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 ICS Rates Stayed
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (Court) has stayed the FCC’s 2016 Inmate Calling Service (ICS) rate caps. The Court also ordered that the consolidated appeals of the FCC’s 2016 ICS rates be held in abeyance pending the Court’s disposition of the appeal of the FCC’s 2015 ICS rate caps. The new rates had been scheduled to go into effect December 12, 2016, for prisons and March 13, 2017, for jails. TMI Briefing Service subscribers see Briefing dated 11/3/16.
FCC Access Charge Forbearance Petition
The FCC is seeking comment on an AT&T Petition for Forbearance asking it to forbear from: (1) the tariffing of access charges for tandem switching and tandem-switched transport for all LECs, including intermediate LECs, on all calls to or from LECs engaged in access stimulation; and (2) its rules allowing LECs to assess per query es on toll-free calls. Comments or Oppositions to the Petition are due December 2, 2016; reply comments are due December 19, 2016. TMI Briefing Service subscribers see Briefing dated 11/2/16.
Connecticut Pole Attachments
The Public Utility Regulatory Authority is seeking written comments including, but not limited to addressing a recent agreement between Lightower Fiber Networks I, LLC, Lightower Fiber Networks II, LLC, Fiber Technologies Networks, L.L.C. and Frontier Communications of Connecticut regarding how they intend to process and authorize the overlashing of lawful attachments in the communications space in the future. Comments are due by November 16, 2016, and reply comments by November 23, 2016. [Docket No. 11-03-07]
CRTC 2016 Report
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced the release of its 2016 Communications Monitoring Report. The Report provides a detailed overview of the Canadian communication industry, as well as industry data and information, including emerging trends and issues. This year, the CRTC is releasing the report in two parts. The first part of the report shows how the viewing and listening habits of Canadians are transforming the broadcasting industry. Canada’s telecommunications industry consists of six sectors: local, long distance, Internet, wireless, data, and private line. The Report shows that the wireless market sector continues to be the largest single communications sector, capturing 36% of the $65.7 billion communications revenues in 2015.
