The FCC might issue another omnibus indecency order that builds on a landmark March order (CD March 17 p1) addressing complaints against nearly 50 programs, Enforcement Bureau Chief Kris Monteith told an FCBA seminar Wed. The thousands of indecency complaints before the Commission remain an agency priority, along with homeland security, she 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
Sprint will be quicker to reimburse some public safety systems for planning costs involved in 800 MHz rebanding, said the 800 MHz Transition Administrator, major public safety groups and Sprint Nextel Tues. Planning reimbursement has been a sticking point as returning of public safety radios under a 2004 800 MHz rebanding agreement begins. Public safety systems will have access to a “fast track” by which Sprint will speed approval of any licensee’s planning funds request under $55 per subscriber unit, the parties said. The TA subsequently will review handling of the requests.
The FCC won’t investigate whether phone companies violated consumer privacy by cooperating with the National Security Agency to give the agency access to phone records, Chmn. Martin said in a letter to Rep. Markey (D-Mass.). Markey, a senior House Democrat on telecom issues, had called for an investigation of whether phone companies violated Sec. 222 of the Communications Act, which requires carriers to protect the confidentiality of customer information (CD May 16 p1).
The FCC’s decision to delay the start of the advanced wireless services (AWS) auction from June 29 until Aug. 9 (CD May 22 p1) is considered bad news for T-Mobile - the national carrier with the most at stake in the auction. The net effect for other potential bidders of the action late Fri. is less clear. The FCC still must address a petition for reconsideration on designated entity rules for the auction, but is generally expected not to make substantial changes to the revised rules approved in April, officials said.
A coalition of APCO and the major law enforcement and firefighter organizations said Fri. that giving public safety another 30 MHz of broadcast spectrum at 700 MHz, as proposed by Morgan O'Brien’s company Cyren Call, is worthy of consideration by Congress. But the group stopped short of endorsing the Cyren Call plan.
Sprint Nextel -- under fire from public safety groups as not being responsive enough to their concerns about 800 MHz rebanding -- formed a public safety panel to advise it as the retuning moves forward, the carrier announced Thurs. Creation of the committee comes as rebanding begins for the NPSPAC channels, a process expected to be much more complex than the retuning that has occurred thus far. “Is this cosmetic? Sure it’s cosmetic, but it might help,” said one public safety source: “Like a lot of things, maybe it should have happened a long time ago.”
The FCC’s air-to-ground auction opened Wed. and at the close of the 4th round at our deadline Va.-based Unison Spectrum was the high bidder for the coveted nationwide license with a high bid of $3.8 million. A 5th round was getting underway. Unison isn’t considered among the prime contenders for the spectrum, which will be used to offer broadband on commercial airliners. Verizon Airfone is considered by many to be the leading contender, followed on many lists by AirCell (CD April 4 p10). In another auction development, the FCC granted a motion by AirCell to withdraw from the auction, but that wasn’t a surprise since the company has indicated it will bid as part of AC BidCo. In a big day for auctions, short form applications for the June advanced wireless services (AWS) auction were also due Wed. The number of contenders will be of more interest than usual since the FCC will keep bidder identity secret as the auction develops unless a sufficient number file short forms so that the FCC considers the auction likely to be competitive. Based on past auctions, the FCC is likely to release lists of potential bidders within the next 2 weeks.
The Dept. of Homeland Security agreed to promote an access program developed by BellSouth and the state of Ga. to give telecom repair crews better access to disaster areas to make repairs, as hurricane season 2006 begins, a top DHS official told the National Security Telecom Advisory Committee Wed. Bob Stephan, asst. secy. of Homeland Security for infrastructure protection, also indicated Wed. the Dept. will likely issue a document that allows telecom repair crews better access to fuel, water and security under the Stafford Act during future disasters.
The fight over net neutrality language in the telecom bill introduced by House Commerce Committee Chmn. Barton (R-Tex.) threatens to sink any remaining hope for telecom legislation this Congress, Verizon Exec. Vp Tom Tauke said Tues. Tauke said he still sees some hope for legislation that includes only video franchise plus USF reform provisions needed to please Sen. Stevens (R-Alaska), chmn. of the Senate Commerce Committee.
Designated entities that last week asked the FCC to set aside new rules for DE participation in the advanced wireless services auction (CD May 8 p2) likely will sue the FCC within days if they don’t get their way, sources said Tues. The DEs aren’t saying where they would file, but plan to do so in a way that doesn’t delay the AWS auction’s appointed starting date of June 29. Time is tight, with potential bidders’ short form auction applications due today (Wed.) at the FCC. Last week Council Tree, Bethel Native Corp. and the Minority Media & Telecom Council petitioned the FCC for expedited review of a request that the FCC drop changes made to the DE program in an April 22 order. In a Mon. filing, STX, a DE that plans to bid in the auction, said the April change was “disruptive,” but urged the FCC to keep the new rules. Doing as the DEs demand “would simply preserve the status quo and invite the usual round of so-called ‘designated entities’ to participate in the auction to the certain detriment of prospective bona fide designated entities like the company,” STX said: “The company therefore fears that its reasonable opportunities to secure AWS licenses at auction would be severely impaired or completely eliminated if, in reliance of the prior auction rules, well-capitalized ‘designated entities’ (backed by the national wireless carriers)… proceeded to yet again wield their significant bidding power.”