VOL. 13, NO. 7
February 13, 2017
LAST CHANCE
TO REGISTER 


INCOMPAS
POLICY SUMMIT

February 15
Newseum
Washington, D.C.
UPCOMING EVENTS

April 3-5
The INCOMPAS Show
Morial Convention Center
New Orleans

October 15-18
The INCOMPAS Show

MEMBER NEWS
Comcast Ventures Launches Video Case Study on Portfolio Company, EdgeConneX
Level 3 Provides Internet Services to Indigo

TeleQuality Communications Announces New Website Launch
FCC DEADLINES

March 13
Searching for New Customers?
The INCOMPAS Show Delivers Open and Planned Meeting
Time With Industry's Top Buyers
If you're searching for new customers and business opportunities, look no further than The INCOMPAS Show. From April 3-5, The INCOMPAS Show gives you access to a wide range of potential customers and new contacts in a fun, productive networking atmosphere at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

This Spring, INCOMPAS is revamping the Deal Center to offer extended hours and a new layout that delivers more privacy for meetings. And, we're offering direct access to buyers on the show floor during the Buyers Forum. Not only will the Buyers Forum offer meeting time scheduled in advance, it also will provide attendees with open meeting time on Tuesday and Wednesday, giving the chance to meet multiple buyers in one place, in a speed meeting format. 

To help facilitate your meeting planning, stay tuned in the coming weeks for the enhanced INCOMPAS Show Mobile App, which registered attendees can use to book meetings with each other.

Register now! Please note: To qualify for member rates, all companies must have renewed their membership for 2017.  

Make Your Hotel Reservations Today!
By registering now, you also can secure your hotel reservation and benefit from the INCOMPAS preferred rate of $239 per night at our host hotel, the Hilton New Orleans Riverside (just 256 steps from the Morial Convention Center). Attendees will receive a link for housing reservations in their registration confirmation email. Discounted rates are limited and only available to registered conference attendees, so book soon!
INCOMPAS Meets with FCC to Discuss Key Competition Issues
On February 9, INCOMPAS CEO Chip Pickering, Chief Advocate and General Counsel Angie Kronenberg and Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Karen Reidy met with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Acting Wireline Legal Advisor Jay Schwarz.

During the meeting, INCOMPAS delivered a letter and discussed how pro-competition policy is the "key to encouraging build-out of new broadband infrastructure that is both fast and affordable." INCOMPAS also urged the Commission to:
  • remove regulatory barriers by reforming pole attachment rules,
  • examine anti-competitive practices that prevent competitive providers of fixed and mobile broadband services from gaining access to customers residing in multiple dwelling units (MDUs),
  • address the ease with which smaller multichannel video programming distributor (MVPDs) and new entrants can gain access to video programming,
  • recognize and address the footprint barrier to new last-mile deployment to certain business locations, and
  • address barriers resulting from high backhaul costs and ensure that wholesale rates, terms and conditions are reasonable for last-mile access.
INCOMPAS Files Ex Parte Supporting Enterprise Exemption in Broadband Privacy Order 
On February 10, INCOMPAS filed an ex parte letter in support of filings made by the VON Coalition and Level 3 calling for the exclusion of the business customer exemption from a joint petition for stay of the Broadband Privacy Order filed in late January by nine trade associations.

INCOMPAS said that "preserving the exemption for enterprise customers, as well as the elimination of recordkeeping and annual certification requirements, in the Broadband Privacy Order is consistent with the Commission's goal to eliminate unnecessary rules."
FCC Announces Agenda for February 23 Open Meeting 
The FCC recently announced the tentative agenda for the February 23 Open Meeting:
  • Universal Service Reform - Mobility Fund; Connect America Fund - The Commission will consider a Report and Order adopting rules to provide ongoing support targeted to preserve and advance high-speed mobile broadband and voice service in high-cost areas that the marketplace does not otherwise serve.
  • Connect America Fund, ETC Annual Reports and Certifications - The Commission will consider a Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration that (1) resolves a number of issues raised in the Phase II Auction Order FNPRM, including the adoption of weights to compare bids among service performance and latency tiers, and (2) considers several petitions for reconsideration for decisions made in the Phase II Auction Order. 
  • Authorizing Permissive Use of the 'Next Generation' Broadcast Television Standard - The Commission will consider an NPRM that proposes to let television broadcasters use the "Next Generation" broadcast television transmission standard associated with recent work of the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC 3.0) on a voluntary, market-driven basis. 
  • Revitalization of the AM Radio Service - The Commission will consider a Second Report and Order that would relax the siting rule for an FM fill-in translator rebroadcasting an AM broadcast station. 
  • Small Business Exemption From Open Internet Enhanced Reporting Requirements - The Commission will consider an Order granting a five-year waiver to broadband Internet access service providers with 250,000 or fewer broadband connections from the enhanced reporting requirements adopted in the 2015 Title II Order. 
  • Comprehensive Review of the Part 32 Uniform System of Accounts - The Commission will consider a Report and Order that would streamline and eliminate outdated accounting rules no longer needed to fulfill the Commission's statutory or regulatory duties. 
Hill Committees to Hold FCC Oversight Hearings March 8 
On March 8, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael O'Rielly are scheduled testify before both the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. The Senate hearing, "Oversight of the Federal Communications Commission," will have a broad scope covering every aspect of the agency and major policy issues before the Commission. The House hearing will focus on FCC reauthorization, budget, spectrum auctions and proceedings. 
House Holds Hearing on Reauthorizing NTIA 
On February 2, the House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hosted a hearing on " Reauthorization of NTIA."  Witnesses included Meredith Attwell Baker, former acting assistant secretary for Communications and Information, former acting administrator, NTIA, and president and CEO, CTIA; Anna M. Gomez, former acting assistant secretary for Communications and Information, former acting administrator, NTIA and partner at Wiley Rein; and John M.R. Kneuer, former assistant secretary for Communications and Information, former administrator, NTIA and president and founder of JKC Consulting.