Broadcasters now can buy 49% stake in other TV companies without stake’s counting as attributable interest under FCC rules. Commission ruled this week in 3-1 vote that broadcasters should be granted exemption to single majority shareholder rule. That rule said broadcasters or cable companies that owned 5% or more of other companies were considered owners of those companies for purposes of calculating their audience reach and/or subscriber share. Broadcasters and cable operators have long opposed rule, contending 5% didn’t amount to corporate control.
XM Radio accepts FCC’s proposed rules for terrestrial repeaters (CD Dec 18 p5) “with few exceptions,” it said in comments on rulemaking, but said its “acceptance of the FCC’s proposed compromise represents a significant concession on its part.” It said wireless communications licensees had known about repeaters since 1990 but didn’t raise objection until “the last minute,” and most wireless licensees were “warehousing their spectrum.” Wireless licensees also could solve most problems by improving receivers, XM said, and during months of experiments and operation “XM Radio has yet to receive an interference complaint from a single WCS licensee.” XM did ask FCC to use same power measuring technique for repeaters as for MDS and ITFS transmitters and to eliminate proposed 18 month freeze on deployment of additional repeaters. WCS Coalition, meanwhile, said “the fundamental premise underlying the Bureau’s proposal is flawed” because it would limit protection for wireless operators: “The proposal runs dangerously close to reducing WCS to secondary status in its own band.” It said “very limited compensation” alone for interference wouldn’t solve problem: “Although some of the Bureau’s proposals may have facial appeal, in truth they are ineffectual, arbitrary and capricious.”
Resources needed to develop nationwide emergency communications system are subject of study under bill (S- 1651) by Sen. Jeffords (I-Vt.), which has been placed on Senate calendar. Bill, which had been reported favorably by Environment & Public Works Committee Dec. 17, was placed on calendar but hadn’t been addressed by our Dec. 18 deadline. Study would be conducted by Federal Emergency Management Agency dir. in consultation with FCC, Dept. of Defense, National Institute of Standards & Technology. It would include “review of use of the digital spectrum or the analog spectrum as a key component to meeting the urgent communications needs” of U.S. emergency response personnel. Bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Smith (R- N.H.).
FCC granted Comsat’s application to discontinue provision of occasional-use TV, occasional-use International Business Service (IBS) and part-time IBS services provided over Intelsat system by its Comsat World Systems line of business on routes where World Systems was regulated as dominant. Comsat said decline in demand for services, resulting in part from competing offerings from Intelsat, made them no longer economically viable to provide. Company doesn’t propose to substitute any other services for those being discontinued, but said all services being discontinued would remain available from Intelsat or other Intelsat distributors.
US LEC CEO-Vice Chmn. Tansukh Ganatra retires Dec. 31, will remain on board and be replaced by Frank Jules, ex- WinStar … Sean Rice, Site Acquisition Ventures, named to E- City Software board… Lynn Levine, exec. sales dir., Warren Communications News, resigns effective Jan. 1, remains consultant… FCC appointed 6 new board members of Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC): Anne Campbell, National City Public Library; James Coltharp, Comcast; Diane Cornell, CTIA; Daniel Gonzalez, XO Communications; Billy Gregg, W.Va. PSC; Camie Swanson-Hull, Ind. Utility Regulatory Commission.
FCC amended its Part 15 rules to allow fixed point-to- point transmitters to operate at 24.05-24.25 GHz at field strengths at higher power levels under certain conditions. In order released Fri., Commission said devices operating at those higher levels would be required to use highly directional antennas to minimize risk of potential interference to other services in band. Agency described order as paving way for new products and services in that spectrum, including management of network traffic on high- speed wireless Internet service or linking multiple building intra-office network. Part 15 transmitters typically are restricted to very low signal levels. Order said those transmitters operating in 24-24.25 GHz band were limited to field strength of 250 mV/m using directional antennas. Sierra Digital Communications had asked that FCC alter Part 15 rules to allow fixed point-to-point operations in band at field strengths of 2500 mV/m. Sierra had recommended that devices operating at that higher level be required to use antennas with certain gains. It had argued that directional antenna with minimum gain within certain limits would produce smaller area of potential interference than omnidirectional antenna operating at lower power levels. Difference is that under old rules, transmitter could use nondirectional antenna at lower power that would put out circular pattern, Washington attorney Mitchell Lazarus said. Under Part 15 change, potential area of interference is altered into long narrow cone, he said. “The area over which you are causing interference is no greater -- it’s just a different shape,” he said. “Using a directional antenna with either the specified minimum gain or maximum main lobe beam width will produce a narrow radiation pattern, thereby minimizing the area over which interference to other devices may occur,” FCC said. Commission said granting Sierra’s request was in public interest because “increasing the field strength limit will promote greater use of Part 15 unlicensed devices for purposes such as emergency restoration of communications in disaster situations, low-cost telecommunications delivery in rural areas and other beneficial applications.” American Radio Relay League had contended that amateur service in 24.05-24.25 GHz band used sensitive receivers that would be threatened by Part 15 devices as described in earlier notice of proposed rulemaking. Order said “these devices have been authorized to operate for years with no adverse effects to other users in the band, including amateur operations.”
