Adam Bender

The FCC should stay an order finding that Verizon unlawfully marketed to departing phone customers, the Independent Telephone & Telecommunications Alliance said Thursday. Verizon said it would appeal the order (CD June 25 p5) if it didn’t get a stay by Thursday this week. “The order imposes a disparate playing field and favors improperly one class of providers over another,” ITTA said. “Local exchange carriers… no longer resemble monopolies that could potentially thwart budding competition. Instead, ITTA members are losing lines every month in a robustly competitive marketplace.” Barring retention marketing “stunt[s] unnecessarily” the development of an “informed customer,” it added.

The Homeland Security Department is behind schedule on integrating centers dealing with disruptions on voice and data networks, GAO said Thursday. “Until DHS completes the integration of the two centers, it risks being unable to efficiently plan for and respond to disruptions to communications infrastructure and the data and applications that travel on this infrastructure,” GAO said. That increases “the probability that communications will be unavailable or limited in times of need,” it said.

An FCC order on a 10-digit numbering plan for IP relay services most closely resembles a system pitched by AT&T and GoAmerica, but also incorporates elements of other proposals, the FCC said. The order, released late Tuesday, recommends a single database of phone numbers and IP addresses, maintained by a neutral party. Access would be limited to IP relay providers, the FCC said. But the FCC didn’t throw out proposals by NeuStar and CSDVRS. “We find that no single Industry Proposal represents the best implementation of a centralized numbering directory mechanism, but instead find that a combination of different elements” is appropriate, the FCC said.

The FCC must ensure its proposed broadband mapping program doesn’t “unwittingly hamper or undermine” state and local efforts to increase broadband availability and adoption, Connected Nation said in meetings last week with the Wireline Bureau and Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps. Connected Nation, which has led state and local efforts like Connect Kentucky, supports FCC proposals made this month in a further notice attached to an order on broadband data collection (CD June 16 p6). But the group wants to make sure the commission keeps state and local authorities in the loop, said Laura Taylor, Connected Nation chief analyst, in an interview. Mapping requires ground- level data collection, because few providers keep availability data in a useful format, she said. “On its own, the FCC would be hard pressed to create an accurate or meaningful availability map, but state-based programs could be built into this process to make it effective,” she said. Connected Nation has meetings scheduled with the other three commissioners next week, she said.

Democratic FCC commissioners said Monday that a study on broadband deployment in North Carolina illustrates the need for federal government involvement in a national broadband strategy. At a New America Foundation forum, Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein said such a plan should be based on a partnership between the public and private sectors.

Government should consider alternative ways to get an interoperable, nationwide network for public safety, panelists said on a Wednesday NXTcomm panel about the 700 MHz auction. The D-block auction’s failure was no shock, and a replay of that flop is likely if the FCC reauctions this year, said attorney Paul Sinderbrand, who represents the Wireless Communications Association. On 700-MHz spectrum successfully auctioned earlier this year, panelists seemed doubtful winners would meet buildout deadlines.

LAS VEGAS -- AT&T has no concerns about the next FCC’s political tilt, Jim Cicconi, AT&T senior executive vice president, said in an interview here. Nor does the impending presidential election mean today’s FCC will retreat on intercarrier compensation reform, he said. Cicconi updated us about ongoing talks with Hollywood on a copyright filter for the AT&T network.

LAS VEGAS -- Reform on intercarrier compensation and universal service is possible this year, regulatory officials from Verizon, Qwest, AT&T and Sprint Nextel said Tuesday in a Stifel Nicolaus panel at NXTCOMM. They also gave insights on net neutrality, Verizon’s pending Alltel acquisition and other matters soon to see FCC review.

Carriers must manage networks to deal with congestion, said James Hansen, Embarq Network Services senior vice president, speaking at NXTcomm on new communications services. One percent of Embarq customers use about 25 percent of that carrier’s network, and P2P applications are the biggest bandwidth eaters, he said. Google, Microsoft and other net neutrality law proponents want to turn carrier networks into “dumb pipes,” he said. But carriers must manage because they “cannot afford to be all things to all people,” he said. Alternatives to traffic prioritization -- such as charging for bandwidth used -- could be tricky to implement, Hansen said. “We really don’t have the billing system in place… to handle usage-based billing.” Even if it did, “we also know from experience” that such a system would confuse users, who frequently argue individual charges, he said. A better idea might be a “hybrid” approach, with users paying a flat rate with “certain add-ons for peak volume that goes beyond what we deem normal usage,” he said. “That is going to require some systems work, but I think that is what our customer base will live with and accept.” Hansen urged carriers to partner with vendors to get social media and other attractive applications on their networks, Hansen said. Carriers like Embarq are good at building network bandwidth but struggle to make applications that win customers, he said. “Partnering is the way we're going to have to have this occur… Technology is sexy, but at the end you must have a satisfied customer.”

LAS VEGAS -- Communications industry innovation requires cooperation among a cross-section of the telecom ecosystem, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said Tuesday in a NXTcomm keynote. He made no announcements, instead focusing on telecom’s relationship to the macro-economy. Telstra CEO Solomon Trujillo echoed Stephenson, urging carriers to focus on customer experience when designing new services.