The Prepaid Press - February 15, 2008 - (Page 7)

PREPAID BUSINESS February 15 · 2008 - 7 REGULATORY RUNDOWN by Ed Maldonado Mid-Winter Update 2008 1. New cell phone rules for minors. 2. New requirements for Interconnected VoIP Providers. 3. FCC clarifies “Toll Services” for USF guidelines. 4. Public Safety and Homeland Security Host Summit. 5. FCC seeks to reform expenditures of Universal Support Services. 7. FCC issues Order on Embarq deadline request. Addressing the issue of toll services, as defined by the 2006 Contribution Methodology Order, the FCC found toll services are properly defined as “telecommunications services that enable customers to communicate outside of their local exchange calling areas.” Toll service revenues are thus revenues that result from the provision of telecommunications services that enable customers to communicate outside of their local exchange calling areas. This ruling reinforces the definition of toll services found in paragraph 29 of the 2006 Contribution Methodology Order as the definition contributors must use to report toll services revenues on their FCC Form 499. In its Order, the FCC further ruled that, to the extent a USF contributor, including wireless and interconnected VoIP providers, uses a traffic study to determine its contribution base, such 1. New cell phone rules for minors. January 15, 2008 (Nationwide) The 2008 New Year brings the total number of states that will have driving laws that relate to minors who use cell-phones and text messaging while driving to six. These states include California, Illinois, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington State. While some states are addressing the issue through enhanced offenses for traffic violations that resulted from the use of a cell-phone by a minor, some states, such as California and Illinois require use of hands-free devices, if a cell-phone is used in a car. For those in the prepaid mobile phone industry, 2008 may be a year to ensure that your phones have the availability of hands-free features or accessories. More states are likely to follow the lead of these six by the end of 2008. 2. New requirements for Interconnected VoIP Providers. January 15, 2008 (Nationwide) Some Interconnected VoIP providers may be surprised to receive a special notice this January. States that have enacted E-911 requirements and recovery fees are reaching out this compliance season. Some states, such as Michigan, have blanketed potential Interconnected VoIP providers through customer lists of their respective E-911 operators. Others are taking a less aggressive stance and have placed requirements to take effect based upon the business or residential line provided to the end-user. What is clear is that supplemental state requirements are gaining in numbers and uniformity when it comes to 911 and E-911 implementation. States with requirements include Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington State. If you have not planned your business and residential VoIP services in these states around their consumer 911 and E-911 requirements, it would wise for you to do so within this first fiscal quarter. 3. FCC clarifies “Toll Services” for USF guidelines. January 24, 2008 (Washington, DC) The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Declaratory Order under WC Docket No. 06122, clarifying the definition of “toll services” for purposes of determining USF obligations and setting specific guidelines for the use of Toll service revenues are thus revenues that result from the provision of telecommunications services that enable customers to communicate outside of their local exchange calling areas. study must specifically account for the interstate or international nature of toll service revenues. Of particular importance in distinguishing these toll services is revenue associated with wireless and interconnected VoIP consumers that subscribe to nationwide, fixed-price calling plans that give the customer fixed amounts of minutes, and do not distinguish between local, intrastate, or interstate service. These revenues must be identified as “toll service” revenue only to the extent that additional fees are assessed for calls made to points outside the plan-defined home calling area. For these plans, toll service revenue would likely be limited to charges associated with international calling. The full Order and Methodology explanation is available at www.fcc.gov. On November 8, 2007, FCC concluded that LNP validation should be based on no more than the four recommended fields for all simple ports, regardless of the context, be it wireline-to-wireline, wireless-to-wireless, and inter-modal ports. traffic studies by Wireless and Interconnected VoIP Providers in the calculation of their USF contributions. Both aspects of the Order affect how these providers report their end user telecommunications revenues on a quarterly basis, through the FCC Form 499-Q, and on an annual basis, through the FCC Form 499-A, in 2008. 4. Public Safety and Homeland Security Host Summit. January 25, 2008 (Washington, DC) The Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau hosted a Summit on 911 Call Center Operations and Next Generation Technologies on February 6, 2008, 9:00 a.m. at the FCC. The Summit focused on disaster preparation and response for 911 call centers or Public Safety Answering Points, or “PSAPs”, and the evolution of 911 toward next generation architectures, including integration of new services and technologies. The panel discussion highlighted best practices and opportunities for PSAPs to enhance their 911 operations and service capabilities both today and as a result of the transition to next generation networks. For E-911 service providers that use next generation architectures, or open IP-enabled networks, obtaining its transcripts/presentations is well advised. 5. FCC seeks to reform expenditures of Universal Support Services. January 29, 2008 (Washington, DC) The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks to reform expenditures of universal support services provided from USF contributions. The Notice, the first in a two-prong reform effort, seeks comment on the Commission’s rules governing the amount of high-cost universal service support provided to competitive eligible telecommunications carriers, or “ETCs”. It is the FCC’s tentative conclusion that it should eliminate the Commission’s current “identical support” rule (called the “equal support rule”) that allows competitive ETCs the same per-line high-cost universal service support amounts that incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) receive. The FCC similarly seeks comment on its conclusion to allow competitive ETC support based on their own costs of providing the supported services. In doing so, the FCC seeks comment on methodologies for determining a competitive ETC’s relevant costs for universal service support purposes, and other matters related to how the support should be calculated, including the appropriate reporting obligations, and whether we should cap such support at the level of the incumbent LECs. The issue weighs important, as recent expenditures of the universal service support program have come under public and Congressional scrutiny. Comments are highly encouraged by all in the prepaid telephony and VoIP industries and can be made through www. fcc.gov under their e-file webpage. For prepaid and interconnected VoIP carriers, this relates to where your USF dollars go, so it’s important to give your input. recommendations from the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service are found within this Notice and are detailed by service sector. The comments sought address the impact of USF on a wide array of telephony and wireless service. Again, comments are highly encouraged by all in the prepaid telephony and VoIP industries and can be made through www.fcc.gov under their e-file webpage. 6. FCC seeks comment on Universal Service Reform. January 29, 2008 (Washington, DC) The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking directly seeking comment on ways to reform the high-cost universal service program. The FCC seeks comment and feedback on the recommendations of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service regarding comprehensive reform of high-cost universal service support. The Notice also consolidates two other Notices of Proposed Rulemaking: (1) the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released by the Commission on January 29, 2008 for comment on the Commission’s rules governing the amount of high-cost universal service support provided to eligible telecommunications carriers, including elimination of the “identical support rule;” and (2) the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released by the Commission on January 29, 2008 for comment on whether and how to implement reverse auctions as the disbursement mechanism for determining the amount of high-cost universal service support for ETCs serving rural, insular, and high-cost areas. The consolidation is intended to allow comment and feedback records developed in response to all these Notices to be used in review of the overall recommendations of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service. As the secondprong of the FCC’s reform effort, this Notice is the real substance of any future reform. The 7. FCC issues Order on Embarq deadline request. February 5, 2008 (Washington, DC) The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued an Order granting Embarq’s request that their deadline to comply with the FCC’s declaratory ruling that the validation process for local number portability (LNP) requests be based on no more than four fields be waived until September 30, 2008. The full Embarq Petition for waiver is found under WC Docket No. 07-244, CC Docket No. 95-116 and was filed on January 11, 2008. In granting Embarq’s waiver, the FCC moved a http://www.fcc.gov http://www.fcc.gov http://www.fcc.gov http://www.fcc.gov

