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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  TTY  202  /  418-  2555  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974). 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE:  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT:  September  5,  2002  David  Fiske  at  (202)  418-  0513 
 PRESS  STATEMENT  OF  FCC  CHAIRMAN  MICHAEL  K.  POWELL 
 Re:  Federal-  State  Joint  Conference  on  Regulatory  Accounting  Issues 
 I  am  pleased  that  the  Commission  has  moved  quickly  to  address  the  regulatory  accounting  requirements  that  apply  to  telecommunications  carriers.  Today’s  action  will  provide 
 an  important  forum  for  state  and  federal  regulators  to  ensure  that  data  collection  and  accounting  requirements  continue  to  support  our  shared  goals  under  the  Communications  Act. 


 Recently,  before  the  Senate  Commerce,  Science,  and  Transportation  Committee,  I  announced  that  it  would  be  prudent  for  the  Commission  to  proceed  cautiously  on  the 
 Commission’s  regulatory  accounting  proceeding  given  recent  troubling  disclosures  by  some  telecommunications  carriers.  Coupled  with  my  more  recent  proposal  to  put  an  immediate 
 moratorium  on  further  action  in  this  proceeding,  the  establishment  of  a  Federal-  State  Joint  Conference  on  regulatory  accounting  issues  puts  in  place  an  effective  means  for  examining  the 
 Commission’s  regulatory  accounting  and  reporting  requirements.  Its  mission  is  straightforward-  -  to  ensure  that  our  regulatory  and  accounting  reporting  requirements  are  adequate  to  protect 
 consumers  and  carry  out  our  regulatory  responsibilities  under  the  Communications  Act. 
 If  we  are  to  achieve  the  goals  of  the  Communications  Act,  it  is  critically  important  to  clearly  define  our  responsibilities  in  this  area.  As  telecommunications  regulators,  we  are  charged 
 with  a  responsibility  different  than  that  of  securities  regulators.  Regulatory  accounting  data  and  related  information  filed  by  telecommunications  carriers  is  used  by  federal  and  state 
 telecommunications  policymakers  to  fulfill  various  responsibilities,  such  as  determining  interstate  access  charges,  evaluating  federal-  state  jurisdictional  separations,  setting  rates  for  unbundled 
 network  elements  and  calculating  universal  service  support.  The  Commission’s  prior  efforts  in  this  area  have  focused  on  consolidating  reporting  requirements  that  were  unnecessary  or  which 
 reflected  a  changed  environment  in  the  area  of  competition  policy,  broadband  deployment  and  universal  service.  The  establishment  of  a  joint  conference  expands  our  efforts  by  providing  a 
 forum  for  state  and  federal  policymakers  to  coordinate  their  efforts  to  ensure  that  regulatory  accounting  information  is  adequate  and  truthful.  It  is  my  hope  that  the  Joint  Conference  will 
 engage  in  a  thorough  analysis  of  individual  accounting  requirements  to  ensure  that  information  captured  in  regulated  accounts  is  both  necessary  and  sufficient  for  our  regulatory  purposes. 


 I  commend  my  state  colleagues  for  their  work  in  this  area,  and  I  look  forward  to  working  with  them  and  my  fellow  FCC  Commissioners  to  fulfill  a  common  goal--  ensuring  the  adequacy 
 of  regulatory  accounting  data  and  related  information  filed  by  carriers  so  that  we  can  fulfill  our  regulatory  responsibilities  and  promote  a  competitive  telecommunications  marketplace. 
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