Today: US Senate FCC Oversight, LNP Transition Outreach, Notice of Copper Retirement
US Senate FCC Oversight
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announced it will convene a hearing on Wednesday, March 8, 2017 at 10:00 a.m., entitled, “Oversight of the Federal Communications Commission.” The hearing will have a broad scope covering every aspect of the agency and major policy issues before the Commission. All three Commissioners are expected to testify. U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Committee said that “Under Chairman Pai’s leadership, the FCC has the opportunity to chart a path away from heavy-handed intervention in competitive markets and work collaboratively with Congress to create a modern regulatory agency that better meets the needs of consumers. The FCC has already taken steps towards increased transparency under Chairman Pai and I would like to see that continue. At our hearing, committee members will have a forum to ask the commissioners about issues facing the FCC that impact Americans.”
FCC LNP Transition Outreach And Education Event
The FCC announced that the 13th LNPA Transition Outreach and Education Plan (TOEP) webcast will be held on February 15, 2017. The webcast will be hosted by Price Waterhouse Coopers, LLP, the Transition Oversight Manager (TOM). Interested parties may register for the webcast here. The objectives for the webcasts are: to provide transparent communications regarding the LNPA Transition; to serve as an open forum to gather and understand needs and concerns; and to incorporate feedback to improve future communications.
FCC Clarification Regarding Notice of Copper Retirement
The FCC has granted a petition filed by Verizon and clarified that it can meet its obligation to interconnecting entities and governmental authorities with copies of copper retirement notices by providing paper copies that contain, in lieu of a printed list of affected addresses, a hyperlink to a searchable online list of addresses or locations where copper is to be retired. This will not only reduce the amount of paper that needs to be provided but also will be more convenient to may recipients because it will be searchable. Verizon stated that as part of this approach it would “provide each interconnecting entity with additional correspondence further discussing any impact to their specific circuits/services and describing a timeline for migration” and committed it would “provide a hard copy [of affected addresses] to any interconnecting party or other recipient who so requests one.”
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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.
