Selected portions of the BloostonLaw Telecom Update, and/or the BloostonLaw Private Users Update — newsletters from the Law Offices of Blooston, Mordkofsky, Dickens, Duffy & Prendergast, LLP are reproduced in this section with the firm's permission. 
| BloostonLaw Telecom Update | Vol. 16, No. 14 | April 24, 2013 |
Headlines FCC Releases VoIP Numbering Access Proposal, Grants Waiver to Vonage and TCS On April 18, 2013, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Order, and Notice of Inquiry on direct access to telephone numbering resources. Specifically, the NPRM seeks comment on allowing direct access by Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers; the Order provides for a "limited technical trial" of direct access to numbers for specific interconnected VoIP providers; and the NOI requests comment on various long-term issues related to direct access by VoIP providers and others. First, the FCC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on allowing interconnected VoIP providers to obtain telephone numbers directly from the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) and the Pooling Administrator (PA), subject to certain requirements, such as compliance with the number utilization and optimization requirements and industry guidelines and practices that apply to carriers. The NPRM also seeks comment on the documentation that should be required to obtain numbers, the enforcement of VoIP compliance with numbering rules, as well as issues related to databases, call routing, termination, intercarrier compensation, interconnection, local number portability, and more. The NPRM also seeks comment on approaches to expand numbering accessibility for other types of providers and uses, including telematics and public safety, and the potential benefits and number exhaust risks of granting providers other than interconnected VoIP providers direct access to numbers. Second, the FCC's Order provides Vonage a limited, conditional waiver to obtain a small pool of telephone numbers directly from the NANPA and/or the PA for use in providing interconnected VoIP services for a period of six months. Participants in the "trial" will be required to file regular reports throughout and at the end, and state commissions and other interested parties will have an opportunity to comment on these reports. Participants will also be required to comply with the Commission's number utilization and optimization requirements and industry guidelines and practices; maintain 65 percent number utilization; offer IP interconnection to other carriers and providers; work to ensure that carrier partners comply with applicable law; provide the relevant State commission with regulatory and numbering contacts; consolidate and report all numbers under its own unique Operating Company Number; provide customers with the ability to access all N11 numbers in use in a State; and maintain the original rate center designation of all numbers in its inventory. According to the FCC, the purpose of this waiver is to, "test whether giving interconnected VoIP providers direct access to numbers will raise issues relating to number exhaust, number porting, VoIP interconnection, or intercarrier compensation, and if so, how those issues may be efficiently addressed." The Order also grants a waiver to TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS) for direct access to pseudo Automatic Number Identification (pANI) codes for the purpose of providing 911 and Enhanced 911 (E911)service. According to the FCC the waiver should allow TCS, which provides VoIP Positioning Center service, to better ensure that emergency calls are properly routed to trained responders at public safety answering points (PSAPs). Third, in the Notice of Inquiry seeks comment on issues regarding the long-term approach to numbering resources, such as the relationship between numbers and geography (i.e., the diminishing relationship, as consumers increasingly port their numbers to mobile services). BloostonLaw is considering filing comments based on concerns about number exhaustion and preservation issues, and how they may affect the rural telco industry. We welcome our clients' input. Comments on the NPRM and the NOI are both due 30 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register, and reply comments are due 60 days after that date.
Law & Regulation FCC Provides Further Details of the 600 MHz Band Plan Workshop As our clients may recall, spectrum that is relinquished and made available for flexible use, as a result of the FCC's broadcast TV incentive auction, will allow for the creation of a "600 MHz Band Plan." The proposed band plan contains several features including auctioning "generic" blocks rather than specific frequency blocks; licensing in 5 MHz "building blocks;" offering blocks specifically for uplink and downlink operations; establishing guard bands for unlicensed operation; prioritizing paired blocks wherever possible; and offering supplemental downlink spectrum when paired blocks are not possible. However, where and how to configure the uplink and downlink blocks is still a matter of controversy, as are other issues. These matters will be aired and debated in a workshop to be held at the FCC's offices in Washington, DC on May 3, 2013, from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM. There, a panel of FCC experts will lead a roundtable discussion with various stakeholders to try to iron out various issues, including mobile antennas, high power services and intermodulation, harmonics interference, co-channel interference, pass band filtering and permitted duplexing. The forum is open to the public and attendees are encouraged to pre-register. The workshop may also be viewed online at http://www.fcc.gov/live . For more information about the incentive auction, visit http://www.fcc.gov/learn .
