Telecom Sense

Rust Never Sleeps . . .

"Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance."  Kurt Vonnegut, Hocus Pocus, 1990.

With respect to the Hocus Pocus quote above, the late Kurt Vonnegut could just have easily said the same thing about what humans want to read and write about.  No one wants to read about maintenance, but everyone wants to read about big events and big plans [like Mike Shanahan coming to town, or the National Broadband Plan].  Maintenance is only interesting when it doesn't get done, and the failure to do maintenance causes something bad to happen. 

As a result of this quirk of human nature, when it comes to speculation/predictions/pontification on the National Broadband Plan, the Plan is the thing.  The maintenance on the rusting-for-too-long Universal Service Fund and the related intercarrier compensation system are afterthoughts, and haven't received a ton of attention among FCC watchers, and reporters.  The shame is that the FCC's publicly-stated intent to do this maintenance is a REALLY BIG DEAL. 

To my mind, the Commission deserves more credit for tackling the maintenance (if this is, in fact part of the Plan) than any--forgive the characterization--"pie in the sky" plans. Why, you may ask?  Because--to me--these are the boring-but-thankless (not to mention impossibly complex and politically contentious) chores that the Commission must succeed in addressing as a predicate to creating a regulatory climate that will stimulate investment by carriers (regardless of technology), customers, content, and applications service providers. 

Moreover, this Commission can really clear away a lot of rust in the next two years, and the rest will take care of itself.  Any part of the plan that can be accomplished, in a self-executing way, by mid-2013 is realistic, parts that become effective by 2017 extend into the "optimistic", but still possible.  Anything that's supposed to happen past 2017 should probably be taken out of the Broadband Plan, and put into a special "Broadband Prophecy" section, and phrased in Nostradamus-style quatrains.

Back to the point, though, let's look at one really overlooked area of "rust removal"--Universal Service Contribution Reform--and see why it's so important to a plan designed to increase broadband deployment.

The "Broadband Gap" Will Only Widen Without USF Contribution Reform.  I've heard some pretty reliable sources speculate that the "Contribution Factor" (the percent of the interstate telecom services revenue that consumers must pay to the Fund) for the second quarter will exceed 15%.  This number should be announced this week or next week (I would guess the night of Friday, the 12th).  If true, this would represent an almost 40% increase over last year's second quarter figure of 11.3%.  Moreover, at the current rate of increase, it would not be surprising to see the factor approach 20% by the end of the year. What does this mean? 

Well, let's say you want a "bundled" local/long-distance plan with unlimited long-distance calling.  You live in a big-city suburb, and you want to use a facilities-based competitor to the incumbent LEC.  Here is a typical price schedule for "phone only" for the VA suburbs of DC.  Thus, a 15% contribution factor means that the customer is paying an additional $54 to $72 per year (depending on whether the customer commits to a 1 year contract) over and above the charges it pays to the carrier.  Either way, the telephone service customer is paying well over $400/ year simply for phone service.

On the other hand, if the customer had access to broadband, the customer could purchase the lowest speed broadband service for only a little more, and then pay about $20 per year for VoIP service using magicJack®.  If the broadband customer has no privacy concerns, they could get service for next to nothing with Google Voice. 

Nonetheless, according to the Commission, those customers that are least likely to purchase broadband will continue to be subject to increasing monthly costs for basic telephone service.  These customers are those least likely to buy broadband--the poor, the elderly, and the uneducated. (See, p. 82).

It's difficult to conceptualize that the lack of doing USF "maintenance" on the contribution side--to take account of the many, relatively affluent, customers that have already adopted broadband service--can act as a regressive "tax" on those least capable of shouldering this burden.  Yet, increasingly, without contribution reform (without "maintenance") this is what those buying POTS ("plain old telephone service") every month are facing. 

Contribution reform can be completely accomplished within Chairman Genachowski's tenure, and, if he plans it and follows through, it will be one of the most successful, and (probably) most under-appreciated, things he can do as a Chairman.  If contribution reform is announced as part of the plan--and part of the plan that gets implemented most quickly--the Chairman and the Commission staff deserve a lot more gratitude than they will get in the popular press.  But, if it helps, I'll grant permission to "crack open a cold Bud Light" to the righteous razors of rust . . . . 

