Today: FCC Seeks Comment in Implementing Nationwide Number Portability, Pennsylvania Reports Drop in Consumer Complaints, Texas PUC and Municipal Rights-of-Way (ROW) 

FCC Seeks Comment on Implementing Nationwide Number Portability

The Federal Communications Commission announced the deadline for filing comments and reply comments in its proceeding considering the implementation of nationwide number portability (NNP).  Comments are due December 27, 2017; reply comments are due January 26, 2018. TMI Briefing Service subscribers see Briefing dated 11/28/17

Pennsylvania Reports Drop in Consumer Complaints

The PUC released its Utility Consumer Activities Report and Evaluation (UCARE Report).  The Report shows a slight decrease in consumer complaints about utilities and a small increase in payment arrangement requests.  The majority of customers contacting the PUC’s Bureau of Consumer Services for assistance rated their experience as positive during 2016.  “The PUC is focused on ensuring that consumer issues are addressed in an effective manner, and this annual UCARE report is an important measure of the handling of consumer issues by utilities and the Commission,” said PUC Chairman Gladys M. Brown. 

The UCARE Report is an annual evaluation of the customer service performance of the state’s major jurisdictional electric, natural gas, water, wastewater and telephone companies.  Unsatisfactory service was the main reason for residential consumer complaints about the telephone industry (51%).  The top five reasons for consumer complaints (telephone utilities) are:

• Unsatisfactory Service - 51%
• Billing Disputes - 15% 
• Service Delivery - 11%
• Service Terminations - 3%
• Competition - 1%

Texas PUC Determines It Has No Authority to Address Various Municipal Rights-of-Way (ROW) Issues

The Public Utility Commission of Texas concluded that it does not have authority to address network providers’ access to municipal rights-of-way (ROW) for network nodes, node support poles, or transport facilities, as those terms are defined in Chapter 284 of the Texas Local Government Code.  Accordingly, it cannot set compensation for, or address complaints regarding a certificated telecommunications provider's (CTP's) access to municipal ROW if that CTP is also a network provider and the access is for network nodes, node-support poles, or transport facilities. 

Looking for more details regarding these Texas ROW developments? See the complete TMI Regulatory Briefing dated 12/1/17.

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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.