At our deadline, the House was expected to endorse a rule allowing a net neutrality amendment to the House video bill (HR-5252), which in turn was set for vote later Thurs. The amendment, by Rep. Markey (D-Mass.), would subject network operators to anti-bias rules and provide for expedited complaint review. It’s among 8 amendments the Rules Committee decided to accept late Wed. after a hearing on about 25 proposed changes to the bill.
Prospects are good for passage of a telecom bill the President can sign this Congress, House Telecom Subcommittee Chmn. Upton (R-Mich.) told a Tues. National Journal breakfast. “Their bill is not all that far away from ours,” Upton said, referring to a Senate telecom bill introduced Mon. (WID May 2 p3). That bill, especially its franchise provision, offers a “hook” to get something into conference where the 2 can be reconciled, Upton said.
Prospects are good for passage of a telecom bill the President can sign this Congress, House Telecom Subcommittee Chmn. Upton (R-Mich.) told a Tues. National Journal breakfast. “Their bill is not all that far away from ours,” Upton said, referring to a Senate telecom bill introduced Mon. (CD May 2 p1). That bill, especially its franchise provision, offers a “hook” to get something into conference where the 2 can be reconciled, Upton said.
The FCC shouldn’t apply new universal service definitions to rural telcos’ operations as a result of a proceeding involving the Bells and other “non-rural” telcos, rural telcos said. The issue came up in response to an FCC request for comments on how to respond to a remand by the 10th U.S. Appeals Court, Denver, in Qwest v. FCC. The court had questioned definitions the FCC planned to use to decide if the larger firms qualified for high-cost universal service support in some areas. The debate centers on how the FCC defines Telecom Act requirements that universal service support be “sufficient” and “reasonably comparable.”
The Universal Service Fund (USF) should be tied to all forms of communication, Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) said Tues. at a hearing on the fund’s contribution rules. “This technology is changing so fast” a law is needed that can work for some time, Stevens said. It doesn’t make sense for Congress to rewrite complex rules and then have to change them again because of technology changes. He said the Committee is determined to get a fair set of principles on “who pays in and who pays out” and to eradicate abuses in the program.
The FCC is using a “hoax” argument that the Universal Service Fund (USF) contribution process is broken to justify fee hikes, a citizen group charged Fri. The USF contribution formula “requires at most minor adjustments that can be accomplished without hefty increases in federal phone fees,” the Keep USF Fair Coalition said. The group opposes FCC Chmn. Martin’s proposal to move from a long distance revenue- based system to one based on how many telephone numbers a carrier serves, claiming it would penalize low-volume long distance callers. At a news event set for today (Mon.), the group will discuss “the phony USF funding crisis.” A Tues. Senate hearing will address USF contribution methodology. Progress & Freedom Foundation Pres. Ray Gifford said the coalition’s view “is contrary to established fact.” The long distance industry, which is the basis for the current contributions system, “is in decline and it makes no sense as a funding vehicle for universal service in the age of VoIP technology.” A PFF working group has endorsed per-line fees.
CTIA officials are promoting a new proposal for USF reform that combines the “numbers-based” approach to collections promoted by Chmn. Martin with a capacity-based assessment for large users. CTIA began circulating its version of USF reform the past few weeks, a spokesman said. CTIA Pres. Steve Largent highlighted the USF proposal Mon. during a lunch with reporters, calling it one of the Assn.’s top priorities.
FCC Comr. Adelstein has “long supported a revenue approach” for raising money for the Universal Service Fund “because it’s easier to administer,” he told OPASTCO members Wed. at their winter meeting in Maui. That doesn’t mean he would reject proposals to move away from revenue, he told them. “I'm open to exploring all alternatives; I don’t reject any of these” proposals for reforming the USF contributions system, but none of them is “a panacea,” he said. The FCC is considering changing the way carriers contribute to the USF because of concern the current revenue-based approach no longer works due to changes in industry technology. Adelstein told the group universal service reform is one of the top 3 issues before the FCC this year. Others are intercarrier compensation and IP-based services -- and all 3 are interrelated. “I don’t know if we ever had such a big nut to crack” at the FCC, he said: “Each one of those 3 proceedings is a huge challenge and complicated on its own” and all have to be done in concert. During a Q-&-A session after Adelstein’s speech, rural telecom executives emphasized their concern about phantom traffic. Phantom traffic needs to be dealt with before the FCC takes on USF reform because “the basics need to be handled first,” said a telecom official from Minn. Adelstein said he agreed there was “a good argument for doing it first.” He told the group that “some people, I think, prefer to have this [issue] out there as a driver” to force consensus among supporters of various proposals. However, phantom traffic “may be harder” to fix if regulators wait, he said. In answer to another question, Adelstein said FCC rules require video content providers to offer nondiscriminatory access to their content at reasonable rates but the rules are limited. It’s “contrary to the intent” of the rules for companies to use their “vast hold on the market” to impede access to content, he said. One audience member asked if it made sense for rural carriers to keep “pouring” money into networks while intercarrier compensation and USF reform remained pending. Adelstein told him the FCC, and the Senate Commerce Committee, strongly support USF. “We can’t afford to let these networks go. They are critical to future economic competitiveness.”
FCC Chmn. Martin made it clear he still backs a numbers-based approach to reforming the way companies contribute to the Universal Service Fund (USF), despite concerns about that method’s effect on low-volume telephone users. User groups have said a phone number- based approach would hike USF fees carriers pass on to customers.
Universal service fund (USF) support would be used for broadband deployment, under a discussion draft released Thurs. of a bill by Reps. Terry (R-Neb.) and Boucher (D-Va.). The bill would expand the USF base by requiring payments into the fund by service providers that use telephone numbers or IP addresses or sell network connections. “To change USF, I believe that all who play must pay,” said Terry. He called the draft a vehicle for reform that would remedy “inequities that exist today.” Boucher said he’s seeking comments on the draft by Dec. 23 and plans to introduce a bill next year.