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

Since 1998, the FCC has adjudicated individual consumer claims that the consumer's telecommunications services were switched without authorization (aka "slamming").  These adjudications often are released by the dozens and use a consistent format and language.  The most recent batch of such releases confirms that, when it comes to orders confirmed by third party verification ("TPV"), the Bureau employs a literal interpretation of the content requirements for verification.

Continue reading to see examples of the Bureau's literal interpretations.

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On January 26th, a snowstorm hit the Washington DC area.  For many of us in the area, the commute home was quite a nightmare.  But for Verizon, the impact was even more disturbing.  Verizon suffered outages in its ability to process wireless 911 calls in two Maryland counties adjacent to Washington, DC.

This week, both the FCC and the Maryland Public Service Commission began investigations into Verizon's 911 outages.  Time will tell if the 911 outages will lead to any enforcement action against Verizon, but the FCC previously warned providers to take action to minimize the risk of disruptions to their 911 service.

See below for more detail on the FCC and Maryland PSC investigations.

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Customer Proprietary Network Information Certifications

All telecommunications carriers and interconnected VoIP providers must file an annual report certifying their compliance with the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) rules regarding Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI). The report covers calendar year 2010 and must be filed with the FCC by March 1, 2011.

The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau recently released a FCC Enforcement Advisory addressing the importance of making timely and compliant filings and noting that filers now have the option of filing CPNI certifications via a new FCC web application, in addition to filing via ECFS, mail or by hand delivery.

Form 477: Local Competition and Broadband Report

The Local Competition and Broadband Report, containing data as of December 31, 2010, must be filed by March 1, 2011. The report requires the submission of information regarding broadband connections in individual states.

Who Must File:
(1) ILECs or CLECs that provide local exchange service to one or more end user customers;
(2) facilities-based providers of mobile telephony services that serve one or more mobile telephony subscribers;
(3) entities (including all commonly-owned or commonly-controlled affiliates) that are facilities-based providers of broadband (i.e., faster than 200 kbps, in at least one direction) connections (including both wired lines and wireless channels) to one or more end users in a state; and
(4) providers of interconnected VoIP services that provide interconnected VoIP service to one or more subscribers in a state.

Reporting Basis:
In addition to specific reporting requirements contained in the Form 477 Instructions, for all broadband technologies other than terrestrial mobile wireless, filers must report broadband subscribership information by Census Tract.

Filing Process:
The Form 477 Report must be submitted via an FCC web-based interface and filers will need to use their Federal Registration Number (FRN) and associated password to access the system.

REVISED Form 499-Q Quarterly Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet

Providers 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 FCC Form 499Q on a quarterly basis. Filers making revisions to the February 1, 2011 Form 499-Q filing must submit the revisions to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) no later than March 18, 2011.

REVISED Form 499-A Annual Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet

All providers of interstate telecommunications service and all common carriers are required to file FCC Form 499-A with USAC each year with limited exceptions. Filers making revisions to their previous year’s Form 499-A Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet filing which result in a decreased contribution must submit the revisions to USAC by March 31, 2011.
 

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Administration and reform of the federal Universal Service Fund remains center stage in Washington. In February, the FCC launched a rulemaking proceeding to reform intercarrier compensation and migrate high-cost support to the Connect America Fund. Meanwhile, as the USF contribution factor reached a new high of 15.5%, comprehensive reform of the USF contribution mechanism appears stalled even as USAC audits and contributor appeals continue to fill the Wireline Competition Bureau’s agenda.

Join Kelley Drye for a discussion of the most recent USF developments that affect your company’s bottom line today. Our speakers will offer analysis and practical advice based on front line experience in ongoing audits and appeals, and years of providing compliance and enforcement advice in this area.

The following topics will be addressed:

Intercarrier Compensation/USF Reform

• Inside the FCC’s February 8 ICC/USF NPRM
• What’s in store for the Connect America Fund for broadband deployment
• Prospects for USF contribution reform

Changes to the 2011 Form 499A and Instructions

• What you need to know to complete your April 1 annual filing

USAC Contributor Audits

• Trends and issues in current appeals
• Changes in USAC’s audit procedures
• Key strategies for a successful defense

WHEN: Wednesday, March 2, 2011, 12:00PM – 1:00PM EST

This event is free of charge.

