The Regulatory Mix - Friday, July 29, 2016

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

           E-Rate

The FCC issued a Notice of Apparent Liability For Forfeiture against AT&T in the amount of $106,425 for charging two Florida school districts some of the highest telecommunications rates in the state, in apparent violation of federal law and the FCC’s “lowest corresponding price” rule.  (The lowest corresponding price rule prohibits E-rate service providers from charging participating schools and libraries more than the lowest price paid by other similarly situated customers for similar telecommunications services.)  In addition to the fine, the FCC plans to order AT&T to repay $63,760 it apparently improperly received from the Universal Service Fund as a subsidy for these services.

The FCC alleges that AT&T charged the school districts in Orange and Dixie counties prices for telephone service that were magnitudes higher than many other customers in Florida.  In addition, in each of these years AT&T certified its compliance with the E-rate program’s rules, apparently inaccurately. These certifications caused the Universal Service Fund to subsidize the school districts’ services at greatly inflated prices and allowed AT&T to receive at least $63,760 in federal support that it should not have received.  The investigation focused on two telephone services: non-Centrex Primary Rate Interface Integrated Services Digital Network (PRI) and business flat-rate multiline (MFB), which are both common enterprise landline telephone services.

The proposed forfeiture was based on: (1) a base forfeiture of $20,000 for each instance in which AT&T filed an inaccurate certification on a FCC Form 472 or FCC Form 473 in the 2014-2015 year that it complied with the rules of the E-rate Program, including the LCP Requirement; and (2) an upward adjustment of the base forfeiture equal to three times the overcharge amount received by the provider above the lowest corresponding price during the July 2014 to June 2015 timeframe.  

         Open Meeting

The FCC announced the agenda for its August 4, 2016, Open Meeting.  The following items will be considered:

1. A Report and Order that would convert the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution (NDBED)Program from a pilot to a permanent program.
2. A Report and Order that would implement changes to the scope of the wireless hearing aid compatibility rules.
3. An Order on Reconsideration, responding to a petition filed by Michael S. Hamden, that would ensure that the rates for Inmate Calling Services (ICS) are just, reasonable, and fair and explicitly account for facilities’ ICS-related costs. 

The FCC will also consider three consent items.

Canada

          CRTC

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission will review the Wireless Code of Conduct.  Canadians are invited to share their views.  The review will include a public hearing on February 6, 2017.  The Code, established in 2013, is intended to empower Canadians to make informed choices about their wireless services and establishes standards for industry behavior.  The Code addresses the clarity of contracts, ensures cancellation fees are clearly explained, and limits the risk of bill shock, among other things.  Click here for more details.