Little Harmony Seen in Enforcement Harmonization Comments
The FCC's enforcement procedures are in need of reform, Verizon said in comments on a Sept. 18 NPRM. The NPRM proposes (see 1709180057) creating uniform procedural rules for certain complaint proceedings "delegated to the Enforcement Bureau and currently handled by…
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its Market Disputes Resolution Division (MDRD) and Telecommunications Consumers Division (TCD)." Verizon said the FCC should harmonize procedural rules that apply to Section 208 formal complaints, Section 224 pole attachment complaints and disability access complaints, as proposed in the NPRM, but look at other changes as well. Other commenters urged the FCC to take a more cautious approach. Additional changes are needed, Verizon said in comments filed in docket 17-245. The FCC “should discontinue its recent misapplication of the continuing violation theory,” Verizon said. “It should publish a manual with its enforcement procedures, so that all parties know how the Commission will handle enforcement matters. It should provide drafts of Notices of Apparent Liability (NAL) to investigation targets and allow those targets to respond before the Commission votes on the NAL.” The FCC also should require a vote on consent decrees at the request of any two commissioners, Verizon argued. But groups representing people with disabilities asked the FCC to act with care. “Formal complaints, along with requests for dispute assistance (47 C.F.R. §14.32), and informal complaints (47 C.F.R. §14.34), help people with disabilities gain access to telecommunications,” said the filing led by Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. NCTA said the FCC shouldn’t further limit information from utility pole owners available to companies that choose to file pole attachment complaints. Such information is “integral to the resolution of pole attachment complaints and promotes settlement, and, as the current rules recognize, is largely within the knowledge and control of the utility pole owner,” NCTA said. “The Commission should ensure that any changes provide adequate due process and do not hinder parties’ ability to fully and effectively participate in formal complaint proceedings,” NCTA said. The Edison Electric Institute, which represents electric utilities, also advised caution. The FCC “should be wary of emphasizing the speed of resolution of complaints over the fundamental fairness of the complaint resolution process,” EEI said. “The Commission’s highest priority should be ensuring that the complaint resolution process remains fundamentally fair to the parties.”