State, Local Government Input Sought on IP Transition NPRM
FCC Wireline Bureau Deputy Chief Matthew DelNero urged state and local governments Tuesday to comment on the IP transition rulemaking the commission adopted in late November seeking input on how the agency should deal with the transition away from copper. The FCC also approved a related declaratory ruling at its November meeting on FCC ability to require approvals for copper retirements (see 1411210037). The NPRM sought comment on how states, localities and tribal nations should be involved in IP transition rulemaking, along with clearer rules for determining when to allow incumbents to retire a “last-mile” service and battery backup standards. The FCC believes comments from states and localities will be particularly valuable on IP transition rules because they’re “the ones who are closest” to on-the-ground conditions in different parts of the U.S., DelNero said during an FCC seminar. The NPRM is awaiting Federal Register publication, he said.
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Copper networks can be effective in IP transmissions, but the FCC is “trying to prepare” for situations in which providers will seek to retire copper networks after fully deploying fiber rather than operating both networks in tandem, DelNero said. The commission’s goal is to “facilitate the transition without leaving customers behind,” he said. The Fairfax County, Virginia, Department of Cable and Consumer Affairs’ Communications Policy and Regulation Division asked DelNero during the seminar if the NPRM’s proposals for the division of responsibility for long-term outages would include rules on requiring battery backup power for voice service. The NPRM is meant to elicit “broad comment” on the IP transition issue given the variety of technical issues it will involve, DelNero said. The NPRM is technology neutral so it can apply to all providers, he said.
The FCC’s October wireless siting order (see 1410170048), which established conditions under which state and local governments can deny siting plans because they're a “substantial change” from the original base station, takes precedence over local zoning laws where they overlap, said Peter Trachtenberg, Wireless Bureau Spectrum and Competition Policy Division deputy chief. Zoning laws may apply for issues that the order didn’t address, but not in all cases, he said.