FCC seeks comment on joint application by Telergy Network Services and Telergy Metro to discontinue domestic telecom service because they filed for bankruptcy protection in Oct. Companies seek to discontinue local, long distance, international, switched access, DSL, private line and Internet access services. Comments are due Dec. 28.
FCC extended comment deadlines for special access performance measurement proceeding (CC Doc. 01-321) to match those of related proceeding on unbundled network element (UNE) measurements (CC Doc. 01-318). New special access deadlines are Jan. 22 for comments, Feb. 12 for replies, changed from original Jan. 9, Jan. 30 dates. UNE dates already had been revised on Dec. 7 because they originally conflicted with Christmas holiday period.
New England Cable TV Assn. (NECTA) said it would appeal to FCC ruling of R.I. Div. of Public Utilities & Carriers (DPUC) that SMATV operator Starlight Communications wasn’t cable operator subject to franchise requirements. DPUC’s interim ruling came on petition by NECTA seeking discovery hearing to determine whether Starlight was protected under 7th U.S. Appeals Court, Chicago, ruling in ECI v City of Lansing (CD Dec 9/99 p3). Court had sided with FCC that Entertainment Connections Inc. could operate without cable franchise. NCTA, National Assn. of Telecom Officers & Advisers (NATOA) and other cities had backed City of Lansing in lawsuit. DPUC Assoc. Administrator (Cable) Eric Palazzo said that under current FCC rules and 7th Circuit rulings, Starlight couldn’t be deemed cable operator. He held in ruling that DPUC had required that Starlight provide affidavit that it wasn’t crossing public rights-of-way and Verizon, whose facilities Starlight was using to provide service, submit affidavit that SMATV operator was using its supertrunks to provide service. He said while DPUC itself wouldn’t take issue to FCC, it strongly encouraged NECTA to solicit FCC opinion on issue. NECTA Exec. Vp William Durand said cable had argued that accepted ECI model hadn’t been accepted in First Circuit that had jurisdiction over R.I. and that ruling in ECI case had been confined to particular factual contexts. One key requirement in ECI is that facilities used primarily by Ameritech to provide service to ECI weren’t built at ECI’s request. In Starlight case, Verizon doesn’t have ubiquitous preexisting common carrier transport network terminating at each multiple dwelling unit (MDU), he said. Company constructs special runs tailored to each customer, he said, and Verizon’s offering is far more similar to custom-built “channel service” that requires cable franchise. Another factor in ECI was capacity to serve several other programming providers, Durand said, and in Verizon’s case Starlight specified and controls access to wires, which were not available for use by competitors. Durand said he got impression following discussions with DPUC staff that division didn’t have resources to launch protracted legal battle on its own but was willing to back cable’s position. NECTA will file petition with FCC in Jan., he said. Starlight provides video programming service to about 13 MDUs.
Christopher Olsen promoted to asst. chief, FCC Enforcement Bureau’s Market Dispute Resolutions Div… Toby Levin, ex-FTC, joins Privacy Council as vp-special counsel, new Center of Excellence… Charles Collier, ex-Oxygen Media, becomes Court TV exec. vp-ad sales, effective Jan. 1… Janette Corby, ex-2nd Century Communications, named Wink Communications senior vp-distribution sales & PR… Michael Sakin, ex-Fox Movie Channel, named senior vp-ad sales, Game Show Network… Greg Mumford promoted to chief technology officer, Nortel Networks… Miguel Pellon, vp-gen. mgr., Motorola’s wireless messaging unit, elected chmn., PCIA Foundation.