COMPTEL PLUS Regulatory Track to Feature FCC General Counsel/Head of IP Transition Task Force 

During the COMPTEL PLUS Fall 2013 Convention & EXPO, Monday, September 23 through Thursday, September 26, in Orlando, a track of educational sessions will focus on regulatory issues that are critical to today's competitive communications carriers, consumers and businesses of all sizes. This track combines with two others, focusing on business and technology topics of interest to the industry.  

• Trials and Tribulations: Next Steps in the Transition to IP - This panel - featuring Sean Lev, FCC general counsel and chair of the Commission's IP Transition Task Force - will discuss how the FCC can move the industry forward during this technology transition, with a particular focus on the impact on competition and consumer protection. Other speakers include individuals from AT&T, Cbeyond, the Florida Public Service Commission and Gillan Associations.
• Lifeline Update: The Impact of Current Developments on Your Business - Speakers from Lukas Nace Gutierrez & Sachs, LLP, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, Oklahoma Corporation Commission and  YourTel America will provide an overview of the current state of the FCC's efforts, the latest developments from Congress, debate various recommendations for best practices and provide a look at Oklahoma's efforts to ensure providers are adhering to the new rules.
• Rural Call Completion: Getting to the Answer - This session, featuring panelists from Bandwidth.com, HyperCube, the Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance (ITTA) and NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association, will address the core problems with rural call completion and possible solutions from both a network and a regulatory perspective.
• USF Contribution: Resale Exemption Certificates and other Compliance Issues - This panel will debate the options for implementing this new requirement and the impact it could have on the retail service market for broadband Internet access and VPNs, as well as the wholesale market for special access and packet-based services.  Panelists include representatives from Bingham, NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association, TDS Telecommunications Corp. and TelePacific Communications.
• Rural Healthcare & E-Rate: A Tutorial - During this session, speakers from Bernstein Strategy Group and Davis Wright Tremaine will offer a tutorial on the Healthcare Connect Fund, the E-Rate program and the recently announced ConnectED initiative. 
• Striking the Right Balance with VoIP: A Primer on Maintaining Compliance while Improving Profits and Gaining a Competitive Edge - This half-day workshop presented by Technologies Management Inc. will feature speakers from a cross section of companies who will explain their business strategies, and what they've done to establish or maintain regulatory compliance, improve profits and continue to grow marketshare.

FCC Schedules IP Transition Workshop for Oct. 15

• the replacement of copper networks with fiber; and
• the shift from wireline services toward greater use of wireless services. 

Specifically, the workshop will solicit data and analysis on the potential effects on residential and business consumers as well as the competitive marketplace when providers retire or discontinue copper based services and replace them with IP-based fiber and/or wireless service. 

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