A Good Question, A Direct Answer, and . . . Mayhem Ensues

Confusing, huh?  Sounds like a movie idea . . . for a really bad movie; but that's what happened recently with an AT&T filing in response to the 25th Public Notice in the National Broadband Plan proceeding.  The Commission asked for public comments on a very important, and very forward-thinking topic: how should the Commission plan for the inexorable obsolescence of the Public Switched Telephone Network ("PSTN").  

The simple fact of the matter is that, due to broadband availability and adoption patterns, increasing availability of mobile VoIP apps, and (morbidly) the dying off of PSTN customers--and the fact that younger customers, with broadband access, are opting for VoIP solutions.  Fortunately, the Commission acted on its own data, and recognized that the costs of the PSTN are being born by a smaller, and smaller group of consumers all the time, and the consumers that lack VoIP as an alternative (because they have not adopted broadband) are those least able to afford these increasing costs--the less-educated, the poor, the elderly, and minorities.  (See, p. 82). The Commission is to be applauded for recognizing a trend, and trying to plan in advance in order to avoid a potentially disastrous crisis in advance.

Among those filing comments in this proceeding, AT&T recognized the problem was as grave as the Commission suspected, and they responded to the Commission's request for comments with all the gravity with which the Commission solicited the comments.  Critics may call AT&T's comments melodramatic, but, judging from the attention they received (even if it was misplaced), I'd say AT&T did a good job of calling public attention to the Commission's very timely concern.  AT&T's policy blog explains their position a lot more succinctly than I could, and the posts contain good links to AT&T's actual comments.  If readers are interested, I would strongly encourage them to read these two posts--the first, and the second.

Bottom line: AT&T isn't seeking to turn off the PSTN, so there's no need for panic.  Hysteria isn't good, but (this time) it can have a good outcome if it brings more awareness to an urgent problem--the need for the Commission to reform USF contributions and distributions, and Intercarrier Compensation Reform, before the network becomes a network for broadband "haves, and have-nots."

Broadband Team Finally Gets It Right! New NPRM on USF and Intercarrier Comp

Yeah, like I'm one to talk about someone finally "getting it right?"  I've posted exactly 0 blog entries in one month (but it was a long month and we did go off daylight savings time), and I get to be a critic?  Seriously, though, if they had such a thing as a "license to blog", mine would have already expired for lack of use.   But, in my defense, I haven't posted anything in a while, because the big telecom policy talk of the day has been the FCC's proposed "Net Neutrality" Rulemaking, which was released on October 22nd.  And, the fact is, I'm really uncomfortable with the subject of "net neutrality"--for several reasons, not the least of which is that I've always been kind of confused and intimidated by the subject, because it always meant something different to different people.  However, now that the FCC has given it a concrete meaning, I have no excuses, so I'll hold my nose and start writing on it very soon. 

The point of this post, though--because I'm not one of those "hater" bloggers (not all the time anyway)--is to give credit to the Broadband Team over at the FCC for their appropriately named 19th [Nervous Breakdown] NPRM where they ask about how the role of the current state of USF funding and distribution, and intercarrier compensation, can effect broadband deployment.  As I am wont to do, I will take credit for prompting this NPRM--even though the subject was inescapable for the Broadband Team if they were going to do a comprehensive report (which they seem to be striving for)--because I wrote a post on this same subject two months ago (back when I was blogging). 

The NPRM seeks, in my opinion the most important information of the inquiry, because, unlike a lot of panels and inquiries, this information could really end up setting the FCC's substantive agenda for the next year or more--after the report is issued.   The reasons these issues are so big is that they are so pervasive, and so relevant to broadband deployment to rural and low income areas, and have been neglected for far too long.  Moreover, in a broadband/Net-centric world, these two key policies remain firmly stuck in the pre-Telecom Act days.  Additionally, it must be noted that it is impossible  for the Commission to tackle my new favorite subject of Net Neutrality without first figuring out the effects of imposing "neutrality" on the two of the pillars of regulation that are currently built on discrimination.  The FCC really can't think about imposing system-wide "neutrality" on a system that was never built to accommodate that principle (beyond common carriage--which the FCC's proposed Net Neutrality rules go well beyond), until the Commission understands how the current system promotes, or discourages, broadband Internet usage. 

Think about it.  Universal service was to be achieved on the theory that long distance (voice) subsidizes local, urban subsidizes rural, and business subsidizes residential.  Similarly, interconnection prices (for originating and terminating specific calls) range from "free" (wireless termination) to 6-7 cents a minute or more (rural or intrastate toll landline terminations).  Where discrimination is the law, economic incentives run counter to the law--and unproductive regulatory arbitrage is rewarded.  This is the system that we have and that is crumbling.  It certainly merits a look by the Commission as to how this system--and potential reforms--might promote broadband deployment in places where deployment is stuck, but subsidies persist to flow. 

