FCC Sets Comment Dates For Biennial Rules Review

Review

The FCC has set comment dates for the biennial review of telecommunications regulations for 2012, which has not yet been completed.  Comments are due MARCH 6th, 2013 with reply comments due APRIL 5th, and the Commission has committed to a review and proposals for changes within five months.

Commissioner ROBERT MCDOWELL said, "I support the Commission’s effort to commence its next biennial review of our nation’s telecommunications regulations, an exercise mandated by CONGRESS. As this next round begins, I am pleased that we are providing more certainty to the public as to when and how the Commission will proceed in proposing to repeal any unnecessary regulations that are identified during this review."

Commissioner AJIT PAI added, "During my first week in office, I recommended that our Biennial Review 'should take the form of Commission-level action rather than Bureau-level recommendations.'  Today, we are well on our way to accomplishing that goal. In this Public Notice, the Commission has committed to issuing Notices of Proposed Rulemaking addressing the recommendations contained in the biennial report within five months of that report’s release.

"The communications marketplace is undergoing revolutionary change as we transition to an all-IP world. This Biennial Review therefore serves as an ideal opportunity for us to: (1) identify those regulations that are “no longer necessary in the public interest as the result of meaningful economic competition between providers of [telecommunications] service”; and (2) “repeal or modify” any such regulations. 47 U.S.C. § 161.

"Because of today’s item, I am optimistic that this year’s Biennial Review will not simply be an academic exercise. The biennial report will not sit on a shelf collecting dust, and the staff’s many hours of labor compiling it will not be wasted. Rather, I am hopeful that this audit will lead to meaningful and timely Commission action. And to help us achieve this goal, I encourage all stakeholders to participate actively in the process."

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