National Emergency Number Assn. (NENA) questioned whether Nextel proposal to contribute $25 million to public safety community would impinge on independence of those groups. FCC last year granted requests of Nextel and other carriers for waivers of Enhanced 911 Phase 2 implementation deadlines. In waiver request, Nextel proposed contributing $25 million over 2 years to help public safety community upgrade facilities to process Phase 2 location information. NENA said last week that its executive board still was gathering information on proposal. But it said it believed that grant of operating funds from NENA or Assn. of Public- Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO) “would call to question the independence of each organization’s FCC and regulatory representation function on wireless and radio spectrum issues currently and in the future.” NENA said direct grants from wireless carriers to NENA, APCO or related organization “may jeopardize the ability of public safety to speak in an independent and objective manner in the long term.” Both groups could have regulatory positions in future that conflicted with stance of Nextel and other carriers in FCC proceedings, NENA said. “This concern extends to foreseeable radio spectrum issues, as well as the current wireless Phase 2 process that is still fully open and likely to have more issues requiring public safety advocacy,” it said. Group also said it didn’t want to “discourage” Nextel or others from contributing funds to public safety organizations. Instead, it said, it wants parties to create “completely neutral and detached governmental recipient” of funds, such as USTA. That could serve as “granting organization” for funds that Nextel and others would donate, NENA said. Nextel spokeswoman said carrier made $25 million offer to help public safety agencies with E911 implementation “in good faith.” She said: “We are in the early stages of talking to all public safety organizations as to how best to go about implementing this. We have every intention of working cooperatively.”
Broadcasters have little choice but to complete DTV transition because they face $500 million spectrum fee for analog channels beginning in 2007, MSTV Pres. David Donovan said Wed. at group’s DTV conference. But he said govt. wasn’t doing enough to promote transition, including DTV must-carry for cable, dual tuner requirement and requiring DTV-cable compatibility: “The light at the end of the tuner may be a train.”
FCC is expected to open proceeding today (Feb. 14) “that could have profound and damaging effects on the future openness and diversity of the Internet and communications networks,” 2 consumer groups said Wed. At issue is broadband item on agenda for FCC open meeting that will look at regulatory framework for Bell company provision of Internet access such as DSL. FCC is considering notice of proposed rulemaking to determine whether such service is common carriage telecom service or information service. Difference could determine whether Bell has to make its Internet access service available to its competitors. Most regulation, including unbundling, is based on common carriage. Consumer Federation of America and Center for Digital Democracy said action could result in placing “the future of the broadband Internet squarely in the hands of a handful of large cable and telephone companies” because small telecom competitors would be shut out. “Cable and telephone giants will be free to engineer the broadband Internet and favor their affiliated Internet service and content providers as they see fit,” if proposal were approved, groups said. Item is outgrowth of concerns expressed by several commissioners when FCC approved SBC’s Ark. and Mo. Sec. 271 applications in late Nov. Comr. Copps said at time that rules weren’t clear on Bells’ DSL resale obligations.
Wireline local number portability has been “costly experiment that has failed to foster competition,” CTIA CEO Tom Wheeler told FCC Chmn. Powell Wed. He reiterated concerns of large wireless carriers that Commission not move forward on rules that would implement wireless local number portability (LNP) by planned date of Nov. 24. Verizon Wireless has asked agency to forebear on that requirement, move opposed by state regulators. “There is scant evidence that wireline consumers have received benefits to justify the $3 billion they were forced to spend for local exchange carrier number portability,” Wheeler wrote. Wireline LNP hasn’t produced benefits originally envisioned by Commission and Congress, he said. Wheeler cited “collapse of competitive local exchange carriers” over last 4 years, period in which he said 225 carriers had entered bankruptcy or merger agreements. Trend “has made it clear that number portability -- by itself -- is not sufficient to ensure a competitive market,” he said. Wheeler said there already was significant competition in wireless market without LNP. He said carriers would spend $1 billion in first year to implement wireless LNP and $500 million in each year after that. CTIA also asked FCC to make decision on wireless LNP forbearance request “as rapidly as possible.” Without “clear direction” from Commission, carriers are having difficulty figuring out how to allocate resources, he said.
Satellite Industry Assn. (SIA), in Feb. 13 letter to FCC, asked agency to “take swift action” to limit harmful interference it said radar detectors cause to many Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) satellite networks. Devices are operating in manner inconsistent with FCC rules and are imposing unacceptable financial burden on VSAT operators, SIA Pres. Richard Dalbello said: “This situation is intolerable.”
Congressional speakers told NARUC major changes in federal law aren’t necessary for rural broadband development, even as NARUC and leading state regulators began new drive to discredit pending Tauzin-Dingell broadband deregulation bill coming up for crucial vote soon. Rep. Wilson (R-N.M.) said bringing broadband to rural areas wouldn’t require wholesale changes in Telecom Act and goal could be accomplished with modest changes in universal service support system, coupled with relief from prohibitively costly and burdensome right- of-way access requirements.
FCC should “closely evaluate” the proposed EchoStar acquisition of DirecTV “as it has numerous benefits,” EchoStar said in support of NARUC resolution (CD Feb 12 p2). DBS company agreed its pending takeover of DirecTV had important implications for broadband competition in rural areas, spokesman said.
FCC Chmn. Powell endorsed report by Computer Science & Telecom Board and said many of its recommendations were serving “as the backbone of the Commission’s broadband policy.” Report, Broadband: Bringing Home the Bits, said any broadband regulatory regime should defer new or existing regulations in early stages, promote facilities-based competition, encourage new entrants. “Consistent with your recommendations, the Commission will redouble its efforts to monitor the deployment of, and investment in, broadband- capable infrastructure,” Powell wrote in letter dated Mon. Report, which followed 2-year study, encourages govt. to monitor market developments rather than pursue policies that might inhibit the market. Report, originally released in Nov., was product of the Committee on Broadband Last Mile Technology and its staff.
FCC said Tues. it, was creating task force to address issues related to spectrum policy, including spectrum allocation processes. Chmn. Powell and Office of Engineering & Technology (OET) Chief Edmond Thomas announced that Paul Kolodzy would head new task force. Kolodzy has been named senior spectrum policy adviser in OET. He previously had been program manager with Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, where he oversaw development of next-generation communications technology. FCC said Kolodzy headed initiative neXt Generation Communications that could “fundamentally change” how spectrum was allocated and assigned for future military and commercial operations. “His work in dynamic and spectrum efficient advanced technologies will be very important in developing a coherent plan for managing our nation’s increasingly scarce and valuable spectrum resource,” Powell said.
NARUC’s Telecom Committee adopted watered-down version of controversial policy resolution addressing broadband telecom implications of direct broadcast satellite merger pending at FCC and passed resolution urging FCC to establish performance monitoring program for interstate special access services. NARUC telecom panel late Tues. also passed rewritten version of another contentious resolution addressing local right-of-way management as potential barrier to broadband service development.