FCC Wireless Bureau is seeking comments on petition by Progeny LMS requesting Commission to provide flexibility to licensees in Location & Monitoring Service (LMS) band and to alter certain restrictions at 902-928 MHz. Progeny asked that FCC consider eliminating or doing away with: (1) LMS spectrum cap to let single licensee hold all LMS licenses in given economic area. (2) Restriction on real-time interconnection with public switched telephone network. (3) Restriction on types of communications or services that LMS operators can offer. (4) Safe harbor provision that contains presumption of noninterference for secondary users of band. Comments are due May 10, replies May 28. Progeny won LMS licenses in 1999 FCC auction and has asked agency to relax restrictions on type and content of messages and spectrum aggregation. It urged agency to apply to LMS band “its market-oriented policy of allowing licensees flexibility to offer whatever services the market can support and demand, so long as those operations do not hinder or interfere with the operations of primary users in the band.”
FCC Wireless Bureau Wed. turned down CTIA request for delay of 700 MHz auction that’s scheduled for June 19. In denying petition, Wireless Bureau Chief Thomas Sugrue cited steps that agency already had taken to alleviate uncertainties involving that spectrum through policies such as voluntary clearing alternatives. “The current statutory scheme, which directs the Commission to conduct these auctions a number of years in advance of the end of the digital television transition period, ensures that uncertainties about the availability of certain portions of these bands may continue for some time,” Sugrue said. FCC faces statutory deadline of Sept. 30, 2002, for depositing proceeds from Chs. 52-59 auction in U.S. Treasury, and earlier statutory deadline for Chs. 60-69 already has been missed in postponements. “Although Congress is aware of this situation, it has not acted to address it by, for example, moving the auction deadlines back or moving the DTV transition forward,” Sugrue said. Congress also hasn’t acted on Administration budget proposal that would delay auctions, he said.
Sprint told FCC it still was opposed to Verizon’s bid for Sec. 271 approval in N.J. because latter’s refiled application showed little improvement in competitive residential entry. Verizon filed initial application Dec. 20, then withdrew it March 19 after FCC raised questions about it. “Verizon’s data demonstrate that little has changed since its original application and that competitive residential service in New Jersey is sorely lacking,” Sprint said Mon., deadline for initial comments on refiled application (02-67).
Orbital received FCC authority Tues. to modify low-Earth orbit (Little LEO) nonvoice, nongeostationary mobile satellite service system. Company will decrease number of satellites in its 2 highly inclined orbital planes, operating 4th plane of satellites at 45 degrees inclination and increasing altitude of those in equatorial plane under certain conditions. Modified authority will allow Orbcomm to meet customer requirements without increasing potential for interference to other Little LEO systems, company said.
As expected, Sen. Baucus (R-Mont.) introduced bill that seeks to guarantee rural wireless carriers have access to spectrum. National Telecom Cooperative Assn. (NTCA) announced Baucus had introduced bill late Mon. that it said would require FCC to award at least one license to rural service area “or similarly sized geographic area” when more than one license in single block of spectrum was available. NTCA Pres. Michael Brunner said current FCC rules “have allowed deep-pocketed organizations to control the bidding process by embracing large, consolidated license areas… and applying broad rules to all classes of bidders rather than viewing them individually, as the law mandates.” Baucus’ Telecom Legislative Asst. Jay Driscoll will provide further detail on bill today (Wed.) at NTCA policy conference luncheon in Washington.
LAS VEGAS -- Compliance with FCC Chmn. Powell’s DTV plan is purely voluntary, he emphasized to reporters Tues. after speaking at NAB convention here: “The question of further government action lurking in the wings is not before us.” However, industry officials continued to speculate that industries that didn’t comply with plan to accelerate DTV transition (CD April 5 p1) could face retaliation either in Commission decisions or as result of congressional action on issues such as setting deadline for cable compatibility or defining what portion of broadcast signal must be carried on cable.
Aide to Senate Commerce Committee ranking Republican McCain (Ariz.) denied claims by industry sources that senator was drafting legislation that practically would abolish FCC. Spokeswoman said McCain wanted to revamp Federal Election Commission (FEC), not FCC: “There’s no such effort.” However, sources insist that such McCain bill is in works and that his office isn’t prepared to go public with plan yet.
