Sheldon Guttman, FCC assoc. gen. counsel for ethics, retires after 32 years with agency… Mark Dunn, ex-Vyvx, named senior vp-sales & mktg., DG Systems… Promotions at Cox Business Services: Bob Hattori to vp-operations support, Kenneth Conner to gen. mgr.-Middle America… Hal Folts, NCS, will chair Alliance for Telecom Industry Solutions working group on Emergency Telecom Services… Elliott Wiser, ex-Bay News 9, appointed vp-news programming, Time Warner Cable… Elected to Keynote Systems board: Mohan Gyani, AT&T Wireless Mobility Services, and Deborah Rieman, Check Point Software Technologies… Angela Shapiro, pres., ABC Daytime, moves to pres., ABC Family, replacing Maureen Smith, resigned.
CTIA reiterated concerns about threat that Nov. 24 wireless local number portability (LNP) deadline posed to network reliability, citing emergency meeting of LNP Administration Working Group this week. In Thurs. letter to FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Thomas Sugrue, CTIA Senior Vp-Gen. Counsel Michael Altschul said group had “serious concerns” about ability of Number Portability Administration Center (NPAC) to handle volume of number ports that would result when wireless LNP was implemented. Verizon Wireless had asked FCC to forbear on Nov. 24 wireless LNP implementation deadline, same date as pooling deadline for carriers. Other carriers are asking for at least delay in that date and Commission has yet to act on requests, although it appears that it’s moving toward granting at least some relief in timing, although not complete forbearance. Altschul said LNP Administration Working Group held emergency meeting Mon. on problems related to NPAC and agreed that issues should be “further explored” in meetings next month of N. American Numbering Council working groups and worked on jointly by carriers, vendors, NPAC. “CTIA urges the Commission to defer CMRS carriers’ deadline for implementing wireless number portability until the uncertainty about the capabilities of the NPAC system is resolved,” Altschul said. He pointed to deployment of NPAC software that would allow carrier requests for full thousand number blocks to be handled as single transaction, rather than as 1,000 individual transactions. CTIA said that software would be fully available in June -- 3 months after national rollout of number pooling begins for wireline carriers. Concern of wireline and wireless carriers is that wireless volumes could overwhelm “NPAC resources and ultimately cause customer service outages.”
New Media Security & Reliability Council (MSRC) was announced by FCC to study, develop and report on best practices to assure reliability and robustness of broadcast and multichannel video systems. Group is to be headed by Dennis FitzSimons, pres.-COO of Tribune Co., and FCC said it would include about 40 “senior representatives” of broadcast, cable and DBS providers, as well as trade associations, public safety groups, manufacturers, others. FCC will be represented by Barbara Kreisman, chief of Media Bureau Video Div., and Susan Mort of Media Bureau Policy Div. will be deputy Designated Federal Official.
FCC shouldn’t let Bells game Sec. 271 process by submitting inadequate petitions, withdrawing them after learning Commission’s concerns and then resubmitting them, ALTS said Thurs. in reply comments on proceeding for Ga. and La. ALTS said BellSouth petition was example, because company withdrew earlier application. Bells “are making a mockery out of the Sec. 271 approval process,” ALTS Pres. John Windhausen said. “It is becoming commonplace for the [Bells] to file an inadequate application just to test the waters at the FCC, then withdraw the application when denial appears imminent and soon thereafter refile it with mere fine-tuning on paper but no real improvement in performance,” he said. BellSouth said it had taken “concrete steps” to resolve issues that had concerned FCC and Dept. of Justice. Company said “important changes” had been made in its operational support systems that “should further facilitate competition by lowering operating costs for new entrants.” FCC is required to act on petition by May 15. BellSouth filed it on Feb. 14, after withdrawing earlier one in Dec.
It’s highly unlikely FTC could gain jurisdiction over common carrier regulation in this session of Congress because there’s too little time left, FTC Chmn. Timothy Muris told Communications Daily in interview. “We're trying to raise the importance of the issue,” he said: “On the other hand, we're a long way from any legislation moving.” Muris said he had held informal conversations with many on Capitol Hill about common carrier jurisdiction. He first raised issue publicly March 15, when he told Consumer Federation of America conference that FTC needed its exemption from common carrier lifted (CD March 18 p1). Legislation prevents FTC from common carrier oversight, and only Congress could give agency that jurisdiction, Muris said.
