Telecommunication

The average small rural telecommunications company saw revenues increase in 2016 but profitability declined in comparison with the previous year, according to the latest Telergee Benchmark Study.

The extensive and detailed rural telecommunications economics report is compiled annually by The Telergee Alliance, a group of accounting firms that specialize in rural telecom. The 2017 report is based on financial data from 172 small telcos – a substantial portion of the 800 or so small telcos nationwide. On average, small rural telcos saw revenues increase 2.8 percent between 2015 and 2016, according to the Telergee study. Yet operating income dropped an average of 3.9 percent. The results are not surprising, as telcos’ regulated revenues are flat or in decline, driving the telcos to pursue unregulated lines of business, many of which have “super thin” margins.

As Texas starts to dry out from the damage of Hurricane Harvey, another perfect storm is forming. In a strange twist of timing, Big Telecom may walk away from the storm with an unfair advantage that could hurt smaller, local providers in Houston—and drive up costs for consumers in the process.

Across the country, Big Telecom has gradually been retiring old copper lines—used to delivery home phone as well as broadband—and replacing them with modern infrastructure, like fiber optic cables. When a natural disaster like Harvey wipes out the old wires, it's a good excuse for the provider to do a widespread upgrade. But because the Federla Communications Commission is currently rolling back regulations that require large ISPs—usually called the incumbent provider—to give access to infrastructure to small ISPs, these upgrades could leave smaller providers in the lurch.

As far as the US perspective, our priorities generally seek to create a regulatory environment that provides our telecommunications industries the opportunity to innovate, obtain investment and ensure continued growth for years to come. We also seek to promote the interests of our citizens, especially those who are unserved and in need of modern and robust connectivity in order to participate in the new digital economy.

In April 2017, the Federal Communications Commission began a wireline infrastructure proceeding designed to accelerate broadband deployment. The proceeding contains multiple proposals to remove barriers to broadband deployment and infrastructure, such as reforming pole attachment rates and preempting state and local laws. Buried within these proposals is a plan to eliminate “tech transitions” rules, which outline the responsibilities of phone carriers when they choose to retire copper networks or discontinue service. The FCC is seeking to eliminate these rules by shortening the notice period for copper retirement and removing the requirement that carriers must consider what impact their network changes will have on other technologies. In other words, the FCC is now acting to enable carriers to quickly abandon copper services without considering the consequences for communities. But what is worse, rather repeal these rules directly, the FCC has decided to hide its intent behind a “technical” change in definition.

As we’ve seen from all of the groups that filed comments with the FCC, eliminating common-sense notification rules would impact consumers, small businesses, and competitive carriers, particularly the nation’s most vulnerable communities.

On August 30, 2017, the National Exchange Carrier Association, Inc. (NECA) filed its 2018 Modification of the Average Schedule Universal Service High Cost Loop Support Formula. The proposed formula, if approved, would take effect on January 1, 2018, and remain in effect through December 31, 2018.

The Wireline Competition Bureau seeks comment on the proposed formula. Pursuant to sections 1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission’s rules, interested parties may file comments on or before the dates indicated above. All pleadings are to reference WC Docket No. 05- 337. Comments may be filed using the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), or by filing paper copies.

As flood waters began swallowing roads and homes during Tropical Storm Harvey, panicked Houston residents did what everyone in the US is programed to do in an emergency. They dialed 911. But the emergency number struggled with record high call volume. At the peak of the storm, the service received around 80,000 calls in a 24-hour period. The Harris County area typically gets around 8,000 calls a day. Some people were unable to get through at all, and those who did were put on hold while a recording -- which promised the call was being processed -- looped. Desperate residents took to social media to post their addresses in the hopes that someone would get the information to the right authorities or a friend with boat. The requests went viral, leaving many wondering why 911 wasn't able to do more. Like most 911 systems in the U.S., Houston's is based on outdated telephone network technology.

This Public Notice serves as notice that the Federal Communications Commission has appointed members to serve on the working groups of the Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC or Council). The members of these working groups are listed in Appendix A. This Public Notice also serves as notification that the next CSRIC Meeting will beheld on October 26. The newly-chartered CSRIC held its first meeting on Friday, June 23, at which time FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced the topics of the working groups.

[Commentary] Once the floodwaters recede and the reconstruction begins, when can residents see their phone service — and broadband service — return. For rural residents of Texas still dependent on traditional landlines, the answer to that may be “never.”

Why never? Back in 2011, Texas deregulated its telephone system. Of particular relevance here, Texas made it ridiculously easy for phone companies to get rid of their “carrier of last resort” (COLR) obligations — the obligation for the incumbent telephone network to provide service to everyone its service territory. As a result, phone companies in Texas do not have a state-based legal obligation to repair or replace service once it goes down. So in places where the telephone network has been damaged or destroyed by Harvey, AT&T (the primary legacy phone company in the impacted area) has no state responsibility to restore service.

[Harold Feld is Senior Vice President at Public Knowledge]

Earlier in August, in its war against illegal robocalling campaigns the Federal Communications Commission proposed another hefty fine. That is, a fine of 82 million dollars. The target of the FCC’s wrath? Mr. Philip Roesel, who wasn’t just calling a la Adele style. Instead, Roesel is accused of both illegal robocalling in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and illegal spoofing, which the FCC claims violated the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009 (TCIA). For his 21 million illegal robocalls, Roesel received merely a sternly worded citation from the FCC.

Following a recent trend, the FCC’s massive $82 million fine proposed against Roesel relied primarily on the TCIA’s prohibition against the transmission of misleading or inaccurate caller ID information, commonly referred to as spoofing, “with the intent to defraud, cause harm or wrongfully obtain anything of value.” What’s unique about this proposed fine is two-fold. First, the monetary value of the fine itself is one to write home about. Second, this fine is yet another instance where the TCIA has been used by the FCC to issue a penalty against illegal robocallers. It’s a trend that the FCC started not too long ago but is likely to continue into the future for several reasons.

As previously announced, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) will host a public workshop on September 11, 2017 to discuss best practices for improving situational awareness during 911 outages. By this Public Notice, the Bureau announces the agenda and panelists for the workshop.