The FCC may revamp substantially, as soon as this summer, how it handles forbearance requests, said commission and industry officials. An order, rather than a further notice of proposed rulemaking, seems likely, they said. The three commissioners seem to favor an overhaul, and House Democrats support them, industry sources said. There抯 an 揳ppetite?at the FCC, especially in the chairman抯 office, to move 損retty quickly,?and the commission may act before Julius Genachowski becomes the chairman, said a lawyer for competitive local exchange carriers. The commission received comments and replies on the process last year. Acting Chairman Michael Copps said this month he planned to circulate an item soon. Lobbying is expected to heat up soon, with competitive carriers aiming to provide more legal analysis to support procedural changes, the CLEC lawyer said. nnThe FCC is expected to consider last-minute withdrawals and other problems that competitive carriers say have plagued forbearance proceedings. The order may make it tougher for carriers to withdraw late in the process, the CLEC lawyer said. The FCC may also impose rules against last-minute submission of evidence, the attorney said. The commission may consider calls by incumbent carriers to adopt a new internal timetable for considering forbearance petitions, said a wireline industry official. The FCC almost always extends 90 days its 12-month deadline to review forbearance petitions, and it generally doesn抰 look at the petition until the overtime period, the official said. If the commission considered petitions earlier, companies wouldn抰 have to send evidence late in the process, the official said.
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