NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE UTILITY CONSUMER ADVOCATES

RESOLUTION 2004-04

NASUCA FCC WWW SITE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the telecommunications industries and services under the purview of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are of the utmost importance to  consumer advocates and the general public; and

WHEREAS, it is desireable for consumer  advocates and members of the public to be fully informed about important developments at the FCC so that they may effectively participate in formal proceedings, file complaints, and obtain public information about the Commission’s actions, telecommunications carriers, services and the telecommunications industry in general; and

WHEREAS, the FCC’s World Wide Web site is one of the most important sources of information about the issues before the Commission; and

WHEREAS, the search engine of the FCC’s World Wide Web site is inefficient in that it is difficult to use and search results often include numerous documents that are irrelevant to search queries, while failing to show all documents that are relevant; and

WHEREAS, it is difficult and time consuming for users of the web site to obtain essential information including, but not limited to, public notices, ex parte communications, comments, earnings reports, complaint data and information about which proceedings are subject to the FCC’s Sunshine Rules;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates applauds the recent efforts of the FCC to improve its web site; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NASUCA recommends the following changes to the FCC web site:

  1. For each major proceeding (e.g. related to VoIP, broadband, universal service, the TRO, UNEs) the FCC web site should have a separate page that contains the following information:
    1. All Rulings, NPRMs, Orders, etc. pertaining to the docket;
    2. An indication as to whether the docket is subject to the Commission’s sunshine rules and, if so, an explanation of the sunshine rules, along with a boilerplate or sample ex parte submission;
    3. The dates key documents were published in the Federal Register (or an indication that they have not been published), and related dates for comment cycles;
    4. Comments and reply comments filed in the proceeding; and
    5. Ex Partes filed in the proceeding.
    6. Parties should be able to suggest additional proceedings that require a separate page.
  2. The web site should include a chronological list of Public Notices, Notices of Proposed Rulemakings (NPRMs), Orders, press releases, and other FCC documents pertaining to actions taken by the Commission.
  3. The web site should include a separate page that lists all proceedings that are subject to the Commission’s Sunshine Rules, with a link to the applicable ex parte filing rules.
  4. Web site access to data pertaining to customer complaints should be improved.  The web site should contain complaint data arranged by category (i.e., the nature of the complaint), by quantity, and by carrier.  The information should also be available in summary form.
  5. The Daily Digest web page should include a separate category for the publication in the Federal Register of any documents (e.g., Orders, NPRMs) that serve as triggers for pleading cycles in FCC proceedings.
  6. The Daily Digest web page should include a separate category for a daily listing of Fines, Penalties or Sanctions, in descending order of severity or by size of carrier, whichever is most feasible.
  7. The FCC should revise its search engine to permit more efficient use of its web site.  A revised search engine should contain a separate category for “earnings” that should yield the most recent reported earnings and, in descending chronological order, past earnings reports.
  8. For any major proceeding, there should be categorical headings (e.g., Order, NPRM, Comment, Ex Parte) that facilitates locating such documents within the docket, including both recent and historic documents.
  9. The information provided on the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau web page under the section “Ask Me About” should be provided as text, in addition to the current video streams, to assist access by consumers who do not have broadband connections.
  10. For each of the issues identified on the Consumer Policy Issues page,  there should be a separate page that contains the following information:
    1. All Rulings, NPRMs, Orders, etc. pertaining to the proceeding
    2. An indication as to whether the proceeding is subject to the Commission’s sunshine rules and, if so, an explanation of the sunshine rules, along with a boilerplate or sample ex parte submission
    3. The date key documents were published in the Federal Register, and related dates for comment cycles
    4. Comments and reply comments filed in the proceeding
    5. All ex parte filings in the proceeding; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Telecommunications Committee of NASUCA is authorized to take all steps consistent with this Resolution in order to secure its implementation.

Approved by NASUCA:

Place: Nashville, Tennessee

Date: November 16, 2004