PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FCC 11J-1 Released: February 10, 2011 STATE MEMBERS OF THE FEDERAL-STATE JOINT BOARD ON UNIVERSAL SERVICE ANNOUNCE AGENDA AND PARTICIPANTS FOR FEBRUARY 17th UNIVERSAL SERVICE/INTERCARRIER COMPENSATION WORKSHOP On February 17, 2011, State Members of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service (Joint Board) will hold a workshop to assist in the preparation of their joint comments in response to the Commission’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on modernizing and streamlining its universal service and intercarrier compensation policies adopted at the Commission’s February 8, 2011 Open Meeting.1 In addition to discussing the Commission’s NPRM, the State Members and workshop participants will discuss a series of proposals put forward by State staff, which may be downloaded at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) website at http://www.naruc.org/special.2 The workshop will be held in the Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305), 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. The workshop will be free and open to the public. The conference will be webcast live at http://reboot.fcc.gov/live. The Telecommunication Act of 1996 created the Joint Board to make recommendations to implement the universal service provisions of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.3 This board is comprised of FCC Commissioners, State Commissioners, and a consumer advocate representative. Current State members include the Honorable James H. Cawley, State Joint Board Chair and Chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission; the Honorable Larry S. Landis, a Commissioner with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, the Honorable John D. Burke, a Board Member with the Vermont Public Service Board, and Simon ffitch, a Senior Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Washington. NARUC also has nominated the Honorable Anne C. Boyle, a Nebraska Commissioner to fill a vacancy on the Board. 1 See Connect America Fund, WC Docket No. 10-90, A National Broadband Plan for Our Future, GN Docket No. 09-51, Establishing Just and Reasonable Rates for Local Exchange Carriers, WC Docket No. 07-135, High-Cost Universal Service Support, WC Docket No. 05-337, Developing an Unified Intercarrier Compensation Regime, CC Docket No. 01-92), Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, CC Docket No. 96-45), Lifeline and Link-Up, WC Docket No. 03-109, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 11-13 (rel. Feb. 9, 2011). 2 There are seven papers and an excel file - 3 “plans:” the “Omaha Plan,” the “Shifman Plan,” and the “Consultants’ Plan” and 4 white papers on separations, intercarrier compensation, impacts of various reform, COLR-POLR and the State role. 3 Telecommunications Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-104, 110 Stat. 56 (1996 Act). The 1996 Act amended the Communications Act of 1934. 47 U.S.C. § 151, et seq. (Communications Act or Act). 2 Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. The request should include a detailed description of the accommodation needed and contact information. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible in order to allow the agency to satisfy such requests whenever possible. Send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY). Action by the Federal-State Joint Board on February 10, 2011. For questions or inquiries about the conference, please contact James Bradford Ramsay at 202- 898-2207 or jramsay@naruc.org. 3 FEDERAL-STATE JOINT BOARD ON UNIVERSAL SERVICE STATE MEMBER WORKSHOP ON PROPOSED REFORMS OF INTERCARRIER COMPENSATION AND THE FEDERAL UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND February 17, 2011 Workshop Agenda 9:00 – 11:15 a.m. I. Introductory Remarks and Staff Comprehensive Plan Proposals Moderator: John D. Burke, Member, Vermont PSB. Participants: Jonathan Banks (U.S.Telecom Ass’n.), Glenn Brown (McLean & Brown Assoc.), Joseph Gillan (Gillan Assoc.), Billy Jack Gregg (Universal Consulting), Michael Romano (NTCA), Lee Selwyn (Economics & Technology, Inc.) 10:45 – 11:00a.m. Break 11:00 a.m. – noon II. The Federal Communications Commission February 8, 2011 Notice and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemakings Moderator: James H. Cawley, Chairman, Pennsylvania PUC. Participants: Steve Berry (Rural Cellular Assoc.), Mark Cooper (Consumer Federation of America), Joel Lubin (AT&T), Ken Mason (Frontier), Steve Morris (NCTA), Ken Pfister (Great Plains Telecom), Lisa Scalpone (Wild Blue Satellite) noon – 1:00 p.m. Lunch Break 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. Four Round Table Panel Discussions (50 min. each) Participants: David Bergmann (NASUCA), Paul Cooper (Fred Williamson), Joe Douglas (NECA), Joseph Gillan (Gillan Assoc.), John Jones (CenturyLink), David LaFuria Esq. (Lukas Nace), Robert Loube (RLSA), Joel Lubin (AT&T), Charles McKee (Sprint), Steve Morris (NCTA), Sarah Tyree (CoBank), Jessica Zufolo (RUS) III. Intercarrier Compensation Reform Moderator: Simon ffitch, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Washington Office of Attorney General Public Counsel. IV. Carrier of Last Resort – Provider of Last Resort and the State Role Moderator: Anne C. Boyle, Commissioner, Nebraska PSC V. Reform Scenarios and Potential Financial Impacts Moderator: Larry S. Landis, Commissioner, Indiana URC VI. Separations and Proposed Reforms. Moderator: Peter Bluhm (RLSA).