GENEVA -- A new chairman of the World Meteorological Organization steering group on radio spectrum coordination, plus improved funding, have not quelled concerns after the secretariat suggested substantive redactions to a January meeting report and the introduction of a username and password system that significantly reduces transparency in the U.N. agency. A group of about 30 countries raised concerns about the secretariat’s decision-making to boost the organization’s role in the international radio frequency process (CD May 23 p8).

The FCC asks about deals among multiple TV stations under separate ownership in the same market, in a draft rulemaking notice. The Media Bureau draft NPRM that circulated Nov. 4 (CD Nov 7 p19) asks about shared services agreements and local marketing agreements. Such deals let multiple stations share news and other resources without having the commission consider them commonly owned, which would be barred in many instances. The NPRM asks about the impact of SSAs, LMAs and similar deals on the touchstone of FCC policy goals: Promoting localism, competition and diversity, according to agency officials.

ST. LOUIS -- State members of the USF Federal/State Joint Board, the Federal/State Jurisdictional Separation Joint Board and the Federal/State Joint Conference on Advanced Services were schedule to meet with the FCC officials attending the NARUC meeting in here late Monday, after our deadline, John Burke, chair of the NARUC telecom committee told us. The FCC attendees, including Commissioners Michael Copps, Mignon Clyburn, Wireline Bureau Chief Sharon Gillett and Deputy Bureau Chief Carol Mattey, were expected to talk about the timing of the release of the full universal service fund/intercarrier compensation order and an overview of what is in the order, Burke said.

The FCC began an inquiry on what TV stations should report to the agency on the types of local programming they air each quarter. A Media Bureau notice of inquiry on coming up with a replacement to the never-used Form 355 was approved 4-0 and released Monday afternoon. Commissioner Robert McDowell concurred, though saying his proposed changes to the draft NOI that were “substantive” in nature weren’t incorporated into the item. The agency’s approval of the NOI was expected (CD Oct 28 p7). McDowell dissented in 2007 when Form 355 was approved by the agency, and he approved with all other FCC members an order last month that permanently junked the form. “While we have vacated the 2007 Report and Order, we continue to believe that the creation and implementation of a standardized form is beneficial and worthy of pursuing,” the notice said.

SILICON VALLEY -- A regional forerunner to the national public safety network is making headway recruiting public institutions to join but meeting more resistance than it thinks it should, an official said. The BayRICS effort in the San Francisco Bay area includes a 700 MHz LTE network called BayWEB, financed with a $51 million NTIA stimulus grant to cover just more than half the cost. The effort is attracting interest from universities “and we're working on” the two holdout cities in Alameda County to join, said Chief Information Officer Clancy Priest of the city of Hayward, which is in the county. “It’s like if you build it they will come.” The initials stand for Regional Interoperable Communication System and for Wireless Enhanced Broadband.

The legislative campaign against the FCC net neutrality order crumbled Thursday on Capitol Hill, as Senate Democrats rejected Republicans’ Congressional Review Act joint resolution of disapproval. The Senate voted 46-52 on a motion to proceed to SJ Res 6, with no Democrats voting for the joint resolution of disapproval. That means a vote won’t be held on SJ Res 6 itself. The FCC order takes effect Nov. 20. “The only thing [Republicans] can do at this point is allow the courts to handle” the issue, a House aide said.

Cablevision lost a challenge to program access decisions against the company and its former regional sports network unit. Thursday’s loss was the second defeat in as many days. The full FCC upheld twin Media Bureau orders from September. The cable operator and Madison Square Garden LP, Cablevision’s former regional sports network unit, were required to provide two New York RSNs in HD to the biggest two telcos. The full commission orders had been expected (CD Nov 7 p7), though they weren’t voted on in time for the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to hear oral argument Wednesday on Cablevision and MSG’s challenge of the bureau’s orders. Later that day, the 2nd Circuit denied the stay request (CD Nov 10 p15).

After three quarters of subscriber losses, T-Mobile USA gained 126,000 net new subscribers in Q3, helped by growth in prepaid. Net income was $332 million, up 4 percent year-over-year. Parent company Deutsche Telekom still expects to complete the T-Mobile transaction on time, CEO René Obermann said during a conference call Thursday.

FCC staffers are trying to finish an order that would establish pilot programs in which Lifeline and Link-Up customers would be allowed to buy broadband Internet at subsidized prices, telecom officials told us. Staff is hoping to have the order ready for the Dec. 13 FCC meeting, the officials said. The order would structure a pilot program that would convert Lifeline subsidies to some kinds of broadband vouchers, the officials said. Lobbyists have increased their presence at the commission in recent days as word of the proposed order trickled out, filings in docket 11-42 showed. AT&T, USTelecom, Verizon and a handful of state officials have either written to or met with FCC staff on Lifeline changes in recent days. A telecom official said agency staff are worried about finding legal justification for supporting broadband with Lifeline funds.

The Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee Thursday formally recommended that NTIA reallocate the 1755-1850 MHz band for commercial use in “stages,” making 1755-1780 MHz available first. That spectrum has been the top priority of industry for reallocation for wireless broadband. CSMAC approved a report on the band by a unanimous vote with one abstention. The report says NTIA should launch “an informal process ... to directly exchange data and have a dialogue between government and industry in order to facilitate and implement the spectrum recommendations in this Report.”