WASHINGTON-The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association last week called on the Federal Communications Commission to institute a bill-and-keep mechanism for reciprocal compensation.
Reciprocal compensation is the money carriers pay each other to carry each other’s traffic.
“In light of the fact that the [FCC] already has a record supporting bill-and-keep for [local exchange carriers-commercial mobile radio services] interconnection, there is no need to phase in such a system for LEC-CMRS traffic,” said CTIA President Thomas E. Wheeler.
On the other side of fence has been the Personal Communications Industry Association, which has been urging the FCC to allow for a transition time for any regulatory switch to bill-and-keep.
“Interconnection is hard work. It is a very complex and complicated issue that does not lend itself to silver bullets for any carriers. Any changes in interconnection roles and policies can have significant impacts on network configuration,” said Rob Hoggarth, PCIA senior vice president for government relations.
The FCC is reportedly reviewing a proposal that would phase in bill-and-keep for all telecommunications carriers.
This would include wireless carriers even though the major sticking point for reciprocal compensation has been between incumbent LECs and Internet service providers.
ILECs have argued-both at the commission and on Capitol Hill-that the current scheme allows some competitive LECs to gouge the system by only signing up ISPs where the traffic is no longer reciprocal. Because ISPs don’t make outgoing telephone calls, there is no traffic going onto the ILEC network.
Urging bill-and-keep is a turnaround from the stance ILECs took during the debate surrounding the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
They now argue that times have changed so the policy has to change.
