No neutrality rule bars Telcordia from serving as...

No neutrality rule bars Telcordia from serving as Local Number Portability Administrator, the Ericsson affiliate told the FCC in a letter Friday (http://bit.ly/1mSt6uX). Neustar had argued (CD May 8 p11) that the commission must select the next LNPA by notice-and-comment rulemaking because Telcordia is “barred by rule” from being selected. “These arguments are yet another transparent attempt to delay and derail the selection of the LNPA in order to force an extension of Neustar’s existing $500 million per year contract and to disregard the recommendations” of the North American Numbering Council and North American Portability Management LLC, Telcordia said. Neustar’s argument is “a plain misreading” of the relevant statute, that “attempts to elevate form over substance” -- in the process, “fundamentally” misunderstanding “the difference between a rule and an adjudication,” Telcordia said. “Ericsson continues to show impatience with a process that is not over, and in which the assessment of whether a potential vendor meets the neutrality requirement has only just begun,” a Neustar spokesman said. “Ericsson cannot choose the rules that it would like to follow and ignore the rules that are inconvenient. Our expectation is that the FCC, far from being rushed by Ericsson, will want to address the serious issues we have raised."