The FCC should revamp the way the Universal Service Fund contributions are figured and “broaden the base of contributors to include all broadband Internet access providers,” the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies said in an ex parte filing. The current system “is in serious jeopardy of becoming unsustainable very soon.” The commission should quickly “strengthen call signaling rules to mitigate phantom traffic” and confirm that VoIP traffic terminated on the public switched telephone network is subject to the appropriate intercarrier compensation, the association said. The organization also warned that keeping USF at its current cap won’t allow consumers in rural incumbent local exchanges’ service areas “access to broadband services that are reasonably comparable to those offered in urban areas."

A weakness in FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s proposed approach to broadband reclassification is that the commission would regulate only broadband transport in the last mile, leaving out other layers of the Internet, critics said this week. The FCC wouldn’t assert control over ISPs and or over actions at the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) level, where Comcast’s throttling of BitTorrent took place, they said.

LOS ANGELES -- Consensus among the interests on net neutrality would be good, and both political parties would seem to agree, said Majority Chief Counsel Roger Sherman of the House Commerce Committee. Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., welcomes a legislative approach “that everyone can get behind and can become law,” but the FCC “can’t sit still waiting for Congress to act,” Sherman said at an NCTA lunch. “The door is open, and I'm sure [Minority Counsel] Neil [Fried] would agree we'd love to hear suggestions.”

A weakness in FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s proposed approach to broadband reclassification is that the commission would regulate only broadband transport in the last mile, leaving out other layers of the Internet, critics said this week. The FCC wouldn’t assert control over ISPs and or over actions at the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) level, where Comcast’s throttling of BitTorrent took place, they said.

LOS ANGELES -- Consensus among the interests on net neutrality would be good, and both political parties would seem to agree, said Majority Chief Counsel Roger Sherman of the House Commerce Committee. Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., welcomes a legislative approach “that everyone can get behind and can become law,” but the FCC “can’t sit still waiting for Congress to act,” Sherman said at an NCTA lunch. “The door is open, and I'm sure [Minority Counsel] Neil [Fried] would agree we'd love to hear suggestions.”

The FCC Wireline Bureau is seeking comment on a petition filed by MeetingOne regarding contributions to the Universal Service Fund. The company requested a review of a Universal Service Administrative Co. decision that subjects MeetingOne to contribution obligations for past and future revenue, the bureau said in a public notice. MeetingOne provides IP audio conferencing services to its customers through the use of IP data packets. MeetingOne does not rely on time division multiplexing (TDM) and its conference bridge “does not directly touch the public switched telephone network (PSTN)” the company said in its petition. “MeetingOne concluded that its service is materially different” and is likely not subject to USF contributions, it said. In March, USAC rejected this argument. Comments are due June 7, replies June 22.

The departing head of FCC’s broadband work crew said the agency doesn’t need a permanent czar to ensure that the commission stays focused on high-speed Internet service even after execution of the National Broadband Plan wraps up. Blair Levin sees changes to the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation as linked and thinks they need to be done together, he said in an exit interview Friday. He remains confused why broadcasters are publicly resisting the plan’s recommendation to create a market for other uses of TV spectrum and said that, despite much speculation about what he'll do next, he himself doesn’t know.

The Title II sections of the Communications Act the FCC would apply to broadband under Chairman Julius Genachowski’s reclassification plan could still burden operators with cumbersome rules and expose them to costly legal challenges, communications attorneys said Friday. Statements from Genachowski and FCC General Counsel Austin Schlick Thursday indicated Sections 201, 202, 208, 222, 254 and 255 would remain in place after a substantial forbearance from other Title II elements (CD May 7 p1). Sections 201 and 202 “are the key provisions of the Communications Act that have sort of kept behavior in check for almost 80 years,” said telecom lawyer Glenn Richards of Pillsbury Winthrop. “Anything that folks do, they're always thinking about it in terms of ‘Will it cause a 201 or 202 issue?'"

The departing head of FCC’s broadband work crew said the agency doesn’t need a permanent czar to ensure that the commission stays focused on high-speed Internet service even after execution of the National Broadband Plan wraps up. Blair Levin sees changes to the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation as linked and thinks they need to be done together, he said in an exit interview Friday. He remains confused why broadcasters are publicly resisting the plan’s recommendation to create a market for other uses of TV spectrum and said that, despite much speculation about what he'll do next, he himself doesn’t know.

The Title II Sections of the Communications Act that the FCC would apply to broadband under Chairman Julius Genachowski’s reclassification plan could still burden operators with cumbersome rules and expose them to costly legal challenges, communications attorneys said Friday. Statements from Genachowski and FCC General Counsel Austin Schlick Thursday indicated Sections 201, 202, 208, 222, 254 and 255 would remain in place after a substantial forbearance from other Title II elements. Sections 201 and 202 “are the key provisions of the Communications Act that have sort of kept behavior in check for almost 80 years,” said Glenn Richards of Pillsbury Winthrop. “Anything that folks do, they're always thinking about it in terms of ‘Will it cause a 201 or 202 issue?'"