ILEC Associations Meet with FCC Staff to Discuss Voice Rate Floor, Network Testing

On March 15, representatives from WTA, NTCA, ITTA and USTelecom met with staff from FCC Chairman Pai’s office to discuss the need to ensure the voice rate floor policy does not harm rural consumers in coming months. The ILEC representatives also discussed the need for a “reasonable path for implementation of universal service performance testing requirements, including the need for: (1) the FCC to resolve pending petitions for reconsideration and applications for review and to complete work on implementation details; (2) sufficient time for vendors and providers to develop solutions that conform to the final specifications once articulated by the FCC and will impose minimal intrusion upon customer experience; and (3) sufficient time to install such solutions and “test the testing” prior to the effectiveness of compliance requirements that would affect universal service support.”