ORLANDO -- FCC and NTIA officials at CTIA Wireless 2002 show here Sun. cautioned that tough spectrum policy choices lay ahead in light of new homeland security considerations, including re-evaluation of how well current priority access service (PAS) rules are working. Panelists on homeland security roundtable repeatedly stressed importance of making sure public safety community had adequate spectrum and that existing allocations were being used efficiently. Several officials also pointed to complicated govt. jurisdictional issues raised by factors such as PAS, particularly as some states contemplate legislation on their own version of wireless priority access. While Administration hasn’t formulated stance on what should be done with priority access service, “the concern that we would [do so] is against classification of network where you could have displacement of emergency calls from individuals because of priority access calls coming from government,” said NTIA Deputy Asst. Dir. Michael Gallagher.
Panelists at an AEI-Brookings Joint Center debate in Washington sparred Mon. on viability of tax incentives vs. removal of ILEC unbundling requirements as means of spurring broadband deployment. Brookings Senior Fellow Charles Ferguson said “appropriate tax incentives would potentially be a significant and beneficial piece in the overall solution” to encouraging buildout of high-speed Internet infrastructure. He said such tax relief should be extended to incumbents and CLECs as well as to other potential facilities-based competitors, including real estate owners, municipal govts. and nonprofit universities. Ferguson criticized ILECs for what he said was failure of phone monopolies to achieve meaningful technological growth over last decade, emphasizing that DSL deployment by telcos didn’t count as advanced technological change. He also recommended structural separation as possible solution to anticompetitive behavior. Although he criticized ILEC industry, he said policymakers “should be skeptical about cable” as primary alternative source of broadband and telephony services because: (1) Cable passed much lower percentage of businesses than residences. (2) Cable technology provided excellent delivery of bandwidth to, but not from, customers seeking 2-way broadband. Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Thomas Hazlett said mandatory network sharing as regulatory means of sparking competition was “doomed for failure,” evident by abrupt end of dot-com and CLEC booms of nineties. He agreed DSL hadn’t lived up to industry’s expectations, but attributed that failure not to poor service but to unbundling obligations imposed by FCC. He said cable was leading broadband service race in large part because deregulation enabled industry to set standards for cable modem manufacturers, unlike DSL providers, that had to “worry about interoperability because of unbundling requirements.” He said approach taken via Tauzin-Dingell data deregulation bill (HR-1542), which would remove network access requirements from newly deployed infrastructure, was “entirely appropriate [as was] the FCC approach to blocking unbundling requirements for cable.”
ORLANDO -- NTIA Dir. Nancy Victory told CTIA Wireless 2002 show here that her agency was “on track” for completing “viability assessment” by end of spring on how to free up 120 MHz of commercial and govt. spectrum for advanced wireless uses. She cautioned: “It’s hard to know what we're going to end up with until the process is over. It may be we are not able to clear all 120 MHz of spectrum.” She told standing- room-only session here: “The idea was not necessarily to make an allocation decision.” Victory said evaluation was examining issues such as cost of relocating incumbent users and possibilities for replacement spectrum. Resulting proposal will look at “how fast you could clear it,” she said.
