The Michigan Senate approved a bill to update the...
The Michigan Senate approved a bill to update the Michigan Telecommunications Act to eliminate a requirement for a Public Service Commission proceeding for telecom providers to discontinue basic local exchange or toll service to an exchange starting on Jan. 1,…
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2017, said the bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Mike Nofs (R), in a news release Thursday (http://bit.ly/1jun4Rb). Instead, the provider would have to notify the PSC, the provider’s customers, any interconnecting providers and the public in addition to filing a petition with the FCC, said the bill fact sheet (http://1.usa.gov/1gKdyqL). Senate Bill 636 would change the Michigan Intrastate Switched Toll Access Restructuring Mechanism (ARM) by requiring the PSC to recalculate it on March 13, 2018. The PSC would be required to reduce the amount of monthly disbursement from the ARM to an eligible provider on a pro rata basis for each exchange in which the provider has discontinued basic local exchange service. Nofs said: “This legislation establishes the process for transitioning to new technology while ensuring citizens’ continued access to reliable home phone service. This legislation will not remove landlines, it will modernize them.” SB-636 could potentially affect the availability of basic service for all customers, said Melissa Seifert, AARP Michigan associate state director-government affairs, in testimony before the Senate Energy and Technology Committee (http://bit.ly/1d5ntEX). “While it’s good that the commission can determine whether another provider is incapable of providing reliable service with access to 911, it has no real authority to ensure that consumers continue to receive affordable, reliable service as the commission may only issue an order ‘allowing’ the current provider to provide service,” said Seifert. The Michigan PSC took a neutral stance on this bill, and it did not provide comments to the committee, a PSC spokeswoman told us. The bill is under review by the House Energy and Technology Committee, said Nofs.