N.J. Ratepayer Advocate Blossom Peretz offered alternative to price cap regulation plan proposed by Verizon as successor to expiring current program. Peretz’s proposal to N.J. Board of Public Utilities (BPU) calls for capping residential basic exchange and most other services at current rates through 2005, with deregulation of multiline business service and other competitive services to be tied to Verizon’s losses of market share. Peretz’s plan would require structural separation of Verizon into independent wholesale and retail operations, expansion of local calling areas to include adjacent toll exchanges, overhaul of state universal service support system, telecom technology assistance to schools and libraries. Verizon said Peretz’s plan compared poorly with its own cap proposal and would thwart goals of protecting residential ratepayers and expanding advanced services to schools and libraries while giving company flexibility needed to meet growing competition. Meanwhile, Peretz said she was disappointed BPU had voted to endorse Verizon’s interLATA long distance petition at FCC, which Verizon filed last month without final BPU vote. She said state’s local market wasn’t competitive and said BPU was wrong to believe that local competition would develop if FCC granted Verizon’s Sec. 271 petition.
Involvement of Verizon Wireless in any future NextWave settlement discussions would be key to PSC license talks’ moving ahead again, Leap Wireless Senior Vp Daniel Pegg said Fri. Verizon Wireless confirmed last week that until FCC returned its deposit from Jan. 2001 re-auction, it wasn’t pursuing new negotiations on PCS licenses (CD Jan 11 p9). Asked about prospects for Congress taking on NextWave settlement on its own next year, Leap Govt. Affairs Dir. Douglas Byrns said: “Unless the coalition can somehow pull itself back together, I don’t see a lot of momentum right now.” Of possibility of settlement discussions’ beginning again with coalition of carriers, Pegg told us Fri. that “if the FCC doesn’t lead it, I don’t think there will be leadership to get it done.” Companies that won NextWave PCS licenses in 2001 asked FCC last week to refund nearly $3.1 billion in down payments that agency had been holding without interest since Feb. “From our perspective, as long as there’s a hope of resolving this,” Leap wouldn’t object to keeping some money on table to keep re-auction results intact, Pegg said. But current level of 15% is too high, with 3% minimum representing more reasonable commitment, he said. Leap has been among wireless carriers expressing interest in reinvigorating another round of settlement talks over NextWave licenses if coalition could be revamped.
U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., Fri. upheld FCC decision that awarded 32 licenses to Mercury PCS, now Tritel Communications, throwing out appeal by thwarted C-block bidder High Plains Wireless. In decision written by Chief Judge Douglas Ginsburg, court unanimously said FCC’s decision to award Mercury licenses wasn’t arbitrary or irrational. Case centers on High Plains accusations that Mercury violated anticollusion rules in 1996 by using encoded signals in its bids for D-, E- and F-block licenses. Commission eventually reversed decision to impose $650,000 fine, saying its bidding rules hadn’t anticipated whether such “reflexive” bidding would violate anticollusion rules. Mercury and High Plains both bid on licenses in Lubbock and Amarillo, Tex. High Plains argued: (1) Court should overturn FCC’s award of licenses to Mercury, charging carrier had violated anticollusion rules. (2) Judges should reverse FCC decision because it erred in finding that Mercury hadn’t violated ex parte rules. (3) Court should find that Mercury “exhibited a disqualifying lack of candor.” Decision in which Judges Harry Edwards and David Sentelle joined said Mercury’s conduct probably was barred by rule, but court said it had to decide only whether FCC “reasonably could conclude the rule failed to put Mercury on notice that reflexive bidding was impermissible.” Court concluded that whether reflexive bidding violated anticollusion restrictions was unasked question before PCS auction was held: “In this circumstance, it was not unreasonable for the Commission to have deemed the rule ambiguous with respect to whether reflexive bidding was prohibited.” It also said High Plains hadn’t cited an incident in which congressional inquiries about Mercury’s licenses had violated ex parte communications requirements.
