Today:  Court Remands 911 Case, Chairman Pai's statement on Charter Broadband Investment, FCC Improvements to Video Relay Service, NANPA Projection for 5XX NPA

Court Remands 911 Case

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has reversed the judgment of a Tennessee district court and remanded the case for further proceedings.  The case stems from a disagreement over statutory interpretation of which lines should or should not have been billed the 911 surcharge.  Beginning in 2011, several TN Emergency Communications Districts sued BellSouth d/b/a AT&T Tennessee to recover tens of millions of dollars in 911 charges that they believe BellSouth should have billed, collected, and remitted.  BellSouth represented that their reports contained a listing of 911 charges which it billed and remitted.  The Court of Appeals ruling concluded that there is no evidence that the reports stated that BellSouth was collecting and remitting on lines which it was not.  The Districts had different interpretations of the proper approach to which lines to bill. 

FCC’s Pai Statement On Charter Broadband Investment

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai issued the following statement on today’s announcement by Charter Communications on broadband investment:

“The FCC’s top priority is making sure that any American who wants high-speed Internet access, or broadband, is able to get it. To do that, since January, we have been working to set rules of the road that encourage companies to build and upgrade broadband networks across the country. I’m pleased to see that our investment-friendly policies, along with the Administration’s overall regulatory approach, are already producing results. I applaud Charter Communications for its announcement today that it intends to spend $25 billion in broadband infrastructure and technology over the next four years. I am optimistic that this massive investment will help to close the digital divide and to strengthen our economy.”

FCC Improvements To Video Relay Service

At its March 23, 2017, Open Meeting the FCC adopted new rules intended to improve the quality and efficiency of video relay services.  Among other things, the new rules would: (1) authorize, on a trial basis, routing VRS calls that require the use of legal, medical, and computer support terminology to interpreters who have special skills; (2) authorize a pilot program for VRS calls to be handled from home-based work stations; and (3) make video phone numbers available to hearing people who know American Sign Language, so they can have direct-dialed video calls with deaf consumers.  A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes a four-year plan for VRS provider compensation rates, seeks comment on whether the TRS Fund should set aside amounts for research and development designed to improve VRS, and proposes a more efficient means of routing VRS and video calls. 

NANPA Projection for 5XX NPA

As of March 24, 2017, there were 343 5XX-NXXs available for assignment.  The 521 NPA will be used as the next 5XX NPA.  The 5XX-NXX resource is projected to exhaust in the second half of 2017.  5XX-NXX codes are used for applications which are non-geographic in nature, are not assigned to rate centers, and may or may not traverse the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), but do require an E.164 addressing scheme.  The 5XX NPA is used to communicate with both fixed and mobile devices, some of which may be unattended.  This resource may also be used for applications enabling machines, which would include but not be limited to wireless devices and appliances, with the ability to share information with back-office control and data base systems and the people that use them.  [NANPA Planning Letter 505]

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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.

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