Rural Telco Groups to FCC: No Further ICC Reforms

Four rural telco associations urged the Federal Communications Commission not to take any further action on inter-carrier compensation (ICC) reform beyond the measures already included in the Connect America Fund order adopted in October.

The comments were made in response to a further notice of proposed rulemaking (FNPRM) that was included in the order. Signing the comments were representatives of the National Exchange Carrier Association, the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association, the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies and the Western Telecommunications Alliance.

Specifically the groups asked the FCC to:

• Decline to compel any migration to bill-and-keep for additional switched service rate elements until there is time to evaluate reforms already made and address complexities related to additional reforms
• Cap current transit service rates and then regulate the prices for such services consistent with functionally equivalent transport and tandem switching services
• Ensure well-defined interconnection obligations to minimize further inter-carrier disputes and preclude the imposition of arbitrary and uncontrollable expenses on rural consumers
• Permit the continued use of tariffs as a means of establishing the rates, terms and conditions of network interconnection and traffic exchange
• Recognize that it is premature to consider phase-outs or accelerated reductions in end-user access recovery charges and Connect America Fund ICC support
• Strengthen call signaling rules to address continuing concerns about phantom traffic