Kristie Ince, regulatory vice president of tw telecom, is an advocate for justice in the regulatory environment of the Southeastern United States. She hopes to walk out of the room after her session this afternoon with several more just like her.
In the session “CompSouth – Effective Regional Advocacy,” a group of panelists from disparate service providers, including Cavalier Telephone & TV, Level 3 Communications, Cbeyond Communications and tw telecom, will discuss issues that highlight the importance of regional regulatory outreach and advocacy, particularly in the Southeast.
“There is competition in the Southeast, but you have to put an asterisk by it,” Ince said. “Because the deregulation the incumbents are seeking and their desire not to have to provide access to their networks needs to be addressed.”
Ince has been doing regulatory outreach, compliance, advocacy and lobbying for tw telecom since April of 2000. Two of the six states she covers are Alabama and Louisiana. She said she hopes to raise the issue of USF reform during the panel. Through continuing reform, she hopes to right-size the regulatory structure.
While incumbents are pushing for deregulation at the federal level, they don’t seem to be pushing for the establishment of the subsidies that were tied to that regulatory structure. “We think the dollars have to be right-sized with the regulation that’s in place today,” Ince said. “Incumbents are simply getting too much money based on how it is currently structured.”
Ince said the panel will explain the importance of CompSouth, an industry group taking on the issues for this region. “It is important to come together to take advantage of the power of numbers and the pooling of resources in order to make a difference,” she said.
The panel will discuss several of the initiatives under way at CompSouth. “Our hope is to make sure everyone knows we are out there, so if anyone wants to add their story and their dollars to the group, it would help us do a more comprehensive job,” Ince said. “We want to tell people about the battles we have fought and the battles we have won.”