House version of digital rights management legislation by Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Hollings (D-S.C.) is in works. Rep. Schiff (D-Cal.), freshman member from Burbank, distributed Dear Colleague letter Wed. soliciting support for bill he said would be based on Hollings’ S-2048. “The promise of the Internet has not been fully met,” he wrote: “Congress has recently debated ways to better serve our constituents by improving access to broadband Internet service, yet the demand for this technology is severely lacking.” He said the reason for that “has become very clear” -- content producers “have been hesitant to offer their products over the Internet out of fear of piracy -- intellectual theft. And their fear is justified.” Schiff’s 27th congressional district includes Disney and ABC studios, as well as Warner Bros., NBC and DreamWorks SKG. S-2048 would mandate that private sector develop software and hardware copyright solution for every digital consumer electronics product in 18 months, or have FCC design one for such products. Bill has strong support in Senate Commerce Committee but for most part is opposed by Senate Judiciary Committee members, including Chmn. Leahy (D-Vt.), who has vowed bill won’t pass. Web site set up to receive comments on issue by Judiciary Committee, we're told, has received more than 1,800 comments in last 2 weeks, with vast majority of them opposed to S-2048.
FCC has “no statutory authority… to override” provisions of 1996 Telecom Act on consolidation of radio station ownership in local markets, NAB said. In reply comments (MM Doc. 01-317), NAB said Congress “quite plainly established” number of stations that could be owned according to size of any given market. “Particularly,” Assn. said, Commission can’t rely on public interest standard of Communications Act “to nullify the specific judgments that Congress made.” NAB submitted study by BIA Financial Network that Assn. said, “unequivocally demonstrates” that ownership consolidation has led to greater diversity of radio programming in local markets.
At least 3 MSOs have informed local franchising authorities (LFAs) that they would cease collecting franchise fees on cable modem service in light of FCC decision to declare cable modem service interstate information service. Comcast has sent letters to LFAs “indicating” it no longer will bill customers for franchise fees for cable modem service, spokesman said. Customers will be notified in next billing cycle, he said. MSO has no plans now to seek reimbursement of franchise fees paid to cities, he said. Time Warner spokesman said he wouldn’t comment on communications it made to LFAs, saying “we would prefer that LFAs not to learn about our letters from the press.” However, attorney for one LFA said TW had informed it that it would stop paying franchise fees for cable modem revenue 10 days after notification was issued. Cablevision doesn’t face issue of stopping cable modem franchise fees because MSO took position with LFAs years ago that cable modem was information service not subject to franchise fees, spokesman said. “Our negotiated agreements with LFAs reflects this position.” AT&T spokeswoman said there wasn’t anything yet to announce on company’s position. Charter spokeswoman said MSO had sent letters in some communities and denied reports company intended to withhold portion of future cable franchise fees to offset cable modem fees it had passed through in last 15 months. There was only “isolated incident” in southern Cal. where Charter had paid cable modem fees but never collected them from customer. In that instance, MSO had notified LFA in Jan. that it would recover modem franchise fees paid in 2001 but hadn’t passed through to customers, she said. Attorney Nicholas Miller, who represents cities, said cable industry didn’t appear to have “read through the legal consequences of what they are doing.” He said cities’ rights were incorporated in existing franchises and it wasn’t possible to draw broad general conclusions on how FCC ruling would affect every community. Cities will look individually at their franchise agreements and respond through letters or legal action, he said. Miller said it appeared that cable industry had “colluded” in seeking to stop cable modem franchise fee payments given “similarity” of letters MSOs had sent to LFAs. Attorney James Baller said FCC’s declaratory ruling seemed to suggest that cable operators, especially those with franchise agreements that allowed collection of franchise fees on high-speed Internet service, should be paying franchise fees until definitive determination was made on issue. He said FCC ruling didn’t make allowance for retroactive action for recovery of modem fees already paid to LFAs and implied that such issues would be addressed in NPRM.
FCC Comr. Martin stressed “critical importance” of Enhanced 911 rollout by wireless carriers, saying Wed. he wanted to see interim, measurable milestones backed up by automatic enforcement mechanisms such as fines. He spoke at regularly scheduled press breakfast in his office. His comments came one week after Deputy Wireless Bureau Chief James Schlichting said at CTIA Wireless 2002 that Commission conducting “serious examination” of information it had received from GSM carriers that they wouldn’t be able to meet all benchmark dates of E911 waiver requests granted by Commission. Martin emphasized that to extent carriers informed Commission they couldn’t meet milestones, they should provide specifics of what kinds of equipment could be delivered and when. Absent “extraordinary circumstances,” Martin said: “I'm not going to be inclined and I don’t think the Commission should be inclined to grant very many extensions, unless it is beyond their control, like the vendors’ not being able to deliver their products.”
Paul Jackson promoted to deputy dir., FCC Office of Legislative Affairs… Robert Greenberg, ex-Towers Perrin, joins Vivendi Universal as senior vp-global compensations and benefits, new position… Theresa Edy, ex-Tony Jonas Productions, named vp-series programming, Lifetime TV.