Wireline

摘要

“For the sake of transparency,” the co-chairs of North American Portability Management filed withnthe FCC a letter they had received criticizing Neustar’s “exorbitant profits” as Local Number Portability Administratorn(http://bit.ly/155uyGr). The anonymous letter, sent by a Lathan Watkins attorney Aug. 16 onnbehalf of a client shareholder of companies that are members of NAPM, urged NAPM to “take measures” tonaddress its concerns “in conjunction with the awarding and pricing of the next NPAC [Number PortabilitynAdministration Center] contract.” The client suggested selecting multiple LNPAs to “prevent Neustar fromnfurther entrenching itself as the LNPA monopoly.” A Neustar spokeswoman said it was hard to respond tonthe accusations since Neustar is under a nondisclosure agreement and the letter is coming from an unknownnsource that’s not involved in the procurement process. In a statement, the company said it supports the processnunderway by NAPM and the FCC to “promote a competitive, transparent and fair RFP process. We’renconfident in the strength of our proposal and the value to be gained by the industry and consumers if we arenawarded the contract to continue as the local number portability administrator.” Neustar has in the past criticizedna lack of transparency and responsiveness in the bidding process (CD April 26 p9). NAPM’s Futurenof the NPAC advisory committee issued a "Best and Final Offer" last week in connection with the NPACnRFP. That’s standard procedure in RFP processes, and has been contemplated in the process since the beginning,nsaid Todd Daubert of Dentons US, who represents NAPM. The timeline approved by the FCC hasnnot changed, Daubert said. The advisory committee is expected to make its vendor recommendations bynNov. 14, although the committee could “adjust the timeline with the consent of the FCC,” Daubert said. Thennumber of participating bidders and their identities are confidential, he said.