I thought everyone would enjoy this ONE LAST TIME!!

WASHINGTON-The wireline industry quickly ran to federal appeals court Friday
morning after the Federal Communications Commission late Thursday turned
down a request to delay wireless local number portability.
"In the past, the FCC repeatedly has expressed its commitment to portability
rules that are efficient and fair, so they are not a source of competitive
advantage for one platform or another. By rushing out a one-sided rule that
encourages only landline-to-wireless transfers, that promise was broken.
USTA is working to ensure consumers have a real choice and local telecoms
have the opportunity to compete rather than rules that simply tell them they
can't," said Walter B. McCormick Jr., president and chief executive officer
of the United States Telecom Association.

The wireless industry cried foul.

"Allowing this desperate attempt at delay will only confuse consumers and
serve to limit competition. We hope the courts will side with consumers and
deny the landline companies' anti-competitive, anti-consumer request for a
stay," said Steve Largent, president and chief executive officer of the
Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association. "On at least five
separate occasions, the FCC has made absolutely clear that it was ordering
wireless number portability for the twin purposes of promoting competition
among wireless carriers and between the wireless and wireline industries."

The FCC adhered to USTA's demand that it rule by Thursday whether it was
going to delay wireline-to-wireless porting until it figures out how to make
it possible for most people to port from wireless to wireline.

"We continue to believe that our actions contained in the Intermodal LNP
Order are lawful and supported by the record. The showings made by USTA are
repetitive of matters specifically considered and rejected by the FCC," said
the commission. "Intermodal number porting is a two-way obligation. Indeed,
wireline carriers can port in some wireless numbers today. Moreover, a
wireline carrier may compete to win back a customer who ported his home
telephone number to a wireless carrier, provided that customer has remained
at the same location. While there are circumstances under which a wireless
carrier need not port a number to a requesting wireline carrier (i.e. where
the wireless carrier seeks to port a number to a wireline telephone falling
in a different rate center), the FCC has sought comment on how to facilitate
wireless-to-wireline porting."

USTA's emergency stay request came one week after four rural wireline
carriers also asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit for an emergency stay.

The rural arguments are slightly different, focusing instead on routing a
call from the rural carrier's rate center-geographic distinctions used by
state regulators and landline phone companies to determine how much to
charge for carrying a call-to a rate center of a different company.
Currently, a long-distance carrier must connect calls that leave the rural
telco's rate center to the other end, and the customer is charged for the
call. But the FCC said that if the ported number is calling a telephone
number in the rate center of its original carrier, it must be considered a
local call.

The D.C. Circuit has reportedly requested a quick briefing schedule leading
some to believe a ruling could come this weekend.

But if all of that fails, some states have granted some rural wireline
carriers limited relief.

WSIS-TV Channel 10 of Columbia, S.C., reported that South Carolina
regulators have halted the rules for customers in Columbia and Charleston,
S.C.

The Telecommunications Act allows state regulators to stall federal rules
from being enforced for no more than six months for carriers that service
less than 2 percent of the access lines while state regulators consider the
telcos' arguments.

--
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This is just riduculous. The wireline industry ought to be embarrassed. And
as for SC regulators, they have cave to Bell South money and pressure. What
they are protecting is not the rural carriers they claim they are
protection. The areas where they stayed the rules (Charleston and Columbia)
are RBOC (regional bell holding companies), not serviced by the rural
carriers they claim to protect. That is riduculous and consumers in SC
ought to raise hell with the regulators. Wireline carriers have had a
virtual monopoly for over a century. They have had a long time to prepare
for this day and now they want to be crybabies and get the government, the
regulators, and their lawyers to protect them.


"PDA Man" <pda@man.com> wrote in message
news:-e6dncTR9tWCMSOiRVn-vg@comcast.com...
> I thought everyone would enjoy this ONE LAST TIME!!
>
> WASHINGTON-The wireline industry quickly ran to federal appeals court
Friday
> morning after the Federal Communications Commission late Thursday turned
> down a request to delay wireless local number portability.
> "In the past, the FCC repeatedly has expressed its commitment to
portability
> rules that are efficient and fair, so they are not a source of competitive
> advantage for one platform or another. By rushing out a one-sided rule
that
> encourages only landline-to-wireless transfers, that promise was broken.
> USTA is working to ensure consumers have a real choice and local telecoms
> have the opportunity to compete rather than rules that simply tell them
they
> can't," said Walter B. McCormick Jr., president and chief executive
officer
> of the United States Telecom Association.
>
> The wireless industry cried foul.
>
> "Allowing this desperate attempt at delay will only confuse consumers and
> serve to limit competition. We hope the courts will side with consumers
and
> deny the landline companies' anti-competitive, anti-consumer request for a
> stay," said Steve Largent, president and chief executive officer of the
> Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association. "On at least five
> separate occasions, the FCC has made absolutely clear that it was ordering
> wireless number portability for the twin purposes of promoting competition
> among wireless carriers and between the wireless and wireline industries."
>
> The FCC adhered to USTA's demand that it rule by Thursday whether it was
> going to delay wireline-to-wireless porting until it figures out how to
make
> it possible for most people to port from wireless to wireline.
>
> "We continue to believe that our actions contained in the Intermodal LNP
> Order are lawful and supported by the record. The showings made by USTA
are
> repetitive of matters specifically considered and rejected by the FCC,"
said
> the commission. "Intermodal number porting is a two-way obligation.
Indeed,
> wireline carriers can port in some wireless numbers today. Moreover, a
> wireline carrier may compete to win back a customer who ported his home
> telephone number to a wireless carrier, provided that customer has
remained
> at the same location. While there are circumstances under which a wireless
> carrier need not port a number to a requesting wireline carrier (i.e.
where
> the wireless carrier seeks to port a number to a wireline telephone
falling
> in a different rate center), the FCC has sought comment on how to
facilitate
> wireless-to-wireline porting."
>
> USTA's emergency stay request came one week after four rural wireline
> carriers also asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
> Circuit for an emergency stay.
>
> The rural arguments are slightly different, focusing instead on routing a
> call from the rural carrier's rate center-geographic distinctions used by
> state regulators and landline phone companies to determine how much to
> charge for carrying a call-to a rate center of a different company.
> Currently, a long-distance carrier must connect calls that leave the rural
> telco's rate center to the other end, and the customer is charged for the

> call. But the FCC said that if the ported number is calling a telephone
> number in the rate center of its original carrier, it must be considered a
> local call.
>
> The D.C. Circuit has reportedly requested a quick briefing schedule
leading
> some to believe a ruling could come this weekend.
>
> But if all of that fails, some states have granted some rural wireline
> carriers limited relief.
>
> WSIS-TV Channel 10 of Columbia, S.C., reported that South Carolina
> regulators have halted the rules for customers in Columbia and Charleston,
> S.C.
>
> The Telecommunications Act allows state regulators to stall federal rules
> from being enforced for no more than six months for carriers that service
> less than 2 percent of the access lines while state regulators consider
the
> telcos' arguments.
>
> --
> Visit Wireless World at http://wirelessway.blogspot.com for the latest in
> Wireless Technology News and Info! Free Drawing for Aluminum Palm /Clie
> case!!
>
>