AT&T Wireless urged FCC in Fri. ex parte filing to forbear from wireless local number portability requirement (LNP) for at least 30 months. Filing followed similar one by Sprint PCS in which carrier told Commission that it should grant permanent forbearance, while at least extending deadline until after number pooling requirements were in place. Verizon Wireless in July petitioned FCC to exercise forbearance on LNP requirements that begin Nov. 24, and Sprint PCS had urged agency to make decision on that request by end of 2001. AT&T Wireless told FCC Fri. that “competitive and technical considerations” justified forbearance from LNP for at least 30 months “with a re-look at the end of that period.” AT&T argued: (1) There were no signs that lack of wireless number portability had hampered wireless competition. (2) Simultaneous implementation of number pooling by wireless carriers, which also had Nov. 24 deadline, and porting would pose risk to network reliability, service quality and implementation of pooling requirements. Carrier said existing volumes of individual LEC ports used for pooling and porting average 18.8 million annually, figure that’s expected to rise to 20.7 million next year. AT&T Wireless said if 46.8% of number planning areas were pooled, and every wireless carrier had to convert to LNP in Nov., porting and pooling volumes could triple to 78.6 million next year. “Even though wireless carriers and Neustar are working diligently to prepare for these increased volumes, it would be unrealistic to believe that a complex set of interdependent network systems can handle a three-fold increase in volume with no degradation of service,” AT&T said. In other areas, AT&T Wireless said there could be “significant problems” with wireless to wireline number porting. Also, carrier said “hasty” LNP deployment could mean service problems for subscribers. “Insufficient time to implement and fully test intercarrier communications processes may generally result in unsuccessful or delayed ports -- resulting in service outage for the customer.”
PanAmSat urged FCC to eliminate what it said was regulatory anomaly that allowed vertically integrated cable operators to shift from satellite delivery to terrestrial delivery of their programming to avoid requirements of law. Filing said terrestrial loophole provided companies with artificial incentive to forgo satellite delivery of programming even when satellite delivery was more efficient.
Qwest said it would send revised privacy notices to customers in all its states with their Feb. bills that would clarify its plans to share customer account information with other companies. Qwest said new notices, which would serve as “reminder” to customers, would inform customers clearly that carrier wouldn’t share account information with any entity outside Qwest’s “family” of companies -- its affiliates and companies with which it had marketing agreements for its services.
Group of competitive telcos teamed up with business user group Tues. to propose that FCC adopt set of special access standards they had devised as consensus approach. “The entire competitive industry as well as business users have joined together to present what we believe is an appropriate set of measurements,” WorldCom Vp Donna Sorgi said in press teleconference. Calling itself Joint Competitive Industry Group (JCIP), coalition said special access was lifeblood of competitive telcos and long distance companies because it gave them last-mile access to business customers. And yet, they said, there was little regulatory oversight of how quickly and fairly ILECs provided that service to them.
American Mobile Telecommunications Assn. (AMTA) said it didn’t expect to support all of Nextel’s proposed spectrum swap plan. Nextel last fall submitted spectrum plan to FCC that was designed to address interference concerns of public safety licensees at 800 MHz by realigning frequencies at 700, 800 and 900 MHz and 2.1 GHz. AMTA counts Nextel among its members, as well as specialized mobile radio licensees that would be relegated to secondary status at 800 MHz under Nextel proposal. AMTA Pres. Alan Shark said group didn’t expect to support “all aspects” of Nextel proposal. “In particular, the 800 MHz band realignment plan, whereby all nonpublic safety 800 MHz incumbents would be reduced to secondary status, would demand a variety of noninterfering licensees to shoulder a disproportionate economic burden for solving this problem,” AMTA said. “The affected licensees include not only AMTA’s members, and their many customers who themselves often provide critical services to the community, but the full range of private entities who use this band to perform a range of publicly critical functions and to advance the economic well-being of the nation.” AMTA said it planned to work with stakeholders such as FCC and public safety operators on “reasoned solution, which properly balances the interests of all industries.” FCC is expected to issue Notice of Proposed Rulemaking within month that addresses ideas raised in Nextel White Paper (CD Jan 22 p2).
