FCC officials said at the commission’s monthly meeting today that they will enlist the help of other agencies for TDM-to-IP transition trials. Officials also provided a few more specifics about other elements of the TDM-to-IP transition trials, about which they pledged to provide detailed recommendations at the January FCC meeting.
Two agencies that the FCC plans to work with on the TDM-to-IP transition trial are the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Aging, officials said.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and the deputy director of the NIA announced today that they have signed a memorandum of understanding outlining a planned collaboration to test how IP technologies can benefit older adults with hearing disabilities.
The FCC also is working on a MoU with the NSF and plans to enter into agreements with other agencies as well, officials said.
According to a presentation made at today’s meeting, the FCC in January will consider an order focused on the TDM-to-IP transition trials that would:
- Invite service-based experiments with short timelines for submission, establishing criteria for experiments and creating a speedy process for public comment and commission evaluation. The focus will be on consumer impact
- Recommend actions the commission should take to support targeted experiments and research
- Describe structured observations and data collection initiatives
- Establish a timeline for the adoption of a managerial framework to resolve important legal and policy questions raised by the TDM-to-IP transition
Wheeler last month said in a blog post that the impact of the TDM-to-IP transition would be “profound” and set a January deadline for an order focused on TDM-to-IP transition trials.
The commission apparently has punted on a TDM-to-IP trial proposal made back in May before Wheeler joined the organization.
“People thinking of experiments and those that want to comment on them should be prepared to move quickly,” said Wheeler at today’s meeting. “There is no time for any of us to waste.”
It sounds like the FCC is learning from the BO Administration. Cram stuff through before its properly evaluated so nobody can make rational decisions.