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Prepaid Press - February 15, 2008

The Prepaid Press - February 2008 Beachfront Property for Sale Cardholder Facing Systems Contents The Retske Report: Getting the Word Out 5 Minutes With Mark Flanagan, CEO of PrepaidWireless.com Regulatory Rundown: Mid-Winter Update 2008 Prepaid Wireless Handsets Consumer’s Union Raps Wireless Industry Prepaid Reviews Launches Canadian Website Maginpins and TúYo Mobile Form Alliance Prepaid Wireless in Brief Boost Mobile Introduces New $1/Day Chat Plan Mobile Voice to Overtake Fixed in Europe Prepaid Wireless Roundup Another Kind of Prepaid Calling Spot Rates VSNL Wins ATLANTIC-ACM Award The Legal Line Calling Cards in Brief Sapotek Partners with DigiLinea Pactolus Goes Live at Cable MSO Low-Income Market Initiatives to Drive Mobile Banking Payments in Brief Monitise Americas Expands Payments Network Charge Anywhere Mobile POS Wins Award Hypercom Introduces System for Small Merchants TIO Networks Announces TIO Prepaid MasterCard NPBCA Makes Leadership Change A Walk Down the Aisle Branding Your Retail Store Retailers Welcome Senate Approval of Stimulus Bill NRF Forecasts 3.5 Percent Growth in Retail Sales Cyphermint Teams With DHL Retail Focus in Brief Our Advertisers Contact Us

The Prepaid Press - February 15, 2008

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