INTERCARRIER COMPENSATION PLAN MOVES FORWARD

摘要

Enough telecom industry representatives voted for a proposed intercarrier compensation plan to move it forward, the National Assn. of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC)抯 Intercarrier Compensation Task Force said late Fri., which was the vote deadline. NARUC said the task force now can review the plan. Meanwhile, the proposal may continue to go through 搉egotiations and refinement,?NARUC said. It was clear at our deadline that not all parties voted for the plan. National Assn. of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) representative Billy Jack Gregg said his organization 搃s absolutely opposed to the... plan prepared by the rump group of landline carriers.?Wireless interests represented by the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Assn. (CTIA) voted against the plan early last week when balloting began, Paul Garnett, asst. vp-regulatory affairs, said. Among CTIA complaints: (1) The plan would 揷ontinue to include discriminatory points of interconnection and discriminatory forms of compensation,?for example setting higher rates for wireless-to-wireline interconnection than the other way around. (2) It would 搒ignificantly increase the size of the Universal Service Fund.?/font>