ORLANDO -- FCC Chmn. Martin said Tues. he’s “sympathetic” to complaints by small carriers seeking mandates for “automatic” roaming. Martin also said he hopes the FCC will release rules for the 700 MHz auction in time to give small and mid-sized carriers the 6 months they want between the rules’ release and the auction. He called release of auction rules the FCC’s top priority. Martin also said the FCC should decide on regulation of early termination fees (ETFs) by year-end.
Howard Buskirk
Howard Buskirk, Executive Senior Editor, joined Warren Communications News in 2004, after covering Capitol Hill for Telecommunications Reports. He has covered Washington since 1993 and was formerly executive editor at Energy Business Watch, editor at Gas Daily and managing editor at Natural Gas Week. Previous to that, he was a staff reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Greenville News. Follow Buskirk on Twitter: @hbuskirk
The FCC denied a Cingular petition for reconsideration seeking to let Cingular and other wireless carriers send mobile service commercial messages (MSCMs) to subscribers without “express prior authorization.” Among the premises of the 2004 petition was that such messages are permitted under the 2003 CAN-SPAM Act -- at FCC discretion. In implementing CAN-SPAM, the agency barred carriers from sending MSCMs. A wireless industry official said the rule hasn’t caused trouble for carriers and the Commission’s decision won’t hurt them.
The FCC voted Thurs. to reclassify wireless broadband Internet access as an information service, but declined to raise specific questions about whether Carterfone rules apply to wireless networks, despite objections from Comr. Copps. Democratic members of the Commission had pushed for questions in an NPRM, though those efforts fell flat, at least temporarily.
Chmn. Martin confirmed Thurs. he has asked the Commission to terminate proceedings on cellphones on airplanes, and also on interference temperature as an aid for measuring and managing interference, as expected (CD March 22 p2, March 21 p1). Martin also told reporters after the FCC meeting the Commission has finished voting on new rules for carriers to protect customer proprietary network information (CPNI).
The FCC voted Thurs. to seek comment on whether it should allow installation of smaller antennas by fixed service operators in the 10.7-11.7 GHz band. FiberTower, a wireless backhaul provider, requested the regulatory change in July 2004, saying it would allow the company to use much smaller antennas, which weigh 35 lbs. vs. 125 lbs. for the larger antennas, and cost 1/3 as much. But the proposal has been opposed by the Satellite Industry Assn. (SIA), which has raised interference concerns. Comr. Adelstein complained that the Commission took too long to release the rulemaking. “If we truly are going to be serious about promoting the deployment of spectrum-based services, and wireless broadband in particular, we must place a higher priority on moving these spectrum policy matters forward,” he said. Comr. McDowell said he hoped the FCC would wrap up the proceeding quickly. “Prompt action by the Commission really is essential so that the companies seeking relief, as well as others interested in entering the marketplace, can begin offering microwave backhaul service in the 11 GHz band in areas where 2-foot antennas are the most effective means of meeting customer needs,” he said.
CTIA and wireless carriers asked the 9th U.S. Appeals Court, San Francisco to uphold a lower court’s decision overturning proposed state regulation of line charges on subscriber bills. The case touches on one of CTIA’s major focuses: Carriers’ need for the certainty of national rules rather than state-by-state regulation. If the court sides with CTIA, which filed an amicus brief, the issue may be headed for Supreme Court review, sources said.
Chmn. Martin is circulating an order to pull the official plug on a proceeding on “interference temperature” as an aid for measuring and managing interference, which might have opened more spectrum for unlicensed use. The proceeding, like one on cellphones aboard commercial flights, dated to Chmn. Michael Powell’s tenure. Using interference temperatures was urged by the Commission’s Spectrum Policy Task Force.
NASUCA backs M2Z’s petition seeking authority to build and run a broadband network in the 2155-2175 MHz band, it said in a filing at the FCC. M2Z also got potentially significant support from the National Assn. of Telecom Officers & Advisors (NATOA). The endorsements contrasted with a number of harsh oppositions in the FCC docket on M2Z’s controversial proposal.
The FCC is poised to pull the plug on a 2004 rulemaking aimed at allowing cellphone use on commercial flights, sources said Tues. Chmn. Martin is circulating an order among fellow commissioners that would end the proceeding. The rulemaking brought the Commission conflicting advice rather than a firm proposal for how mobile phones could be used on planes. The Commission agreed 5-0 in 2004 to explore lifting its ban on cellphone use on commercial flights (CD Dec 16/04 p4). The Federal Aviation Administration also has a ban, which it’s still studying.
Reps. Inslee (D-Wash.) and Deal (R-Ga.) Tues. introduced legislation that would force the FCC to complete its white spaces proceeding and issue a final order before Oct. 1, or 180 days after enactment. The bill would require the Commission to open the broadcast white spaces for unlicensed use “at the earliest technically feasible date” and no later than Feb. 18, 2009. Sens. Kerry (D-Mass.) and Smith (R-Ore.) introduced a companion bill in the Senate in Jan. The bill first appeared in the House last Congress.