Except for XM and Sirius, comments overwhelmingly support a request by Wireless Communications Service (WCS) license holders to delay buildout deadlines for companies that want to offer broadband wireless at 2.3 GHz, the WCS Coalition told the FCC. Unless the FCC agrees with the coalition, the WCS licensees face a July 2007 deadline for substantially building out networks using the spectrum, sold by the FCC in 1997 auction (CD June 13 p5).
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 is teeing up a notice of apparent liability (NAL) against a data broker for violating customer proprietary network information (CPNI) rules. It’s to be voted on at the FCC’s July 13 agenda meeting. The data broker item is expected to be the highlight of the meeting, which also will include a notice of proposed rulemaking on telecom relay services (TRS) and an order and NPRM addressing rules for wireless medical devices, sources said Fri.
NARUC pressed members of the Senate to vote for an amendment by Sen. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) that would remove from Sen. Stevens’ (R-Alaska) legislation provisions further limiting state regulatory oversight of wireless carriers. NARUC began to circulate a letter from state regulators late Fri. The Rockefeller amendment is expected to be one of the most contentious amendments set for debate when the Commerce Committee’s markup of the bill gets under way again on Tues.
The Senate Commerce Committee narrowed the preemptions in its sweeping telecom reform bill, at least in regard to state control of VoIP, as it began debate of the legislation Thurs. The committee agreed to amendments by Sen. Sununu (R- N.H.) that clarify that Congress is limiting only economic regulation of VoIP by the states, and won’t in any way prohibit the ability of the states to protect consumers, including on privacy and by passing anti-child pornography laws. The committee is expected to continue the markup Tues., in a session likely to extend into Wed.
The FCC Wed. placed universal service obligations on VoIP providers, setting a “safe harbor” of 64.9% of interstate revenue for their payments -- a figure based on the percentage of interstate revenue wireline toll providers report. The FCC also raised the wireless safe harbor from 28.5% to 37.1%. As wireless carriers already can, VoIP operators will be able to submit traffic study data to show they should pay less than the safe harbor percentages. FCC officials declined to comment on whether they will impose new rules on how such studies should be done.
More than 3 months after the FCC approved creation of the Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau, the new bureau has yet to open. Public safety sources reported little feedback on when the bureau will launch or even who Chmn. Martin will name the first chief.
The sweeping telecom legislation scheduled for markup Thurs. appeared to be in peril, with senators on both sides of the aisle concerned about preemption language that would free wireless carriers from most state regulation, sources said Tues. According to some groups working the issue, state preemption in recent days replaced net neutrality as the most important issue in the legislation (CD June 20 p3).
Comments reaching beyond discussions by its blue ribbon panel on Hurricane Katrina are being sought by the FCC. The window opened in a notice of proposed rulemaking asking follow up questions on a report by the Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks (CD June 20 Special Report). While easy to miss, the sentence involved 8th floor negotiations and could be significant, sources said Tues. The sentence reads:
In a surprise move, a new draft of a telecom bill by Sen. Stevens (R-Alaska) contains language sharply limiting state controls on wireless service (CD June 17 Special Report). Though carriers view this as a potential win, it has raised consumer group and state regulator ire. State regulators said Mon. the wireless language will be controversial and could keep the bill from progressing this year.
Delaying the advanced wireless services (AWS) auction after Council Tree sought a stay of designated entity rules for it would be a nearly unprecedented legal step, CTIA and T-Mobile told a federal court. Pleadings were due Thurs. in the 3rd U.S. Appeals Court, Philadelphia, which Council Tree asked to issue a stay. “Petitioners ask the court to do what courts have been asked to do but have done only once in the history of FCC spectrum auctions because some potential bidders are unhappy with the auction rules,” CTIA said: “Nothing in the petition justifies that extraordinary result.”