Universal Service/Intercarrier Compensation Workshop
On February 17, 2011, State Members of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service (Joint Board) will hold a workshop to assist in the preparation of their joint comments in response to the Commission's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on modernizing and streamlining its universal service and intercarrier compensation policies adopted at the Commission's February 8, 2011 Open Meeting. In addition to discussing the Commission's NPRM, the State Members and workshop participants will discuss a series of proposals put forward by State staff, which may be downloaded at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) website at http://www.naruc.org/special.
The workshop will be held in the Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305), 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. The workshop will be free and open to the public. The conference will be webcast live at http://reboot.fcc.gov/live.
The Telecommunication Act of 1996 created the Joint Board to make recommendations to implement the universal service provisions of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. This board is comprised of FCC Commissioners, State Commissioners, and a consumer advocate representative. Current State members include the Honorable James H. Cawley, State Joint Board Chair and Chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission; the Honorable Larry S. Landis, a Commissioner with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, the Honorable John D. Burke, a Board Member with the Vermont Public Service Board, and Simon ffitch, a Senior Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Washington. NARUC also has nominated the Honorable Anne C. Boyle, a Nebraska Commissioner to fill a vacancy on the Board.
Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. The request should include a detailed description of the accommodation needed and contact information. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible in order to allow the agency to satisfy such requests whenever possible. Send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY).
Action by the Federal-State Joint Board on February 10, 2011.
For questions or inquiries about the conference, please contact James Bradford Ramsay at 202- 898-2207 or jramsay@naruc.org.
Workshop Agenda
9:00 – 11:15 a.m.
I. Introductory Remarks and Staff Comprehensive Plan Proposals
10:45 – 11:00 a.m. Break
11:00 a.m. – Noon
II. The Federal Communications Commission February 8, 2011 Notice and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemakings
Noon – 1:00 p.m. Lunch Break
1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Four Round Table Panel Discussions (50 min. each)
III. Intercarrier Compensation Reform
IV. Carrier of Last Resort – Provider of Last Resort and the State Role
V. Reform Scenarios and Potential Financial Impacts