# Presentation: 825362

## Wireline Competition BureauState of the Bureau PresentationJanuary 20, 2006

## Strategic Goals

- Advancing our Nation’s Public Safety and Homeland Security
- Facilitating Broadband Deployment
- Promoting Competition

## Advancing Public Safety

- Ensuring Safety for Consumers:  VoIP/911 Order and NPRM
- Interconnected VoIP service providers required to:
- Provide 911 emergency calling capability
- Inform consumers of the capabilities and limitations of their 911 services
- Sought comment on how to automatically update customer location information for nomadic VoIP services

## Advancing Public Safety

- Relief to Hurricane Victims
- Made available more than
- $200 million in federal
- universal service fund
- support for relief efforts
- Low income program – Made funds available for carriers to provide free wireless handsets with at least 300 minutes
- Schools and libraries program – Made funds available to reconnect affected schools & libraries
- Health care program – Made funds available to support the telecommunications needs of affected public and non-profit health care providers, including American Red Cross shelters
- High-cost program – Provided flexibility for carriers to prioritize rebuilding damaged facilities

## Advancing Public Safety

- Relief to Hurricane Victims (cont.)
- Extensive Outreach and
- Coordination with Service Providers
- and Local Public Safety Representatives
- Orders providing additional relief
- Reassigned phone number 1-800-RED-CROSS
- Enabled evacuees to maintain their phone numbers via waivers of number aging and number porting rules
- Provided flexibility from filing deadlines for E-Rate participants, for carriers reporting competition and broadband data (Form 477), and for VoIP E911 status reports
- Permitted carriers flexibility in use of their networks to maintain and restore service

## Advancing Homeland Security

- Provided Support for Law Enforcement
- Adopted the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) Order
- Extended the applicability of CALEA to interconnected VoIP and facilities-based broadband providers
- Promoted Emergency Preparedness
- Developed Continuity of Operations Plans

## Facilitated Broadband Deployment

- Advanced “universal, affordable access to broadband technology”
- Promoted Regulatory Parity:  DSL Order and NPRM
- Following the Supreme Court’s *Brand* *X* Decision, the DSL Order deregulated wireline broadband Internet access service as delivered by DSL technology placing it on equal regulatory footing with cable modem service

## Facilitated Broadband Deployment

- Advanced “universal, affordable access to broadband technology” (cont.)
- Promoted Net Neutrality:  Internet Policy Statement
- Broadband Data Collection
- Released the High Speed Services for Internet Access report
- Released the Trends in Telephone Service report

## Promoted Competition

- Performed simultaneous review of two historic telecom mergers in unprecedented time frame – SBC/AT&T Verizon/MCI
- Analyzed over 550 boxes of materials and millions of pages of data and other information
- Assessed data for more than 5000 product and geographic markets
- Enabled Commission to complete analyses and release orders in less than 9 months

## Promoted Competition

- Transitioning to Competitive Markets
- Qwest Omaha Forbearance Order
- Verizon Pricing Flexibility Order
- Rationalizing the Intercarrier Compensation Regime
- Intercarrier Compensation FNPRM
- Reduced Consumer Fees
- PIC Change Charge Order

## Promoted Competition

- Advanced Universal Service
- Launched program improvements proceeding:  Comprehensive Review NPRM
- First comprehensive review of the management, administration, and oversight of the federal universal service program
- Working to curb waste, fraud and abuse
- Examining the non-rural disbursement process and the creation of a non-rural, insular mechanism:  10th Circuit/PRTC NPRM

## WCB 2005 Accomplishments

- Agenda Items Released:  9
- Circulation Items Released:  26
- Forbearance Petitions Resolved:  12
- Statistical Reports Released:  15
- ARMIS Filings Processed:  2243
- Tariff Filings Processed:  1186

## Challenges for 2006 and Beyond

- Public Safety and Homeland Security
- Improve 911 services for consumers of nomadic VoIP providers:  VoIP/911 NPRM
- Broadband
- Support continued broadband deployment
- Competition
- Rationalize the intercarrier compensation regime
- Reform of the universal service fund