The FCC shouldn’t act on pending petitions for eligible telecom c...

1 ex parte presentation to members of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, Verizon said the growth in ETC petitions in nonrural areas “threatens to unravel the CALLS plan and thus increase charges for all wireline customers.” To prevent that, the Joint Board should recommend “that high- cost support be made ‘portable’ only if the competitive ETC wins the ILEC’s customer… rather than just some of the customer’s lines,” Verizon said: “Although the threat to CALLS-related support is unique, there is one change in the portability rules that can both help preserve CALLS support and control growth of the high-cost fund. This can be done through amending the portability rules so that a customer is not receiving high-cost-supported services from more than one carrier… The Joint Board should recommend that the Commission clarify that competitive ETCs will receive high- cost support, including CALLS-related support, only for customers that are new or have been captured from the ILEC.” The CALLS order reformed the access charge system in nonrural areas. Because CALLS support is capped, “allowing new ETC designations and portability rules to dilute CALLS-based interstate access support provided to ILECs will make this support insufficient to compensate interstate loop costs,” the filing said: “Until a solution to these problems is reached, the Joint Board should recommend the Commission refrain from acting on pending petitions for ETC status.”