PSC-04-12-00004-P Availability of Telecommunications Services in New York State at Just and Reasonable Rates

1/25/12 N.Y. St. Reg. PSC-04-12-00004-P

NEW YORK STATE REGISTER

VOLUME XXXIV, ISSUE 4

January 25, 2012

RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

PROPOSED RULE MAKING

HEARING(S) SCHEDULED

 

I.D No. PSC-04-12-00004-P

Availability of Telecommunications Services in New York State at Just and Reasonable Rates

PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:

Proposed Action:

The Commission is considering a recommended decision that it establish a State universal service high-cost fund to help ensure the availability of affordable telecommunications services throughout all parts of New York State.

Statutory authority:

Public Service Law, sections 4, 5, 90, 91, 92, 94, 96 and 97

Subject:

Availability of telecommunications services in New York State at just and reasonable rates.

Purpose:

Providing funding support to help ensure availability of affordable telecommunications services throughout New York State.

Public hearing(s) will be held at:

10:00 a.m., March 13, 2012 at Public Service Commission, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY.

Interpreter Service:

Interpreter services will be made available to hearing impaired persons, at no charge, upon written request submitted within reasonable time prior to the scheduled public hearing. The written request must be addressed to the agency representative designated in the paragraph below.

Accessibility:

All public hearings have been scheduled at places reasonably accessible to persons with a mobility impairment.

Substance of proposed rule:

By notice dated August 3, 2009, the Commission established a proceeding to examine issues related to the advisability of modifications to the existing universal service funding regimes to support telecommunications services in New York in a rapidly changing industry. The existing regimes include a fund established to ease potential pressure on local telephone service rates of rural local exchange carriers affected by phase-out of intrastate access charge pooling. On July 16, 2010, the Commission issued an order in Phase I of the proceeding providing for extension of that fund, including an additional $600,000 in funding, through September 30, 2011. On September 16, 2011, the Commission issued an order providing for further extension of that fund pending exhaustion of that $600,000 in additional funding or further Commission order. In the current Phase II of the proceeding, a recommended decision by an administrative law judge recommends establishment of a longer term State universal service high-cost fund to help support availability of affordable telecommunications service throughout New York State. Among other things, the recommended decision recommends that the Commission terminate the suspension of the application of the Public Service Law (PSL), pursuant to PSL § 5(6)(a), to cellular telephone services to the extent of requiring providers of cellular telephone services to contribute to a State universal service high-cost fund. The Commission may approve, reject, or modify the various proposals in the recommended decision, in whole or in part, or adopt alternative measures to help ensure universal availability of affordable telecommunications service in New York.

Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained by filing a Document Request Form (F-96) located on our website http://www.dps.state.ny.us/f96dir.htm. For questions, contact:

Leann Ayer, Public Service Commission, 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350, , [phone], email:[e-mail].

Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:

Jaclyn A. Brilling, Secretary, Public Service Commission, 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350, [phone], email: [e-mail]

Public comment will be received until:

45 days after publication of this notice.

Regulatory Impact Statement, Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, Rural Area Flexibility Analysis and Job Impact Statement

Statements and analyses are not submitted with this notice because the proposed rule is within the definition contained in section 102(2)(a)(ii) of the State Administrative Procedure Act.

(09-M-0527SP5)