FCC Wireline Bureau seeks comment on wireless carrier RCC Holding’s petition for designation as eligible telecom carrier (ETC) to receive federal universal service support for service offered throughout its licensed service area in Ala. Specifically, RCC said: (1) Ala. Public Service Commission has provided affirmative statement that it doesn’t regulate commercial mobile radio service carriers. (2) RCC meets all statutory and regulatory prerequisites for ETC designation. (3) Designation of RCC as ETC would serve public interest. RCC also asked for redefinition of several ILEC service areas in order to be designated ETC only where it’s licensed to provide wireless service in Ala. Comments are due 30 days after publication in Federal Register, replies 45 days after publication.
Congressional speakers at next week’s National Telephone Co-op Assn. (NTCA) legislative and policy conference at Hyatt Capital Hill, Washington: Rep. Thune (R-S.D.), 8:15 a.m., April 9; Rep. Terry (R-Neb.), 8:15 a.m., April 11. Jay Driscoll, telecom legislative asst. to Sen. Baucus, will discuss Baucus’s spectrum allocation bill, noon, April 10. NTCA same day at 10 a.m. will host following panelists for regulatory review panel: Irene Flannery, vp, Universal Service Administration’s High Cost & Low Income Div.; Carol Mattey, deputy chief, FCC Common Carrier Bureau (CCB); David Ward, general attorney, CCB and Network Services Div.; Mary Beth Richards, special counsel to FCC Chmn. Michael Powell.
FCC waived local TV ownership rules to allow Pegasus Communications to acquire license for unbuilt WFXU (Ch. 57, Fox) Live Oak, Fla., from KB Prime Media. Commission said public interest would be served because unbuilt station would become operational. Pegasus already owns WTLH Bainbridge, Ga., which is in same market.
Ninth U.S. Appeals Court, San Francisco, won lottery Mon. to hear federal challenge to FCC’s declaratory ruling that cable modem service is interstate “information service.” Several challenges were filed, including one by coalition of consumer groups led by public interest law firm Media Access Project (MAP), as well as separate suits filed by EarthLink, Brand X Internet and Verizon Communications. Of 4 plaintiffs, only Brand X Internet filed in 9th Circuit, with others filing in U.S. Appeals Court, D.C. Nevertheless, 9th Circuit won lottery, said spokeswoman for judicial panel on multidistrict litigation. Now, all cases filed against FCC on issue will be combined and heard by 9th Circuit. Other entities that want to file suit against FCC in case must do so within next 60 days.
FCC “can and should provide persuasive reasons” for retaining 35% national TV ownership cap, NAB Pres. Edward Fritts and Network Affiliated Stations Alliance (NASA) Chmn. Alan Frank said in letters to all FCC commissioners. They said, however, that court decision that agency must conduct full rulemaking every 2 years to justify retaining cap is “disaster” and “threatens administrative paralysis.” NAB and NASA offered to help FCC either appeal decision or convince Congress to overturn it. Court didn’t actually reject cap, they said again: Instead, it rejected method FCC used in biennial review to justify keeping it. NAB and NASA said court actually indicated cap was constitutional if justified, that considerations such as localism and diversity might justify cap and that court would uphold it if FCC set good foundation for it. “The court’s decision leaves ample room for the Commission to retain the cap,” Fritts and Frank said: “There are compelling reasons to retain the cap.”
Carlos Nalda, ex-Dow, Lohnes & Albertson, moves to Steptoe & Johnson as special counsel focusing on satellite and telecom… Promotions at BT Bcst. Services: Jon Romm to head of global broadcast sales, Bill McNamara to gen. mgr.-N. America… .. FCC appointed W.Va. Consumer Advocate Billy Jack Gregg to Federal- State Joint Board on Universal Service, filling position vacated by ex-Mo. Public Counsel Martha Hogerty.
AT&T Broadband said it would stop collecting franchise fees for cable modem service beginning today (Mon.). Comcast, Charter and Time Warner have notified LFAs that they would cease collecting fees on cable modem revenue (CD March 29 p6). Spokeswoman said company wouldn’t pay LFAs modem franchise fees collected after March 15, day FCC announced decision to designate cable modem as interstate information service. Company won’t seek reimbursement of fees from LFAs paid before March 15, she said. Customers who had paid franchise fees after March 15 will be credited in April and May bills, she said.
Office of Management & Budget’s Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) said it would intensify reviews of regulatory costs and benefits and would continue to develop “transparent and open approach to regulatory oversight” to “demystify” process. It said late last week in draft of its annual report to Congress that in assessing federal department and independent agency rulemakings, it found FTC and FCC contrasted sharply in degree to which they provided financial impact data. Basing conclusion primarily on General Accounting Office reports, OMB said FTC “consistently considered benefits and costs in their rulemaking processes while [FCC] did not prepare benefit-cost analyses.”
FCC issued public notice seeking comments on progress of ORBIT Act. First report was issued in June 2000 and 2nd is due June 15. Deadline for comments is April 12, replies April 19 (Report No. 177).
“We've had a good last-minute pop” in preregistrations for April 7-11 NAB convention in Las Vegas, Exec. Vp Jack Knebel said, but overall attendance still is expected to be down 10-15% this year, according to most estimates. Predictions are that attendance won’t top 100,000 this year, compared with 112,776 last year -- which had Assn.’s first decrease (down some 2,500 from 2000) in convention registration since 1950s. Convention accounts for 2/3 (dues only 16%) of NAB’s projected revenue of $54.4 million (CD Jan 15 p2) for fiscal year beginning today (Mon.).