FCC Delays Vote on Intercarrier Compensation and Universal Service
Nov 4, 2008
The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) open meeting is about to get underway, but there will not be a vote on intercarrier compensation and universal service reform as originally planned.
In a joint statement released yesterday, four of the five FCC commissioners -- Michael Copps, Robert McDowell, Jonathan Adelstein and Deborah Taylor Tate -- reiterated their support for receiving further comments on the proposed reforms in order to vote at the December 18th meeting and they expressed disappointment at Chairman Kevin Martin's decision to remove the item from today's agenda.
They wrote, "We approached this proceeding with the common goal of modernizing our universal service and intercarrier compensation policies, and commend the desire to tackle some of the most important issues facing this Commission. It is equally important to ensure that any reform proposal receive the full benefit of public notice and comment - especially in light of the difficult economic circumstances currently facing our nation."
Chairman Martin countered with a statement of his own in which he questioned his fellow commissioners' readiness to take action:
I would like to be encouraged by my colleagues' commitment that they will truly be ready to complete this much needed reform on December 18. The nature of the questions they would like to include makes me doubt they will have found their answers with an additional seven weeks. I believe the far more likely outcome is that, in December, the other Commissioners will merely want another Further Notice and another round of comment on the most difficult questions. I do not believe they will be prepared to address the most challenging issues and that the Commission will be negotiating over what further questions to ask in December.
Expect to hear more about the fate of intercarrier compensation and universal reform going forward. As for today, there is still plenty on the table for the meeting, most notably a vote about use of the white spaces. Check back for more updates, and follow us on Twitter (our member name is TechPolicy).
Tags:
broadband, Deborah Taylor Tate, FCC, intercarrier compensation, Jonathan Adelstein, Kevin Martin, Michael Copps, Robert McDowell, universal service, white spaces
