The European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO) is likely to withdraw its controversial Internet traffic compensation proposal from consideration at the upcoming World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT), but is now considering another proposal the U.S. also finds problematic, said Terry Kramer, head of the U.S. WCIT delegation, Friday. ETNO’s current proposed revision to the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) would, among other things, establish a “sender-party-pays” model for Internet traffic compensation that could require the sender of any Internet content to pay for its transmission.
Transcom Enhanced Services has brought its complaints against the Georgia Public Service Commission and Tennessee Regulatory Authority to courts in both Georgia and Tennessee this fall. The Texas-based company was formerly linked to affiliate Halo Wireless when AT&T and various ILECs alleged unpaid access charges as part of a Halo interconnection agreement. Halo and Transcom became embroiled at several state utility commissions in the course of the consideration of the allegations in cases that sprawled over the last two years. Halo was liquidated in mid-July but Transcom continues to fight back.
A federal judge approved a settlement between Netflix and the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) that calls for Netflix to provide closed captions on all its streaming content within two years, court filings show. Judge Michael Posner granted the parties’ motion to approve their consent judgment Thursday in U.S. District Court, Springfield, Mass.
The Emergency Access Advisory Committee Interim Text to 911 Working Group is finishing its work on a report on a temporary solution allowing texting to 911, working group officials said Friday at a meeting of the FCC advisory group. Public Safety Bureau Chief David Turetsky assured the EAAC that text-to-911 remains a front-burner issue for the commission.
Cable associations and wireless ISPs opposed FairPoint’s petition for a waiver of the FCC’s requirement that recipients of Connect America Fund Phase I money wire unserved locations for $775 each in subsidy. The telco was offered nearly $5 million to accelerate broadband buildout to Vermont and Maine, but accepted less than half the offer, saying in July it was unable to meet funding conditions (CD July 24 p20). FairPoint last month sought a waiver to allow it to accept the full amount, “conditioned on the favorable disposition of litigation currently pending with the Maine Public Utilities Commission” (CD Sept 12 p14). The Maine PUC believes FairPoint is already obligated to extend broadband service to locations throughout the state, pursuant to its prior merger commitments.
The U.S. is in a “pre-9/11 moment” where immediate action is required to secure its critical computer network infrastructure from a potentially devastating attack, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told New York business leaders Thursday evening (http://xrl.us/bntuyw). The former director of the CIA said that while Congress dithers on cybersecurity legislation the White House has “no choice” but to consider issuing an executive order to “move as far as we can in the meantime.”
If Japanese wireless carrier Softbank buys Sprint Nextel, it would mark the biggest investment by a foreign operator in the U.S. wireless industry in more than a decade. Sprint said in a brief statement that talks are underway and involve Softbank making a “substantial investment” in Sprint. Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported on its website that Softbank is looking at a purchase of Sprint for more than $19 billion. Analysts were taking the deal seriously and agreed Softbank likely is also interested in Sprint partner Clearwire and its extensive spectrum holdings, though Stifel Nicolaus said it “can only be considered surprising news."
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to hear a case challenging a 2009 FCC wireless zoning shot clock order may have much bigger implications for the commission and other regulatory agencies, lawyers and analysts said this week. The court granted cert Friday (CD Oct 10 p15) in Arlington, Texas, v. FCC, in a case that could mean high court review of the broader Chevron doctrine. The doctrine requires federal courts to defer to an agency’s interpretation of a statute, as long as that interpretation is deemed “reasonable.” The doctrine dates to a 1984 case, Chevron U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council.
California is a step closer to offering a new definition of residential basic phone service this month. Californians offered many public remarks in favor of overhauling the definition at Thursday’s California Public Utilities Commission meeting and stressed the importance of mobility for basic service. They referred to a longtime CPUC proceeding to redefine what basic telecom service means, how its requirements should apply to new technologies and what role reliability should play. The CPUC is gearing up for another vote on a new proposal, at its Oct. 25 meeting.
Major cable operator and programmer incumbents remain at odds with municipalities and newer entrants over video regulation by the FCC. Also shown in replies to a commission inquiry for the agency’s next multichannel video programming distributor report to Congress, ABC affiliates and Comcast still differ on whether online video distributors (OVDs) should be considered MVPDs by the commission. Commenters generally agreed that OVDs have increased competition for pay TV. Local franchise authorities (LFA) want more competition, as companies including Comcast said there’s never been more rivalry. OVDs including Netflix, in a class of products initial filings agreed complement MVPD service (CD Sept 12 p7), aren’t a substitute for pay TV, Comcast said: They “nonetheless have had a significant impact on MVPD behavior and innovation."