Current eMessage > Product > January 2017

Product Spotlight

MACC’s products evolve to meet your needs

By Lori Bayne, Customer Master Product Owner

2016 was a busy year for regulatory changes in the telecommunication industry and 2017 is looking to be no different. With all the changes in the air, now is a great time to give you a recap of what MACC’s Product Development Team has done to meet your company’s regulatory needs for the past year and what’s on the agenda for 2017.

Enhancements for NLAD
As I’m sure you’re aware, a significant change occurred within the Lifeline program as support is now available for broadband access along with traditional local telephone service. This new option within the Lifeline program was accompanied by new reporting obligations for your company. Changes in Customer Master were needed to meet these obligations.

The needed programming requirements from USAC arrived just a few weeks before the implementation deadline and in the midst of the release of Customer Master 16.2.  MACC quickly developed options your company could utilize within Customer Master to fulfill your NLAD obligations and provided instructions via an e-mail in November. Complete details are available as a Customer Master Addendum posted to MACC’s Client Pages.

Enhancements for Form 477
The FCC announced a new category (43, Cable Modem – DOCSIS 3.1) for its Form 477 report. The announcement was part of the FCC’s December 31st filing. MACC made a change within Customer Master to accommodate this category. If your company needs to use it, be sure to contact your Customer Master Software Support Representative. She will be able to apply the needed update to make the category available within your database.

Coming enhancements for USAC’s HUBB Portal
If your company plans to participate in the modernized Connect America program, it will need to file deployment data through USAC’s High Cost Universal Broadband (HUBB) portal. Information needed by the HUBB portal includes the precise location (using latitude and longitude) of where your company is planning to deploy high-speed broadband services. Some of the needed information is found within Customer Master.

According to the USAC website, the HUBB portal will be available in “early 2017.” As we learn more about its requirements, you can be assured we’ll provide options your company can use to get the information you need in a timely matter.

If you have any questions about the actions we have taken regarding new regulatory requirements, please contact your MACC Client Relations Manager or Account Manager.