The FCC cleared T-Mobile’s $2.4 billion acquisition of Suncom Wireless, saying in an order that the merger won’t hurt competition. T-Mobile and Suncom expect the merger to close this month instead of in April, as they had predicted, they said. Unlike its handling of other mergers, the FCC didn’t impose a Universal Service Fund cap.

Congress should pass legislation regulating wireless customer service policies to make industry practices uniform, said Verizon Executive Vice President Tom Tauke in a briefing with reporters Monday. He praised broadband mapping legislation that would create a nationwide database measuring the level of broadband deployment throughout the nation. The effort could help increase access in rural areas, he said.

The House late Thursday passed the higher education reauthorization bill (HR-4137) 354-58, with copyright provisions intact. Education groups endorse one of those sections, requiring colleges and universities to warn students yearly that P2P distribution may get them in legal trouble and telling them how the school will act against outlaw file-swappers. That provision is also in S-1642, the Senate-approved version. But another House provision bothers education groups whose opposition to a similar amendment to the Senate version got it yanked (WID July 25 p11). The provision would require colleges to develop plans “for offering alternatives” and to “explore technology-based deterrents” to P2P distribution. The provision could be a boon for antipiracy hardware makers like Audible Magic and Red Lambda, which already provide technology to dozens of schools. Ruckus, Napster and other music subscription services, used by some schools but locked out of the iPod ecosystem, also could grow if the measure becomes law. The House bill would have the Secretary of Education offer grants to schools and consortiums encouraging them to deal with piracy through educational programs and “cost-effective technological solutions.” Colleges’ worries go beyond cost. Education technology nonprofit Educause has been lobbying against the filtering and “alternative” provisions. Wendy Wigen, Educause government relations officer, told us a steep downward revision of MPAA campus piracy data (WID Jan 24 p5) had created buzz in House offices the group visited, but apparently not enough to sink the copyright provisions. Educause is pushing to get rid of them in conference, she said. The MPAA called the provisions’ requirements for universities “modest,” but a “significant step toward educating students” and reducing illicit swapping. “This is an enormous step forward,” said National Music Publishers Association President David Israelite. The bill provides a “reasonable and constructive way forward” to reduce piracy on “publicly funded campus networks,” he said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a press release providing a 2007 "year in review" for the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program.

A “deep need for fundamental reform” of the Universal Service Fund should inspire action on the “practical” proposals by the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, FCC Commissioner Deborah Tate said at a Federalist Society forum Tuesday. A USF revamp is an “overarching public policy issue” that isn’t likely to make one of David Letterman’s top ten lists, but it “probably should because it affects everyone,” Tate said. She co-chairs the joint board, which issued recommendation in November. “We just need to get on with it,” she said.

The FCC seeks $338.8 million in its FY 2009 budget, with $25.5 million set for an inspector general’s oversight of the Universal Service Fund, according to budget documents released Monday. The budget also includes $20 million to educate consumers about the 2009 digital transition, money that would be spent on media tours, public service announcements, direct mail campaigns and other public education activities. The commission also is seeking $1 million for a clearinghouse program to expand outreach to police and fire agencies.

Cablevision’s new service packaging on-demand films with DVDs may be the first in a series of moves to sell products directly to customers, industry analysts said. About 20 films from Universal Studios and Warner Brothers are part of an on-demand and DVD package selling for $19.95 per movie plus a $4.95 shipping fee, said Steve Brenner, CEO of Popcorn Home Entertainment, which is supplying the films. VoDs are viewable for 24 hours after being downloaded. DVDs arrive five to nine days after being ordered on Cablevision’s iO TV channel 500, where Popcorn DVDs on Demand is located, Brenner said. Users sign up for the service with a credit card at www.optimum.net/click, analysts said. Popcorn, which Alliance Entertainment contracted with to ship DVDs to customers, pays Cablevision a split for each movie sold. The main selling point seems to be that Popcorn offers movies 30 to 45 days before cable video-on-demand services typically release them. Popcorn expects to sign content agreements with other studios within three to four weeks, Brenner said. But Popcorn isn’t likely to make deals with other cable operators until the service is established and it raises additional financing, Brenner said. “We need to get some more product and finish up the studio deals,” said Brenner, who with founder Tom Schreiber has funded Popcorn. “We have to prove the concept and as we add more titles we have to show that we can be a profitable business. We will need to raise some money so we can effectively market it.” Popcorn, which has been working with Cablevision about a year, soft- launched the service in late December with e-mail to the MSO’s 2.6 million digital cable customers, Brenner said. “We haven’t been marketing or pushing it yet, so we currently have a limited actual universe -- which is good, because we have been able to handle the requests and make sure the system works,” he said. He declined to say how many customers signed up for the service. Broader marketing of the service will begin as Q1 ends, Brenner said. The Cablevision-Popcorn deal is the first to sell VOD with a DVD for a single price. Comcast tested VOD timed with DVD releases from five major studios starting in late 2006 in Denver and Pittsburgh, a spokesman said. It added the Atlanta market in October, he said. But those on-demand films and DVDs are being sold separately. On-demand movies are $4, he said.

A new bill in the West Virginia House would create a state level “facilitator” to extend broadband service by 2010 to all West Virginians now lacking broadband access and create programs that encourage broadband use. HB-4343 calls for a nonprofit to work with public- and private-sector entities on a plan for universal broadband access. It would set up a 10-member Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on Transportation and Infrastructure to study public and private funding sources for extending broadband to low income residents. The bill notes that while broadband has grown, with 80 percent of households having access, only 56 percent subscribe. The bill would require the state Department of Administration to document where broadband service is available today and where it will extend the next few years. It would require the Commerce Department to research broadband applications in private and public enterprises, seeking ways to use broadband to expand the state’s economic base, create jobs and enrich citizens’ lives. The measure is in the House Government Organization Committee. A similar bill passed last year but was vetoed by Gov. Joe Manchin. He said ongoing administration efforts to work through Verizon and Cisco Systems were likelier to produce broadband results by 2010.

LAS VEGAS -- Though a shrinking audience threatens the broadcast networks’ established business model, new media distribution platforms offer unique opportunities for content providers and advertisers alike, speakers said at NATPE Wednesday. Unlike passive viewing in broadcast, the Internet makes viewers proactive, which demands new ways of doing business, said Yahoo Sports Vice President James Pitaro. “In today’s world, Internet users are too sophisticated to accept anything but openness. Putting a wall around your content won’t work… From the consumer perspective, there is a willingness to pay. We haven’t seen a shift towards a demand for free content which would push toward more advertising models.”

The FCC late Tuesday opened three universal service proceedings and asked for public comment, setting in motion a long-awaited effort to reform the Universal Service Fund. The agency wants to distribute universal service subsidies more efficiently and lessen the fund’s growth. The FCC voted last week on the items, whose release was delayed until commissioners could write explanations of their positions. The notices of proposed rulemaking are interconnected so parties can comment on them as a package.