Finally, I think this NPRM will lead to the most long lasting effects on the Commission's agenda in the near future because these matters are the biggest matters affecting broadband deployment that the FCC has the most control over.  I said it before, but these are the biggest issues from the past, that will be the biggest issues for the near future--if the FCC gets it right.  Yesterday's announced NPRM assures that these issues will be accounted for in the report to Congress, and will probably produce more pressure from Congress to work on these matters for the sake of establishing a platform for economic growth. 

So here's to you, oh conjurers of the Congressional Report, crack open a cold Bud Light, and . . . get back to work. . . you don't have a lot of time left!

FCC Last Friday: "Someone's $0.00 Has Got to Go(?)!"

Well . . . not really, at least not quite yet, but this is where the Commission is heading--whether they know it, or like it, or not.  If the FCC does know where they're heading (and I don't think they do), they can't be too thrilled, because they also don't know how to make it stop.  Wait, what am I talking about?

Last Friday, October 9th, on the Friday afternoon before the Columbus Day weekend, the Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau sent a letter to Google, asking some questions about the Google Voice service.  The questions aren't that tough for Google to "slip", in the sense that the questions won't get the "real" story out--the most we could probably learn is that Google itself just might receive ultra-low priced, even "free", inputs from its carrier partner(s), and Google might have some deniability about knowing how their "free" service is paid for.  But the answers should give the Commission some clues to pursue the whole story--which they won't get until they send out questions to Google's carrier partner(s), and the FCC does ask Google to identify its carrier partner(s) in the last question.

Notably, the Google letter is found on the Wireline Competition Bureau's home page, and not the FCC's main home page.  However, with no apparent sense of awareness, or irony, the entire FCC voted an Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the very same date (that was on the main home page) designed to agree with a coalition of smaller LECs seeking to "amend [the Commission's] rules to permit an incumbent LEC ETC with declining numbers of access lines to use a higher DEM weighting factor in performing jurisdictional separations and calculating LSS.  We believe that public policy supports doing so."  (See paragraph 13, citations omitted).  Effectively, the FCC has recognized that the number of companies actually paying access is declining, and decided that the best solution is to raise rates for the few companies that actually own up to providing a telecommunications service.  Why does this matter?

In August when the FCC sent its original letters to Apple, AT&T, and Google, I really didn't think the letters could possibly turn out well for Google.  I also noted that I preferred to think the purpose of the letters were for the FCC to "declare Google Voice to be a wireless information service, and then apply this definition to the wired broadband network in solving the classification of VoIP to eliminate this nasty obstacle to the creation of the national broadband plan."  I've since become skeptical that this Commission has any appetite--or understanding of the necessity--for reforming intercarrier compensation (and universal service) before undertaking any discretionary projects.  I don't think the FCC wants to classify VoIP service at all, but at this point, it just seems that circumstances won't allow this luxury.

I recently noted, that Traffic Pumping and "Magic-Jacking"© cannot continue to exist, while the number of "access paying" telecommunications carriers dwindles.  Yeah, that's right, I'm copyrighting the term "magic-jacking" to refer to the practice of an "over-the-top" VoIP provider (i.e., no LEC facilities) "stimulating" terminating and originating 8YY "access" revenues (for which the switchless VoIP provider appears to have no right to charge) by offering a "free" two-legged calling service in which the first "leg" goes to a mechanical relay point--usually in a higher-than-RBOC interstate location.  Meanwhile, the "magic-jacker" blocks termination to locations where termination costs are greater than the "terminating" access being charged to the IXC for "completing" the call to the relay point.  Google Voice, Magic Jack, and Skype are all prominent examples of alleged "magic-jackers."  SpeakEasy has recently declared that it is joining their ranks.

Continue reading FCC Last Friday: "Someone's $0.00 Has Got to Go(?)!"

