FCC Pledges Imminent Answer on USTelecom, State Lifeline Waivers
LA QUINTA, California -- NARUC is poised to ask the FCC to postpone a Dec. 2 deadline to align state low-income programs with updated federal rules that added broadband as a supported Lifeline service. In a vote Monday at the NARUC annual meeting, the Telecom Committee unanimously passed a resolution supporting USTelecom and state petitions for waiver. The commission plans to act soon on the petitions, FCC Wireline Bureau Telecom Access Policy Division Chief Ryan Palmer said on a panel before the voting.
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The NARUC committee also unanimously passed three other telecom resolutions, related to the Connect America Fund (CAF), VoIP applications for phone numbers and numbering best practices. Approval of all four telecom resolutions was expected (see 1611010042 and 1611020045).
Palmer said it’s a “top priority for our division to provide some guidance and to rule on these petitions as timely as possible.” The USTelecom petition included “good overarching arguments” but the FCC wanted more specifics from states before acting, he said. The agency has now received state responses and is evaluating them, he said. While he wouldn’t commit to a date for an order, Palmer said staff are “laser focused” on the issue. While USTelecom initially filed for waiver on behalf of 27 states and territories, it has since removed about eight from the petition because the jurisdictions indicated they didn’t need the waiver, USTelecom Law and Policy Vice President Kevin Rupy said. The 19 remaining on the petition include about nine that haven’t said if they need a waiver, he said. USTelecom notified the FCC about fewer states needing waiver in a recent ex parte filing (see 1611140025).
Multiple NARUC members supported delaying the December deadline, including commissioners from New York, California and the District of Columbia. “We just need some more time,” Commissioner Gregg Sayre of the New York Public Service Commission said on the panel. These issues have been under consideration for years, he said. "What's the need for a big rush all of a sudden?" Other commissioners, including Telecom Committee Chairman Chris Nelson from South Dakota and Florida PSC Commissioner Ronald Brisé, supported “cooperative federalism,” where the FCC works together with the states in making policies.
The Golden State has “grave concerns” about Lifeline, particularly on the national verifier and port freeze requirements, said California Public Utilities Commissioner Catherine Sandoval. There could be an administrative problem because the state’s program bundles broadband and voice, she said. Someone could sign up for federal Lifeline for broadband and simultaneously receive voice support from the state that includes broadband support. “The question becomes, at what point are you double dipping?” she asked. Sandoval said she worries the 12-month port freeze on broadband adopted by the FCC could inadvertently lock in confused consumers who also wanted voice service but now can’t receive it.
Sayre wondered aloud how the shift to a Republican FCC next year will affect Lifeline. “I also very gingerly flag the question which nobody can answer yet,” he said. “What might or might not happen to the federal broadband benefit if the FCC reverses course on Title II for broadband under the new administration?” Sayre said he’s “really unhappy” with the FCC for removing Lifeline eligibility based on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
The committee passed a 10-digit dialing resolution recommending that state commissions use area code overlays to solve number exhaustion and encouraging nationwide adoption of 10-digit dialing. Ahead of the meeting, D.C. PSC Chairwoman Betty Ann Kane worked with sponsor Commissioner Paul Kjellander of the Idaho PUC on an edit to alleviate concerns that the resolution could be read as a mandate rather than a best practice (see 1611080012). CTIA and T-Mobile officials supported the 10-digit dialing item at the NARUC meeting. Ten-digit dialing is “necessary to enable a lot of the technologies that are coming,” said CTIA Director-State Regulatory and External Affairs Ben Aron. CTIA also supports the Lifeline resolution, he said.
Two other telecom resolutions passed Monday aimed to keep states involved in key telecom issues. A VoIP numbering resolution sought an FCC requirement ensuring that states are told when VoIP providers request numbering resources. A separate resolution asked the commission to require CAF eligible telecom carriers to report data to state, tribal and territorial authorities. The items received no major changes from their draft versions. The VON Coalition last week urged caution about the numbering item, which responds to the FCC earlier this year allowing VoIP providers to obtain numbers directly from numbering administrators. The VoIP industry group didn’t comment Monday. NARUC is challenging that decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (NARUC v. FCC, No. 15-1497).
The meeting was Nelson’s last as chairman of the Telecom Committee, but he will remain a member. A new chairman has yet to be determined by incoming NARUC President Robert Powelson of Pennsylvania, Nelson said. The committee passed a resolution honoring Commissioner Lisa Edgar, who didn’t seek a fourth term at the Florida PSC.