Davis Wright Tremaine LLP will host a free, half-day workshop on Wednesday, October 21, during the COMPTEL PLUS Fall 2015 Business Expo in San Francisco. The workshop - "The FCC's Open Internet Order: Key Issues for Carriers and ISPs" - will explore the order's impact on the telecommunications industry landscape, including providers' privacy and security-related responsibilities, as well as possible extension of universal service obligations to broadband providers. In addition, speakers will provide expert analysis on the pending legal challenges to the order.

"In February, the FCC's Open Internet Order (OIO) reclassified broadband Internet access service as a common carrier telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act. The FCC's controversial decision is now being appealed in a federal court," said Davis Wright Tremaine's Of Counsel Jim Smith. "During this workshop, we'll explain the impact of the OIO on telecommunications carriers, broadband Internet access providers and edge providers, outlining what each needs to know in terms of complying with and, perhaps, benefitting from these new rules."

The workshop will be comprised of three panels:

• Open Internet Order 101: Everything You Wanted to Know But were Afraid to Ask - Presenters Chris Savage and Danielle Frappier of Davis Wright Tremaine will provide an overview of the FCC's statutory interpretation in the OIO (Title II regulation, with forbearance) and regulatory/policy implementations (imposing certain specific bright-line rules and some general conduct standards, as well as substantial disclosure obligations). The presenters also will explain the implications of the FCC's reclassification of broadband Internet access services for universal service contribution obligations.
   
• Privacy and Security Under the Open Internet Order: New Requirements and Challenges for Telecom Carriers and Broadband Internet Access Providers and Implications for Edge Providers - A largely overlooked, but extremely important, regulatory change that the FCC introduced in enforcement actions last year and then formalized in the OIO concerns the Commission's authority to regulate and police the privacy and security practices of telecom carriers and Internet providers alike, beyond its prior customer proprietary network information (CPNI) rules. Presenters Jim Smith and Christin McMeley of Davis Wright Tremaine will talk about the FCC's new and expanded Section 222 interpretation and what providers must do to avoid potentially massive exposure to penalties for privacy, security and data breach violations.
   
• Reading the Tea Leaves: How Will the D.C. Circuit Decide the OIO Appeals? - Unsurprisingly for an order of its magnitude, the OIO has unleashed a torrent of litigation, including lawsuits (ultimately consolidated before the D.C. Circuit) from multiple petitioners, with more than 20 other parties lining up on both sides. Former FCC Deputy General Counsel Peter Karanjia and Markham Erickson, who is representing various intervenors in the litigation, will discuss how the Commission's new Title II framework for broadband may fare in the D.C. Circuit and whether a blockbuster telecom case before the Supreme Court is in the cards for 2016.

The FCC's Open Internet Order workshop will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., October 21 at the Marriott Marquis in San Francisco. The full agenda and confirmed speakers can be found in the COMPTEL PLUS agenda.

The workshop is free, but pre-registration is required. Register today at www.comptelplus.org.

Stay at the Official COMPTEL PLUS Hotel for Convenient Access
Book your hotel room at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, the official host hotel for COMPTEL PLUS. Make your reservation before September 23 to receive the COMPTEL preferred rate! 

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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.

2 p.m.               Contact Karen Reidy