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
Office of General Counsel New Notice of Litigation Rules
The FCC’s Office of General Counsel announced the effective date - July 25, 2016 - of the new FCC rule regarding notice of litigation by email and updates to the guidance for litigants seeking to invoke the judicial lottery procedure. Litigants appealing or petitioning for review of an FCC Order in federal court are required to provide the FCC notice of the litigation in certain circumstances and are encouraged to do so in other circumstances. Effective July 25, 2016, the FCC amended its Rule 1.13, 47 C.F.R. § 1.13, to allow and in certain circumstances require parties to give such notice by email to the address LitigationNotice@fcc.gov. The procedures that apply vary for each of three categories of litigant: those petitioning for review of a FCC Order and either do or do not wish to take advantage of the random selection procedures set out in 28 U.S.C. § 2112 and those appealing a FCC Order pursuant to 47 U.S.C. §402(b). Click here for details.
International Telecommunications Traffic
The FCC released the 2014 International Telecommunications Traffic and Revenue Data Report. The report provides information on telecommunications services between the United States and international points as of December 31, 2014. It includes data on VoIP service connected to the public switched telephone network between the United States and any foreign point. It also presents data on minutes of traffic completed and settlement payouts for call completion on foreign fixed networks and foreign mobile networks. It includes certain traffic and revenue data broken down by customer class, namely, residential and business customers. Click here for a list of “notable highlights.”
California
The PUC issued a DRAFT Decision that would approve a numbering plan area “boundary elimination overlay” for the 323 NPA with a 10-month implementation schedule. The PUC said a boundary elimination overlay will provide additional numbering resources to meet the demand for telephone numbers. The plan would also include a public education program (described in the DRAFT Decision). After the implementation period, the boundary between the existing 213 and 323 NPAs will be eliminated and the 213 and 323 NPAs would be assigned to the same geographic areas occupied by the existing 213 and 323 NPAs. TMI Briefing Service subscribers, watch for a TMI Briefing with details when the Decision is final.
Hawaii
The Governor has signed a bill that extends the provisions of a law signed in 2013. Act 193 (effective July 1, 2016) requires the State and the counties to take action within 60 days for broadband-related permit applications, requires the State to take action within 145 days for use applications for broadband facilities with the conservation district, establishes other requirements regarding broadband related permits, and subjects weight load for utility poles to capacities established by the FCC and PUC.
