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Vol. 11, No. 21
June 1, 2015
IN THIS ISSUE
LIFELINE REFORM
COMPTEL PLUS
AT THE FCC
COMPETITORS' RECEPTION
COMMITTEE MEETINGS
MEMBER NEWS











For more information about submitting member company news, please contact Gail Norris.
FCC DEADLINES

June 4


June 11 

June 15

July 1
July 22
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TOP OF THE NEWS 
FCC to Focus on Lifeline Reform, Robocalls and Numbering for VoIP Providers at June 18 Open Meeting 
Last week, the FCC announced the tentative agenda for its June 18 open meeting, at which it will address lifeline reform and its plan to protect consumers against unwanted robocalls.  

In order to comprehensively restructure and modernize the Lifeline program to efficiently and effectively connect low-income Americans to broadband, strengthen program oversight and administration, and take additional measures to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, the FCC will consider a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Order on Reconsideration, Second Report and Order, and Memorandum Opinion and Order. The Chairman is proposing a fundamental "reboot" of the Lifeline program to bring it into the 21st Century. For 30 years, Lifeline has helped tens of millions of Americans afford basic phone service. But as communications technologies and markets evolve, the Lifeline program also has to evolve to remain relevant and to make sure it is still performing the critical function for which it was formed.

The Chairman's lifeline proposal would:
  • Move broadband into the program as a supported service for the first time.
  • Establish minimum service standards for all Lifeline services, ensuring subscribers are getting a quality service and ratepayers are getting good value.
  • Build on the Commission's landmark 2012 reforms to continue to ensure the program is efficient and effective.

The FCC also will consider a Declaratory Ruling and Order reaffirming the Telephone Consumer Protection Act's (TCPA) protections against unwanted robocalls, encouraging pro-consumer uses of robocall technology, and responding to a number of requests for clarity from businesses and other callers. Last Wednesday, Chairman Wheeler circulated a proposal that addresses two dozen petitions that sought clarity on how the Commission enforces the TCPA.


Specifically, the item would:

  • Empower consumers to revoke, in any reasonable way, their consent to be called.
  • Ensure robocallers cannot skirt consumer consent requirements through changes in calling technology design or by calling from a list of numbers.
  • Strictly limit allowable calls to phone numbers that have been assigned to a different owner than the one that gave consent to the caller.
  • Allow carriers to offer robocall-blocking technology.

The third item on the tentative agenda is consideration of a Report and Order that will facilitate innovative technologies and services by establishing a process to authorize interconnected VoIP providers to obtain telephone numbers directly from the numbering administrators, rather than through intermediaries.


The Open Meeting will begin at 10:30 a.m. at FCC headquarters in Washington, D.C. The meeting also will be shown live at FCC.gov/live.
COMPTEL PLUS
June 19 is the Deadline for Submitting Session Proposals for COMPTEL PLUS Fall 2015 Business Expo
COMPTEL is now accepting session proposals for the COMPTEL PLUS Fall Business EXPO 2015, which will take place October 18-21 in San Francisco. We're looking for session proposals that encourage interactive discussions about current and future trends on topics. Visit our website to see suggested topics.

Session proposals are due Friday, June 19, 2015, and must be submitted online. For more information, visit the COMPTEL PLUS website. If you have questions, email Chris Ballman or Tara Smith.

Register Early for COMPTEL PLUS and Save
Early bird registration for the COMPTEL PLUS Fall Business Expo 2015, October 18-21 in San Francisco, is now open. Register before July 17 and take advantage of significant savings on full conference and networking passes.

With the full conference pass, you'll gain access to all COMPTEL PLUS has to offer, including admittance to keynote addresses, educational tracks, the expo, meeting rooms, COMPTEL PLUS Deal Center, networking receptions and other events, as well as conference materials. The networking pass is designed for attendees who are interested only in the expo and networking events.

While you're registering, you also can make your hotel reservations at our host hotel - the San Francisco Marriott Marquis.
AT THE FCC
COMPTEL Ex Parte Elaborates on FCC Jurisdiction to Address Special Construction Practices  
On May 27, COMPTEL filed an ex parte letter, in which it further elaborates on the FCC's jurisdiction to address ILEC special construction practices for Ethernet services. The letter also discussed recurring issues that necessitate a near-term Commission response, which could occur through an enforcement advisory, declaratory ruling or new rule. To address unjustified, competition-impeding special construction practices, the letter urged the FCC to adopt COMPTEL's proposed policy principles regarding the application of special construction charges to reaffirm the basic law regarding special construction and ensure ILEC compliance with Sections 201 and 202.

Under COMPTEL's principles, ILECs could and should be able to continue to impose justified special construction charges. In particular, where a CLEC is ordering TDM- based or packet-based special access services, an ILEC would be permitted to impose special construction charges for network build-out where both of the following two conditions are met:
  • Existing ILEC facilities, even with routine maintenance and conditioning, do not have capacity available at or above the level requested by the CLEC.
  • The ILEC's special construction charges do not address costs of network delivery infrastructure that the ILEC will use for its own operations.
To ensure special construction charges do not cause significant delay in deployment of competitive services to customers, COMPTEL recommended that where these two conditions are met, the ILEC should be required to respond to the CLEC's request within five days with an explanation of the basis for its conclusions that special construction is needed (consistent with its tariff) and a detailed cost estimate for the special construction. Furthermore, the ILEC must agree to a reasonable number of audits per year to ensure that its no-use certifications remain valid.
COMPETITORS' RECEPTION
COMPTEL Seeks Sponsors for Competitors' Reception 
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) will host its Summer Committee Meetings July 12-15 at the New York Marriott Marquis. COMPTEL is planning to host a Competitors' Reception at New York Marriott Marquis on Saturday, July 11. Please note that the Competitors' Reception is not sponsored by NARUC nor is it a part of the Annual Meeting agenda.

If your company would like to sponsor, or you have questions, please email Karen Reidy or call 202-296-6650.
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 2             Regulatory/Legislative Committee Meeting
2 p.m.              Contact Karen Reidy

June 9             Regulatory/Legislative Committee Meeting 
2 p.m.              Contact Karen Reidy
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