Verizon filed formal request with Del. PSC for endorsement of carrier’s Sec. 271 interLATA long distance entry. Verizon said state’s local market was irreversibly open to competition and it was ready to file for long distance entry at FCC. Company said it hoped to have PSC endorsement and be able to file at FCC by end of April. Verizon said 35 CLECs in Del. were serving 43,000 lines (6.7% share), had 75 interconnection agreements and 22 colocation arrangements in effect that gave CLECs access to 91% of Verizon’s residential lines and 97% of its business lines.
EchoStar faced tough questioning in U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., Tues., in bid to overturn FCC order that denied its program access complaint against Comcast involving delivery of SportsNet regional programming in Philadelphia area. FCC said Comcast didn’t have to provide network to DBS operator because program access rules only apply to satellite- delivered networks. Other satellite companies could lose sports programming if regional cable operators elect to use terrestrial network rather than satellite links. EchoStar attorney Pantelis Michalopoulous said decision was clear evasion of FCC rules and unfair practice. FCC attorney Louis Peraertz said he could find no motive for decision and David Mills, representing Comcast, said it was strictly business decision, citing $500,000 saved by using terrestrial network.
EchoStar remains “confident” FCC will approve its acquisition of DirecTV “after reviewing all of the facts,” CEO Charles Ergen said. Company released long list of supporters. Hughes CEO Jack Shaw said consumers would benefit because of “vigorous competition it creates to cable companies.” Meanwhile, Northpoint filed petition to reject deal, saying it would create EchoStar capable of wielding monopoly power to thwart entry and success of new competitors. Serious consideration of approval must be conditioned by following, Northpoint said: (1) Commission should require navigation devices be open and accessible to 3rd-party providers to assure commercial availability. (2) Applicants must adhere to open protocols and standards that allow for delivery of both terrestrial and satellite systems. (3) Applicants must refrain from engaging in anticompetitive conduct designed solely to derail competitors. Northpoint also said EchoStar bid should be denied because of past bad conduct that evidenced willingness to violate Commission rules. Vivendi Universal said deal would allow it to launch first U.S. iTV network. Programmers such as Vivendi also could provide more diverse programming while allowing EchoStar to develop new and innovative services for consumers, it said. Vivendi also promised to launch new networks and provide alternative to established programmers and offer entirely new formats.
Wireless industry representatives told Neb. legislative committee that pending bill to empower PSC to arbitrate retail wireless billing disputes could conflict with federal rules that restrict state jurisdiction over mobile phone services. Unicameral legislature’s Transportation & Telecom Committee opened hearings on LB-1286, which also would require wireless providers to register their billing operations with PSC. Wireless carriers said binding arbitration and registration of billing was closely akin to regulation of rates and entry, which was forbidden to states. Industry also argued that market competition would weed out carriers with chronic billing problems. But PSC Comr. Anne Boyle testified in favor of bill, saying agency had received 228 complaints since May about cellphone billing problems but could do nothing about them except to refer complainants to already burdened FCC, which could do little about individuals’ complaints except to ask carriers to solve problem. She cited consumer press reports that 45% of cellphone complaints revolved around billing problems. But industry countered that 228 complaints out of 600,000 cellphone users in Neb. showed problem was small in scale.
Broadband provider Touch America filed complaint with FCC Mon. charging Qwest with illegally offering long distance service without Sec. 271 approval. Touch America, subsidiary of Montana Power, said Qwest was marketing something it called “Lit Capacity IRUs,” which Touch America contended actually was form of private line service. IRU stands for Indefeasible Right of Use, which usually defines sale of dark fiber between 2 carriers, with buyer installing own optic equipment. Touch America said Qwest had marketed IRUs as network facilities or “wavelength service,” but “under the terms of a Qwest Capacity IRU agreement, Qwest doesn’t sell any network facilities.” Instead, Vp Cort Freeman said, “Qwest keeps title to all the network infrastructure and operates and maintains it, something that wouldn’t happen if the capacity sale represented a network facility.” Touch America bought Qwest’s long distance business for $200 million in June 2000 when Qwest acquired U S West. In its FCC filing, Touch America charged Qwest also violated Sec. 271 by using IRUs “to reclaim customer accounts properly divested to Touch America.” Qwest spokesman held to company’s view that IRU was facility, not service, “and therefore not subject to Sec. 271.” He said FCC was aware of Qwest’s IRU business when it approved merger with U S West and issue hadn’t arisen since then.
In new effort to get FCC to return billions in NextWave re-auction deposits, Verizon Wireless asked U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., Tues. to “compel full compliance” with ruling that overturned FCC decision to cancel NextWave’s licenses. “Because the cancellation of NextWave’s licenses was unlawful, the re-auction itself was without lawful basis,” Verizon said in petition. “For the same reason, any continuing obligations on the part of the NextWave re-auction winners were also necessarily extinguished by this court’s ruling.” In Jan., re-auction winners petitioned FCC to refund $3.1 billion in down payments they said agency had been holding without interest since Feb. 2001. Verizon Wireless and 12 other carriers said that because settlement agreement on NextWave’s licenses expired Dec. 31 without Congress’s approval of settlement, agency should return money. Verizon’s latest request to D.C. Circuit came in wake of carriers’ expectations that Commission wasn’t planning to return deposits until after Supreme Court decided whether it would hear oral argument in NextWave case (CD Jan 30 p1). Verizon Wireless told court FCC’s refusal so far to “implement this court’s mandate” and return deposits meant carrier had lost more than $80 million in unpaid interest on its $1.7 billion down payment.
