Today:  California PUC Appeals Net Neutrality, FCC Seeks Comment on Accounting Rule Changes, FCC Eliminates Payphone Audit Requirements, Pai to Visit Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands 

California PUC Appeals Net Neutrality Order

In what is surely the first of many similar actions, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) of California has appealed the FCC’s Internet Freedom Order to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  The PUC is seeking review of the order on the grounds that it is “arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion within the meaning of the Administrative Procedure Act,” violated federal law including the US Constitution and the Communications Act of 1934 (Act), and FCC regulations.  The PUC is requesting the Court to “hold unlawful, vacate, enjoin, and set aside the Order.”  The case has been filed with the Ninth Circuit under Case No. 18-70510.

FCC Seeks Comment on Accounting Rule Changes

The FCC is seeking comment on harmonizing its jurisdictional separations rules to reflect its February 2017 action reducing accounting rules applicable to ILECs.    Among other things, the FCC is proposing to: (1) amend its Part 36 rules to remove all the provisions that deal with Class A accounts, because carriers are no longer required to keep such accounts; and (2) amend the rule concerning apportionment of general support facilities costs to allow former Class A carriers (carriers with revenue equal to or greater than $157 million for calendar year 2016) to select between these two procedures in apportioning their general support facilities costs.  It also seeks comment on the timing for making these rule changes.  Comments are due 30 days after publication in the Federal Register; replies are due 45 days after publication.  Inteserra Briefing Service subscribers see Briefing dated 3/6/17.

FCC Eliminates Payphone Audit Requirements

At its February Meeting, the FCC voted to eliminate the requirement that completing carriers file an annual report prepared by an independent third party auditor to verify their ongoing compliance with the FCC’s payphone call tracking system requirements.  The FCC found the rules were no longer necessary due to rise of mobile services which drastically reduced the number of payphones to fewer than 100,000 by the end of 2016 (from over 2.1 million in 1999). The FCC also noted that no complaints over improper compensation have been filed in recent years.  Inteserra Briefing Service subscribers, watch for a Briefing with full details.

Chairman Pai to Visit Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced he will visit Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands from March 7–10 to meet with local leaders and communications service providers and review the status of communications restoration efforts after the 2017 hurricane season.  He will be accompanied by members of the Commission’s Hurricane Recovery Task Force.  In connection with the trip Pai said: “The FCC remains committed to supporting recovery efforts and helping to restore, and in some cases rebuild, communications networks as quickly as possible. I  look forward to leading a team to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to get a firsthand assessment of the situation on the ground. It’s important to learn what has worked well and what could be done better—and to apply those lessons to future storms.”

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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s daily blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.

SAVE THE DATE! MAY 8 - 9, 2018 FOR INTESERRA TELECOM REGULAORY WORKSHOP.