TOP OF THE NEWS
Bipartisan Speakers Talk about "Customers, Competition and the 1996 Telecom Act"
Last Wednesday, current and former Members of Congress, consumer advocates and CEOs from the nation's leading competitive broadband providers joined with customers to discuss the enduring benefits of competition forged in the landmark 1996 Telecom Act.
The event - "Customers, Competition and the 1996 Telecom Act" - was hosted by COMPTEL and The Broadband Coalition in the historic Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress, the original site of the signing of the 1996 Telecommunications Act.
Participants included:
Members of Congress
- Former Rep. Thomas J. Bliley, Jr. (R-VA)
- Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS)
- Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA)
- Former Rep. Chip Pickering (R-MS), CEO of COMPTEL
- Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR)
- Former Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ)
- Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT)
COMPTEL Members & Customers
- Christopher Ancell, CEO, XO Communications
- Auzzie Brown, Senior Vice President, WestStar Mortgage (XO customer)
- Jim Butman, Group President, TDS
- Tim Koxlien, CEO, Rural Health Telecom
- Michael Rouleau, Senior Vice President, Business Development, tw telecom inc.
- Oron Strauss, Chairman, Pantheon Software (tw telecom customer)
- Deb Ward, CEO, TSI
Special Guests
- Gene Kimmelman, President, Public Knowledge
- Michael Copps, former FCC Commissioner, Common Cause
Also during the event, the Broadband Coalition launched a new effort called Customers for Competition to highlight the needs of their business customers in the debate over the future of broadband networks. "The site will be building stories from all over the country, from customers who benefit from competition," said COMPTEL CEO Chip Pickering at the event. "There is a broad group of business, individuals and communities that believe in the same principles of competition." The Customers for Competition website will feature testimonials from dozens of customers that appreciate competitive providers, such as COMPTEL members TDS Metrocom, tw telecom, Windstream and XO Communication. COMPTEL members that have customer stories to share are encouraged to have them sign up on the Customers for Competition site.
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COMPTEL PLUS
Fall Golf Tournament Scheduled for October 5
at Bear Creek Golf Club in Dallas
Gain some extra networking time while having fun on the links and competing for prizes during the COMPTEL PLUS Fall 2014 Golf Tournament. The tournament is scheduled for 8 a.m. on Sunday, October 5, at Bear Creek Golf Club in Dallas.
The Bear Creek Golf Club, which features two courses designed by Ted Robinson, has hosted prestigious events, such as the PGA Tour Qualifiers, the Texas State Open, the AJA National Tournament, the PGA National Golf Series and the NTPGA Sectional Tournaments. Bear Creek offers a variety of hole designs in a beautiful and secluded setting, with excellent facilities to match. The club has received numerous accolades, including:
- "Best Place to Host a Corporate Event" - Avid Golfer Magazine
- "Top 50 Resort Courses" - Golf Digest
- "10 Great Places to Play Golf" - The Wall Street Journal
To participate in the tournament, you must be registered for the COMPTEL PLUS Fall 2014 Convention & EXPO. Golf registration is available on a first-come, first-served basis. In order to secure your tournament tee time, you must fill out the entire golf registration form, found on the COMPTEL PLUS website. Incomplete registration forms will not be considered. If you do not have a verifiable handicap, please compute an honest average handicap. Tournament management reserves the right to adjust non-verified handicaps in the interest of fairness and any adjustments made are final.
The entry fee for the tournament is $175 per person, and includes greens fees and cart, coffee and breakfast, lunch and prizes. Rental clubs are available for an additional fee.
The tournament will be a team scramble, with the lowest total winning. Prizes awarded include
- Closest to the Pin - Two Winners
- Men's Longest Drive
- Women's Longest Drive
Golf Sponsorships Interested in sponsoring the golf tournament? Please email Amy Smith or call 202-296-6650.
Register for COMPTEL PLUS Now and Save
Registration is now open for the COMPTEL PLUS Fall 2014 Convention & EXPO, which is taking place October 5-8 at the Gaylord Texan in Dallas. Take advantage of early bird savings of more than 25 percent off regular rates if you register before July 18.
Also, book your room at our host hotel, the Gaylord Texan, to ensure you can conveniently stay near all the action.
At COMPTEL PLUS, you have the opportunity to meet with the top decision makers in the communications industry, learn about new products and services being offered by our exhibitors, make valuable contacts that turn into contracts, and hear from our keynote speaker, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler.
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WEBINAR PROGRAM
Technologies Management Inc. Webinar on New 477 Filing Requirements Scheduled for Thursday
The changes to FCC Form 477 requirements are effective with the October 1, 2014, filing and will further expand the scope and complexity of related reports. Among the changes this year are reporting voice subscriber data by census tract instead of zip codes and broadband deployment information by census block, in addition to subscriber data by census tract.
Filing deployment data has become mandatory for all facilities-based broadband providers on a nationwide basis and can be a huge undertaking for many carriers as a result of FCC requirements. Because of these revised Form 477 filing requirements and data specifications, changes to the input and processing of broadband, local exchange and VoIP data needs to be addressed right away.
Join Technologies Management Inc. (TMI) on June 26 at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT for a webinar on "477 Filing Requirements." Hal Stringer Manager, IT Solutions for TMI, will share with attendees:
- An overview of what's changed;
- What you need to do, and do quickly, for:
- Filer Identification Additions;
- Fixed Broadband Subscription;
- Fixed Broadband Deployment;
- Local & VOIP Subscription;
- Recent information released from the FCC regarding the filing process.
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ON THE HILL
Sen. Leahy, Rep. Matsui Introduce Net Neutrality Bill
On June 17, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA), member of the House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee, introduced bicameral legislation to require the FCC to ban so-called "paid prioritization" agreements between a broadband provider and a content provider. The " Online Competition and Consumer Choice Act" ( S.2476, H.R. 4880) is designed to help prevent the creation of a two-tiered Internet system, ensuring start-ups and entrepreneurs have access to the marketplace and ensuring consumers can access all content equally.
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) are original cosponsors of the legislation.
AT&T, DirecTV Executives to Face Lawmakers On June 24, House and Senate lawmakers will hold hearings on the proposed merger of AT&T and DIRECTV. At 10:30 a.m. in 2141 Rayburn, AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson and DIRECTV Chairman and CEO Michael White will appear before the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law. Also on the panel of this hearing will be Ross J. Lieberman, senior vice president of Government Affairs for the American Cable Association (ACA), and John Bergmayer, senior staff attorney for Public Knowledge. Then at 2:30 p.m. the same day, in Dirksen 226, the AT&T, DIRECTV and ACA executives will be joined by Christopher Keyser, president of the Writers Guild of America West; Matthew F. Wood, policy director at Free Press; and Larry Downes, project director at the Georgetown University Center for Business and Public Policy will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee.
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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.
June 24 Regulatory/Legislative Committee Meeting
July 1 Regulatory/Legislative Committee Meeting
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