflix CEO Reed Hastings Tuesday asking for a response to a number of issues, including that the company has been “working to effectively secure ‘fast lanes’ for its own content on ISPs’ networks at the expense of its competitors,” said a letter released by Pai’s office. Pai asked for a response by Dec. 16. Netflix declined comment.
Communications Act Title II opponents seized on a Progressive Policy Institute study’s estimate Monday that reclassifying broadband would create $15 billion nationally in new federal, state and local taxes and fees, and predicted it would dampen public enthusiasm for basing net neutrality rules on Title II. The “sleeping giant has been awakened, and once the size of the fee increases becomes more widely understood, I think consumers will react,” said Free State Foundation President Randolph May.
The FCC is implementing electronic filing procedures for domestic Section 214 Communications Act transfer of control and discontinuance applications and LEC network change notifications, said an order issued Wednesday. The change follows recommendations from the commission’s Report on FCC Process Reform, the order said. Accompanied by new functionality for the Electronic Comment Filing System that allows non-docketed filings to be submitted, the order indicates the filing change is part of a broader effort to expand electronic filing options. “We expect these new filing procedures to be more convenient and efficient for applicants, provide better transparency and information to the public, and save Commission staff resources,” the order said. It was approved by all FCC members.
The draft Connect America Fund order FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is circulating before a scheduled vote at the commission’s Dec. 11 meeting would give price-cap carriers some but not all of what they’ve sought in return for backing an increase in the minimum broadband speeds for systems built with CAF support, from 4 Mbps to 10 Mbps downstream, said industry officials involved in the debate. Wheeler is proposing the faster speed requirement in the draft order (see 1411200032).
The FCC should proceed “deliberately” before imposing “new, onerous and costly mandates” to provide backup batteries or power supplies to subscribers, American Cable Association officials told Chairman Tom Wheeler’s legal adviser Daniel Alvarez, as well as aides to the four other commissioners in separate meetings, according to an ex parte notice posted in docket 13-5 on Tuesday. The Nov. 13 and 14 meetings were among several in which providers urged caution in enacting new requirements on backup batteries, as the commission is set at Friday’s meeting to consider a draft NPRM Wheeler is circulating on issues related to the IP transition. Among them is whether the commission should take steps to oversee backup power, a top FCC official told us earlier this month, because unlike phone service on traditional copper lines, service on fiber and other networks rely on backup batteries during power outages (see 1410310047). While the item could change before Friday’s meeting, sources in industries involved in the debate expected the NPRM to seek comments on most issues, including the battery issue. An exception is that the NPRM is expected to make a tentative conclusion that incumbents have to offer competitive carriers an alternative at reasonable rates, terms and conditions when retiring last-mile services that competitors need to reach business customers, the sources said. In addition, industry sources were also expecting the commission to circulate an order before Thursday’s deadline to put items on December’s commission meeting agenda to increase CAF’s minimum broadband speed requirements from 4 Mbps to 10 Mbps. The commission declined to comment on Wednesday. Charter Communications Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Christianna Barnhart also told aides to commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Mignon Clyburn in meetings Nov. 13 and 14 that the commission should balance “the benefits of new backup power obligations with the cost to consumers and providers,” according to an ex parte notice posted Wednesday. Verizon Vice President-Federal Regulatory Affairs Maggie McCready and Vice President and Associate General Counsel William Johnson described to aides of commissioners Rosenworcel and Ajit Pai on Nov. 13 the company’s efforts provide “consumer-friendly backup power solutions for customers receiving service over fiber,” according to an ex parte notice.
Large wireless carriers questioned the feasibility of implementing the FCC-proposed obligation that all interconnected text services be capable of delivering accurate location information to public safety answering points (PSAPs) within two years. They also held the proposal up to a voluntary industry agreement that was reached last week (see 1411170045), claiming that the rule goes beyond the scope of the agreement, in comments in the text-to-911 proceeding. A Colorado phone service authority asked the commission to address the impact that LTE would have on SMS-text coverage. Comments in docket 11-153 were due Monday.