Feb
17
2011

Universal Service/Intercarrier Compensation Workshop

2:00 pm - 10:00 pm EST
445 12th St. S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554 - Room TW-C305

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

Moderator:
John D. Burke, Member, Vermont PSB

 

Participants:

 

Jonathan Banks (U.S.Telecom Ass'n.)

 

Glenn Brown (McLean & Brown Assoc.)

 

Joseph Gillan (Gillan Assoc.)
Billy Jack Gregg (Universal Consulting)
Michael Romano (NTCA)
Lee Selwyn (Economics & Technology, Inc.)

 

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

Moderator:
James H. Cawley, Chairman, Pennsylvania PUC

 

Participants:

 

Steve Berry (Rural Cellular Assoc.)

 

Mark Cooper (Consumer Federation of America)

 

Joel Lubin (AT&T)
Ken Mason (Frontier)
Steve Morris (NCTA)
Ken Pfister (Great Plains Telecom)
Lisa Scalpone (Wild Blue Satellite)

 

Noon – 1:00 p.m. Lunch Break

1:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Four Round Table Panel Discussions (50 min. each)

Participants:
David Bergmann (NASUCA)

 

Paul Cooper (Fred Williamson)

 

Joe Douglas (NECA)
Joseph Gillan (Gillan Assoc.)
John Jones (CenturyLink)
David LaFuria Esq. (Lukas Nace)
Robert Loube (RLSA)
Joel Lubin (AT&T)
Charles McKee (Sprint)
Steve Morris (NCTA)
Sarah Tyree (CoBank)
Jessica Zufolo (RUS)

 

III. Intercarrier Compensation Reform

Moderator:
Simon ffitch, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Washington Office of Attorney General Public Counsel

 

 

 

IV. Carrier of Last Resort – Provider of Last Resort and the State Role

Moderator:
Anne C. Boyle, Commissioner, Nebraska PSC

 

 

 

V. Reform Scenarios and Potential Financial Impacts

Moderator:
Larry S. Landis, Commissioner, Indiana URC

 

 

 

VI. Separations and Proposed Reforms.

Moderator:
Peter Bluhm (RLSA)