Comm Daily Notebook
Rural local exchange carriers and mid-sized LECs in general appear to be one of the few sectors that could take a hit as a result of the National Broadband Plan, because of the “drive to cut intercarrier compensation,” Stifel Nicolaus…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
said Friday. “The Plan suggests a reasonable glide path in ICC cuts for the price-cap midsize RLECs with an opportunity for ‘adequate’ revenue offsets -- providing some comfort to the carriers -- but the details are key and remain to be hashed out,” said a research report. “The midsize carriers actually seek ICC and Universal Service Fund shifts to make revenue flows more sustainable long term, and we think a rough, messy compromise is the most-likely scenario, ultimately, but we believe the overhang will be extended. There are so many drags and points of resistance (e.g., legal jurisdiction, rate-of-return carrier resistance, complexity) that the reform push could (once again) fail.” Broadcasters and the studios also face risks, the firm said: “But whether broadcasters are the big winners or losers in the spectrum drama depends on whether they have a credible plan to monetize their excess spectrum.” The firm said the plan’s central thesis, “simply put, is to get more people to do more things on more broadband, and particularly if it can marshal the power of the government to deploy its resources and power through purchasing and supplying services, it could provide a catalyst."