– A number of U.S. Senators continue to send letters to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) expressing concerns with the FCC’s November 4th vote regarding intercarrier compensation and the Universal Service Fund (USF). Senators Bill Nelson (D-FL), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Michael B Enzi (R-WY) and John Barasso, MD (R-WY) now join 22 other Senators and 78 Members of Congress in registering their concern.
In a letter to the FCC, Senator Nelson (D-FL) urged the FCC to “make public the critical elements of its reform proposal, and seek meaningful input from all impacted stakeholders before taking steps that could have a negative impact on ratepayers.”
Senator Clinton (D-NY), in a letter to the FCC, stated, “I am concerned about the initial potential negative impact on consumers, especially those who live in rural areas that depend on smaller and midsize companies for their service. The proposal, as I understand it, would result in a significant loss of revenue for many of the smaller companies, impacting their ability to invest in new jobs and expand and enhance their existing networks. Facing this new burden, many carriers will be forced to pass on costs to customers, resulting in higher fees for many Upstate New York households, including many elderly residents on fixed incomes.”
In a separate letter to the FCC, Wyoming Senators Enzi (R) and Barasso (R) said, “This proposal goes well beyond the Internet Service Provider Remand Order by adopting comprehensive inter-carrier compensation and USF reforms that will certainly impact rural areas like Wyoming. While we applaud your efforts to move forward, many of these reforms will be implemented at the local level and it makes good sense (and good policy) that local voices are heard. The Commission’s usual practice of seeking public comment prior to adopting major rules should not be disregarded on issues of this magnitude. We urge you to remove these items from the November 4 agenda and issue a public notice seeking comment from members of public.”
In addition to the letters from Senators Nelson (D-FL), Clinton (D-NY), Enzi (R-WY), and Barasso (R-WY), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senators Elizabeth Dole ( R-NC), Jim Bunning (R-KY), John Thune (R-SD), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), David Vitter (R-LA), Judd Gregg (R-NH), John Cornyn (R-TX), Bob Corker (R-TN) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) have each sent individual letters to the FCC expressing their opposition to the order. Senator Benjamin E Nelson (D-NE) expressed similar concerns in a letter to the FCC that was co-signed by Senators Norm Coleman (R-MN), Max Baucus (D-MT), Jon Tester (D-MT), Christopher S Bond (R-MO), Ron Wyden (R-OR), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Roger F Wicker (R-MS) and Thad Cochran (R-MS). Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) also expressed concerns regarding the order in a letter co-signed by Senator Thune (R-SD) and Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD).
Postponing the vote at the FCC has garnered wide-spread support from thousands of consumers who have registered their concern directly with the FCC; the nation’s leading consumers groups, including AARP, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer’s Union, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the Rural Telecommunications Alliance; the largest union representing telecommunications employees, the Communications Worker of America (CWA); the state regulators as represented by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC); numerous governors including the National Governors Association (NGA) and hundreds of other consumer and business organizations.
The Coalition for Affordable Communications is an association of rural phone and broadband providers concerned with ensuring that American consumers and businesses continue to enjoy affordable telephone and broadband service. The CAC includes CenturyTel, Consolidated Communications, Embarq, FairPoint Communications, Frontier Communications, Iowa Telecom and Windstream Communications, who collectively serve more than 17 million customers in 42 states.
Contacts:
Kelly Sullivan / Annabelle Rinehart
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
(212) 355-4449
