FCC released its 4th quarter 2001 inflation factor Tues. for cable operators that use FCC Form 1240. Factor was adjusted down to -0.11%, and cable operators may adjust nonexternal cost portion of their rates for inflation accordingly.
LAS VEGAS -- Internet will be offering regular programming “very soon” -- within 2 years -- on home computers and within 10 years will be able to provide just about everything free TV has to offer, said Lawrence Roberts, chmn. of technology firm Caspian Network. TV group heads on same “supersession” at NAB convention here Tues. didn’t disagree, but all participants (including Roberts) agreed over-air TV stations would remain vibrant. Public won’t watch TV on computer screens, said Lowell Paxson, CEO of Pax TV: “We have a great future” in over-air TV.
FCC has surveyed every cable channel in U.S. in its continuing effort to develop new rules on horizontal and vertical ownership limits for cable MSOs. Survey asks details about each channel’s number of subscribers at end of calendar year in which it became profitable and extent of each channel’s audience reach. As part of its look at monopsony power, Commission is trying to determine how wide reach cable channel needs -- in other words, how much carriage across cable systems is required -- to be profitable. Survey was sent Feb. 15, and replies were due March 15. Spokeswoman for FCC Media Bureau said responses were being kept private.
LAS VEGAS -- Broadcasters and content producers at NAB convention here have been seeking digital rights management (DRM) solutions, and at least 2 leading IT experts chose to dedicate portion of their addresses to that topic. However, Microsoft vp and Netscape founder, not surprisingly, had differing approaches. Meanwhile, counsel for Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Hollings (D-S.C.) defended selection of FCC as agency to design and enforce DRM solution if one isn’t developed by industry, prospect that Commission’s chief of staff didn’t appear to greet with enthusiasm.
Top Transportation Dept. officials, including Secy. Norman Mineta, urged public safety officials, wireless industry and local govts. to step up implementation of Enhanced 911. Mineta, DoT Chief of Staff John Flaherty and National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator Jeffrey Runge spoke at E911 summit in Arlington, Va. Mon. “Events of Sept. 11 highlight the need to be able to quickly and precisely locate people when they make 911 calls on cellular phones,” Mineta said. “When people are injured, response time is critical in determining survivability, and bringing experts together like this will help expedite deployment of wireless E911.” Summit participants included representatives of CTIA, Assn. of Public Safety Communications Officials International, National Assn. of State 911 Administrators, FCC, International Assn. of Chiefs of Police, National Governors Assn., National Conference of State Legislatures. Mineta convened E911 summit and gave keynote lunch speech. CTIA said summit’s Wireless E911 Steering Council called for implementation of programs for model location, knowledge transfer and outreach. “Establishing statewide representatives to coordinate E911 implementation will help the wireless industry get the job done,” CTIA spokeswoman said. Industry source said Mineta’s comments focused, in part, on 40,000 lives lost on roadways each year and extent to which broader E911 deployment could help mitigate highway accidents. Model program to which summit participants committed would involve up to 8 states, as yet unnamed, source said. Program would focus on rapid deployment of E911 programs in those states, which could provide lessons learned for states whose rollouts weren’t as far along, source said.
Local number portability (LNP) administrator Neustar in letter to FCC disputed some of concerns raised by CTIA over Number Portability Administration Center (NPAC). CTIA had raised concerns in earlier letter about ability of NPAC to handle increased volume of number ports that would result from wireless LNP implementation, now set for Nov. 24. CTIA said it had “serious concerns” about ability of NPAC to handle stepped-up port volumes after wireless LNP rolled out, saying LNP Administration Working Group had held emergency meeting on problems related to NPAC. In April 2 letter to FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Thomas Sugrue and Wireline Competition Bureau Chief Dorothy Attwood, Neustar said working group meeting wasn’t held to talk about “NPAC- generated problems. Rather the meeting was held to address issues relating to the ability of some carriers to handle and process large quantities of data in a recovery situation.” That type of recovery scenario could include one carrier’s taking its network offline during normal operations or carrier outage of operations support system. In some cases, Neustar said carriers have run into problems downloading large backlog of data during recovery situation. It said data backlog occurred when carrier’s system went down for period and data from NPAC, which still was being processed, built up. Issues raised at meeting of working group last month “are not generated by volumes of transactions related to pooling or porting,” Neustar said. “The concerns discussed relate to the ability of the carrier’s existing OSS technology to process backlogged data and are addressable through coordination among all of the industry parties in the ordinary course of business.” Neustar also urged FCC to adopt schedule for contracting and initiating testing with NPAC in anticipation of Nov. 24 deadline for wireless LNP. “We believe that such testing is vital to the successful implementation of the FCC’s objectives,” it said. “Phased national rollout schedule” was key component of implementation of wireline LNP 5 years ago, Neustar said. Verizon Wireless has asked FCC to forbear on Nov. 24 wireless LNP implementation deadline and other major carriers are asking for at least delay.
