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Vol. 10, No. 6      February 10, 2014
In This Issue
TOP OF THE NEWS
BUSINESS PLANNER
AT THE FCC
ON THE HILL
IP PANEL
WEBINAR ARCHIVES
COMMITTEE MEETINGS
WELCOME 
NEW MEMBERS

 

Ciena

 

TNCI Operating Company

 

For more information about joining COMPTEL, e-mail Kevin Morris or call 202-296-6650. 

BE SEEN AT COMPTEL PLUS
 
Book Your Exhibit Space Before Time Runs Out

 

Fall 2010 Image-1  

The COMPTEL PLUS Spring 2014 Convention & EXPO is the ONLY place where you can meet prospective customers and close lucrative business deals in the course of a few days.

 

Select exhibit spaces still remain - so don't miss this opportunity to get your company noticed and improve your bottom line.

 

For more information on exhibiting at COMPTEL PLUSe-mail Kevin Morris or call 202-296-6650. 

MEMBER NEWS





For more information about submitting member company news, please contact Gail Norris.
COMPTEL IN THE NEWS

CQ - February 4

Skinny Wire
Winter Edition
FCC DEADLINES

February 13

February 18

February 28


March 1
SOCIALIZE WITH COMPTEL

 

@COMPTEL 

@COMPTELPLUS 

@COMPTELADVOCACY
                          

Diamond Rio publicity shot

 
TOP OF THE NEWS
COMPTEL CEO Featured on National Journal Panel About "Dialing in on the IP Transition"
On February 6, COMPTEL CEO Chip Pickering, participated on a National Journal panel entitled "Dialing in on the IP Transition." Other panelists included Kathleen Abernathy of Frontier Communications, Harold Feld of Public Knowledge, Barry Ohlson of Cox, and Robert Quinn of AT&T. Bruce Gottlieb, president of the National Journal, served as moderator. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler also participated in a one-on-one discussion with Gottlieb at the event.
 
Pickering emphasized the importance of maintaining competition during the transition, because competition has been vital in encouraging innovation and investment during the past three decades. In response to AT&T's suggestions about network substitution and consumers' growing reliance on wireless, Pickering noted that the business market continues to rely on wireline service, as well as the associated reliability and quality of service that end users have come to expect. He added that the structure of the trials is an open invitation to all providers and will enable the Commission to address the important issues related to the competitive industry in the IP transition, such as last mile access and interconnection.
COMPTEL PLUS
COMPTEL PLUS Business PLANner Opens Today
On your mark, get set...NETWORK!  Starting today, you can get a jump on setting up meetings at the COMPTEL PLUS Spring 2014 Convention & EXPO by using the COMPTEL PLUS Business PLANner
 
This interactive meeting planning application that enables you to schedule meetings with existing and prospective clients during the convention, March 16-19 at the Aria Resort in Las Vegas.   

How the COMPTEL PLUS Business PLANner Works
Once registered for COMPTEL PLUS, you will get full access to the Business PLANner. Just log in to download the pre-registered attendee list and send requests to other attendees to set up meetings in the COMPTEL PLUS Deal Center, at a booth during exhibit hours or in a meeting room. 
 
New General Session on "Future of the Copper
Network" Added to Tuesday's Educational Agenda 
Just added to the educational agenda at the COMPTEL PLUS Spring 2014 Convention & EXPO is a general session on Tuesday, March 18, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. that will focus on the "Future of the Copper Network." 
 
This session will feature leaders at major ILECs, including Bill Cheek, president of Wholesale Markets Group at CenturyLink, and Daniel McCarthy, president and COO of Frontier Communications, who will explain their view of the legacy copper telephony infrastructure's future as use of fiber networks, wireless networks and IP technology become more widespread.
 
For a look at the full educational agenda, visit our Schedule-at-a-Glance.  Details about speakers can be found here.
 
Register Today for Spring Golf Tournament  
Join COMPTEL Sunday, March 16 for a fun day on the links at the exclusive Spanish Trail Country Club in Las Vegas for the COMPTEL PLUS Spring 2014 Golf Tournament, sponsored by Oracle. Registration is due by Friday, February 21.

To participate in this tournament, you must be registered for the COMPTEL PLUS Spring 2014 Convention. For more details on greens fees and tournament rules, or to download the application form, visit the COMPTEL PLUS website.

Golf sponsorships also are available. For more information, e-mail Amy Smith or call 202-296-6650. 
 