Policy Personals: FCC Broadband Planner ISO "the Man in the Mirror"

I have to confess, I haven't been following the Commission's major initiative: the development of the National Broadband Plan.  Why?  I guess I'm just skeptical about the ability of the regulator (or any other central planner) to anticipate innovation, much less promote it.  From what I've seen, the best the government can do is to try to enforce the rules that exist, on the one hand, and, on the other, to eliminate rules that hinder healthy growth in commerce.  The idea of the government "creating" a "broadband plan" and then seriously expecting private firms to cooperate is just something I don't think I've ever witnessed--outside of an economy with much deeper government participation in the marketplace than we have here in the U.S. 

So, I haven't been following along mostly because I can't figure out why this regulator-driven plan would be any more successful than any other "plan" from any other central planner.  In fact, one thing about the "fact gathering" for the Plan makes me wonder whether this is even what Congress had in mind when they asked the FCC to come up with a "Plan."  Specifically, the methodology for "creating" the "plan" seems--from the panels the Commission is holding--exclusively, and excessively, focused on factors beyond the Commission's ability to influence. 

But, given the Agenda for the next FCC meeting on September 29th (progress on "the Plan"), I decided to take a gander at what the FCC has been looking at to develop the National Broadband Plan.  A cursory glance at the Broadband.gov web site displays a profound lack of introspection into how the Commission's current policies are influencing--for better or worse--broadband deployment.  In the previous post, I noted the IUB decision earlier this week, finding "traffic pumping" to be a violation of the traffic pumpers' tariffs. 

Given that access charge revenue is only available for originating or terminating circuit-switched calls, any regulatory scheme that allows access charges to artificially expand is tantamount to paying carriers not to deploy broadband and not to switch to an all-IP format. Yet the Commission sees no sense of urgency to reform intercarrier compensation, and is even entertaining a Petition to Preempt the IUB decision.

Similarly, higher USF "taxes" limit the amount of funds available to carriers who have yet to deploy broadband, and the "squeeze" gets tighter every quarter, as the contribution factor inexorably increases.  Expanding the contribution factor, or more closely scrutinizing subsidized services are issues that have simply faded from the Commission's screen--and I mean this literally.  Under "strategic goals" at the FCC web site (on the left hand side of the screen), Universal Service and Intercarrier Compensation are two issues that are nowhere to be found.

Is it me, or would a good look in the mirror, help the Commission better assess the influences of its current policies, so that--if necessary--the FCC could change the things that are easiest to change?  It's kind of like looking at a "muscle magazine" and designing an exercise/diet/fitness program, dreaming about how big and buff you're going to get . . . all the while, conveniently ignoring that you're smoking two packs a day and drinking a six-pack every night.  Wouldn't you want to know if you could reach your goals faster, just by getting out of your own way?

The FCC's Broadband Plan: Is the Grass Greener in a "Green Field" or a "Brown Field"?

At today's open meeting, the FCC gave an update on its process for developing a National Broadband Plan.  The Commission's explanation of the development of a National Broadband Plan, and the benefits that such a plan promises, upon implementation, was truly inspirational. . . and a very befitting way to kick off the Fourth of July weekend.  The only thing that could have made the presentation more inspiring would have been the addition of Lee Greenwood's, "Proud To Be An American" as a background track. 

All kidding aside, though, the prospect of a National Broadband Plan is an exciting proposition, and has, naturally enough, led to a lot of excited and ambitious "castles in the air" type conjecture (though not in the pejorative sense of the expression).   Seriously, I'm impressed by the way Chairman Genachowski is going about developing a broadband plan.  He couldn't do better with his choice of a person to shepherd the plan along--Blair Levin.  I wasn't able to find Blair's bio on the Commission web site, but, if you're reading this, I shouldn't have to.  Blair is one of those few people that, if you've been around the telecom policy world for any time at all, even if you don't know him, you know he knows what's going on--and probably understands the implications a lot better than you!  At least this is the case when the "you" is me, anyway. 

The other thing Chairman Genachowski--with less than a week on the job--got right was the "broadband.gov" web site to allow a lot of transparency into the development of the broadband plan, and to allow for maximum inclusion of ideas by all concerned parties.  Finally, on the web site, I'd like to draw the reader's attention to the excellent presentation by Blair Levin on the process that has already been developed to begin the iterative process of creating a National Broadband Plan. So, I am kind've encouraged that the Commission is not looking at the broadband plan as a totally "green field" project that can be undertaken without regard to first fixing existing problems.  Still, this being Washington, nobody gets a free ride--except for, like, on their birthday, or political appointment day, or some other special occasion.

Continue reading The FCC's Broadband Plan: Is the Grass Greener in a "Green Field" or a "Brown Field"?