CHICAGO -- Basic U.S. research in telecom plummeted with the post-AT&T breakup demise of Bell Labs, and the price to U.S. firms could be high, officials warned Mon. at Globalcomm. A news conference saw calls for renewed collaboration among industry, universities and govt., and for pressure on Congress to spend more on basic research. Only 0.3% of U.S. research funding focuses on long-term telecom research, officials said.
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
Chmn. Martin’s office is reportedly drafting an item that addresses a petition for a declaratory ruling filed by Continental Airlines last summer, asking the FCC to declare Mass. Port Authority’s lease restrictions regarding installation, maintenance and use of Wi-Fi antenna at Boston’s Logan Airport in violation of the Commission’s Over the Air Reception Devices rules. At issue is Continental’s use of a WiFi antenna in its frequent flyer lounge at Logan and Massport’s demand that Continental cease using that antenna and instead provide WiFi service via Massport-sponsored service provider AWG’s system. The item has yet to circulate on the 8th floor. Lobbyists representing wireless carriers, several airlines and UPS met with Martin last week in a meeting arranged by former FCC Comr. Henry Rivera, counsel to Continental.
The FCC Fri. delivered a big loss to Council Tree, the Minority Media & Telecom Council (MMTC) and Bethel Native Corp., refusing to make changes they demanded in designated entity (DE) rules released April 17. The order clarifies the FCC’s intent in referring to “spectrum capacity,” and stating that the rules don’t apply retroactively to licenses bought in earlier auctions. And it counters complaints a DE decision on unjust enrichment rules didn’t follow proper procedure.
Public safety licensees may need to work more diligently at planning for 800 MHz rebanding, if the lack of requests for reimbursement of associated costs is an indication, the 800 MHz Transition Administrator warned. In its quarterly report to the FCC, the TA said many licensees aren’t requesting funds to cover 800 MHz rebanding, which can be complex. As of March 31, Sprint Nextel reported spending $376 million on rebanding costs it agreed to pay under the landmark FCC 800 MHz rebanding order, the TA said.
Designated entities (DEs), venture capitalists and rural groups are pressing the FCC for substantial changes to coming designated entity rules. Unless the FCC acts the next few days Council Tree, the Minority Media & Telecom Council (MMTC) and Bethel Native Corp. are expected to ask an appeals court to stay the order, set to take effect Sat. If the rules do kick in, they would apply to an advanced wireless services auction that starts Aug. 9. Sources disagree whether Chmn. Martin will yield to the pressure.
Documents of commission formally adding Robert McDowell as the 5th FCC member awaited White House action late Wed., ready for signing any time. A complication, one source said, was Senate confirmation last week of Brett Kavanaugh, White House senior assoc. counsel, to the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C. Kavanaugh’s duties included getting the White House to act on such documents as the McDowell paperwork. The Senate last week voted by unanimous consent to confirm McDowell to the Commission (CD May 30 p1).
The FCC is poised to impose a mandate on VoIP providers that they pay into the Universal Service Fund (USF) and also may raise significantly the “safe harbor” for wireless carriers. FCC Chmn. Martin began to circulate a USF item last week, timed to the June 15 agenda meeting -- likely the first with new Comr. McDowell.
Addition of Robert McDowell as a 3rd Republican member of the FCC likely will mean Chmn. Martin will move within months on key items on which he needs an extra vote but over which he has been unable or unwilling to negotiate with Democrats. The Senate confirmed McDowell Fri. by unanimous consent after a series of holds were lifted.
Delaying the upcoming advanced wireless services auction, but not staying the rules themselves “serves no purpose,” designated entity Council Tree told the FCC in a filing. The FCC last week delayed the AWS auction until Aug. 9, but has yet to act on petition by Council Tree and 2 other DEs protesting changes to unjust enrichment rules prior to the auction (CD May 8 p2). “Providing additional time for prospective bidders to adapt to rules that are unsupported by the record, unclear in their application, and inconsistent with statutory requirements simply defers the problem without resolving it,” said Council Tree. The DE last week met with Gen. Counsel Sam Feder and other top officials at the agency. One source said Council Tree was responding to the delay of the auction. “Does that address the issue? No, it defers it,” the source said: “The Commission has increasing downside exposure now that the Hill has started to weigh in, now that this has become a public matter and it seems like it’s going to proceed into the court unless they do something.”
The FCC air-to-ground auction appears to be essentially over, with AirCell the all but guaranteed winner of the key 3 MHz license to offer wireless broadband service on commercial airliners. The firm’s high bid was $31.3 million. AirCell, which already offers Internet services to the general aviation market, is expected to have little to say for several weeks after the auction ends on its plans for building out a network because of anticollusion rules.