The Regulatory Mix, TMI’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 a TMI Briefing.
FCC
Verizon/XO Merger
The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau said it was pausing its informal 180-day clock for review of Verizon Communications, Inc.’s planned acquisition of XO Communications LLC as of July 7, 2016, Day 86 of the review. The FCC will restart the clock once the applicants file responses to certain Information and Document requests that were due July 7, 2016. Both companies indicated that that they were attempting to respond but needed additional time to complete their production.
Business Data Services (BDS)
The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau agreed to extend the time for filing reply comments in response to the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the FCC’s Business Data Service proceeding. See TMI Blog posted 4/28/16 "FCC Acts on Business Data (fka Special Access) Services." TMI Briefing Service subscribers see Briefing dated 5/13/16. Reply comments are now due August 9, 2016. They had been due July 26, 2016. Given the voluminous record and the filing of the expanded INCOMPAS/Verizon BDS compromise, See the Regulatory Mix dated 6/28/16, the FCC agreed that a brief extension will allow parties to provide with more thorough reply comments that will facilitate the compilation of a complete record in this proceeding without causing undue delay to the FCC’s consideration of these issues.
Connecticut
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority is seeking comments on a request for a ruling on the regulating authority over “small cell wireless telecommunications facilities.” The Town of Greenwich asked for a ruling concerning a proposal to install a small cell wireless telecommunications facility on a utility pole within the ROW in Old Greenwich. In addition, the Authority received a request for a declaratory ruling (Cioffi Petition) concerning what local bodies, if any, have authority to control the placement of Cellco microwave antennas. The Authority requests written comments with supporting legal memoranda addressing these issues no later than August 15, 2016. [Docket No. 16-06-38]