Email dcevents@kelleydrye.com to register.

 

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Late yesterday, the FCC released its latest NPRM on high cost USF and ICC reform (see our 2/8 post).  The 289 page item, available here,  sets forth staggered comment dates triggered by federal register publication.  The first -- 30 days after Federal Register publication -- is for comments on intercarrier compensation for VoIP traffic, rules to address phantom traffic and rules to reduce access stimulation.  Reply comments are due 15 days after that.  Comments on the rest of it will be due on the same day (45 days after Federal Register publication).  State members of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service get two extra weeks to file comments.  All reply comments on the remaining sections are due 80 days after federal register publication.

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The FCC earlier today adopted (but has not yet released) a substantial NPRM on universal service fund (USF) and intercarrier compensation (ICC) reform, signaling that the agency is ready (again) to engage anew in its decade long quest to reform these interrelated subsidy and compensation regimes that nearly all interested parties agree are unsustainable.

With roughly $4.5 billion/year in play on the high cost USF side and approximately $8 billion/year at stake on the ICC side, this is a proceeding in which many will want to weigh-in or at least track carefully. Yes, we realize that we said this 10 years ago and again back with the last swell of activity in 2008, but the timing and circumstances of today’s action, as well as the remarks of each Commissioner seem to suggest that odds of the agency taking concrete steps toward adopting meaningful reforms are higher now than they ever have been.

That said, it remains unlikely that the agency could adopt an order addressing comprehensive high cost USF and ICC reform before 4Q11. The process will be neither quick nor easy. And, as many will note, conspicuously absent from today’s NPRM are proposals for USF contribution reform. It seems strange that the fund is to be re-purposed to support broadband in advance of adopting a requirement that broadband providers contribute to the fund. Lifeline reform also gets punted to another day, but the agency promises it is working on getting to this soon. With the proposed USF Mobility Fund also on a separate track, it appears that the Commission has liberated itself from the notion that it must address all pieces of the puzzle at one time in one order.
 

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On January 20th, Verizon took the controversial move of appealing the FCC's Net Neutrality Order before notice was published in the Federal Register.  Shortly after Verizon appealed, MetroPCS Communications filed a similar appeal, also in the D.C. Circuit and also relying on section 402(b) to assert that venue lies exclusively within the D.C. Circuit.

The FCC has moved to dismiss both petitions as premature.  Verizon opposed the motion and the FCC filed its reply yesterday.  At this time, the court has not ruled on the motion.  However, the D.C. Circuit issued a brief order denying Verizon's motion to refer the case to the Comcast panel of judges. 

Meanwhile, the FCC's order still has not been published in the Federal Register.  Once it is published, we expect multiple appeals to be filed, most likely in several circuit courts of appeal.  Such appeals would trigger the lottery process to determine where to consolidate the cases.

Links to the pleadings relating to the FCC's motion to dismiss are available below.

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In late December, Congress passed new Anti-Spoofing legislation.  As we told you at the time, the Act requires the FCC to enact implementing regulations within 6 months.  In anticipation of that rulemaking, the U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Division submitted a letter to the FCC with its recommendations for the regulations.

The DOJ letter is described in more detail below.  Most notably, DOJ recommends verification obligations be imposed on providers of spoofing services and proposes an expansive definition of "IP-enabled Voice Service" that would impose obligations on services heretofore not subject to FCC regulations.  If the FCC agrees, new classes of entities would be subject to compliance obligations relating to Caller ID spoofing.

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On January 21, 2011, Kelley Drye & Warren hosted the seminar and audiocast, "Privacy By Design, Choice, and Transparency: What a New Framework Will Mean for Business and Technology." The seminar highlighted key regulatory and legislative developments in privacy and information security law during the past year.

Click here to listen to the audio recording.

Six experts representing the federal agencies and policymakers integral to recent privacy initiatives spoke during two separate panel sessions. The first panel reviewed and expanded upon the separate privacy frameworks released in December 2010 by the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Commerce. The second panel included FCC representatives and featured a discussion on the confluence of privacy policy and broadband adoption, along with perspectives on the privacy themes of greatest interest to the new Congress. Click here to read an overview of the key takeaways from each panel.
 

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