NARUC Task Force Formed to Ward Off Federal Preemption in Intercarrier Comp Reforms
State regulators formed a NARUC task force hoping to convince the FCC to create financial incentives to states to lower their intercarrier compensation rates, Vermont regulator and NARUC telecom committee Chairman John Burke told us Thursday. The task force is chaired by New York Commissioner Maureen Harris, Burke said. Members of the task force hope to have recommendations before the October open meeting, when many expect the FCC to move to orders on universal service fund and intercarrier compensation regime reforms, Burke said. Some state regulators are hoping to keep the FCC from preempting state authority with the reforms, he said.
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Burke formed the task force, but he won’t be on it. The task force includes Pennsylvania’s James Cawley, Nebraska’s Anne Boyle, Washington’s Phil Jones, Kansas’ Ward Loyd, Maine’s Vendean Vafiades and Michigan’s Orjiakor Isiogu, Burke said.
Reply comments to the various industry proposals are due next week. News of the NARUC task force has unsettled some in the industry, one telecom lobbyist told us. The concern is that NARUC may not push for a uniform rate, which was endorsed by the National Broadband Plan. Some industry officials are worried that if states are still allowed to have disparate rates, it'll leave open opportunities for arbitrage, the telecom lobbyist said.
A handful of mid-sized, rural companies are preparing a last-minute push to lobby against the so-called America’s Broadband Connectivity plan. Earlier this week, a group calling itself the Rural Broadband Alliance issued a news release blasting the FCC for “putting the cart before the horse” in embracing the incumbents’ reform package. “The RBA is concerned that the FCC’s approach to USF reform suggests some members of the agency staff have a ’systemic disdain’ for small rural carriers,” the alliance said in the release.
Some small cable companies have attacked parts of the plan, too, especially over provisions that give incumbents the right of first refusal for universal service funding. That’s likely to be a thorny issue through the next few weeks, two telecom lobbyists said.
Despite some of the carriers’ concerns, MF Global analyst Paul Gallant said he still believes consumer groups have the best chance of successfully attacking the industry plans. “Local phone bills are right in the political wheelhouse of consumer advocates, so they're definitely positioned to exert some influence over the final USF package,” Gallant said. But consumer groups have been mostly quiet on the pending reforms. A spokeswoman at Consumers Union couldn’t be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, the incumbent telcos behind the Connectivity plan have been lobbying on the Hill, hoping to get lawmakers to sign letters of support for the ABC plan, two telecom officials said. There have also been discussions of convening town hall-style meetings in various states to drum up support for the incumbents’ plan, one telecom official said. David Fish, spokesman for the incumbents’ plan, couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday.