Take advantage of dedicated time to meet with some of the communications industry's top buyers - including GTT, Zayo, TelePacific, iBasis and CenturyLink - at The INCOMPAS Show, April 3-5 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. The successful Buyers Forum has been expanded to offer attendees even more networking opportunities, access to new qualified leads, dedicated time on the show floor for unscheduled meetings, as well as the ability to schedule meetings in advance. 

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

The FCC recently removed the business data services (BDS) and set-top box orders from circulation. 

Business Data Services

The BDS order, also known as special access, has been open for more than a decade. Significant data findings released last year found overwhelming concentration and market power, and should have triggered action by the FCC to help Americans who have been overcharged billions in broadband fees every time they use lines that power ATM machines, gas pumps and other business data services.

In response to the BDS action, INCOMPAS CEO Chip Pickering said: "Failure to fix the broken business broadband marketplace has saddled America with consolidation, not competition, and poses a serious threat to infrastructure goals necessary to putting America first in the race for faster, more affordable networks of the future.

"Buildings with more connections are buildings with greater value. But without real broadband choice, business customers - including hotels, schools, hospitals and libraries - will remain trapped by monopoly rents. We must stop forcing businesses to pay more for slower speeds and start encouraging competition that will unleash billions in new private network investment and create new jobs. A broad coalition, including three of the four leading wireless companies, consumer groups, schools, hospitals, libraries and thousands of business customers who have chosen a competitive provider, have urged the FCC to address this decade-long crisis. We hope the FCC will re-engage and not let business broadband competition and the 5G future slip away."

Set-Top Box Order

The draft set-top box order had been on circulation for further consideration since former Chairman Wheeler removed it from the Commission's October open meeting agenda. In response, the Consumer Video Choice Coalition, of which INCOMPAS is a member, issued a statement:

"The FCC's set-top box action is disappointing to consumers, content creators and new innovative companies seeking to bring more competition and innovation. As long as 99 percent of pay-TV consumers and families are forced to waste $231 dollars a year renting an old cable box they don't want or need, the calls to unlock the box will continue to grow louder. Competition is the law, and a technology revolution is being shackled to the past. Innovative devices and software that cost less and do more are available today. Streaming content from new creators is on the rise, and retailers can't keep voice controlled devices on the shelf. But without enforcement of competition laws, integration of a better, less expensive technology future for our TV's will not be realized."

On January 31, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced the formation of a Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee designed to explore ways to accelerate deployment of broadband nationwide and close the digital divide.

"We welcome and commend Chairman Pai on his announcement of a Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee to help guide his Digital Empowerment Agenda. We must make broadband deployment a national priority, as new networks create jobs, boost education and unleash the future," said INCOMPAS CEO Chip Pickering. "New competitive network builders have shown the path to success. In communities with more choices and access, broadband speeds increase, prices drop and new businesses thrive. We look forward to working with Chairman Pai and the entire FCC on a plan for success." 

INCOMPAS invites you to the Competitors' Reception, taking place Saturday, February 11 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Penn Quarter Room at the Renaissance Washington, D.C., Hotel. The reception takes place prior to the NARUC Winter Meetings, which are being held in D.C., February 12-15.

The reception is hosted by INCOMPAS and sponsored by Midwest Association of Competitive Communications (MACC), Granite Telecommunications LLC, CompSouth, T-Mobile, Level 3 and Windstream.

For more information, email Karen Reidy.

On February 2, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced a pilot project designed to make the FCC more open and transparent. Specifically, under the new process, the text of a document that Commission will be voting on at the next monthly open meeting will be released prior to vote. The Commission is testing this process on two documents that will be voted on at the February Open Meeting: an NPRM seeking comment on allowing television broadcasters to use the ATSC 3.0 next-generation broadcast standard and a Report and Order giving AM radio broadcasters more flexibility in siting their FM translators.

INCOMPAS member iconectiv, the next Local Number Portability Administrator (LNPA) in all U.S. regions, last week shared the top three things that carriers need to know about the LNPA transition.

In this overview, iconectiv explains that everyone must register for the iconectiv Number Portability Administration Center (NPAC), and shares how testing will work for the NPAC and how iconectiv will support LTI graphic user interface users. More information can be found online at www.numberportability.com.