Cal. PUC Comr. Rachelle Chong proposed a retail rate deregulation plan for the state’s largest incumbent telcos that would end price regulation of all residential and business bundled services, newly introduced services, customer specific contracts and promotions, along with basic local services to most customers. Under this proposal, filed in the PUC’s uniform regulatory framework docket (Case R-05- 04-005), rate regulation would remain only on local residential services subsidized by universal service funds, including Lifeline and high-cost assistance, and any bundles that include subsidized residential local service. Chong said the Big 4 Cal. incumbents -- AT&T, Verizon, SureWest and Frontier -- lack the market power to sustain prices above what competition would produce. She also said they are subject to real competition from wireless and VoIP providers. The 248-page proposal would allow price decreases to become effective 24 hours after filing the tariff; but rate increases would require 25 days’ notice to affected customers. Telecom service contracts would be effective upon signing, but would have to be filed with the PUC within 15 days. The PUC would review these pacts for unfair discrimination. The proposal also would streamline reporting requirements and adopt a single set of requirements for the 4 carriers. The plan also would adopt FCC accounting standards across the board for the telcos. The proposal would leave service quality standards and enforcement issues for resolution in a separate docket (Case 02-12-004). The Chong plan could come before the PUC as early as its Aug. 24 meeting. But if an alternative proposal is filed by another PUC member before then, the matter likely will be put off until late Sept.

The FCC is expected to grant most of the BPL industry’s requests when it votes Aug. 3 on reconsideration petitions and a petition for a declaratory ruling that BPL is an information service, industry sources said. The 2 BPL items on the agenda, to be released today (Thurs.) “both look good at this point in terms of what we expect the outcome will be,” said an industry executive.

The FCC is expected to grant most of the BPL industry’s requests when it votes Aug. 3 on reconsideration petitions and a petition for a declaratory ruling that BPL is an information service, industry sources said. The 2 BPL items on the agenda, to be released today (Thurs.) “both look good at this point in terms of what we expect the outcome will be,” said an industry executive.

Few changes mark the latest edition of a controversial plan for reforming intercarrier compensation, submitted Mon. to the FCC by AT&T, BellSouth, Cingular and hundreds of small carriers. Now dubbed the “Missoula Plan,” it’s the final version of a proposal by the remaining elements of the NARUC forum (CD March 15 p1). The proposal immediately drew fire in the form of a statement from many industry groups and companies, including NASUCA, CTIA, NCTA and CompTel.

A senior citizens advocacy group backs the Senate telecom reform bill approved last month by the Senate Commerce Committee, it said. The Seniors Coalition endorses the bill’s efforts to cut consumer prices and boost broadband, as well as its universal service provisions, officials said Thurs. In a letter to Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska), the group said “lower prices and increased broadband deployment spurred by this bill… benefit seniors and provide new ways to stay in touch with loved ones.” Increased consumer choice in the video market will help older people on fixed incomes by significantly cutting cable bills, the coalition said. The group held a Wed. call-in news conference criticizing the Universal Service Fund as waste of money.

A senior citizens advocacy group backs the Senate telecom reform bill approved last month by the Senate Commerce Committee, it said. The Seniors Coalition endorses the bill’s efforts to cut consumer prices and boost broadband, as well as its universal service provisions, officials said Thurs. In a letter to Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska), the group said “lower prices and increased broadband deployment spurred by this bill… benefit seniors and provide new ways to stay in touch with loved ones.” Increased consumer choice in the video market will help older people on fixed incomes by significantly cutting cable bills, the coalition said. The group held a Wed. call-in news conference criticizing the Universal Service Fund as waste of money (CD July 20 p7).

Calls to bar PBS from making exclusive deals involving taxpayer-supported programming have followed RCN complaints to the FCC about trouble securing PBS Kids Sprout programming from Comcast. Launched last April, Sprout is a joint venture of PBS, Comcast, Sesame Workshop and HIT (CD April 4 p5). In the run-up to FCC approval of the Adelphia merger, RCN told the FCC it “experienced a host of difficulties in accessing” Sprout VoD programming, including “delay in negotiating with RCN for carriage of this programming.” To keep the FCC from imposing conditions on the merger, Comcast agreed to make the programming available to VoD aggregators like TVN for 3 years, according to PBS and other officials.

Telecom customers nationwide are getting stuck for a fortune needlessly subsidizing rural telephone companies via the Universal Service Fund (USF), a consumer group charged Wed. The govt. would spend less giving satellite or wireless phones to rural residents otherwise without service than it does “enriching” rural telecoms, said a representative of the Seniors Coalition in a call-in news conference.

Internet2 -- charged with developing and deploying advanced network applications for faster data transfer -- has benefited from U.S. investments in high-performance computing, the Senate Subcommittee on Technology, Innovation & Competitiveness heard Wed. Level 3 Exec. Vp Jack Waters cited a recent partnership between his company and Internet2, a 200-plus university consortium, to create a new 100 Gbps network for key research centers, 10 times as fast as the group’s current backbone.

Pessimism dogs the Senate telecom bill (HR-5252) as a shortened session’s legislative days dwindle, lawmakers hedge votes and leadership support is scant for the controversial, complex measure, Hill sources and lobbyists said. Sept. would be the earliest the bill could see floor time, Hill sources said, and even then only if major arm twisting could line up the 60 votes needed to avoid filibuster.