Copps to States: Don’t Sue over USF Changes; New USF System Maintains Important State Role

ST. LOUIS -- Instead of taking the FCC to court, state regulators and consumer advocates should focus on working together with the FCC on implementing the Universal Service Fund revamp, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said at NARUC’s annual meeting Tuesday. The FCC, which took many of the Federal/State USF Joint Board’s recommendations as it works to finalize the order, seeks to strengthen the federal/state partnership going forward, he said. Meanwhile, the outgoing commissioner said he plans to continue to advocate for media reform even after leaving the FCC.

The new USF system would retain vital state roles, Copps said, calling the FCC’s revamp process “inclusive.” He would never have supported the action if it undermined the commitment to states, he said. The new system would maintain things like states’ authority to protect consumers, carrier-of-last-resort obligations and eligible telecom carrier designations, he said. But the order won’t make everyone happy, according to Copps: “There are parts of the reform that I don’t like.” But “we need to move ahead” and try to “make it work” rather than taking the case to court, Copps said. At a time when the country is facing many challenges, USF revision is a once in a lifetime opportunity to turn things around, he said. The country can’t afford the time on litigation and legislative challenges while millions still lack access, Copps said.

The cooperative federal/state relationship should be strengthened, Copps said. States can perform many functions that the federal government can’t, he said, urging expanding the states’ role in areas like USF. Nothing undermines the substantive state role more than “those few carriers who run to state legislatures lobbying for laws that effectively put the state public service commission out of the business of public interest oversight and consumer protection,” he said. “That mocks the law. It mocks good telecommunications policy. And it mocks consumers.”

Meanwhile, thorough news reporting has been sacrificed as news organizations struggle to survive, Copps said. Democracy is suffering because investigative journalism is on life support and real news is increasingly replaced with fluff, according to Copps. “Hundreds of newsrooms have been shuttered, thousands of reporters walk the streets in search of a job rather than stories,” he said. The country won’t overcome its challenges unless it goes back to facts and accountability and a new news infrastructure, he said. “Getting the media right is the number one step to get this country right,” he said, saying not getting that done is a great regret.

NARUC Notebook

Getting dedicated spectrum for smart grid isn’t what utilities are looking at right now, said Terrence Walsh, director with information technology planning at Con Edison, at NARUC’s annual meeting Monday. “It’s out of our league,” he said. Additionally, while some utilities use commercial networks, others have their own networks, said Lyn McDermid, chief information officer with Dominion. The goal of carriers that work with utilities is not to replace utilities’ networks with commercial networks but to offer low cost network solutions, said Jeffrey Dygert, executive director of public policy at AT&T. Having privacy and security standards and principles is a priority for smart grid deployment, McDermid said. It’s critical to have uniform principles, Dygert said. Jessica Zufolo, deputy administrator at the Rural Utilities Service, emphasized the importance of latency. It depends on things like network design and broadband access model, she said. Privacy issues associated with third-party access to utility customer data is one of the hardest issues that utilities are facing, McDermid said.