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 Alaska High Cost Support Plan
The FCC adopted an integrated plan to address both fixed and mobile voice and broadband service in high-cost areas of the state of Alaska. The plan is designed to maintain, extend, and upgrade broadband service across all areas of Alaska served by rate-of-return carriers and their wireless affiliates. If each of the Alaska carriers elects this option, the FCC expects it will bring broadband to as many as 111,302 fixed locations and 133,788 mobile consumers at the end of the 10-year term. The plan will provide a one-time opportunity for Alaskan rate-of-return carriers to elect to receive support frozen at adjusted 2011 levels for a 10-year term in exchange for meeting individualized performance obligations to offer voice and broadband services meeting the service obligations adopted in this Order at specified minimum speeds by five-year and 10-year service milestones to a specified number of locations. The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau was delegated authority to approve such plans if consistent with the public interest and in compliance with the requirements adopted in this Order. As a result of the Order, Alaska rate-of-return carriers have the option of receiving support pursuant to the new plan, electing to receive support calculated by A-CAM, or remaining on the reformed legacy rate-of-return support mechanisms. The Order contains a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on issues related to a process established in the order to identify overlaps in funding between ETCs in the same geographic area.
FTC Conference on Marketing and Consumer Protection
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the agenda and panelists for its Economic Conference on Marketing and Consumer Protection to be held on September 16, 2016. The goal of the conference is to promote an intellectual dialogue between marketing scholars and FTC economists. The conference will serve as a vehicle for marketing scholars to learn about the FTC’s practice in consumer protection, promoting potentially high impact research in the area of consumer protection and regulation, and introducing FTC economists to some of the cutting-edge research being conducted by marketing scholars. The conference will feature academic research paper sessions and a panel discussion between FTC economists and marketing scholars.
TMI Fall 2016 Telecom Regulatory Seminar & Workshop October 18 & 19 in Maitland, FL CLICK HERE
Technologies Management, Inc. is celebrating 30 great years.
