FCC Seeks Local Government Views
It is rare for the Federal Communications Commission to expressly invite local government participation in formulating communications policy, so when this happens it is worth special attention. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released Nov. 25 and the related agency webinar of Dec. 2 are open for public comment and review.
Technologies change all the time, but now is a particularly critical period. First, telephone voice services are moving from “legacy” analog or digital signaling systems to Internet Protocol networks — deployed by cable providers and phone companies alike as Voice Over IP. Second is the concomitant expansion of wireless services running on Long Term Evolution networks, including Voice Over LTE. And third, the evolving changes from copper wire to coaxial cable (long in place for cable television), fiber optic cable and wireless technologies both mobile and fixed.
These transitions raise important issues in public safety, consumer protection and competition. Municipal stakes in the first two topics are obvious, but the FCC also recognizes local concerns for real competition: “ . . . [S]chools, libraries, healthcare facilities, and governmental entities also rely on communications services,” states the Notice. “We really would love to hear from states and localities and tribal nations,” said Greg Vadas of the agency’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs in wrapping up the webinar.
Municipalities have particular reasons to understand that video competition has not always been real. Congress amended the Communications Act in 1996 to allow phone companies into the cable television business, but that did not change the prevalence of single video franchises, nor did it produce widespread telephone company deployment of fiber as an alternative to coaxial cable — a point made by the Marin Telecommunications Agency in San Rafael, Calif. during the webinar.
From the public safety perspective, the transition from self-powered copper wire voice telephony to IP and wireless networks demands durable and reliable back-up power to the latter, especially during weather and other emergencies that tend to increase calling generally and 9-1-1 calling particularly. So the FCC wants to hear from local governments about how to “safeguard continuity of communications throughout a power outage,” according to the Notice. In a parallel proceeding about Next Generation 9-1-1, the agency asked public safety agencies how to ensure emergency call completion and caller location that would match the levels reached by wire telephony as 9-1-1 networks undergo their own transitions to IP. That same question figures prominently in this “tech transitions” rulemaking.
In terms of consumer protection, the Notice asks a basic question: “What happens when a consumer [and consumers include municipalities, of course] is told that the telephone service on which he or she has relied is about to be discontinued or when the copper network used to provide that service is going to be shut down?” A case in point: the consumer concerns raised by a Verizon proposal to replace copper with fixed wireless networks in parts of Fire Island, New York devastated by Hurricane Sandy two years ago.
Finally, regarding competition, the FCC often acknowledges that municipalities are important consumers of communications services and thus depend on reliable services at affordable prices. The Notice declares: “[W]e are guided by the mantra that technology transitions should not be used as an excuse to limit competition that exists.”
Local governments will have until Feb. 5 to comment and until March 9 to reply.
