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 E-Rate
The FCC is seeking comment on two petitions requesting that it allow E-rate subsidized broadband networks to be accessed by students at home for educational purposes, without an obligation on the E-rate applicant to cost allocate the portion of the traffic attributable to off-campus use. The first petition, filed by Microsoft Corporation, Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation, Charlotte County Public Schools, Halifax County Public Schools, GCR Company, and Kinex Telecom, seeks clarification that if they use TV White Spaces (“TVWS”) technology to extend an eligible school’s E-rate-covered Internet access service to the homes of students in and around those schools for educational purposes, they do not have to cost allocate out of their requests for E-rate support the traffic that originates off-campus. In the alternative, they ask the FCC to waive its rules to permit them to implement a pilot project as described in the petition. The second petition, filed by Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law & Policy Clinic on behalf of Boulder Valley School District (Boulder Valley) and seeks a waiver of the cost allocation rule in order to allow students at neighboring housing authorities to get Internet access through Boulder Valley’s E-rate subsidized, self-provisioned fiber network after school hours, without Boulder Valley having to cost allocate for the amount of service attributable to off-campus use. Comments on both petitions are due November 3, 2016; reply comments are due December 5, 2016.
Alaska TRS (Telecommunications Relay Service)
The Regulatory Commission of Alaska will hold a workshop on October 4, 2016, to discuss potential revisions to the Alaska TRS. Issues to be addressed include: (1) possible statutory changes to expand the contribution base for the Alaska TRS surcharge to include wireless and VoIP service subscribers; (2) filling any TRS equipment gap needs; (3) impact of future broadband on TRS; and (3) potential for an Alaska TRS mobile device program.
Oregon OSS (Operations Support Systems)
The PUC authorized CenturyLink to proceed with its planned conversion of Qwest’s Access Service Operations Support Systems (OSS). The PUC found that the conversion will not result in deterioration in the company's OSS and performance levels. When the PUC approved CenturyLink’s merger with Qwest, it required the company to provide it with 90 days’ notice of its intention to cease making the legacy Qwest OSS system available to wholesale customers. The PUC also said that the cutover could not occur until it conducted an expedited investigative review and concluded that the post-merger OSS and performance levels will not deteriorate.
TMI Fall 2016 Telecom Regulatory Seminar & Workshop 10/18 - 10/19
