NARUC Commissioners Expected to Discuss Federalism, Slamming Regulations at November Meeting
NARUC will discuss resolutions on federalism and slamming at its meeting next month, NARUC Telecom Committee Chairman John Burke told us last week. The full membership is expected to accept a draft of a white paper on federalism and telecommunications released in August (http://bit.ly/17d1bBZ), a discussion that started last November at NARUC’s annual meeting in Baltimore (CD Nov 14/12 p5). A resolution on slamming will be re-introduced in the telecom committee for debate, but it’s unclear whether the resolution will be voted on by the full membership at the meeting, Indiana Utility Regulatory Commissioner Larry Landis, who is re-introducing the legislation, told us. The slamming item was introduced at NARUC’s summer meeting in Denver, but it was tabled to November due to criticism (CD July 23 p19).
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The NARUC Federalism Task Force draft report focused on how states should interact with the FCC and industry. It urged the FCC to determine the regulatory status of VoIP and other Internet Protocol-enabled services, but it said states should maintain the primary responsibility for end-user consumer protection and ensuring service reliability and quality. Burke, a Vermont Public Service Board commissioner, compared the report to a stool. “A stool needs to have three legs to stand upright, and for federal, state and industry to all get what they deserve,” he told us. When the resolution is released next week, it will include “minor changes” requested by a few stakeholders, said Burke. The report and the forthcoming resolution are based on principles important to all states, Florida Public Service Commission Chairman Ronald Brise told us. “Our conversation focused on the changing protocol while ensuring baseline questions are answered for all states,” said Brise. “State principles must be considered."
Brise’s panel on the Internet ecosystem on Nov. 18 will focus on how Florida has deregulated most of its telecom with the exception of its Lifeline requirements and interconnection arbitration, he said. Although panelists haven’t been announced, Brise said he wants to get different perspectives from a legislator, a state commissioner, an industry representative and a representative from a consumer agency or entity. The state overhauled its telecom structure between 2005 and 2008, and the latest change to the structure was in 2011 when consumer complaints were moved to the Florida Department of Agriculture, said Brise. The commissioner’s panel will focus on lessons learned, how the system is working today, and what things could have been done differently, said Brise. The state is in a different situation from some others because of its geography, he said. “We don’t have rural issues in our state because our infrastructure is equidistant, and wireless can be a real competitor in our state because it can be used anywhere,” said Brise.
Burke will also have a panel on the effectiveness of satellite broadband in relation to the National Broadband Plan on Nov. 18 at his last annual meeting as chair of the Telecom Committee. Montana Public Service Commissioner Travis Kavulla and representatives from NCTA, EchoStar and technology services company Vantage Point Solutions are expected to round out the panel. “Satellite broadband is not the same as landlines,” said Burke. “High speed connections need to be ubiquitous to include everyone or it will not be effective.” Surcharges may be needed to get all Americans connected to the Internet, like the government implemented for wireline phones and highway construction, said Burke. “The states may need to figure this out for themselves if they really want to get a high-speed network,” he said.
The slamming resolution will be the focus of two panels Nov. 17 during the telecom committee session on cramming and porting, said Burke. Landis said NARUC will reissue the draft resolution released at the July meeting, but only parts of it will still be relevant four months later. “The FCC has not been very comprehensive about addressing the issue of VoIP, and it’s not like you can flip a switch,” said Landis. “We are already in the process of transition from TDM to IP.” Landis said he hopes the commissioners will discuss intermodal porting of numbers and “fat fingering.” “We need to look into situations that could happen of an accidental nature,” he said. Since the November annual meeting tends to focus on issues related to electing new officers, Landis said the resolution may not come up for a full vote by the commissioners, but it will raise more discussion about the issues related to slamming going forward. (sfriedman@warren-news.com)