FCC WEIGHS ELIMINATING 20-YEAR-OLD ANALOG REQUIREMENTS

Proposal, part of FCC’s 2000 biennial review of regulations, cites need to reexamine regulations that date back to “duopoly era,” particularly in view of subsequent market entry of PCS and specialized mobile radio operators. “We tentatively conclude that many of these rules are no longer necessary, and that some of them may in fact be counterproductive,” NPRM said. Proposal acknowledges that current cellular service rules “regulate the earliest form of cellular more closely than the more complex and advanced digital services that have followed.” Analog rules for cellular carriers provide that technical requirements for analog service continue to be overseen by 1981 Office of Engineering & Technology standard. Proposal seeks comment on whether agency should eliminate or modify analog service requirements in view of wide array of technologies available now for mobile services. “We note that some subscribers may not have readily available and accessible economic or technological alternatives to analog for mobile services,” NPRM said. Proposal also examines whether analog service compatibility requirement “remains necessary or useful to facilitate competition or to ensure the availability of valuable service.”

Among issues on which proposal seeks comment are: (1) Whether eliminating analog requirements could provide public interest benefits by making it easier for carriers to migrate to digital technologies. It asks whether such change could free up additional spectrum or whether analog services used such little bandwidth that it didn’t matter. (2) How eliminating analog technical requirements would affect existing analog cellular customers or rural consumers. In 1999, there were 41.9 million analog subscribers in U.S. and figure has been decreasing. On rural consumers, proposal seeks comment “on the likely treatment by the competitive market of these customers when they roam.” (3) How altering analog service requirements might affect text telephone -- or TTY users -- who must use analog technology because digital wireless systems currently aren’t compatible with TTYs, although such systems are under development. NPRM says Commission is reluctant to “eliminate this requirement if doing so will significantly impair the access of these users to wireless telecommunications services.”

NPRM seeks feedback on changing or modifying Part 22 rules that apply to both cellular and other commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) operators by imposing conditions on provision of incidental services. It asks whether rules should be altered to provide more flexible use of spectrum licensed to CMRS providers. Proposal weighs continued need for requiring cellular licensees to provide subscribers with information on their service area. It examines requirement that cellular licensees notify FCC in event that subscriber’s request for service is denied due to lack of cellular system capacity. Proposal says that, given current state of competition, customers denied service by one carrier have array of other options. NPRM also proposes deleting language that cellular licensees must provide service to all subscribers “in good standing.” Notice address requirement that cellular systems can terminate service when subscriber operates cellphone “in an airborne aircraft.” Deletion of that language is proposed because it “appears to be both unnecessary and potentially confusing.” In other areas, proposal tentatively concludes channelization plan used by original analog technology is no longer needed. Comments on NPRM are due July 2, replies Aug. 1.

In separate statement, Corm. Tristani expressed concerns about lifting analog service requirements before digital equipment compatible with TTY equipment and hearing aids was available to public. “I would have preferred a tentative conclusion that this agency will not consider eliminating the requirement” until such compatible digital equipment was available, Tristani said.