Wireless Consumers Alliance (WCA) filed lawsuit in U.S. Dist. Court, N.Y., in attempt to “end the control of the handset market by wireless carriers.” Class action lawsuit filed late Fri. contended wireless handset market now was controlled by carriers, which linked service packages with equipment. Suit named AT&T Wireless, Sprint PCS, Verizon Wireless and VoiceStream as defendants. Plaintiffs said they represented customers who bought mobile service from those carriers in N.Y.C. and surrounding counties. Complaint said carriers “market handsets and cellular/PCS services through tying arrangements whereby subscribers are required to purchase a handset only from their carrier or their carrier’s authorized sales representatives.” Handsets are programmed to bar porting of handsets or numbers between networks of different carriers, restricting customers from switching carriers and “causing artificially elevated market prices for cellular and PCS services and handsets,” WCA said. Suit seeks monetary damages for “artificially elevated market prices” and relief against “anticompetitive” practices. It cited 1992 FCC order that it said clarified agency’s policy on bundling wireless phones and services and agency at that time allowed carriers to continue to offer phones and services as bundled package as long as wireless service also was offered separately on nondiscriminatory basis. “Though FCC rules require carriers to provide service on the same terms regardless of whether the subscriber purchased a bundled phone from the carrier or an unbundled phone from a source other than the carrier,” suit said, none of 4 carriers did so. “Instead, each carrier requires a subscriber to purchase a mobile phone from that carrier or its authorized retail sales agent as a condition of obtaining service.” WCA said “number of handset manufacturers has now dwindled by half and the handset market is controlled by the carriers.” Consumer group said: “There is virtually no place a consumer can go to purchase a phone other than a carrier’s retail store or the outlet of a carrier authorized agent. Consumers must ‘purchase’ handsets from the phones selected by the carrier.”
TV Music License Committee sees real progress in its music licensing agreement with BMI, officials said here. Settlement at least partially accepts TV station arguments that each station’s actual audience is down, and that amount of music used on each station is down because of growth of news, talk and reality programming, said Catherine Nierle of Post-Newsweek Stations. Settlement also includes license covering stations’ web sites, both for live and archived streaming, and DTV signals, she said. One concern, said broadcaster lawyer Bruce Rich, is that new licensing firm, SESAC, is competing for music composers by promising higher license fees. Traditional groups BMI and ASCAP have had to counter with their own fee promises, Rich said, and broadcasters worry fees will be passed on to them. New final se agreements provide local broadcast TV stations with public performance rights to BMI’s repertoire of about 4.5 million musical works. Agreements run from April 1999 through Dec. 2004. Parties agreed to settlement for April 1999 through Dec. 2001 period that will be paid by local TV stations over next 3 years along with their newly agreed to fees. Stations licensed on blanket basis will pay their allocated share of $85 million annual blanket base fee. Stations also may choose per-program license agreement, and will pay their allocated share of $98.1 million per program base fee. Under new agreements, stations can Webcast locally produced news and news-based public affairs programming on live or archived basis from their Internet sites. Stations’ digital TV signals also are covered in agreements. “We have worked hard with representatives from the local television industry to create an agreement that fairly compensates BMI songwriters, composers and music publishers and encourages our television customers to use BMI works for the purpose of increasing their viewership,” BMI CEO Frances Preston said. TMLC Co- Chmn Charles Sennet said new agreement “provides fair compensation to BMI for their share of the music we broadcast on local television. This was and will continue to be the focus of our negotiations with all music performing rights organizations.”
Motorola asked FCC Tues. to postpone 700 MHz auction now set for June 19, urging it not to hold sale “prematurely.” Motorola request came within days of similar petition by CTIA that asked FCC to delay auction because of uncertainties and “contradictions” involving process. “While the Commission has adopted voluntary mechanisms for relocating broadcasters through negotiated buyouts by new licensees, these voluntary mechanisms provide no certainty as to when or if the spectrum will actually be available,” Motorola wrote to FCC Chmn. Powell. Motorola Vp Richard Barth said Powell’s call last week for voluntary efforts by broadcast, cable and manufacturing industries to move quickly on initiatives that would accelerate DTV transition was “important step.” But he added: “With the spectrum auction looming, additional time is required to judge the full impact that your leadership will have in bringing certainty to the availability of this spectrum.” Motorola also cited current FCC proceeding to identify additional spectrum for 3G and to mitigate public safety interference at 800 MHz. In both proceedings, several options are under consideration for relocating incumbents, resolving interference and finding spectrum for new services, Motorola said. “The 700 MHz spectrum could play a significant role in resolving the difficult issues before the Commission in these proceedings,” letter said. “Therefore, it is our belief that the Commission should not squander an opportunity to assemble a comprehensive strategy, developed as a cooperative effort with NTIA and industry, by auctioning off this spectrum prematurely.” Letter noted that U.S. govt.’s study of 1710-1770 MHz and 2110-2170 MHz band for 3G and other advanced services wouldn’t wrap up until after June 19 auction. “It is not possible for mobile service providers to make accurate business judgments about the need to participate in the 700 MHz auction without knowing whether the 120 MHz of spectrum under consideration in the NTIA and FCC study will be available for commercial service,” Motorola said. It said uncertainties on availability of 700 MHz spectrum would have detrimental impact on prices those licenses fetched at auction and ability for carriers to use spectrum. Motorola said that in previous postponements of upper band of 700 MHz, FCC had weighed conflicting statutory mandates and found that public interest obligation favored delay.