The FCC is expected to take up proposed rules for designated entity (DE) participation in the TV incentive auction this summer, to encourage more minority bidders in what many expect to be the last major spectrum auction for years to come. FCC officials said Chairman Tom Wheeler has been consistent in indicating the agency would start a DE rulemaking this summer, possibly at the Aug. 8 open meeting.
Mescalero Apache Telecom officials expressed concerns that the $250 per line monthly USF cap could stifle the development of basic and advanced services on the Mescalero Apache Reservation, during a June 25 meeting with officials from the telco, tribe and the Office of Native Affairs and Policy, said an ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/1wRC69k) in docket 10-90. The parties also discussed the IP transition and the possibility of appropriating $50 million of unused Connect America Funds for the Tribal Broadband Fund, said the filing posted Thursday. A draft FCC order would start tests of CAF Phase II funds for broadband experiments. (See separate report above in this issue.)
Mescalero Apache Telecom officials expressed concerns that the $250 per line monthly USF cap could stifle the development of basic and advanced services on the Mescalero Apache Reservation, during a June 25 meeting with officials from the telco, tribe and the Office of Native Affairs and Policy, said an ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/1wRC69k) in docket 10-90. The parties also discussed the IP transition and the possibility of appropriating $50 million of unused Connect America Funds for the Tribal Broadband Fund, said the filing posted Thursday. A draft FCC order would start tests of CAF Phase II funds for broadband experiments. (See separate report above in this issue.)
A draft order being circulated by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler for the July 11 meeting lays out a process for the agency’s rural broadband experiment that’s seen as a test of the competitive bidding envisioned under Phase II of the Connect America Fund (CAF), said agency and industry officials in interviews last week. Wheeler is proposing to spend $100 million over the next ten years for the experiment, at the upper end of the $50 million to $100 million range outlined in an NPRM, said an agency official. It’s unknown whether the commission will back that figure, the official said.
A draft order being circulated by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler for the July 11 meeting lays out a process for the agency’s rural broadband experiment that’s seen as a test of the competitive bidding envisioned under Phase II of the Connect America Fund (CAF), said agency and industry officials in interviews last week. Wheeler is proposing to spend $100 million over the next 10 years for the experiment, at the upper end of the $50 million to $100 million range outlined in an NPRM, said an agency official. It’s unknown whether the commission will back that figure, the official said.
Democratic and Republican House members asked the GAO to conduct a study of communications services on tribal lands. “We're deeply concerned by the lack of access to communications services in Tribal communities and the barriers this presents to education, public safety, and economic development,” said a Wednesday letter (http://1.usa.gov/1jzjym2) signed by Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., along with Reps. Tom Cole, R-Okla., and Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., and Don Young, R-Alaska. They asked about efforts at various levels to collect data on communications availability, “including fixed and mobile broadband, wireline and wireless phone service, and radio and television broadcast service,” as well as programs that help in promoting the deployment of such infrastructure and service adoption. They also request a list of “challenges that exist to increasing telecommunications subscribership rates for residents on Tribal lands and recommendations for addressing those barriers.”
Democratic and Republican House members asked the GAO to conduct a study of communications services on tribal lands. “We're deeply concerned by the lack of access to communications services in Tribal communities and the barriers this presents to education, public safety, and economic development,” said a Wednesday letter (http://1.usa.gov/1jzjym2) signed by Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., along with Reps. Tom Cole, R-Okla., and Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., and Don Young, R-Alaska. They asked about efforts at various levels to collect data on communications availability, “including fixed and mobile broadband, wireline and wireless phone service, and radio and television broadcast service,” as well as programs that help in promoting the deployment of such infrastructure and service adoption. They also request a list of “challenges that exist to increasing telecommunications subscribership rates for residents on Tribal lands and recommendations for addressing those barriers.”
There are 250 applications pending for new low-power FM construction permits, the FCC Media Bureau said Friday at the monthly FCC meeting. Since the closing of the application window for new LPFM stations Nov. 15, the bureau granted more than 725 FM translator permits, said James Bradshaw, assistant division chief of the Audio Division, in an update on the LPFM application process. The window was open Oct. 17 to Nov. 15, following a delay due to the government shutdown (CD Oct 22 p2). The bureau received 2,826 applications, Bradshaw said. The bureau also received “an unprecedented number” of petitions or objections to many applications, he said. The bureau expects to issue three public notices identifying applicants that are tentatively selected for permits, he said.
The FCC Wireless Bureau released the agenda for two days of workshops on wireless siting issues (http://bit.ly/1l9qy8L). A June 24 workshop will focus on the environmental compliance and historic preservation review process required for the construction of wireless towers and other facilities. A workshop the next day will focus on the FCC’s review process on those issues for Positive Train Control facilities being installed by U.S. railroads. “Presentations will be given by FCC staff, representatives of Historic Preservation Officers, Tribal Nations, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and other federal agencies,” the bureau said Wednesday. Both run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at FCC headquarters, and Wireless Bureau Chief Roger Sherman will lead off both days, the bureau said.
TVB, U.S. broadcast-TV industry association, hires Hadassa Gerber, ex-Syndicated Network Television Association, as senior vice president and chief research officer … Samsung Telecommunications America hires Robin Bienfait, ex-BlackBerry, as executive vice president-chief enterprise innovation officer, Global Enterprise Services; John Pleasants, ex-Disney Interactive Media Group, as executive vice president, Samsung Media Solutions Center America; and Mark Louison, ex-Boston Consulting Group, as senior vice president, Wireless Network Systems … One World Sports, multiplatform sports network, hires as senior vice presidents Kristen McNeill, ex-Tribune, for Western Division, and Mark Romano, ex-Outdoor Channel, Eastern Division.