NTCA Asks FCC to Deny Comcast Request for Rural Call Completion Data Duties
NTCA opposed Comcast's bid for a waiver from record keeping, retention and reporting rules under a 2013 FCC rural call completion order. Comcast didn't meet a waiver standard requiring it to show the requested relief wouldn't undermine the policy objective…
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of the rules and special circumstances warranted deviating from the rules, said the NTCA comments Monday in docket 13-39. Comcast said that its engineers inadvertently didn't capture call detail record data for certain business customers due to the network complexities of a switching platform migration, but that its reported performance results were still accurate despite lower call volumes (see 1609160017). "Comcast makes no assertion that there are special circumstances that warrant grant of the requested waiver or that it was unable to collect the required Call Detail Record information. In fact, Comcast was apparently able to correct the problem ‘immediately upon discovering the errors,’" NTCA wrote. It said "neglect" doesn't constitute "good cause" for a waiver: "There is no reason to give any firm a 'free pass' with respect to regulations that it knew applied, that it had personnel available to address, and that it apparently could comply with quite readily once it ‘paid enough attention’ -- especially when the rules at issue are intended to assure service reliability and protect the livelihood and safety of consumers.”