Ed’s Telecom Alert

All..

Check the link out on tiered rates. 

Tiered Rates

The 5 VRS providers (4 certified, and 1 non-certified) teamed up and submitted comments supporting tiered rates and cited reasons why.   AT&T VRS, Convo, CSDVRS, Purple, and SnapVRS submitted the following quotable quotes.  

"At this critical juncture in an evolving and maturing VRS, we continue to hold our consensus view that the tiered rate is a proven methodology for sustaining progress and that now is not the time for the Commission to imperil such progress by experimenting with new untested VRS market approaches."

Long Link: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7021026443

Folks..

Seems a survey showed most people in the USA is against regulating Web.

Neutrality

Quotable Quotes:

"More than half of likely voters don’t want the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate the Web as it does radio and television, according to a survey from Rasmussen Reports."

"Genachowski’s plan has drawn heated criticism from both the left and right, with Republicans vowing to overturn the regulations during the next Congress. "

"Republicans and independents overwhelmingly oppose the regulations, according to the survey, while Democrats are more divided."

I support regulation simply because I fear that with no regulation, Internet Providers can charge a much higher fee for high use of fast broadband.   We all know deaf/hoh use video conference products to make point to point as well as VRS calls.  Video conference calls gobble up lot of memory and requires high speed broadband; what’s not to stop Internet Providers charging us higher fee?   Only way to control that is via regulation.  

At least that’s my humble opinion.  Yours?  

eyes open & thumbs up,

Ed

Long Link:
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/135255-survey-most-voters-oppose-net-neutrality

Folks..

I know many of readers of edsalert are highly qualified to be a member of this prestigious Committee coordinated by the FCC.  CAC has made impact on the FCC’s decision making, so the more qualified deaf/hoh persons are in this committee, the better it is for deaf/hoh communities.

CAC Applicants

Quotes:

"The FCC seeks applications for membership on its  Consumer Advisory Committee: now beginning its sixth 2-year term. Since its establishment  in November 2000,  the Committee has made many valuable recommendations to the Commission regarding consumer issues within the jurisdiction of the Commission."

Topics covered by CAC:

• Consumer protection and education (e.g., cramming, slamming, consumer friendly billing, detariffing, bundling of services, Lifeline/Linkup programs, customer service, privacy, telemarketing abuses, and outreach to underserved populations such as Native Americans and persons living in rural areas).
• Access by people with disabilities (e.g., telecommunications relay services, hearing aid compatibility, video description, closed captioning, accessible billing and access to telecommunications products and services) to the extent that these issues are not within
• Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554
• News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322
• the jurisdiction of the Emergency Access Advisory Committee and the Video Programming and Emergency Access Advisory Committee created by the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010.
• Impact upon consumers of new and emerging technologies (e.g., availability of broadband, digital television, cable, satellite, low power FM, and the convergence of these and emerging technologies).

As you can see the topics listed are very important.  I especially like the last topic on "new and emerging technologies".   So if you feel you know individuals who are qualified, then get them to be part of this CAC.  

eyes open & thumbs up,

Ed Bosson

Long Link:

CAC:  http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db0111/DA-11-50A1.pdf

All..

Looks like FCC’s Enforcement Bureau is hard at work in enforcing the hearing aid regulations. New abbreviation from FCC.  I’ve not seen that one before:  "NAL".   NAL spells out to "Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture"

What is NAL?  "Any person or entity that the FCC determines has willfully or repeatedly violated the regulations is potentially liable for a forfeiture penalty, which is a monetary sanction paid to the United States Treasury. To impose such a penalty, the FCC must first issue a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture containing the FCC’s preliminary findings and the amount of the proposed forfeiture. That decision contains the Commission’s findings that, based on a preponderance of the evidence, the person or entity at issue has apparently violated the regulations." *

Basically these listed below did not follow the hearing aid regulations, so got penalized for that. 

STI PREPAID

"..failed to file the required hearing aid compatibility status report for the period July 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008 (originally due on January 15, 2009), and failed to post on its web site all of the required information concerning the ratings and levels of functionality of its hearing aid-compatible handset models."

"For these apparent violations, we propose a total forfeiture of thirty-four thousand five hundred dollars ($34,500)."

EPI TOUCH

"..by failing to offer to consumers for nine months the required number or percentage of digital wireless handsets that met or exceeded the radio frequency interference standards for hearing aid compatibility.."

"..we propose a forfeiture of nineteen thousand five hundred dollars ($19,500) against Epic Touch Co., Inc."

Sandhill

"..by failing to offer to consumers the required number or percentage of digital wireless handsets that met or exceeded the radio frequency interference standards for hearing aid compatibility.."

"..we propose a forfeiture of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) against Sandhill Communications.."

Champaign

"..apparently willfully violated the wireless handset hearing aid compatibility status report filing requirements.."

"..We also direct CT Communications to file the required wireless handset hearing aid compatibility status report within thirty (30) days after the release of this NAL."

Kudos to Enforcement Bureau!  

eyes open & thumbs up,

Ed

* I got the explanation from the FCC, but modified it a little bit to make it clearer.

Long LInk:

STI: http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2010/db1230/DA-10-2439A1.pdf

EPI: http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2010/db1230/DA-10-2440A1.pdf

Champaign: http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2010/db1230/DA-10-2435A1.pdf

Sand: http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2010/db1230/DA-10-2428A1.pdf

Champaign: http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2010/db1230/DA-10-2435A1.pdf