Alaska Reboots Telecom Deregulation Docket

"Nothing in telecommunications regulation is ever easy,” said Regulatory Commission of Alaska Commissioner Robert Pickett Wednesday as he and four colleagues agreed to hit reboot on a proceeding to implement the state’s 2019 telecom deregulation law, SB-83. Commissioners agreed to close docket R-19-002 and open a yet-to-be-numbered fresh docket. The RCA had filed rules in 2021 but the Department of Law disapproved them and sought major changes, Pickett said. Commissioners agreed Wednesday to ask the department for permission to seek comment for 45 days on that disapproval memo. Pickett said legislation will probably be needed in the long run since the department’s memo puts the commission in a difficult position: "It will force us into a bit of sham regulation in certain areas."