There was muted response from FCC Mon. on FTC Chmn. Timothy Muris’s suggestion that his agency should have jurisdiction over consumer protection and deceptive ad complaints against common carriers (CD March 18 p1). Currently, that’s realm of FCC. FCC Consumer Information Bureau Chief Dane Snowden said he hadn’t seen FTC’s proposal but said “there are many areas where we work with the FTC and other agencies within our respective jurisdictions to reach a common goal of protecting consumers.” Source in FCC Comr. Abernathy’s office said she would be “willing to consider a greater FTC role” in policing ads, given that FCC doesn’t have “particular experience or expertise.” Comr. Martin, speaking by phone from Istanbul, Turkey, said he hadn’t seen details of Muris plan but, like Snowden, mentioned that FCC and FTC had worked jointly in last few years on policies to protect consumers. “I don’t know anything else about the specifics of his comments or how he wanted to go forward,” Martin said. He declined to comment further. Without commenting specifically on Muris’s proposal, FCC Comr. Copps said agency could be doing more: “One thing is clear -- deceptive and misleading advertising is nowhere near under control. I believe it is well within the FCC’s jurisdiction to move aggressively against unscrupulous practices. We have the authority and the Commission ought to be vigorously using it.” Adviser in FCC Chmn. Powell’s office didn’t return phone call seeking comment. Jeffrey Chester, exec. dir. of Center for Digital Democracy (CDD), said FTC should move into a common carrier consumer protection due to its history and expertise. “Given the level of convergence in the industry, it makes a lot of sense,” Chester said. Chester said FCC hasn’t done good job with ad practices and said it was “another example of the FCC’s coziness with industry.” However, Chester said Muris’ comments on common carrier was a “tiny bone” he was throwing to Congress to take attention from recent merger review agreement between FTC and Justice Dept. (DoJ). Agreement would give DoJ all media mergers, which has drawn concern from Sen. Hollings (D-S.C.) as well as Chester and other consumer protection groups. Muris will testify before Senate appropriations subcommittee, of which Sen. Hollings is chmn., Tues. at 10 a.m. at Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 138.
FCC Comr. Martin told regulators and telecom ministers from dozens of countries that growth in sector could be spurred “by creating a stable, reliable and speedy regulatory environment.” Speaking at ITU World Telecom Development Conference in Istanbul, Turkey, Martin said regulators around world should work to remove “unnecessarily burdensome” regulations and allow all stakeholders, industry and consumers alike, to see how decisions were made and enforced. He also said that private sector should lead and that ITU should continue its work to spur development.
On issue of request by wireless carriers for more time to implement wireless local number portability (LNP), Peter Tenhula, senior legal adviser to FCC Chmn. Powell, said: “I personally believe you have to get pooling right first.” Verizon Wireless has asked FCC to exercise forbearance on Nov. 24 deadline for wireless LNP, citing challenges associated with implementation deadline of pooling on same date as porting. Other large wireless carriers have sought at least delay, and state PUCs have been urging Commission to keep deadline. Speaking on CTIA Wireless 2002 legal adviser panel Mon. on wireless LNP, Tenhula said: “We're going to go forward with that, it’s just a matter of when.” Priority should be implementing pooling correctly, because unless that’s done right, LNP can’t be carried out effectively, Tenhula said. Bryan Tramont, senior legal adviser to FCC Comr. Abernathy, said she had been on record as supporting “substantial” delay for carriers. She believes it’s in consumers’ interest and “consumer interest deserves attention,” he said. Tramont cited factors such as extent to which consumer churn has remained in wireless industry even though users can’t take their number with them when they switch carriers. Such “guideposts” point to greater consumer interest in issues such as better network coverage, he said. “We understand carriers’ concerns about doing LNP and pooling at the same time,” said Sam Feder, legal adviser to FCC Comr. Martin. Paul Margie, legal adviser to FCC Comr. Copps, said, “We are hearing from NARUC and they are hearing from consumers. I think this is something folks have known about for a long time.” On issue of spectrum cap, Tenhula said FCC had been examining potential guidelines that could be put in place on wireless merger reviews in light of cap that’s set to sunset Jan. 1, 2003. “The next step is to reach out to industry” for ideas, Tenhula said in response to question. He said that when Commission voted last fall to phase out cap by 2003 and lift it to 55 MHz in all markets in interim, it said it would consider guidelines for evaluation of wireless mergers on case-by-case basis. Economists at FCC have been looking at merger guidelines used by FTC and Justice Dept. to determine whether any of their aspects could be adapted for FCC to use when processing license transfer applications with mergers. Process still is taking shape, Tenhula said. “I don’t anticipate a need for a rulemaking process. I don’t think we are talking about substantive replacement rules. We are talking about guidelines” so industry players know what to expect, he said. On 700 MHz auction that’s scheduled for June, although Administration budget proposal would push that back again, he said FCC was preparing to hold auction on time unless Congress acted in time to change date.
