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Changes Coming to the Moss Adams Telecom Industry Update
Look for the next edition to have a new name, In the Loop. We believe that the new name is more reflective of what this newsletter is designed to do–keep you in the loop on
important industry issues. We hope you enjoy this edition.
U.S. Supreme Court Rules in Brand X vs. FCC
Rural DSL at Risk?
On June 27, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that cable modem service is not subject to common carrier regulation as a telecommunications service, but instead is to be treated as an
information service. This is great news for cable companies who no longer have to provide network access to competitors.
The RBOCs are also cheering this decision, as it provides strong support for their pending petitions to have DSL treated as an information service as well, reducing regulation and eliminating access to competitors. Unfortunately, any
deregulation of DSL may have serious ramifications for rural ILECs, many of which rely upon the NECA pooling process to provide DSL.
Click here for a further discussion of this watershed issue and the potential impacts on rural ILECs.
Contact:
Chad Duval Stockton Office 209.955.6124
Upcoming Audits of Federal USF
Chad Duval attended a NTCA presentation on the upcoming FCC/OIG audits of recipients of federal USF support. Representatives from NTCA and NECA provided some interesting insights into the
pending audit process. All presenters really drove home the point that audited companies should be prepared to provide detailed documentation on their past USF filings, including associated work papers such as: cost studies, continuing
property records, loop count documentation, cost allocations, and more.
Audits are scheduled to kick off sometime this summer, as soon as FCC Chairman Martin gives the go ahead.
Click here for Chad's notes from the NTCA presentation.
Contact:
Chad Duval Stockton Office 209.955.6124
Other Industry News & Notes
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The Telergee Benchmarking Study has been completed. Electronic scorecards are now available and will be distributed to participants this week, with the formal study being mailed in early August.
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IAS (for Price Cap Carriers only) Certification and 1st Quarter Line Counts due to USAC and the FCC on June 30th.
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USAC Annual Line Count Data Request is Due July 31, 2005. The NECA online data collection site will be available for data input from July 1st – July 18th. Make sure to get your line counts in on time.
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Cost Studies are due to NECA on or before July 31, 2005, as is the 2005-1 USF data collection.
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FCC Form 499Q2 is due August 1, 2005 for non-de minimis carriers. We will forward the Excel version as soon as it becomes available.
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Federal USF contribution factor to drop from 11.1% in 2Q05, to 10.2% in 3Q05 (July – September). Check for your NECA Tariff 5 Filing Alert and make sure the adjustment is reflected in your billing system.
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FCC Form 477 – Local Telephone Competition and Broadband Reporting is due September 1, 2005. All ILECs are required to submit this report of service provided as of June 30, 2005 to the FCC.
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It looks like Verizon has won the bidding war for MCI over Qwest for now. But there is still speculation that certain large shareholders are not happy with the Verizon deal and continue to urge Qwest to sweeten the pot once again.
Contact:
Chad Duval Stockton Office 209.955.6124
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