Show Daily News Submission Due March 3 
Exhibitors, sponsors and COMPTEL members - it's time to start planning your news for the COMPTEL PLUS Spring 2014 Convention & EXPO.

The editors of the COMPTEL PLUS Show Daily have announced that the deadline to submit news is Monday, March 3. The Show Daily will hit the newsstands in the Aria Resort at COMPTEL PLUS the mornings of Monday, March 17, and Tuesday, March 18.

For full details about how to submit your news to the Show Daily and other editorial guidelines, please visit the Official Publications page on the COMPTEL PLUS website. Companies wishing to advertise in the Show Daily should e-mail Publisher Berge Kaprelian or call 480-503-0770. 
AT THE FCC
FCC Gives Notice on Rural Call Completion Petitions
Last week the FCC released a Public Notice giving notice on COMPTEL's Petition for Reconsideration of the Rural Call Completion Order, as well as those filed by USTA and ITTA, Sprint, Carolina West Wireless and Transcom. Comments on the petitions will be due 15 days after publication in the Federal Register.  
 
FCC to Invest $2 Billion More During Next Two Years   to Bring Broadband to Schools and Libraries 
On February 3, the FCC announced that it will invest an additional $2 billion over the next two years to support broadband networks in the nations' schools and libraries. This represents a doubling of investment in broadband and will connect 20 million students in at least 15,000 schools to high-speed Internet access.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said, "This investment is a down-payment on the goal of 99 percent of America's students having high-speed Internet connections within five years. As we consider long-term improvements to the program, we will take immediate steps to make existing funds go farther, significantly increasing our investment in high-speed Internet to help connect millions of students to the digital age."

Funding for new investments in high-speed Internet will come from reprioritizing existing E-Rate funds to focus on high-capacity Internet connectivity, increasing efficiency, and modernizing management of the E-Rate program. "We will take a business-like approach to the management of the program, identifying opportunities to improve the ways funds are deployed and streamlining the process for schools and libraries," Chairman Wheeler added. 
 
CPNI Filings Due March 1
The FCC's Enforcement Bureau last week reminded telecommunications carriers and interconnected VoIP providers of their obligation to file, by March 1, their annual reports certifying compliance with the Commission's rules protecting Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI). 
ON THE HILL
100+ Respond to #CommActUpdate White Paper 
The House Energy and Commerce Committee last week received more than 100 comments on its first white paper, "Modernizing the Communications Act" from associations, industry, companies, individuals, academics and more. To view COMPTEL's response, click here. All of the responses can be found on the committee website
IP PANEL
COMPTEL's Kronenberg to Speak on BroadbandUS.TV 
IP Transition Panel Thursday, February 13 
On February 13, COMPTEL Chief Advocate and General Counsel Angie Kronenberg will participate on a panel on BroadbandUS.TV about the IP Transition. This two-hour program, which runs from 1 p.m. -3 p.m. ET also will include a separate panel on Net Neutrality.  
 
Joining Kronenberg on the panel will be David Young, vice president of Verizon Federal Regulatory Affairs; Amina Falzullah, policy counsel for The Benton Foundation; and Richard Shockey, principal at Shockey Consulting.  To watch the live webcast, visit the BroadbandUS.TV website.
WEBINAR PROGRAM
COMPTEL Renews Partnership with PGi 
COMPTEL has renewed its partnership with PGi for the COMPTEL Webinar Program. PGI, which recently acquired Copper Services, enables COMPTEL members to host webinars with integrated audio; reporting; application, document and browser sharing; whiteboard capabilities; Outlook integration; polling; recording; chat; Q&A; meeting lock and security.

For more than 20 years, PGi has given people the tools to meet, collaborate and innovate. PGi designs their tools to make collaboration easier. For PGi, it's not only about the technology. It's about the people using the technology. PGi proudly serves over 40,000 enterprise customers worldwide and 75 percent of the Fortune 100™.

For more information about PGi, please e-mail Darren Suders or call 720-217-5961. 
COMMITTEE MEETINGS 
All COMPTEL Committee meetings are held at the Association's headquarters, 1200 G St NW, Suite 350, Washington, DC 20005, unless otherwise noted.  All times listed are Eastern. For more information, call 202-296-6650.

February 11    Regulatory/Legislative Committee Meeting
2 p.m.              Contact Karen Reidy

February 18    Regulatory/Legislative Committee Meeting 
2 p.m.              Contact Karen Reidy
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