Today:  FCC Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, Texas Slamming and Cramming Fine, and Vermont VoIP Hearing.

FCC Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced the formation of a new federal advisory committee to explore ways to accelerate deployment of high-speed Internet access nationwide and to close the digital divide.  According to the News Release, the Committee will focus on developing specific recommendations on how the FCC can encourage broadband deployment across America.  One of the Committee’s first tasks will be drafting a model code covering local franchising, zoning, permitting, and rights-of-way regulations.  Other issues to be tackled by the Committee include further reforms to the FCC’s pole attachment rules; identifying unreasonable regulatory barriers to broadband deployment; ways to encourage local governments to adopt deployment-friendly policies; and other reforms within the scope of the Commission’s authority.  Nominees for the newly formed Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee will be drawn from a diverse set of stakeholders.  Representatives of consumers and community groups, the communications industry, and federal, state, local, and Tribal officials are encouraged to apply.  Individuals or organizations interested in serving on the Committee should visit www.fcc.gov/broadband-deployment-advisory-committee for more information.  Nominations must be submitted by February 15, 2017; the FCC hopes to have the first meeting this spring.  The Committee is intended to help the FCC make good on Chairman Pai’s Digital Empowerment Agenda.

Texas Slamming and Cramming Fine

The PUC fined GPSPS, Inc. $1,115,000 for 215 slamming violations and 8 cramming violations. Specifically, the PUC found that GPSPS failed to obtain authorization before switching 215 customer’s telecommunications provider and placed eight charges on customer phone bills without obtaining the required authorization.  As allowed by law, the PUC imposed an administrative penalty of $5,000 for each of the 223 violations.  Among other things, PUC Staff found that the third-party verification (TPV) audio recordings used to validate the authenticity of a customer's request were not, in fact, authentic recordings of the customers in question. 

Vermont VoIP Hearing

The Public Service Board will hold an Oral Argument in PSB Docket No. 7316 – Investigation Into Regulation Of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Services – on February 16, 2017.  See the Regulatory Mix dated 1/3/17.  In December 2016, the Board granted an extension of time to January 20, 2017, +to file comments on the proposed Decision resolving the question remanded to it by the Supreme Court in which the Board concludes that under federal law, interconnected VoIP service is a telecommunications service not an information service.

 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.