Since Congress is considering 700 MHz auction deadlines, FCC shouldn’t act unilaterally to change June 19 date, Paxson Communications said in application for review. “Delaying the auctions now would both violate Congress’ existing mandates and usurp its law-making function… Unless Congress changes the law, the law must be followed.”
Issue of potential impact that communications towers have on migratory birds has emerged with increasing frequency in federal antenna siting decisions fought by environmental groups, according to industry sources and environmental groups. Ruling earlier this month by U.S. Dist. Court, D.C., may pave way for groups battling tower siting to sue under Migratory Bird Treaty Act, several industry sources said. Despite Commission ruling earlier this year that Friends of the Earth and Forest Conservation Council lacked standing to file petitions objecting to dozens of proposed antenna structures, groups since Jan. have filed new objections that highlight harmful impact to migratory birds. Meanwhile, several months after govt.-industry group set accelerated timeline for working out way to streamline siting decisions for communications towers, document is now before FCC after Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP)-led process didn’t produce agreement.
FCC Fri. suspended BellSouth tariff designed to raise access rates to recover costs associated with 1,000-block number pooling. FCC Wireline Bureau said tariff “raises substantial questions of lawfulness and warrants an investigation.” Under FCC rules, carriers seeking cost recovery for pooling must show that costs incurred in implementing pooling exceeded savings. AT&T and WorldCom had petitioned agency to reject BellSouth tariff, saying (1) not all costs for which BellSouth sought recovery were eligible and (2) BellSouth hadn’t proved that its costs were higher than savings.
Council Tree Communications urged FCC to craft compromise on 700 MHz auctions putting all or part of lower band licenses in Auction 44 up for bidding in time to meet statutory deadline of Sept. 30. “If the Commission believes that some delay of Auction 31 [upper band] is warranted, it should not also forestall opportunities for smaller bidders in Auction 44,” Council Tree told FCC last week in ex parte filing. At our deadline, Commission hadn’t issued decision on CTIA request to delay both upper and lower band auctions now set for June 19. CTIA filed application for review of Wireless Bureau decision to keep auction dates intact. House last week passed, under suspension of rules, legislation sponsored by Commerce Committee Chmn. Tauzin (R-La.) that would delay 700 MHz auction indefinitely. Sens. Ensign (R- Nev.) and Kerry (D-Mass.) are sponsoring similar legislation in Senate, where Sen. Stevens (R-Alaska) last week introduced contravening bill that would compel FCC to hold auctions as scheduled. “The Commission should not let Auction 44 follow the path of Auction 31,” Council Tree told FCC last week. “The Commission must make clear that Auction 44 will proceed without material delay.” Council Tree, which was among backers of NextWave re-auction bidder Alaska Native Wireless, told FCC that many smaller bidders might be interested in lower 700 MHz band -- 12 MHz blocks for service in metropolitan statistical areas and rural service areas. “There are 734 such licenses to be offered in Auction 44, representing only 12 MHz of the total 78 MHz allocated for commercial use in the 700 MHz band,” company said. But carrier still backed 30-day delay for lower band auction, including short-form filing, upfront payments, auction date. Additional time would “permit prospective bidders to regroup in the wake of the recent material scheduling uncertainty,” Council Tree said. It argued that because lower band of 700 MHz was more fragmented, that spectrum was not as useful for 3G services that larger national carriers were planning. Rural Telecommunications Group (RTG) told FCC Chmn. Powell last week in letter that competing bills in Senate had that chamber “deadlocked.” RTG said: “Compromise is unlikely in the time that the statutory deadline must be met by the Commission. If the Commission were to take its action on the basis of conflicting bills, the intent of Congress reflected in enacted legislation could easily and repeatedly be contravened, and the work of the agency and this Administration would become meaningless,” RTG said.
Cal. PUC Comr. Michael Peevey offered agency 3rd alternative proposal for interim reductions in SBC/Pacific Bell’s unbundled network element (UNE) rates. His proposal, based on SBC’s UNE rates in Tex., would reduce unbundled loop rate 8.1% to $10.76 monthly and cut local end office and tandem switching rates by 58.9%. Peevey’s proposal follows on one offered by Comr. Loretta Lynch. Her plan, based on SBC UNE rates in Ill., would cut UNE loop rate 15.1% to $9.93, cut end-office switching 69% and tandem rate 79%. Both are alternatives to administrative law judge’s proposed reductions of 26% in UNE loop rate to $8.56, with 22.5% end office switching cut and 13.8% tandem switching reduction. Peevey said that while Ill. and Tex. provided reasonable proxies of SBC’s Cal. network architecture, he preferred basing interim SBC Cal. UNE rates on Tex. rates because FCC had found those to be reasonable in SBC’s successful Sec. 271 interLATA long distance bid. Peevey agreed with Lynch and ALJ that some interim UNE rate reduction was in order due to evidence that carrier’s costs had declined since present rates were established and delays in case caused by need to examine competing cost models for arriving at permanent Bell UNE rates. PUC is examining Pac Bell’s UNE rates at behest of AT&T and WorldCom (Cases 01-02-024, 034, 035). Interim rate decision is on agenda for agency’s May 16 meeting. In related matter, different PUC ALJ recommended reducing monthly rate for unbundled high-frequency portion of Pac Bell’s loops. High-frequency subloop UNE, used for DSL and other data services, would be cut to $2.92 monthly from interim $5.85. ALJ recommended leaving unchanged $3 monthly rate for DSL portion of Verizon’s loops and making that rate permanent. ALJ would require Pac Bell to refund to CLECs difference between current interim and permanent new rates. That subject (Cases 93-04-002, 003) is on agenda for PUC’s June 6 meeting.
