Telecom Business Alert -- New Additions, 911 Reliability, and Pole Attachments -- Vol. XI Issue 18
New Additions to Keller and Heckman
Effective May 1, 2014, we are happy to announce the addition of one new and one returning attorney to our Telecommunications Practice Group. Albert (Al) Catalano has joined the firm as Counsel, with 30 years of experience in telecommunications regulatory, transactional, and legislative matters, including a strong background in wireless. Al can be contacted at catalano@khlaw.com; 202-434-4207. We also welcome back Wes Wright as a Senior Associate. Wes will be working from an office in Denver and can be reached at wright@khlaw.com; 202-434-4296.
FCC to Hold 911 Reliability Workshop
Last week, the FCC released a Public Notice announcing that it will host a Workshop on June 2 on the process for submitting annual certifications required by the FCC’s 911 reliability rules. The 911 reliability rules, adopted in December, apply to all entities providing 911, E911, or NG911 to a public safety answering point, statewide default answering point, or appropriate local emergency authority. Covered providers must audit and monitor all critical 911 circuits to mitigate the risk of 911 call failure and file an annual certification of compliance. The workshop will include a presentation from FCC staff followed by a question and answer session with attendees to offer guidance to providers on the certification process. Please contact Wes Wright (Wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239) with questions.
"The FCC’s 911 reliability rules were written broadly and depending on the circumstances may apply to certain critical infrastructure companies operating major facilities. The industry should track the ongoing proceeding and monitor the upcoming Workshop to better understand how the FCC intends to apply these certification requirements."
– Wes Wright, Senior Associate
California PUC May Extend Pole Attachment Rules
On May 1, the California Public Utilities Commission opened a rulemaking in response to a petition filed by AT&T Mobility to extend nondiscriminatory pole attachment rights to Commercial Mobile Radio Service (wireless) carriers. The CPUC recognized electric utilities’ safety and reliability concerns with wireless attachments but also stated that CMRS providers should not be subject to unfair discrimination. For more information, please contact Tom Magee (magee@khlaw.com; 202-434-4128).
Waiver of Rural Call Completion Rules
Last year, the FCC adopted a Report and Order to address concerns about the completion of long-distance calls to rural areas. The Commission’s rules will require providers of long distance voice service that make the initial call path choice for more than 100,000 domestic retail subscriber lines to record, retain, and submit call completion data to the FCC for rural and non-rural areas. Several parties have sought waivers of these new rules and the FCC recently released a Public Notice seeking comment on several aspects of the rural call completion rules. Comments are due May 13th and Replies must be filed by May 19th. Please contact Wes Wright (Wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239) with questions.
In-Building Wireless
Keller and Heckman Partner Doug Jarrett recently published a blog post discussing the growing trend of in-building wireless reception challenges. The post discusses how property owners are addressing this challenge, the technologies being deployed as solutions, and the stringent commitments wireless carriers are demanding from Property Owners to operate building-wide wireless reception solutions. For more information, please contact Doug Jarrett (Jarrett@khlaw.com; 202-434-4180).
Keller and Heckman at ENTELEC and Heartland
Greg Kunkle, Doug Jarrett, Wes Wright, and Tim Doughty will be attending the ENTELEC Spring Conference in Houston from May 20-22 and will be presenting the Washington Roundtable from 8:00-9:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 22. Please stop by to visit at the Keller and Heckman booth (Booth 118).
Tom Magee will be attending the Heartland Conference on May 7 in Lansing, Michigan, and participating on a panel discussing the FCC’s Pole Attachment rules and regulations
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Keller and Heckman LLP's Telecom Business Alert is a complimentary weekly electronic update created by the Telecommunications and the Business Counseling and Transactional practice groups of Keller and Heckman LLP. All articles, videos, and quotations are on topics of general interest and do not constitute legal advice for particularized facts. Keller and Heckman LLP's Telecom Business Alert © 2014. All rights reserved. Articles may be copied with attribution. To sign up for our weekly alert, please send us an email at telecomalert@khlaw.com and provide us with your name and email. Please follow us on twitter at @KHtelecom.