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.
The Regulatory Mix will not be published on Friday, July 1st or on Monday, July 4th.
FCC
NDBEDP
The FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau announced the 2016-2017 funding allocation for each state under the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP), also known as iCanConnect. At present, there are 53 entities certified by the FCC to participate in the NDBEDP - one entity to distribute communications equipment in each state, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Click here for a listing of the 2016-2017 funding allocations.
Enforcement Bureau Foreign Ownership Investigation
The FCC announced that Puerto Rico Telephone Company and its parent company, América Móvil of Mexico, will pay $1.1 million to resolve an investigation by the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau. The FCC found that the company has exceeded their approved foreign ownership three times in five years. As part of a settlement, the company agreed to adopt compliance plans to prevent future stock purchases that would exceed foreign ownership limits without first receiving the International Bureau’s review and approval.
“Foreign companies doing business in the United States and its territories must follow all federal rules, including those governing their ownership of American companies” said Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc. “The FCC ensures that foreign ownership in American telecommunications carriers is in the public interest, considering issues related to competition, national security, law enforcement, foreign policy, and trade policy. This is the largest fine for a violation of foreign ownership and control limits because of the Slim family’s repeated violations.”
Maine
The PUC opened an inquiry into removal of Provider of Last Resort service obligations. The Governor has signed legislation (Public Law Chapter 462) which removes FairPoint’s obligation to provide provider of last resort (POLR), or basic telephone service, in Portland, South Portland, Lewiston, Auburn, Bangor, Biddeford, and Sanford, at the end of August 2016. The PUC scheduled public meetings in these municipalities during the months of July and August to allow customers to obtain information about the upcoming changes to service.
Kansas
The Corporation Commission opened a docket on rural switched access charges and will consider adjusting intrastate switched access charges for rural telephone companies in compliance with state law and FCC reforms.