Former Vice President Gore was featured attraction at Tues. fund-raiser at National Democratic Club in Washington for ex-FCC Comr. Gloria Tristani -- who resigned from Commission last summer to seek Democratic Senate nomination from N.M. Event, at $1,000 per person, attracted about 2 dozen (many who didn’t attend sent contribution), according to attendee, and was co-sponsored by 3 Washington attorneys - - Henry Rivera, Larry Roberts and Philip Verveer, all former FCC officials. Tristani reportedly faces only token opposition in primary and will face Sen. Domenici (R-N.M.), member of Appropriations Committee who is seeking his 6th term.
FCC shouldn’t approve Dotcast system for inserting data into TV signals “until it can reliably conclude that the technology will not cause increased interference” to both analog and digital TV signals, Fox TV Stations said in latest filing at Commission. In response to Fox concerns, Dotcast has done additional testing, but Fox said that remained inadequate because it wasn’t done at independent lab and didn’t look at co-channel and adjacent channel interference.
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) would oppose any federal legislation aimed at encouraging deployment of advanced telecom services that didn’t “maintain the rights and responsibilities of states to regulate intrastate telecommunications, ensure fair and open competition… and allow for participation of all parties on a nondiscriminatory basis,” according to resolution scheduled for vote at group’s spring meeting in Washington late Fri. Resolution, intended to be sent to all members of Congress, FCC and President Bush, also calls on Commission to expedite processing of Sec. 271 applications approved by state PUCs and Dept. of Justice. It urges Congress and FCC to consult with states and telecom providers to “review the current definitions of telecom services” to ensure that govt. regulation is “based on an even playing field between competitors of similar services delivered through different mediums.” At NCSL forum on cable deregulation, NCTA Senior Vp Rick Cimerman disagreed with Consumer Federation of America (CFA) Dir.-Research Mark Cooper that having universal service policy for broadband deployment would ensure that services were available in rural and underserved areas. Cimerman said cable modem service was available now to 70 million of 105 million households, and number will increase to 90 million in couple of years. Consumer Price Index (CPI) wasn’t relevant to inputs that go into determining cable prices, he said in response to Cooper’s comment that no other commodity matched cable in price increases in relation to CPI. All prices in entertainment industry have gone up, Cimerman said, and 65% of cable increase resulted from programming costs. As for criticism that cable didn’t offer services on per-channel basis although it claimed that price on per-channel basis actually had gone down, he said a la carte pricing would undermine cable’s current economic model. Indication of value provided by cable was that there hadn’t been any fall in subscribers. Urging state legislators to back resolution on broadband deployment, Verizon Asst. Vp Patrick Gaston called for regulatory parity with cable to spur investment and economic development.
TV stations belonging to Spectrum Clearing Alliance have carefully avoided any appearance of “collusion” in violation of antitrust laws, said official of group that’s fighting effort by CTIA to gain 6th delay from FCC in upper 700 MHz auction. In fact, he said, Alliance first approached Dept. of Justice (DoJ) last Dec. to inform agency of its spectrum- clearing efforts and was “working closely with DoJ to ensure that the activities of the Alliance are in full compliance with any relevant antitrust laws,” it said in recent FCC filing. As part of those contacts, Alliance submitted business review letter to Justice on Alliance’s structure. Auction is scheduled June 19, but House last week voted to order FCC to postpone it indefinitely (CD May 8 p1). CTIA told FCC in filing last month that Spectrum Clearing Alliance could raise antitrust concerns. CTIA said “concerted action by a combination of licensees who clearly exercise market power over the disposition of the upper 700 MHz band spectrum” raised antitrust issues and created more uncertainty in band. Spectrum Exchange countered in subsequent filing that CTIA’s effort to keep 700 MHz band “off the market” could be viewed as similar concerted action in wireless industry that would trip antitrust concerns.
In separate oral arguments Fri. before U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., FCC attorneys appeared to win one and lose other. While outcome can’t be predicted with certainty, judges’ questions seemed to indicate Commission would win in Verizon challenge to agency’s colocation rules, but probably would lose CLEC access charge case brought by AT&T.