Wireless carriers are backing request to FCC that seeks clarification about when public safety answering points (PSAPs) are ready to receive data under Enhanced 911 rules. Sprint PCS in Nov. filed petition for reconsideration seeking changes to documentation requirements for PSAPs that FCC had created. Cingular Wireless also has filed petition for reconsideration, challenging overall decision by Commission on PSAP readiness and citing procedural and substantive grounds. Richardson, Tex., originally asked FCC to better define what constituted valid PSAP request for E911 service. Oct. decision by FCC now under challenge had said that PSAP submitted valid E911 request: (1) If any upgrades needed on PSAP network would be completed within 6 months of request. (2) If PSAP had made “timely request” to LEC for trunking and other facilities needed for E911 data to be transmitted. Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO), National Emergency Number Assn. and National Assn. of State Nine One One Administrators told FCC in comments that they disagreed with changes Sprint sought on LEC readiness part of order. Sprint said PSAPs should be required to document that necessary LEC upgrades will be completed within 6 months of E911 data request or LECs should publish their Phase 2 database upgrade schedule. “Such a LEC publication requirement should not, however, alter the basic obligation of carriers to respond to a PSAP request, so long as the PSAP can document that a database upgrade request has been submitted to the relevant LEC.” But CTIA said it agreed with Sprint petition to ensure PSAP request for Phase 2 E911 service was granted after PSAP verifies it was ready to use information. “Requiring wireless carriers to deliver Phase 2 services when the PSAP will not be capable of utilizing the data within the 6-month implementation period is a waste of resources,” CTIA wrote. Group said “despite the best intentions of the PSAPs,” they have record of not being able to receive and use Phase 1 data even if mechanism is in place for recovering costs of system upgrades. Even in states where PSAPs have access to state funding for preparing for E911 compliance, “it is anticipated that a majority of states have or will raid funds dedicated to wireless 911 to cover budget deficits,” CTIA said. To make sure carriers have protection from spending “unnecessary resources” and that PSAPs will be ready to use E911 data, CTIA said FCC should give wireless operators more time for installation when PSAP “fails to substantiate Phase 2 readiness.” CTIA agreed with Sprint proposal that Phase 2 service only can become operational when automatic identification location database capabilities needed from LECs have been upgraded for Phase 2. Nextel also filed comments siding with Sprint, saying valid PSAP request for E911 has to demonstrate technical upgrades by wireless carrier, PSAP and LEC. “If any prong is not in place, Phase 2 E911 cannot be deployed,” Nextel wrote. VoiceStream also stressed in comments that FCC can’t assume that because PSAP has requested database upgrade from LEC, that system will be in place in 6 months.
Northpoint should be placed in CARS band, EchoStar said in FCC filing. Use of that spectrum requires coordination with only limited and apparently decreasing number of fixed links, not with DBS service. Northpoint claim that it needs use of DBS band because of economics is specious, EchoStar said. “There is no apparent reason why the equipment for a Northpoint service in the CARS band would cost one penny more.”
FTC proposed Tues. amendments in Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) that included new restrictions and a nationwide “do-not-call” registry (DNCR). FTC Consumer Protection Dir. Howard Beales said rule changes wouldn’t affect all sectors of telemarketing. FCC regulates some telemarketing, including that on common carriers. Direct Marketing Assn. representative said organization was likely to oppose proposed changes. In addition to registry, proposed changes would include: (1) Expansion of sales rule to charitable solicitations made by commercial enterprises. (Nonprofit charity solicitors aren’t under FTC jurisdiction.) (2) Clarification that predictive dialers resulting in “dead air” violated rule. (3) Prohibition of telemarketers’ receiving or selling consumer’s billing information. (4) Requirement that credit card protection sales include disclosure of legal limits of cardholder’s liability for unauthorized charges. (5) Requirement of “express verifiable authorization” for all transaction where payment method lacked dispute resolution protection or protection against unauthorized charges similar or comparable to those under Fair Credit Billing Act and Truth in Lending Act. (6) Prohibition against blocking caller identification devices.
FCC denied must-carry complaints against EchoStar filed by Family Station, licensee of TV stations KFTL (Ch. 64, Ind.) Stockton, Cal., and WFME (Ch. 66, Ind.) W. Milford, N.J. Commission said satellite carriers shouldn’t be subject to election and carriage requests that failed to meet requirements of FCC rules, and stations had failed to establish adequately that their must-carry election was mailed or received.
Private wireless users and others are lining up positions at FCC ahead of Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to address Nextel spectrum swap proposal that’s expected shortly. Raising concerns about secondary status that business licensees would have at 800 MHz under Nextel blueprint, National Assn. of Mfrs. (NAM) floated alternative spectrum reconfiguration in recent letter to FCC Chmn. Powell. Secondary status of private wireless operators “would cause major disruption and dislocation” to thousands of manufacturing operations and costs of relocating elsewhere could run into “tens of millions of dollars,” wrote NAM Pres. Jerry Jasinowski. Cost of relocation and questions about availability of adequate spectrum for private land mobile radio operators that would be displaced have been common theme of early criticism of Nextel. Motient Communications, which operates network used by BlackBerry wireless e-mail device, told Powell in letter last week that long-term effect of Nextel plan would cost company $400 million to replace subscriber equipment and network infrastructure and result would be “catastrophic.” NPRM addressing Nextel White Paper is expected out within month, source said.