Those of us who are interested in the history of telecommunications in the US recall the different "plans" (eg. Ozark) that were developed by NARUC and were implemented by the FCC. Well, the issue of intercarrier settlements has arisen again because of the emergence of VoIP and the recent wave of mergers in the telecommunications industry. As a result, NARUC developed the "Missoula Plan". A very brief presentation about the motivation and the expected outcome can be found here; the text of the plan is here.
It is interesting to view this matter in the context of carrier interconnection and universal service. Interconnection has long been an object of contention between carriers (see this for a recent rendition); and many have argued that universal service funding is seriously flawed (see this, for example).
Do you think the Missoula Plan makes progress toward resolving some of these issues?
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Interconnection, Internet, Missoula plan, NARUC, Universal Service
2 comments:
I agree with the statements of Pat and Jeff about that the plan will bring more accountability, but I cannot help but wonder if the Missoula Plan missed the boat.
Is it just me or discussing telecom only in terms of Voice traffic, or minutes of usage, is not sufficient anymore? As Jeff said, VoIP and all other data services have changed the rules of the game.
It makes me wonder if this plan will be just another Computer Inquiry (IV). The question of why the big telecom companies are supporting this plan also ponders me, since I assume they have better understanding of technology and how it impacts their business, than most of us.
Regarding The Plan, I'm impressed to see this large amount of companies working and setting agreements in areas that will definitely affect their revenues.
I think The Plan covers many important issues, including some implementation issues which sometimes are not considered in this kind of documents, and so they become useless. The Phantom Traffic section shows The Plan supporters are aware of the problem and they present possible solutions for it.
It is also interesting to see how The Plan is including not only traditional telephony traffic, but also wireless, ISP and VoIP traffic, and is considering some mechanisms to extend broadband service in a way that is reasonable for rural carriers. All these topics show that The Plan supporters know about new technologies and future trends affecting their business.
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