FCC REGULATORY REPORT

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FCC REGULATORY REPORT

• Gerard L. Lederer

NATOA Annual Conference Washington, DC September
23, 2005
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FCC
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New Players
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Issues

• IP Enabled Services Docket
• VOIP E911
• DSL as info service
• CALEA applies to info services
• Forbearance
• Local Government Position

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IP Enabled Services

• Sought to classify IP enabled services
• information service
• cable service
• telecommunications service
• Sought to establish jurisdictional issues
• interstate
• intrastate or
• a combination thereof
• The NPRM was released before the Vonage order so
  the jurisdiction question seems moot.

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VOIP E911

• Interconnected VoIP providers must
• Inform their customers, both new and existing, of
  the E911 capabilities and limitations of their
  service.
• Deliver all 911 calls to the local emergency
  operator.
• Provide emergency operators with the call back
  number and location information of their
  customers (i.e., E911) where the emergency
  operator is capable of receiving it.
• VoIP provider must provide the customer a means
  of updating this information, whether he or she
  is at home or away from home.
• ILECs are required to provide access to their
  E911 networks.

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DSL Order

• Working off of press releases.
• Report and Order adopted August 5, 2005
• Goal
• Place digital subscriber line (DSL) technology,
  on an equal regulatory footing with cable modem
  service
• Specifically, the Commission determined
• DSL broadband is an information service
  integrated with a telecommunications component
• Eliminated transmission component sharing
  requirement effective one year after effective
  date of order

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DSL (continued)

• Facilities-based providers must contribute to
  existing universal service mechanisms based on
  their current levels of reported revenues for the
  DSL transmission for a 270-day period after the
  effective date of the Order.
• DSL providers have the flexibility to offer the
  transmission component as
• a common-carrier basis,
• a non-common carrier basis,
• or some combination of both.
• In an NPRM, the Commission seeks comment on
  whether it should develop a framework for
  consumer protection in the broadband age.

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CALEA

• FCC Requires Interconnected Facility Based
  Broadband and VoIP Providers to Accommodate
  Wiretaps
• August 5, 2005 -- Responding to a petition from
  the DOJ, FBI and DEA.
• If service provider is an interconnected facility
  based provider offering a service that
  essentially replaces conventional
  telecommunications services currently subject to
  wiretap rules, then new services are covered by
  the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement
  Act, or CALEA.
• CALEA requires the Commission to preserve the
  ability of law enforcement agencies to conduct
  court-ordered wiretaps in the face of
  technological change.

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Forbearance Petitions

• SBC Forbearance Petition -- WC Docket No. 04-29
• BellSouth Forbearance Petition -- WC Docket No.
  04-405
• Qwest Forbearance Petition -- WC Docket No.
  04-416
• Verizon Forbearance Petition -- WC Docket No.
  04-440

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FCC Adopts Policy Statement

• Consumers are entitled to
• Access the lawful Internet content of their
  choice
• Run applications and services of their choice,
  subject to the needs of law enforcement
• Connect their choice of legal devices that do not
  harm the network and
• Competition among network providers, application
  and service providers, and content providers.

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Local Govt Bullets

• We are enthusiastic about the benefits IP may
  offer local government and its constituents.
• The federal government must respect and preserve
  the police powers of state and local governments,
  including
• right-of-way management,
• zoning, and
• customer service.
• Facilities owners that do not face meaningful
  competition should be regulated accordingly.
• Commission action should not have the effect of
  undermining local taxing authority.

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Bullets (cont.)

• The Commission must not take any action that
  threatens the effectiveness of
• universal service,
• CALEA,
• 911 services,
• access to persons with disabilities,
• or consumer protections.
• Users of the public rights-of-way should pay fair
  prices for the use of public property.
• PEG access promotes open government, free speech,
  and public participation in community affairs.

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Miller Van Eaton We Assist Local Governments
In AchievingThe Full Benefits Of The
Communications Age For Their Communities

• Gerard L. Lederer
• glederer_at_millervaneaton.com
• Miller Van Eaton, P.L.L.C.
• 1155 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
• Suite 1000
• Washington, D.C. 20036-4301
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• www.millervaneaton.com