Requiring Voice over Internet providers to pay legacy access charges “would be a fundamental mistake,” the Voice on the Net Coalition said in comments on the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation rulemaking notice. “The commission is about to embark on real reform of the intercarrier compensation system precisely because the legacy system does not work with modern communications technologies,” VON Executive Director Glenn Richards said in a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski posted to dockets 01-92, 07-135, 04-36 and 09-51. “Access charges are part of a regime that regulators designed 30 years ago before the advent of IP-based services.”

Requiring Voice over Internet providers to pay legacy access charges “would be a fundamental mistake,” the Voice on the Net Coalition said in comments on the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation rulemaking notice. “The commission is about to embark on real reform of the intercarrier compensation system precisely because the legacy system does not work with modern communications technologies,” VON Executive Director Glenn Richards said in a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski posted to dockets 01-92, 07-135, 04-36 and 09-51. “Access charges are part of a regime that regulators designed 30 years ago before the advent of IP-based services.”

Monday’s announcement that NTIA is looking at the 1755-1850 MHz band for possible reallocation for wireless broadband could lay the groundwork for the biggest single spectrum auction since the 700 MHz sale in 2007, industry officials said. The wireless industry has been pushing hard for an auction pairing the cleared 1755-1780 MHz band with the AWS-3 band. Recent signs have been that the 1755-1850 band was getting NTIA and FCC attention (CD Jan 14 p1).

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski abandoned trying to use Title II authority in the net neutrality order, but his proposed overhaul of the Universal Service Fund may revive the reclassification debate, an industry official and a former Obama administration adviser each told us. Genachowski wants to refocus the fund to support high-speed broadband, and his staff has drafted a notice of proposed rulemaking that the commission is expected to vote on next week. Congress is poised to jump into the universal service deliberations (CD Jan 28 p4).

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski abandoned trying to use Title II authority in the net neutrality order, but his proposed overhaul of the Universal Service Fund may revive the reclassification debate, an industry official and a former Obama administration adviser each told us. Genachowski wants to refocus the fund to support high-speed broadband, and his staff has drafted a notice of proposed rulemaking that the commission is expected to vote on next week. Congress is poised to jump into the universal service deliberations.

p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }The FCC’s rulemaking notice on the Universal Service Fund should be specific enough to allow the commission to promptly adopt final rules, USTelecom said in an ex parte notice posted in docket 10-90 on Friday. “Phantom Traffic, Traffic Pumping and compensation for IP-based traffic have been thoroughly addressed in these proceedings over the past several years,” the association said. But if the commission “chooses to issue further notices on these issues,” it should “consider final rules ahead of its completion of more comprehensive reform as action on them is urgent and overdue as acknowledged in the National Broadband Plan.” Windstream separately “warned” the agency against “a significant reduction in intercarrier compensation payments.” A filing by the company urged the commission to “act now to confirm that VoIP traffic terminating to the PSTN is subject to the same intercarrier compensation rules as other voice providers with whom they compete.” That’s in line with a letter Jan. 18 from the CEOs of CenturyLink, Qwest, Frontier, and Windstream to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

Satellite broadband should play a larger role in a revamped Universal Service Fund than AT&T Senior Vice President Bob Quinn suggested Thursday (CD Jan 28 p4), WildBlue replied. “We don’t understand the mindset that says satellite broadband is just ‘part of the mix,'” said WildBlue General Counsel Lisa Scalpone. “In reality, satellite broadband is the most important part of bringing the cost of the USF fund down -- and lowering the USF tax bill that has to be paid by the American taxpayers. If you can avoid $15 billion of taxes and still provide 10 Mbps service to every unserved household in America, why wouldn’t we do that? It seems wasteful to overfund broadband service through a higher tax rate on the American taxpayers without considering that satellite broadband will have 10 times its current capabilities by year’s end and can solve much of the problem in the most cost effective manner."

Satellite broadband should play a larger role in a revamped Universal Service Fund than AT&T Senior Vice President Bob Quinn suggested Thursday, WildBlue replied. “We don’t understand the mindset that says satellite broadband is just ‘part of the mix,'” said WildBlue General Counsel Lisa Scalpone. “In reality, satellite broadband is the most important part of bringing the cost of the USF fund down -- and lowering the USF tax bill that has to be paid by the American taxpayers. If you can avoid $15 billion of taxes and still provide 10 Mbps service to every unserved household in America, why wouldn’t we do that? It seems wasteful to overfund broadband service through a higher tax rate on the American taxpayers without considering that satellite broadband will have 10 times its current capabilities by year’s end and can solve much of the problem in the most cost effective manner."

A former House Commerce Committee member joined the Senate Commerce Committee. A list of GOP committee assignments released Thursday shows that Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri is one of five new Republican senators joining the committee. In the House, Blunt supported Universal Service Fund overhaul and strongly opposed net neutrality rules. The GOP now has 12 seats on the Senate Commerce Committee. The other four new Republicans are Sens. John Boozman of Arkansas, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Marco Rubio of Florida and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire. Previously on the committee were Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., who retired, and Sen. George LeMieux, R-Fla., who didn’t seek re-election. Joining the Senate Judiciary Committee is Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. Democrats also released committee assignments Thursday. The party lost a seat on the Commerce Committee, but the lineup is otherwise the same as last year because Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-S.D., retired. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the former attorney general who led an investigation of Google “Street View,” joined the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, another freshman Democrat, took the Judiciary seat of the state’s former Sen. Ted Kaufman. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., left Judiciary.

A former House Commerce Committee member joined the Senate Commerce Committee. A list of GOP committee assignments released Thursday shows that Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri is one of five new Republican senators joining the committee. In the House, Blunt supported Universal Service Fund overhaul and strongly opposed net neutrality rules. The GOP now has 12 seats on the Senate Commerce Committee. The other four new Republicans are Sens. John Boozman of Arkansas, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Marco Rubio of Florida and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire. Previously on the committee were Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., who retired, and Sen. George LeMieux, R-Fla., who didn’t seek re-election. Joining the Senate Judiciary Committee is Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. Democrats also released committee assignments Thursday. The party lost a seat on the Commerce Committee, but the lineup is otherwise the same as last year because Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-S.D., retired. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the former attorney general who led an investigation of Google “Street View,” joined the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, another freshman Democrat, took the Judiciary seat of the state’s former Sen. Ted Kaufman. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., left Judiciary.