To: Alarm Industry Communications Committee

From: Benjamin H. Dickens, Jr.

Mary J. Sisak

Re: Wireline Report

Date: May 9, 2016

The DC PSC Proposes Backup Power Rules

The Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia (DCPSC) has proposed rules to require telecommunications service providers that provide regulated local exchange service to customers using facilities that are not powered by the telecommunications service provider to provide a standby backup power unit for all provider-furnished equipment and devices. The proposed DCPSC rules go further than the rules adopted by the FCC because they would require the telecommunications service provider to offer a standby backup power unit to customers free of charge. The DCPSC proposes that the standby backup power unit must include at least twenty-five hours of standby backup power. The DCPSC also proposes that the telecommunications service provider must either provide replacement batteries at no charge to the customer before the expiration date of the batteries or provide notification to the customer of the expiration date of the batteries to allow the customer to replace the batteries. In this case, the telecommunications service provider must provide a bill credit to the customer for the average retail cost of the replacement batteries on the next customer bill.

A copy of the DCPSC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is attached. Comments on the DCPSC rules are due on June 27, 2016.

FCC Proposes New Special Access Regulation

On May 3, the FCC issued a Tariff Investigation Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in which it declares unlawful certain tariff provisions regarding special access service – which the FCC is now calling business data service (BDS) – and proposes to replace the existing regulatory structure with a new technology-neutral framework that classifies markets as either competitive or noncompetitive, and regulates providers accordingly. BDS are higher-capacity connections used by businesses and carriers. Currently, these services are available through tariffs. The FCC proposes that in non-competitive markets, price regulation (rate caps) should replace the current tariff-based approach to regulating the rates for BDS. In competitive markets, the FCC proposes to apply the "just and reasonable" rate requirements in the Communications Act. The FCC’s proposal to impose rate caps and other regulatory mandates extends beyond incumbent local exchange carriers to new entrants in the BDS marketplace, such as cable companies.

In the Tariff Investigation Order, the FCC concludes an investigation into the terms and conditions of 18 business data (or special access) services tariff pricing plans offered by AT&T, CenturyLink, Frontier and Verizon. Specifically, the FCC declares unlawful so-called “all or nothing” provisions that require a customer to make all of its purchases through a single supplier plan during the term of commitment. The FCC further concludes that certain of the shortfall and early termination penalties contained in the pricing plans are unjust and unreasonable practices.

In the FNPRM, the FCCproposes:

to identify competitive markets as those in which material competitive effects are present;
a set of de-regulatory rules to govern competitive markets, primarily applying the Communications Act’s just-and-reasonable requirements and prohibiting non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that prevent carriers from providing information to the FCC;
a set of rules to safeguard customers in non-competitive markets, including the use of price regulation and the prohibition of certain tying arrangements that harm competition;
that tariffs should not be used in the future as part of the regulation of any BDS;
a future periodic data collection of a kind that will allow the Commission to update periodically its identification of competitive and non-competitive markets; and
elimination of the current exemption for certain Verizon services from the basic provisions of the Act governing just and reasonable offerings of telecommunications services.

The proposed framework is, according to the FCC, based on four fundamental principles: 1) competition is best; 2) the new regulatory framework should be technology-neutral; 3) barriers that may be inhibiting the technology transitions should be removed; and 4) regulations should be constructed to meet not only today’s marketplace, but tomorrow’s as well.

FCC Seeks to Establish Broadband Customer Privacy Rules

The FCC is seeking comment on how to apply the privacy requirements of the Communications Act to broadband Internet access service (BIAS). Among other things, the FCC seeks comment on definitions for the information that would be protected as “customer proprietary information”; rules to enhance the ability of consumers to make informed choices through effective disclosure of broadband providers’ privacy policies; whether Section 222 should be applied to provide additional protection to some or all forms of content; whether there are particular types of information, for example, Social Security numbers, financial account information, or geo-location information that deserve special treatment because they are so sensitive; and rules that harmonize the privacy requirements for cable and satellite providers with the rules for telecommunications providers. The FCC also seeks comment on whether there are any small-provider-specific exemptions that are appropriate, such as for small providers who have already obtained customer approval, or who collect data from fewer than 5,000 customers a year (provided they do not share customer data with third parties).

Outages in TX, FL, and CA in Connection with Frontier Acquisition of Verizon

Telecommunications Reports has reported outages in the states of Texas, Florida and California associated with Frontier Communications’ recent takeover of Verizon Communications, Inc.’s wireline and fiber facilities. The Texas Public Utility Commission has received 475 complaints of outages in Texas, the Florida attorney general reported that her office has received 721 complaints from customers who lost phone and Internet service and the California Public Utilities Commission received 584 complaints.

The Florida AG received complaints from customers who were without phone and Internet service for days, and from seniors who lost access to “essential 911 services.”

The Texas Public Utility Commission has opened a new docket to gather comments and complaints regarding Frontier’s service issues. The Texas PUC received 475 complaints between April 1 and May 12 regarding the transition of Verizon Southwest wireline properties.

The California Public Utilities Commission said it received 584 complaints from customers regarding Frontier's service from April 1 to April 29.

The California Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee is holding a hearing "on the impact on our constituents and the appropriate government response if these problems persist" on May 18.