WTA Discusses Network Testing and Rate Floor with FCC Staff
On January 29th, representatives from WTA met with staff from the offices Chairman Pai and Commissioners Carr and O’Reilly to discuss the FCC’s network testing requirements and scheduled voice rate floor increases.
In regards to network testing, WTA emphasized its members’ concerns that the testing requirements “were designed predominately by and for large price cap carriers, and did not take into account the very different sizes, resources and operating circumstances of RLECs. WTA’s Application for Review has requested that the commencement of performance testing by RLECs be deferred for a reasonable time from its scheduled starting point during the Third Quarter of 2019, and that the Commission’s Bureaus work with RLEC representatives during the deferral period to develop more reasonable and practicable testing procedures for RLECs and other small high-cost support recipients.”
Regarding the voice rate floor, WTA stated that “ideally its members would prefer elimination of the rate floor,” but regardless of what action the Commission takes, WTA “emphasized that the critical need at present is for a ruling on the issue earlier than July 1, “in order to avoid the commencement of state ratemaking proceedings and the provision of advance notices of rate increases to remaining voice service customers.”
A representatives Notice of Ex Parte of the meetings can be found here.
