On any proposed new media regulation, most particularly on content, FCC Comr. Abernathy said she always asks herself “how it will affect our First Amendment rights.” Speaking Wed. at Media Institute lunch, she said FCC “strays too far from its enforcement obligations when we start making judgments as to what is good television and what is bad television. Or, what is good radio and what is bad radio. Or, when we speak out against a program merely because it has received press attention.” Abernathy said there’s “a market- based way of addressing our concerns… The ability to change channels has a far more immediate impact on broadcasts than government regulation does.” As for broadcasters’ public interest mandate, she said Commission shouldn’t establish specific types or categories of information that are necessary to meet that mandate. Abernathy said, however, she wouldn’t be opposed to requiring licensees to provide “greater disclosure” to demonstrate how they had served public interest in order to gain license renewal. And, she said, “it is important to remember that even without additional standards, broadcasters… overall… have a solid record of serving the public interest.”
FCC continues to receive feedback on Nextel White Paper that would realign frequencies at 700, 800 and 900 MHz and 2.1 GHz to help alleviate interference concerns of public safety users. Writing for clients that use 800 MHz for “commercial and private internal uses,” Washington attorneys John Prendergast and Richard Rubino told FCC in ex parte filing that Nextel’s proposed treatment of industrial/business users at 800 MHz must change. Nextel proposed to offer $500 million to help public safety licenses with costs such as retuning, they said, but didn’t offer private wireless users similar assistance. Attorneys recommended “Commission require that any incumbent licensee who relocates to other spectrum or is ultimately required to relocate to other spectrum at some future time have its relocation expenses reimbursed.” Nextel’s proposed offer of $500 million to help public safety users move is likely to be relatively small part of relocation cost, filing said, and it should bear “primary responsibility” for relocation costs in that band. Attorneys also balked at Nextel proposal that it receive 10 MHz in reserve portion of mobile satellite service band at 2.1 GHz as part of reconfiguration, saying that essentially would give Nextel “free” 3rd generation wireless license. Last month, Pegasus also raised concerns in letter to FCC Chmn. Powell about how 700 MHz guard band spectrum would be handled under Nextel proposal. Noting that Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on potential solutions to interference at 800 MHz is expected shortly, Pegasus said NPRM must weigh impact on guard band spectrum. “Nextel’s proposal has the ability to substantially alter the development of the guard bands in a way never contemplated by the Commission when it allocated the 700 MHz spectrum, promulgated the rules governing the guard bands and auctioned the guard band licenses to the highest bidder,” Pegasus said. It was among auction winners in FCC’s 700 MHz guard band auction. If part of guard band spectrum is reallocated to business radio and industrial/land transportation radio users, that “may fundamentally alter the demand for services from the 700 MHz guard band managers, which would of course affect the business plans of the auction winners,” Pegasus said.
Iridium has found niche in telecom market, CEO Gino Picasso told us Wed. Just 14 months after pulling company out of bankruptcy (CD Dec 13 2000 p7), he said company was on road to success. He said it had exceeded projections for 2001 and should meet 2002 expectations. Privately-held Iridium didn’t release exact numbers for year. Following months of low-key marketing efforts, Iridium has stepped up public presence and marketing. Picasso will be panelist March 6 at Satellite 2002 at Washington Convention Center, discussing “Satellites in a More Secure World.” He will be joined by Loral Skynet COO Joan Byrnes, FCC staffer Marsha MacBride, Satellite Industry Assn. Pres. Richard DalBello, Globalstar Chmn. Olaf Lundberg, communications consultant Walter Morgan. Appearance is in stark contrast to Picasso’s first months on job when Iridium shunned public spotlight while sorting through problems of bankrupt predecessors.
