A coalition of consumer groups urged the FCC to expand anti-cramming rules to take in both wireless and VoIP. Their requests came in comments filed this week. Carriers responded that no new rules are necessary, arguing that they have on their own taken steps to keep cramming from becoming a major problem for subscribers. States also pressed for FCC action on cramming. The FCC approved in April new wireline cramming rules, but put off any decision on applying them to wireless and VoIP, asking for further comment (http://xrl.us/bncyk3).
A consortium of high-tech companies, higher education associations and public interest groups announced a partnership Tuesday to spur the deployment of high-speed Internet using the TV white spaces at colleges and universities across the U.S. through what they're calling AIR.U (for Advanced Internet Regions). The white spaces market has been slow to get rolling, especially since the FCC has taken years to approve all of the rules for use of the spectrum.
Online media providers plan to ask lawmakers to modernize the rules that govern the video marketplace at a House Communications Subcommittee hearing Wednesday. Broadcasters will argue that they must maintain control over their signals to survive, while the cable industry will deny that it discriminates against online video providers, said advance copies of testimony published on the subcommittee’s website Tuesday.
Those seeking guidance on what’s not acceptable on broadcast TV and radio are unlikely to get it anytime soon from the FCC, commission and industry officials predicted. They said agency staff from multiple offices are just starting to evaluate the agency’s options on indecency enforcement after Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling striking down actions against fleeting nudity and cursing (CD June 22 p1). Even when the review by career commission staff is over, the agency is unlikely to issue broad guidance on indecency and instead probably would begin disposing of the 1.5 million complaints against programs, broadcast lawyers said. A group that backs indecency enforcement said such guidance isn’t necessary for the backlog to be reduced.
Tower company SBA announced its second big buy of the year Tuesday, unveiling an agreement to buy 3,252 towers, many in urban markets, from TowerCo for $1.45 billion in cash and stock. SBA will have a portfolio of 16,213 towers, the third largest among U.S. tower companies behind Crown Castle International (CCI) and American Tower (AMT). In February, SBA picked up another 2,300 towers in the U.S. and Central America when it bought Mobilitie LLC for $1.1 billion (CD Feb 22 p10).
PRAGUE -- Privacy took a center spot in the debate about new contracts between the Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and Numbers and domain name registrars. The so-called registrar accreditation agreement (RAA) has been on ICANN’s table for several years, with governments putting their feet down in Dakar in 2011 to require the integration of a set of recommendations from law enforcement agencies into the RAA. Members of the Noncommercial Users Constituency (NCUC) and of the board now urged that data protection officials be brought into the discussions.
New methods of analysis and study are needed to adequately address the critical information needs of and barriers faced by particular demographic groups in the U.S., said a panel of scholars who authored the Review of Literature Regarding Critical Information Needs of the American Public. The FCC issued a contract for the report that’s part of Section 257 of the Communications Act. Part of the draft study was released in conjunction with a workshop Tuesday hosted by the FCC Office of Communications Business Opportunities (http://xrl.us/bncyh6).
The cable industry isn’t trying to thwart the growth of online video services, said NCTA CEO Michael Powell during a media briefing at the association’s headquarters Tuesday. The Justice Department has been examining whether or not the industry is discriminating against online media providers. The Justice Department and FCC are also looking into the extent to which Comcast has been complying with or violating the terms of its DOJ consent decree that paved the way for its purchase of control of NBCUniversal (CD June 14 p7).
The U.K. Office of Communications unveiled a proposal for tackling online copyright breaches, but said Tuesday any move toward forcing ISPs to throttle or cut off suspected infringers will have to wait. The code, on which Ofcom wants feedback, essentially tracks a May 2010 version, with some key amendments, the regulator said. A second consultation document seeks input on proposed costs to copyright owners, ISPs and subscribers in breach proceedings. ISPs griped about having to pay any costs, while one civil liberties group called the proposed appeals process a “joke."
The FCC didn’t act Monday on the pricing flexibility petitions of AT&T and Windstream, which means the petitions are “deemed granted” according to existing rules, said a commission spokesman. The telcos had filed petitions to show they met the collocation triggers necessary to get out of special access rate regulation in the San Francisco/Oakland and San Antonio metropolitan statistical areas for AT&T, and the Lincoln, Neb.; Tulsa, Okla.; and Houston MSAs for Windstream.