"As a professional speaker who was in speech therapy as a child, an award-winning author with dyslexia and the 310th pick of the NFL Draft who is a semi-finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I understand that success is overcoming obstacles on the way to your dreams," said Mecklenburg, who will deliver his speech entitled "Six Keys to Success" during the COMPTEL PLUS opening session on Tuesday, September 24.

Mecklenburg understands how the odds can be overcome to achieve success. He rose from a college walk-on and twelfth round draft choice to an NFL career that included three Super Bowl and six Pro Bowl appearances. The former Bronco's captain spent his entire 12-year career in Denver and makes Colorado his home now. Mecklenburg was arguably the most versatile player in the NFL playing all seven defensive front positions often in the course of a single game. Mecklenburg was selected as the AFC Linebacker of the Year, AFC player of the Year, and since retiring from the NFL has been enshrined in the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. He was named a Pro Football Hall of Fame Semifinalist in 2012. To learn more about Mecklenberg, see his bio on the COMPTEL PLUS website. 

The keynote address is being sponsored by UNITEL Insurance, which will host Mecklenburg in Booth 424 Tuesday, September 24, for photo opportunities. UNITEL also will host a drawing for books and a football signed by Mecklenburg during the EXPO.

Register Now and Take Advantage of Discounted Rates
Early bird registration is now open. If you register before July 12, you can save up to $330 off regular rates.  Also, don't miss out on reserving a room at our host hotel, the Gaylord Palms. Book your room today. The COMPTEL PLUS rate is $235 per night. 

On June 7, COMPTEL filed reply comments with the FCC about recovery of telecommunications relay services (TRS) contributions. The .0233 TRS contribution factor proposed by Rolka Loube Saltzer Associates LLC for funding year July 2013 through June 20141 is more than double the contribution factor of .01053 adopted for the 2012-2013 fund year.

 

COMPTEL noted that its members are extremely concerned that the FCC may approve such a significant increase, especially in light of its apparent policy prohibiting carriers from identifying TRS contribution charges on customer bills as a specifically identified separate line item. COMPTEL said that the "significant increase will result in higher bills for end users where telecommunications providers have the ability to implement rate increases. In many instances, however, the increase will have to be absorbed by providers because their contracts or other billing arrangements with their end users constrain their ability to implement rate increases."

 

COMPTEL voiced its support of the recommendations made by IDT Telecom, Inc., Intermedia.net, Vocalcity, Inc. and Vonage Holdings Corp. that the FCC take action to avoid carrier rate shock and more importantly, revisit its apparent prohibition against carriers identifying TRS fees as a specifically identified separate line item on customer bills and/or clarify that carriers are not prohibited from recovering TRS contributions in a line item on customer bills.

On June 12 at 10:30 a.m., the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will host a hearing on "The Satellite Television Law: Repeal, Reauthorize, or Revise?" 

 

Witnesses will be announced and are by invitation only. The hearing will be held in 2123 Rayburn and webcast online at the House Energy & Commerce website.

COMPTEL is seeking sponsors for the popular Competitors' Reception during the 2013 NARUC Summer Committee Meetings, July 21-24 at the Sheraton Downtown Hotel in Denver. 

  
For more information, or to secure your sponsorship, e-mail Karen Reidy or call 202-296-6650. 

The FCC announced the tentative agenda for its next open meeting, scheduled for June 27. Among the topics under consideration are:

• Improving Broadband Data Collection
• Status of Universal Service Reform Implementation
• Increasing the Nation's Supply of Spectrum
• Protecting Customer Propriety Network Information on Mobile Devices
• Status of the Broadcast Incentive Auction

For more details, download the agenda from the FCC website. 

 

The open meeting will begin at 10:30 a.m. in Room TW-C305, at FCC headquarters (445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.) and can be viewed live online at FCC.gov/live.

 

Interested in learning more about this new benefits program? 

Attend a free webinar entitled "Trying to Gain Control of Employee Benefits Costs? COMPTEL and UNITEL Can Help," hosted by Mike Reed, an account executive with UNITEL, on Wednesday, June 19 at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT).

Reed will discuss how UNITEL Insurance and Principal Life are offering COMPTEL members ways to enhance employee benefit flexibility, extend rate guarantees and potentially save money. If you are interested in learning more, register by Tuesday, June 18. For more information about the webinar, email education@comptel.org or call 202-296-6650. The UNITEL webinar is a part of the COMPTEL Webinar program, which is powered by Copper Services.

If you have questions about the new benefit program, contact Reed at 800-755-0048, ext. 7248.

On June 6, President Obama unveiled a new initiative called ConnectED, designed to connect 99 percent of America's students to the Internet through high-speed broadband and high-speed wireless within five years. The initiative calls on the FCC to modernize and leverage its existing E-Rate program to meet that goal. The President also directed the federal government to make better use of existing funds to get Internet connectivity and educational technology into classrooms, and into the hands of teachers trained on its advantages.  And he called on businesses, states, districts, schools and communities to support this vision. To read more about the initiative, visit the White House website.