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 Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS)
The FCC announced that it has deactivated the DIRS in all counties in Florida, Georgia, and Virginia and in all counties in South Carolina except Horry County. DIRS remains active in North Carolina. Last week the FCC activated the DIRS to receive information on the status of communications equipment in selected counties in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. See the Regulatory Mix dated 10/11/16. The counties where DIRS remains active are as follows: North Carolina: Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Hoke, Hyde, Johnston, Moore, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender, Robeson, Tyrrell, Wake ; South Carolina: Horry.
GAO Report on Broadband Usage
A recent Government Accountability Office report addresses the relationship between broadband use and the use of US Postal Service’s (USPS) (1) mail services, (2) package and shipping services, and (3) post offices, particularly in rural areas. While broadband use has in recent years been associated with reduced use of First-Class Mail, the report finds that continued declines as a result of broadband are uncertain. According to the report, broadband access to various Internet services, especially online bill paying, is associated with reduced use of transaction mail, a subset of First-Class Mail. GAO said its analysis of the USPS Household Diary Survey (HDS) data from 2007-2014 found that households using broadband to access Internet services tended to send less transaction mail than other households, controlling for age, income, and education. GAO also found that in recent years broadband use may not have had a statistically significant effect on correspondence mail, a subset of First-Class Mail that includes letters and greeting cards. Several experts and officials suggested that Internet privacy and security concerns, as well as many individuals having already changed postal habits in response to the Internet, are among the factors that could be contributing to a slowed rate of “electronic diversion” from mail.
With regard to rural areas, GAO’s analysis of HDS data suggested that rural households without broadband tended to send more transaction and correspondence mail than non-rural households without broadband in recent years. GAO said that E-commerce continues to have a strong effect on USPS package and shipping volumes. Its analysis of HDS data found that broadband use in the home was associated with sending and receiving more packages with USPS in recent years. This analysis also found that households in rural areas made greater use of package and shipping services. GAO said it is unclear what role broadband use has played in the reduction in post office visits in recent years. Its analysis of HDS data found no statistically significant relationship between broadband use and post office visits. Read the full report here.