Cable subscriber in Md. won FCC ruling against Comcast and Court TV over closed-captioning. Kelby Nathan Brick alleged that Comcast and Court TV failed to comply with Commission’s closed-captioning requirements in first half of 2000, when FCC’s phasing-in rules called for 450 hours of closed-captioning in each calendar quarter, adding up to total 900 hours for 6 months. Brick said he filed complaint with Comcast and Court TV and was told by latter that it had captioned 15 hours per week -- 195 hours per quarter. Court TV later informed Comcast that it had failed to meet requirements but intended to make up for it in last half of year. Court TV told Commission it captioned 325-350 hours of captioned programming in each quarter and that, after taking remedial action, it more than made up for shortfall. Commission blamed Comcast for not ensuring that Court TV was in compliance, saying distributors were charged with that responsibility. FCC ordered Comcast to be more vigilant but declined to order penalties, sanctions or other remedial efforts against Court TV and Comcast since Court TV had corrected situation.
FCC denied Verizon confidential treatment of portions of its N.Y. Sec. 272 audit report, saying other parties needed that redacted information to comment on audit results, as they're permitted to do under Telecom Act. CompTel, one of organizations that had objected to Verizon’s redacted report, said ruling “sets a good precedent for future audits.” CompTel Pres. Russell Frisby said SBC officials “should think about refiling their heavily redacted audit report before it meets the same fate.” Once Bells get permission to enter long distance market in each state, Sec. 272 of Telecom Act requires them to get independent audit that attests they aren’t showing preference to their long distance operations. FCC said Verizon sought confidential treatment for about 25% of its first audit report, for N.Y. state, when it submitted it in June. Commission said Sec. 272 specified that any party could submit comments on audit report. Allowing Bells “to withhold information… would prevent parties from exercising their statutory right to comment on the audit results,” agency said in order issued late Thurs.
FCC is violating law by not taking more active role in reviewing environmental impact of telecom actions, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) said in seeking reconsideration of petition Commission denied Dec. 5 (CD Dec 6 p9). In earlier petition, PEER urged agency to begin rulemaking to determine whether it needed to strengthen its rules, particularly on undersea cable, fiber lines, wireless towers. In reconsideration request, PEER said it was “abuse of discretion” for FCC to turn down its petition. Group said rules should be revised to ensure that compliance with Endangered Species Act and National Historic Preservation Act weren’t “unlawfully delegated” to carriers and fiber cable-laying companies. PEER charged that laxness by FCC had led to damage to coral reefs in Caribbean and tidal ponds in New England. “The FCC is establishing a practice of evasion,” PEER official said. “The Commission is delegating compliance to corporations which have no interest in adhering to the environmental laws” -- RM 9913.
FCC ordered $1.1 million fine against 21st Century Faxes for faxing unsolicited ads to consumers in violation of Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In what agency called largest single fine ever imposed for violation of TCPA, it determined that 21st Century had violated Act in 152 separate instances, even after FCC warned that subsequent violations would result in fines. Faxes advertise opinion polls and provide pay-per-call number that recipients must dial to register to vote in poll.
Responding to Dec. 7 Copyright Office order squelching proposed settlement for royalty fees applicable to online streaming of radio programs, broadcasters and recording industry Wed. asked rate-setting panel to back their agreement. Move came during Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel (CARP) convened to set rates covering digital performance rights in sound and ephemeral recordings for both Webcasters and FCC-licensed broadcasters who streamed their radio shows on Internet. CARP arbitrators are to submit their report Feb. 20.
Under newly accelerated timeline, govt.-industry group now is aiming to have agreement by late spring or early summer to streamline siting decisions for both wireless and broadcast towers. Telecom working group organized by Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) has been working on streamlining Sec. 106 historic preservation siting requirements by spelling out for both state historic preservation officers and industry what is needed for compliance. Sec. 106 of National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requires federal agencies to consider effects of their undertakings on historic properties. Target of first half of this year for crafting prototype program agreement marks acceleration of timelines for groups to put process in place. FCC also has clarified that broadcast facilities -- as well as telecom towers -- were covered by that language. In related development, FCC Wireless and Mass Media Bureaus on Thurs. released long-awaited fact sheet to provide guidance on nationwide program agreement for colocation of wireless and broadcast towers, which had been finalized in March. That agreement streamlines review procedures for colocations of antennas under NHPA, while pending prototype covers new sites.
FCC Common Carrier Bureau asked for comments on N.Y. PSC request to expand its delegated area code authority. PSC asked for authority to make decisions unrelated to number exhaustion, such as community’s desire to be associated with area code with which it had close political and economic ties. Comments are due Jan. 30, replies Feb. 11 -- CC Doc. 96-98, File number NSD-L-01-159.