The Regulatory Mix, TMI’s daily blog of regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of a TMI Briefing.
TELECOM
FCC
VoIP Numbering
The FCC announced that its new rules allowing VoIP providers to obtain direct access to numbers are effective today, February 4, 2016. See our Blog 6/23/15 “What-Do-VoIPs-Have-to-Prove-to-Get-Numbers-Around-Here” and The Regulatory Mix dated 11/9/15. TMI Briefing Service subscribers see Briefing dated 6/25/15. The Office of Management and Budget approved the information collection requirements contained in the rules on January 8, 2016. Watch for our upcoming Blog regarding VoIP Numbering rules.
SADC (aka Business Data Services Data Collection)
The FCC released another list of additional parties that have signed an acknowledgement of confidentiality (AOC) and that seek to review the data gathered through the FCC’s special access data collection (SADC). The list includes persons that signed AOCs since the FCC’s last Public Notices. Companies that submitted confidential or highly confidential information in response to the SADC have until February 10, 2016, to object to the disclosure of their data and information to any of the parties on the list.
Nebraska
The PSC announced plans to allocate $4.5 million from the Nebraska Universal Service Fund Broadband Program for new broadband programs. Specifically, the PSC will make $4 million available for wireless broadband infrastructure projects and $500,000 available for broadband adoption and availability projects designed to reach low income consumers and non-adopters. Grant applications for both funding types may be filed beginning February 15, 2016. The window for applications will close on March 31, 2016.
ENERGY
California
The California Independent System Operator Corp. (Cal-ISO) approved several proposals that support improved integration of storage and demand response resources in the wholesale electricity market. The approved proposals include market design enhancements that provide more flexible rules to consider the special operating characteristics of a particular resource. These considerations allow storage and demand response resources to more easily participate in the wholesale market, helping to lower carbon emissions and increase grid reliability. Cal-ISO also approved a proposal to create a new energy product to meet ramping needs. The flexible ramping product will compensate generation resources that have the technology capabilities to respond quickly to real-time conditions. This capability supports renewable resource integration and environmental goals across the West more efficiently and economically.
