USTelecom, Out and About

USTelecom had a busy week, with staff members talking about a range of policy issues in a variety of venues.

On Tuesday, Senior Vice President for Law and Policy Jon Banks testified before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.  The hearing covered a range of topics related to competition in telecommunications in broadband provision, such as pole attachments, phantom traffic, retention marketing, and number porting, but the main focus of the hearing was H.R. 3914, the "Protecting Consumers through Proper Forbearance Act."  Yesterday, Jon posted a description of the hearing and his comments on our blog.

Also this week, USTelecom Vice President for Industry and State Affairs Robert Mayer represented USTelecom at the annual summer committee meetings of the National Association of Regulatory Commissioners.  As we reported Wednesday on the USTelecom blog, NARUC's Telecom Committee adopted some important amendments that we supported on its interconnection resolution.

Finally, on Wednesday Patrick Brogan, vice president for industry analysis, participated in a panel discussion at the National Conference of State Legislatures.  The panel discussed the state of competition in the broadband industry, and as Patrick reported, the panelists--including representatives from wireline, wireless, and cable companies--agreed that competition in broadband provision is intensifying and consumer choices are expanding.