FCC Comr. Abernathy said Thurs. that many regulatory issues invol...
FCC Comr. Abernathy said Thurs. that many regulatory issues involving competitive markets that were focus of domestic policy were attracting same level of attention internationally, including resale obligations, colocation rates, rights of way, nondiscriminatory access to critical facilities. At…
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brown-bag lunch of FCBA’s International Practice Committee, she said U.S. outreach to regulators in other countries was important, although she stressed importance of not dictating to other countries how they should structure regulations or regulatory bodies, instead focusing on areas such as best practices. In Q&A session, one issue was Fri. comment deadline for U.S. Trade Representative’s Office on implementation of telecom trade agreements. One attorney said expected theme this year was not laws that were on books in countries, but process of how they were implemented. “We can build relationships with foreign regulators,” Abernathy said. “We can talk about how we encountered some problems and how we solved them.” She also was asked how her regulatory philosophy of letting markets work where they could applied to potential role of FCC when it came to market shortcomings in areas such as mobile satellite service. Without addressing MSS issue directly, Abernathy said: “I am always hesitant to believe that the FCC would have better business planning instincts than industry… I don’t generally believe the FCC will get it right if we try and anticipate the right business model.” As for continued need for accounting rates and benchmarks, Abernathy said that in “vast majority of instances,” accounting rates had been very positive for U.S. industry. “The real question is, do we take Enforcement Bureau or International Bureau resources to go after very poor countries with small volumes of traffic who may not be meeting benchmarks,” she said: “This is one of those issues where there is no easy answer.” Asked whether U.S. should phase out accounting rates and declare victory because they had been successful, Abernathy said she wasn’t sure. Saying that that would require opening another proceeding if Commission examined issue, she said, “now it may be time to look at where we go and what we have accomplished to date.” Among upcoming international meetings that commissioners will attend, Abernathy said: (1) She will attend European Union bilateral meeting in April in Brussels. (2) Comr. Martin will attend ITU World Telecom Development Conference in March in Istanbul. (3) Comr. Copps will attend formal bilateral meetings with China.