NCTA and NAB are at it again over dual must-carry, with argument focusing this time on what is or isn’t burdensome for cable operators. Latest salvo came from NCTA Senior Vp- Law & Regulatory Policy Daniel Brenner, who in letter to FCC Chmn. Powell Tues. disputed study that NAB paid for based on Commission’s survey of cable operators on their current and expected capacity to carry channels. NCTA paid for its own study and found that NAB’s conclusions were “largely based on erroneous legal assumptions as to what is and is not burdensome for purposes of assessing the constitutionality of a dual must-carry requirement.” NAB’s study by Merrill Weiss Group concluded that dual must-carry requirement during digital transition wouldn’t impose significant burden. “But it is wrong on the law, and therefore it has no basis for its conclusion regarding the burden,” Brenner wrote. NCTA’s study, by PDS Consulting, found that dual must-carry would impinge on cable operators’ ability to provide other services, such as video-on-demand (VoD), high-speed Internet, telephony.
LAS VEGAS -- Broadcasters should “just completely ignore” Hollywood in fight over digital rights management, HDNet Chmn. Mark Cuban said at NAB convention here. He said Hollywood program producers had “created a chicken little environment” with claims that DTV would be pirated, including via transmission over Internet. Other speakers here said DTV transition was going much better than most believed, topping speed of transition to such technologies as VCRs and color TV sets.
Cal. court ruled PUC Comr. Henry Duque must be removed from office for financial conflict of interest. But his attorneys said he would appeal, meaning there was chance Duque still could complete his current term, which began in 1995 and ends Dec. 31. Judge Alfred Chiantelli of Cal. Superior Court, San Francisco, ruled Duque had violated conflict-of-interest laws because he owned stock in telecom carrier, Nextel Communications, that’s directly affected by PUC decisions, and didn’t make all reasonable efforts to ascertain whether Nextel holding put him in conflict. In addition to removal from office, Chiantelli fined Duque $5,000 and ordered him to pay legal fees for consumer group that sued to oust him from his $107,000-per-year position. Duque has until April 14 to ask court to reconsider decision and he’s expected to do so. If court refuses and decision becomes final, Duque’s attorneys said he would appeal and seek stay of ouster order pending final ruling on appeal. Duque invested $10,000 in May 1999 in stock of wireless carrier Nextel and reported investment on financial disclosure statements filed with state. He sold it 15 months later, in Aug. 2000, for $69,000 after news reports raised conflict question. Duque said his stockbroker told him Nextel was regulated by FCC, not PUC, but court said Duque’s reliance on his broker to keep him out of stocks that could put him in conflict was insufficient defense. Court said Duque had duty to double-check his investments to avoid conflict. Court said that was case of “bad judgment” and failure to take reasonable precautions against conflict. Court didn’t address legal validity of Duque’s votes since May 1999 stock purchase put him in conflict, and there’s no legal or policy precedent to apply. Duque’s attorneys said judge didn’t conclude Duque was deliberately violating law, so harsh penalty of ouster wasn’t legally justified for innocent bad judgment. If Republican Duque is ousted, PUC would have 2 vacancies and 3 sitting members, all Democrats.
LAS VEGAS -- There are still too many questions about AM version of in-band, on-channel (IBOC) digital audio broadcasting (DAB) system to allow night-time operation, National Radio Systems Committee (NRSC) decided here Sat. NRSC earlier had approved full operation of FM version of IBOC, but committee members felt “the verdict is still out” on AM version, said Milford Smith of Greater Media, chmn. Of NRSC DAB committee.