The FCC is on track to vote on permanent wholesale telecommunications rules in December, FCC Wireline Competition Bureau Chief Jeff Carlisle told state regulators at a convention in Tennessee today.
FCC Chairman Michael Powell’s office should receive a proposal by the end of the week, Carlisle said after the meeting. He said the order would address switching, high-capacity loops and transport – three network elements the biggest local phone companies lease to competitors. Carlisle declined to give further details.
The other FCC commissioners typically receive a proposal from the chairman’s office three weeks before the agency is scheduled to take a vote on an item. That means the other commissioners would receive the proposal just before the Thanksgiving holiday. The FCC meeting is scheduled for Dec. 15.
In a related development, Carlisle told state regulators the FCC also aims to vote next month on a notice of proposed rule-making on intercarrier compensation, which is among the thorniest issues facing the industry. Numerous telecommunications companies insist the intercarrier compensation system is antiquated, provides the wrong incentives for carriers to evade fees and no longer reflects major changes in the industry, such as the precipitous decline in traditional long-distance minutes as a result of technologies like cellular service and the Internet.