Shutdown of Assn. of Local TV Stations (ALTV) was made official Tues. with expected announcement that it would be closing its doors permanently in spring. While no date was given, Pres. James Hedlund told us “it will be immediately in terms of filing stuff [at govt. agencies and lobbying Congress]. I don’t know how long it will be before we turn the lights off permanently.” Move became necessary, ALTV board decided in conference call last week (CD Jan 29 p7), after loss of most of its dues-paying group members brought on by industry consolidation. Because of that, said ALTV Chmn. Ray Rajewski of Viacom TV Stations Group (which we're told planned to resign its membership this year), board “reluctantly concluded that a combination of events had conspired to put the long-term viability of ALTV in jeopardy.” Despite loss of more than half its annual dues income over last 2 years, Assn. still has $1.4 million surplus -- more than enough to pay off all obligations and provide severance for its 5 employees, we're told. Other than rent contract for Washington hq, ALTV’s largest outstanding obligation is $75,000 in legal fees owed NAB in their joint successful fight for satellite must-carry. ALTV was formed Aug. 7, 1972, in St. Louis as Assn. of Independent TV Stations (INTV) and chartered later that year in N.Y. Original purpose was to fight for lower AT&T transmission rates (before days of satellites) and to overcome recognized bias of national advertisers against buying time on independent stations. To that end, INTV at one time had marketing offices in N.Y. (where its hq also was located until 1979), L.A., Chicago and Dallas. Hedlund (onetime lobbyist for NCTA) has been pres. since 1990, succeeding Preston Padden, now head of Disney-ABC Washington office. Group changed its name to ALTV in 1996 to reflect fact that majority of its members were affiliated with fledgling TV networks. Often working jointly with NAB and/or MSTV, INTV/ALTV had several successes over years at FCC and in congressional lobbying efforts. “We should never lose sight of all the proud moments ALTV has had,” said Vice Chmn. Peter Walker of Tribune TV -- Assn.’s largest remaining dues-paying member by far. “For a small organization with a limited budget to have accomplished so much for so long is a real tribute to ALTV’s members and staff.”
Centers for Disease Control tests on small trace of anthrax found at FCC off-site mail facility (CD Feb 4 p4) revealed “a weak or very scant amount of anthrax consistent with cross-contamination of mail,” FCC said late Mon. Commission said it was making arrangements for Capitol Heights, Md., mail facility to be decontaminated and retested “as soon as possible.” Mail deliveries won’t resume until that process “has been satisfactorily completed,” it said. Because of weakness of trace, CDC recommended that FCC mail processing contractors not take antibiotics. Commission, as further precaution, also was arranging for testing of its mailroom in Gettysburg, Pa. Anthrax trace was found Jan. 29 when Public Health Service tested site. After first anthrax contamination on Capitol Hill in fall, mail receipt, processing and screening was moved out of FCC hq to Capitol Heights facility. After Commission was informed of trace finding, it stopped all mail deliveries to Capitol Heights facility until receipt of final CDC results. Initially, that included stopping processing of commercial overnight deliveries, such as FedEx, UPS, and DHL, and hand-delivered packages. However, because those services didn’t contain risk of cross-contamination with U.S. Postal Service material, Commission resumed receiving those materials Feb. 1 in Capitol Heights facility, but away from the mail processing area. FCC’s filing window at 236 Massachusetts Ave. NE, for hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for Commission’s Secy. was unaffected by situation and filings continued to be accepted and processed by the Office of the Secy. at that site. FCC said it would continue to test facility periodically.
Although he signed FCC filing on Transportation Dept.- funded research on ultra-wideband, Stanford U. Prof. Bradford Parkinson said he wasn’t involved in conducting study, meaning his corporate ties to GPS developer Trimble posed no conflict. In Sept. 2000, Parkinson, who is widely viewed as “Father of GPS,” jointly submitted to FCC ex parte filing with other Stanford researchers outlining preliminary results of UWB tests conducted by GPS Research Lab at Stanford and funded by DoT. “We urge the Commission to proceed with great caution and deliberation,” said filing by 4 professors, including Parkinson, that described research challenges of analyzing UWB-to-GPS interference. But Parkinson said Mon. his role in research, which had been among studies cited by federal agencies concerned about potential of UWB emissions to cause harmful interference to GPS, was to evaluate results after test phase was complete. He said Assoc. Prof. Per Enge oversaw research itself.
Annual Legal Forum for lawyers and station management will again be held in conjunction with NAB convention in Las Vegas April 7 -- and it includes session that’s attracting much advance attention. Titled “Network/Affiliate Relations: Can the Marriage Be Saved?” it features 2 lead lawyers (Jonathan Blake and Wade Hargrove) in filing at FCC on behalf of TV network affiliates seeking investigation of alleged “unlawful” practices of Big 4 networks (CD March 9 p2). Also on panel are Disney’s Susan Fox, CBS’s Howard Jaeckel and Fox’s Robert Quicksilver. It will be preceded by Washington regulatory panel, including Ken Johnson, staff dir. of House Commerce Committee; FCC Chief of Staff Marsha MacBride and Gen. Counsel Jane Mago. Kenneth Ferree, who is to become chief of FCC’s newly minted Media Bureau, combining current Mass Media and Cable Services Bureau and which is expected to be operational by late Feb.-early March (CD Feb 1 p1), will be luncheon speaker. Mass Media Bureau Chief Roy Stewart will keep his record intact as participant in all-day Legal Form at Bellagio Hotel, jointly sponsored by American Bar Assn., FCBA and NAB.