Telecom Law Monitor : Washington D.C. Telecom Lawyer & Attorney : Kelley Drye & Warren Law Firm : New York, Chicago, Connecticut, New Jersey, Brussels

For the past few years, telecommunications carriers and interconnected VoIP providers have been required to file annual certifications of CPNI compliance in WCB docket 06-36.  These certifications are due by March 1 each year -- and this year is no exception.  Failure to file a certification has led to significant proposed fines from the FCC.  Proposed fines have been issued at $100,000,  $20,000 or $25,000, depending upon when the FCC issued the order.   We would not bet on this year's $25,000 standard fine being reduced this year, what with the deficit to contend with and all.  And, although the FCC recently settled some CPNI-related actions for as little as $250, the agency could impose a fine as high as $150,000 which can translate into a fine of $1.5 million under the FCC's "continuing violation" method of jacking-up fines. 

Earlier today, the FCC released an "Enforcement Advisory" reminding its subjects of the filing requirement and its intention to "strictly" enforce the rules (or to at least go after those who don't file or fail to file properly).   The Advisory should soon be available here (it wasn't at the time of our post)

Notably, the FCC is making available a new web application for filing this year's CPNI certifications.  Filers can still use the FCC's electronic comment filing system or paper filing process, if they prefer one of those methods.  The new app interface is available here. 

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The following FCC forms are due on or before February 1, 2011:

Form 499-Q Quarterly Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet

Carriers required to contribute to universal service support mechanisms must report their actual and projected end user and wholesale revenues for each calendar quarter by Filing Form 499Q on a quarterly basis. The Form 499-Q filing reporting historical revenue for October 1 through December 31 of 2010 and projected revenues for April 1 through June 30 of 2011 is due to USAC by February 1, 2011.

Note: Revisions to this Form 499-Q filing must be filed within 45 days of the February 1, 2011 filing due date.

Form 502: North American Numbering Plan Numbering Resource Utilization/Forecast Report

Carriers that receive numbers from the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (“NANPA”), pooling administrator or other carriers must file the Form 502 to report numbering usage and forecast future numbering resource needs. Reports for the six month period ending December 31, 2010 are due to the NANPA by February 1, 2011. 

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With intercarrier compensation reform once again on the front burner at the FCC (see our January 19 post), Verizon appears to be sending a strong signal about the direction it wants rates to go. On January 18, 2011, Bandwidth.com announced that it reached an agreement with Verizon to exchange all traffic originating from or terminating to a VoIP end user at $0.0007/mou. Bandwidth.com’s press release announcing the “commercial agreement” can be found here. Carriers seeking to reduce access charges or to avoid them altogether for VoIP traffic will surely point to this agreement as “marketplace” evidence in support of these positions.

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Last month, the FTC issued an “Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” seeking comments on whether and how to strengthen the Caller ID provisions of its Telemarketing Sales Rule. The Rule presently requires telemarketers to provide Caller ID information to allow consumers to screen out unwanted calls. The FTC seeks comments on how to make Caller ID more useful to consumers and combat technologies that hide telemarketers’ identities. Currently, the Caller ID regulations give telemarketers flexibility in determining what telephone numbers to transmit, and in determining whether the name of the telemarketer, or the name of the seller or charity, is displayed on Caller ID services.

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In a controversial move, yesterday Verizon filed an appeal of the FCC's Net Neutrality Order adopted December 21.  Verizon sought review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit -- and asked the same panel that decided the Comcast case to hear the appeal.

Verizon's appeal is controversial because it was filed before the FCC has published notice of the Net Neutrality Order in the Federal Register.  Appeals taken under the more common review provision -- section 402(a) of the Communications Act -- may not be filed prior to Federal Register publication, and the courts will conduct a lottery among all courts where appeals were filed within the first 10 days to determine which circuit will hear the case.  Verizon's move is an attempt to force review in the D.C. Circuit, where the Comcast decision also was considered.

Verizon's petition for review is available here.  Verizon's appeal relies upon section 402(b) of the Communications Act, asserting that the Net Neutrality Order modified Verizon's wireless licenses and thus that 402(b) applies.  Verizon's motion for consideration of the appeal by the Comcast panel is available here.

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As expected, late yesterday, the FCC announced that it would again attempt to tackle its "holy grail" of regulatory action:  reforming carrier-to-carrier compensation mechanisms and the high-cost program of the Universal Service Fund.  The FCC has placed a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking addressing both intercarrier compensation and USF reform on its agenda for February 8.  The combined NPRM furthers the National Broadband Plan's promise to refocus FCC policy to supporting broadband networks.

These two topics are at the core of what we cover in this blog.  The complicated mix of carrier-to-carrier compensation mechanisms, which make how a call is classified critical to determining its cost, has engendered significant litigation involving such issues as VoIP, prepaid calling cards, access charges, reciprocal compensation and many others.  Meanwhile, the funding and administration of the $7 billion per year Universal Service Fund is a constant source of audit issues, enforcement actions and rulemaking proposals.

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On January 20, Kelley Drye will host its 3rd annual privacy law seminar:
Privacy by Design, Choice and Transparency: What a New Framework Will Mean for Business and Technology.

As businesses strive to innovate and evolve using new technologies, federal agencies including the FTC and FCC, the Congress, and state regulators are increasing scrutiny on privacy practices in an effort to protect consumers.

On the heels of the FTC’s proposed new framework for protecting consumer privacy, Kelley Drye gathers government leaders from key federal agencies for a discussion about how new privacy regulations and best practices, pending privacy and data security legislation, and enforcement trends are impacting U.S. companies ranging from retailers to telecommunications and technology companies.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

Jessica Rich, Deputy Director, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection

Josh Gottheimer, Senior Counselor to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski

Peter Swire, Professor of Law, Ohio State University; former Obama Administration Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, National Economic Council; and former Clinton Administration Chief Counselor for Privacy, U.S. Office of Management and Budget

WHEN: Thursday, January 20, 2011, 3:00 – 5:30PM

WHERE: Kelley Drye, 3050 K Street, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC, 20007

Remote access available.

TO REGISTER: Email dcevents@kelleydrye.com
 

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Yesterday, the FCC announced the appointment of six members to USAC's Board of Directors.  Don't expect much change in the way USAC operates, however:  five of the six members are current members of USAC's board.  The only new board member is Jose Manuel Jimenez of Cox Communications, who fills a vacant position reserved for cable operators.  

One position -- a board position reserved for interexchange carriers with more than $3 billion in annual revenues -- remains vacant.  See the FCC's public notice seeking nominations here. 

The six board members are listed below.  

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Two developments last month portend a more difficult time for entities "spoofing" caller ID information.  On December 22, President Obama signed into law the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009 [sic], which makes it unlawful for a person to transmit misleading or inaccurate caller ID information with an intent to defraud.  In addition, the FTC is seeking comment on rule changes to strengthen the caller ID provisions of its Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). 

Descriptions of both developments are provided below.

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