Cablevision 2013 Annual Report Download - page 23

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services provided over broadband. That order is subject to appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th
Circuit.
Local Number Portability. The FCC requires interconnected VoIP service providers and their
"numbering partners" to ensure that their customers have the ability to port their telephone numbers when
changing providers to or from the interconnected VoIP service. The FCC also has clarified that local
exchange carriers and commercial mobile radio service providers have an obligation to port numbers to
interconnected VoIP service providers upon a valid port request. Interconnected VoIP service providers
are also required to contribute to federal funds to meet the shared costs of local number portability
("LNP") and the costs of North American Numbering Plan Administration.
The FCC is reviewing whether all current numbering requirements should be extended to interconnected
VoIP services. The FCC has also adopted rules requiring providers to process standard telephone number
ports within one business day.
Intercarrier Compensation. In October 2011 and through subsequent orders, the FCC revised the current
regime governing payments among providers of voice services for the exchange of calls between and
among different networks ("intercarrier compensation") to include interconnected VoIP. The FCC
addressed the compensation applicable to traffic terminating on carriers' networks. Specifically, the FCC
clarified that prospectively, VoIP traffic exchanged with another carrier in time division multiplexing
("TDM") format must be compensated at applicable TDM terminating interstate rate for all toll traffic and
at applicable rates for local traffic. In April 2012, the FCC clarified that compensation paid to carriers for
originating VoIP traffic exchanged within the same state would be subject to intrastate toll rates until
July 1, 2014. After that date, compensation for such traffic would be reduced to interstate rates.
Intercarrier compensation for all terminating traffic, including VoIP traffic exchanged in TDM format,
will be phased down over several years to a "bill-and-keep" regime, with no compensation between
carriers for most traffic exchanged. The FCC's authority to establish these rules is subject to appeals
consolidated in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.
Other Regulation. Interconnected VoIP service providers are required to provide enhanced 911
emergency services to their customers; protect customer proprietary network information from
unauthorized disclosure to third parties; report to the FCC on service outages; comply with telemarketing
regulations and other privacy and data security requirements; comply with disabilities access
requirements and service discontinuance obligations; comply with call signaling requirements; and
comply with CALEA standards. As noted above, the FCC is examining whether new requirements are
necessary to improve the resiliency of communications networks.
Other Services
We may provide other services and features over our cable television system, such as games and
interactive advertising, that may be subject to a range of federal, state, and local laws such as privacy and
consumer protection regulations. We also maintain various websites that provide information and content
regarding our businesses and offer merchandise for sale. The operation of these websites is also subject
to a similar range of regulations.
Lightpath
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was enacted to remove barriers to entry in the local telephone
market that continues to be dominated by the Bell Operating Companies ("BOCs") and other ILECs by
preempting state and local laws that restrict competition and by requiring ILECs to provide competitors,
such as cable operators and long distance companies, with nondiscriminatory access and interconnection
to the BOC and ILEC networks and access to certain portions of their communications networks (known
as network elements) at cost-based rates. The 1996 Telecommunications Act entitles our Lightpath
CLEC subsidiaries to certain rights, but as telecommunications carriers, it also subjects them to regulation