Wednesday, February 20, 6:00 – 8:15 p.m.
The PSTN to IP Transition:  Issues and Answers

The FCBA Wireline Committee will hold a CLE on Wednesday, February 20, 2013 from 6:00 – 8:15 p.m. on The PSTN to IP Transition:  Issues and Answers.  This program will be held at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, 1919 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

The transformation of the U.S. telecommunications and information infrastructure from the legacy public switched network (PSTN) to predominantly IP-based networks is accelerating rapidly, and now the policy “other shoe” has dropped:  In November 2012, AT&T petitioned the FCC to open a proceeding “to facilitate the ‘telephone’ industry’s continued transition from legacy transmission platforms and services to new services based fully on [IP],” and the NTCA asked the Commission to “initiate a rulemaking to examine the means of promoting and sustaining the ongoing evolution of the Public Switched Telephone Network” from TDM to IP.  In December 2012, US Telecom joined the fray, seeking an FCC declaratory ruling that ILECs “are no longer presumptively dominant when providing interstate mass market and enterprise switched access services.”  The AT&T and USTelecom petitions urge the FCC to consider elimination of much of the traditional regulation of ILECs, arguing that the transition to IP will essentially render such regulation obsolete, while NTCA asks the FCC to adopt what it calls a “smart regulation” approach.  Competitive carriers naturally disagree with some of the proposals, contending that deregulation will enable ILECs to perpetuate bottlenecks to end users and favoring stronger FCC action to ensure equitable IP interconnection.  The FCC is in the midst of receiving comments on these petitions.

This CLE will feature representatives of the groups on all sides of this critical policy debate, and will examine the impacts of the TDM-to-IP transition on the wireline industry.

Registrations and cancellations are due by 12:00 Noon, Tuesday, February 19, 2013.

AGENDA

6:00 – 6:05 p.m.         Introductory Remarks and Overview

6:05 – 7:05 p.m.          The Petitioners’ Perspectives

Moderator:
Steve Augustino, Co-Chair, FCBA Wireline Committee and Partner, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

Speakers:
Hank Hultquist, VP-Federal Regulatory, AT&T
Glenn Reynolds, Vice President, Policy, USTelecom
Michael Romano, Senior Vice President, Policy, NTCA

7:05 – 7:15 p.m.          Break

7:15 – 8:15 p.m.          Other Views:  Respondent Perspectives

Moderator:
Jim Smith, Co-Chair, FCBA Wireline Committee and Of Counsel, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Speakers:
Alan Hill, Senior Vice President, Government Relations, CompTel
Steve Morris, Vice President and Associate General Counsel, National Cable & Telecommunications Association
Harold Feld, Senior Vice President, Public Knowledge
Brad Ramsay, General Counsel, NARUC