Industry and congressional observers expressed surprise that Senate Republican Leader Lott (Miss.) threatened to block President Bush’s nomination of Jonathan Adelstein to Democratic seat on FCC. Lott said his plan to place hold on Adelstein’s nomination wasn’t because of Senate’s rejection of Charles Pickering’s appointment to federal appeals court. Instead, he questioned Adelstein’s qualifications, saying he was “relatively young” and didn’t have enough experience, although he’s older than 2 Republican FCC commissioners. Adelstein is 39, turning 40 in Aug., which makes him about 7 months older than Chmn. Powell, who will be 39 March 23. He’s 4 years older than Comr. Martin, who turned 35 in Dec. Comr. Abernathy will be 46 in June.
“It’s sort of scary, having to sit in meetings constantly thinking about the unthinkable,” Marsha MacBride, head of FCC’s Homeland Security Policy Council (HSPC), told Consumer/Disability Telecom Advisory Committee Fri. MacBride, also agency’s chief of staff, and Jeffrey Carlisle, HSPC member and senior deputy chief of FCC Common Carrier Bureau, told group that HSPC acted as coordinator and catalyst in working with industry and end users to improve responses to potential emergencies. Asked about HSPC’s relationship to broader homeland security organizations in Washington, Carlisle said “we're here to provide input in the debate, as a resource.” While FCC for years has been concerned about interoperability, redundancy and other security issues, terrorist attacks offer different type of challenge, MacBride said. Many agencies are involved in such situation -- state, county, local, federal -- and they have to interact and communicate, she said. From wireless standpoint, that heightens need for interoperability, MacBride said. In general, it means federal actions have to be applicable to more local organizations, she said. “We're trying to develop things at the federal level that can be pushed down to the local level.” She said FCC was “very aware” that what was done at federal level would work only if it could be used by local organizations, which usually are the “first responders.” Carlisle said it wasn’t FCC’s role to be at “front line” in emergencies. “Our real function is more long term, to establish conditions to assure communications systems work even better next time,” assuming there is next time, he said. Carlisle said one of HSPC’s functions was to coordinate homeland security efforts within agency. At one point, people from various agencies were attending numerous different outside meetings each week, with little coordination among bureaus, he said. HSPC, which has representation from all bureaus, now requests that reports be written and shared with members of council whenever meetings are attended. Not only does that help HSPC members keep up to date on security efforts, it also makes better use of agency resources, Carlisle said. “I can look at a report and say ‘I know someone with knowledge about that,’ he said. “We can make input” in more efficient way, he said.
FCC approved transfer of control of Northern Ia. Telephone to Mutual Telephone. It said no comments or petitions to deny were received.
FCC ban on common ownership of newspapers and TV stations in same market constitutes “the last bastion for maintaining divergent viewpoints in most American communities,” Economic Policy Institute said in new study. Study, by Douglas Gomery, journalism prof. at U. of Md., was released Fri. at news conference and panel discussion sponsored by groups (mostly media-related labor unions) lobbying to keep rule in place. Policy Institute said ban was “an important safeguard providing for a diverse media marketplace of ideas essential for a democracy.” Paul Alemida of AFL-CIO said pro-rule coalition now includes “30 national organizations and the list continues to grow.” Edward Fouhy of Pew Center, former news exec. at CBS and ABC, said more “journalists should come down from the press box” and fight for retention of rule. He cited 2 personal instances where executives at CNN and CBS News told their field producers to “spend whatever it takes” to cover wars overseas. Citing current ownership of TV and news networks, he said: “Take my word for it… no one today would say ’spend what it takes.'” FCC Comr. Copps gave opening comments at panel, saying he was there “only to encourage involvement [in FCC proceedings] of those who don’t normally walk the halls of the FCC.” He said his emphasis was reaching out to “nontraditional” parties to Commission proceedings to encourage them to become involved, that he had open mind on whether rule should be retained: “Even if I had reached a judgment… I wouldn’t be able to talk about it.” Copps, who left before panel discussion, told us his appearance before advocacy group was “singularly appropriate,” comparing it with speaking at NAB convention.