MPAA, NAB and NCTA asked FCC to stay rules for video descriptions for blind. They said in FCC filing that Commission should stay rules, scheduled to take effect April 1, until U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., ruled on their petition seeking to overturn them. Oral argument in that case is set for Sept. 6, and decision is expected in late 2002 or early 2003. Rules would require major broadcast and cable networks to add video descriptions to 50 hours of prime-time or children’s programming per quarter, starting April 1. In video description, narrator describes action and environmental aspects of program during pauses in dialog, and those descriptions are broadcast over Secondary Audio Programming channel. Hollywood groups said FCC should grant stay because their court case was “likely to succeed on the merits” and because “the Commission clearly lacks statutory authority to adopt video description rules.” Groups said Communications Act empowered FCC to adopt only closed- captioning rules, and video description rules impinged on First Amendment. Groups said if rules went into effect they would have to spend thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars for equipment and programming costs to abide by rules that they said were likely to be overturned by court, and that complying would mean interference with Spanish language audio. American Council of the Blind (ACB) “categorically condemned” entertainment industry trade associations’ for their filing and asked them to “stop this senseless attack on the need and right of blind people to know what is going on during TV and movie presentations.” ACB said it believed “vast majority” of individual members of those Hollywood trade assns. agree with ACB. Earlier this week, FCC reminded TV, movie and cable industries of upcoming deadline.
Coalition of CLECs operating in BellSouth region asked Tenn. and Ga. regulators to take steps to ensure unbundled local switching remained available as state unbundled network element (UNE) even if FCC dropped it from list of mandatory UNEs that incumbent telcos must offer. FCC is considering dropping local switching as mandatory national UNE in its current review of unbundling requirements, but CLECs told Tenn. Regulatory Authority and Ga. PSC that switching was essential component of UNE platforms, which they said offered CLECs most cost-effective way to serve large markets quickly. CLECs said states should assert right to require unbundling beyond minimum level set by FCC and order continued provision of UNEs like local switching that made UNE platforms viable. CLECs said most of their market share gains in last year had been via UNE-P that included local switching. Issue isn’t confined to BellSouth region -- it also has been raised by CLECs in Ill., N.Y., Tex.
FCC could have notice of proposed rulemaking out for comment as soon as early March soliciting feedback on how to address interference issues at 800 MHz. Industrial Telecommunications Assn. Pres. Laura Smith said expectation now was that NPRM would address broader set of issues than those raised in Nextel White Paper given to FCC in Nov. Nextel submitted proposed plan on dealing with interference concerns of public safety licensees at 800 MHz by realigning frequencies at 700, 800 and 900 MHz and 2.1 GHz. Proposal would entail commercial wireless operators’ providing public safety community with up to $500 million for costs of retuning. “It’s a great proposal if you're public safety and you're Nextel, but if you're anybody else you end up getting hurt,” Smith said at media lunch Tues. “There are better alternatives out there. There is a problem out there, we agree.” While there isn’t disagreement about interference, both public safety and private wireless operators are experiencing it, she said. Although Nextel isn’t transgressing FCC rules, interference still has been problem in bands such as 800 MHz because technologies there don’t co- exist well together, Smith said. Private land mobile industry, including ITA, has been working on alternative proposal, which will be released during public comment period for NPRM, she said. Besides Nextel White Paper, National Assn. of Manufacturers (NAM) has submitted proposal on possibilities for rebanding, without relocating users such as private wireless systems. Smith said that besides citing those proposals, she would like NPRM to describe interference problems and seek broader range of solutions. Resolution of interference problems will take years, “because you are talking about reconfiguring an entire band,” Smith said. “There are thousands of licensees in there.” In other areas, NPRM released earlier this month that set out service rules for 27 MHz being transferred from govt. to nongovt. services was somewhat disappointing for private wireless, Smith said. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to be as helpful as we wanted it to be originally,” she said. FCC had 1999 policy statement that indicated agency would provide 10 MHz to land mobile communications service as part of this proceeding, Smith said. Instead, under proposal, land mobile communications will get potential 6 MHz, which has to be auctioned for fixed and mobile services, she said. “Depending on how they open up that auction, we could get nothing,” she said. “If they open it up to all the commercial providers, then this industry will be unable to compete against the larger providers.” Land mobile industry also has access to 2 MHz at 1390-1392 MHz, but that’s open to large range of providers, she said. “We kind of were hoping for a land mobile communication service allocation, which we didn’t really get.”