House of Representatives to Hold Hearing on Effectiveness of Lifeline On April 18, 2013, the House of Representatives announced that the Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology has scheduled a hearing on Thursday, April 25, 2013, at 10:30 a.m., entitled " The Lifeline Fund: Money Well Spent? " The hearing comes amid press reports of continuing widespread abuse of the Lifeline program. According to Foxbusiness.com, a recent Federal review showed that 41% of their more than six million Lifeline subscribers either couldn't prove their eligibility or didn't respond to confirmation requests. The thrust of the discussion, according to the hearing background memo , should include not only the FCC's recent Lifeline reform efforts, but also recent proposals by Senator Coburn to require co-payments by eligible low-income subscribers and by Senators McCaskill and Vitteror to eliminate the program entirely. Witnesses for the hearing include: Geoff Feiss, General Manager of Montana Telecommunications Association; Jessica Gonzalez, Vice President of Policy and Legal Affairs of the National Hispanic Media Coalition; Billy Jack Gregg, of Billy Jack Gregg Universal Consulting; Christopher Guttman-McCabe, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for CTIA—The Wireless Association; Phillip B. Jones, Chairman of the Board and President of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners; and the FCC's own Julie Veach, Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau.
Industry FCC Issues Tentative Agenda For May Open Meeting The following items will be on the tentative agenda for the next open meeting, scheduled for Thursday, May 9, 2013: Expanding Broadband Access for Passengers on Planes: The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking to improve consumer access to broadband aboard aircraft and encourage innovation through establishment of an Air-Ground Mobile Broadband service in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band, while ensuring that existing users are protected from interference. Promoting Commercial Space Operations: The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry to ease access to spectrum for commercial space operators and enable increased federal government use of commercial satellite services, and seek comment on streamlining processes, eliminating unnecessary burdens, and identifying future communication and spectrum needs of the commercial space sector. The Open Meeting is scheduled to commence at 10:30 a.m. in the Commission meeting room, TW-C305, at 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. The event will be streamed live at http://www.fcc.gov/live .
Calendar At-A-Glance Apr. 26 — Paperwork Reduction Act comments due on FCC Form 481 (Annual ETC Report).
Apr. 29 — State Commissions can begin submitting shapefiles on behalf of ILECs.
Apr. 29 — ILECs may begin submitting shapefiles on their own behalf.
Apr. 29 — Comments on Health Care Connect Fund Forms 460, 461, 462 and 463 are due.
Apr. 30 — Auction 95 Short Form applications are due.
May 1 — FCC Form 499-Q, Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet is due.
May 8 — Electronic filing deadline for Form 497 for carriers seeking support for the preceding month and wishing to receive reimbursement by month's end.
May 9 — Short Form Application to Participate in Auction 95 (Lower and Upper Paging Bands Spectrum) is due.
May 10 — Comments on Tribal Mobility Fund Phase 1 Auction Scheduled for October 24, 2013 are due.
May 10 — Comments on US Telecom Petition for Reconsideration/Clarification of 54.313 Reporting Requirements are due.
May 13 — Comments on Options for Disposition of UHF T-Band (470-512 MHz) are due.
May 13 — Reply Comments on Health Care Connect Fund Forms 460, 461, 462 and 463 are due.
May 13 — Comments on 911 Reliability Rulemaking are due.
May 13 — Comments on Rural Call Completion are due.
May 23 — Final deadline for ILECs to have shapefiles submitted and certified.
May 24 — Reply Comments on Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I Auction are due.
May 28 — Reply Comments on US Telecom Petition for Reconsideration/Clarification of 54.313 Reporting Requirements are due.
May 28 — Reply Comments on 911 Reliability Rulemaking are due.
May 28 — Reply Comments on Rural Call Completion are due.
May 31 — FCC Form 395, Employment Report, is due.
May 31 — Reply Comments on Petition filed by a group of competitive carriers asking the FCC to Reverse Forbearance for Special Access are due.
June 8 — Electronic filing deadline for Form 497 for carriers seeking support for the preceding month and wishing to receive reimbursement by month's end.
June 11 — Reply Comments on Options for Disposition of UHF T-Band (470-512 MHz) are due.
June 28 — Deadline for State Commissions to submit and certify the data included in shapefiles.
Jul. 1 — Annual High Cost ETC Report Due under Rule 54.313. |
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