FCC seeks comment on AT&T’s request to contribute to universal service based on its projected revenue on going- forward basis. Universal service contributions now are based on contributors’ historical gross-billed end-user interstate and international telecommunications revenue, reported quarterly on FCC Form 499-Q. AT&T asked Commission to permit it to contribute based on its projected revenue for current quarter, subject to true-up with actual revenue from 2 preceding quarters. Comments are due 21 days from publication in Federal Register, replies 31 days from publication.
Five more lawsuits were filed against cellphone industry this week in D.C. Superior Court charging that radiofrequency emissions from wireless phones carried serious health risks. New suits came as arguments continued in U.S. Dist. Court, Baltimore, in $800 million lawsuit in which neurologist Chris Newman contended there was link between his cellphone use and brain tumor. Jarrettsville, Md., resident Newman said his long-time cellphone use left him permanently disabled. First lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court was filed in Nov. by former Motorola technician Michael Murray, seeking $1.5 billion in damages based on allegations that cellphone use was cause of his brain cancer. Latest 5 lawsuits raise similar allegations that wireless phone use gave rise to brain cancer. Among defendants named in 5 separate complaints are Qualcomm, Nokia, Motorola, Panasonic, Verizon, Vodafone, Cingular, Comcast, Cellular One, IEEE, SBC, TIA, Bell Atlantic and CTIA, said Jeffrey Morganroth, whose law firm Morganroth & Morganroth is representing cellphone users in 5 separate suits. Mix of companies named in each complaint depends on cellphone carriers and equipment that each caller used, Morganroth said. Baltimore-based Suder Law Firm also is representing clients in suits. In each of 5 newest cases, “it’s pretty much the same operative facts and events, although slightly different injuries and different cellphone manufacturers,” Morganroth said. Each seeks compensatory and other damages, as well as $100 million in punitive damages, he told us. He said his firm also was looking into public interest suit that could be filed shortly in federal court in Washington. “It would be a lawsuit attempting to obtain standards and regulation by the U.S. government over the cellphone industry,” he said. “We don’t believe the industry is adequately regulated, whether it’s by the FCC or the FDA.” If decision in U.S. Dist. Court in Baltimore finds against cellphone industry, it could be helpful to pending D.C. cases, although it wouldn’t be binding, Morganroth said. In D.C. cases, he said, he would look to Baltimore trial on type of expert testimony that had been allowed. “We believe we have additional expert testimony and additional experts that they are not using,” he said. “We think we have an even stronger case in terms of that issue.” Motorola spokesman said Tues. he hadn’t seen latest set of suits in D.C. Superior Court, but to extent that they were similar to others, he said vast majority of those cases had been withdrawn or dismissed by courts. “I believe that that reflects the fact that the claims at the core of these cases are groundless,” he said. “The issue of possible health risks from mobile phones has been examined on numerous occasions by scientific experts and all have come to the consistent conclusion that there is no evidence of demonstrated risk.”
Sen. Burns (R-Mont.) asked Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Hollings (D-S.C.) to hold hearing on ultra-wideband. Request came 2 days before FCC approved order authorizing UWB technology at Feb. 14 agenda meeting, but he said he wanted hearing regardless of outcome. “Although I do not feel it is always appropriate for Congress to weigh in during a regulatory process, the level of public concern in this matter has encouraged a higher level of interest than usual,” Burns said. He said he was “supportive” of UWB technology, citing potential applications for law enforcement, emergency services, military. “However, I am concerned about potential interference issues within restricted bands, especially Global Positioning System,” Burns said. Depts. of Transportation and Defense, FAA and NASA have voiced concerns about potential interference in safety-of-life frequencies, he said.
EchoStar and Hughes Electronics filed joint strategy application with FCC seeking to combine satellite assets in bid to bolster local broadcast channel and broadband services. Filing late Mon. was another sign of companies’ efforts to further buttress case for proposed $26 billion deal that has drawn opposition from cable and broadcast industries.