Satellite Bcstg. & Communications Assn. (SBCA) filed motion Nov. 13 with 4th U.S. Appeals Court, Richmond, Va., for delay in start of FCC must-carry requirements because of pending litigation involving constitutionality of law. SBCA said issue probably wouldn’t be decided before Jan. 1 deadline for implementation of requirements. Appeal said if must-carry requirements took effect before case was resolved, it would violate First Amendment rights of satellite carriers. “The recognition that time is short and that much is at stake was the basis for the satellite carriers’ opposition to a U.S. motion to hold in abeyance the petitions for review,” Assn. said. Constitutional issues at stake could go to Supreme Court, SBCA said. It said it didn’t seek relief from District Court because it would be “impracticable” and “time is of the essence.”
Williams Communications said it would be network provider for SBC voice traffic in Mo. and Ark. Carrier was granted FCC approval to offer long distance service to business and residential customers in 2 states late last week, giving company approval for all 5 former Southwestern Bell states. Two new states extend alliance formed in Feb. 1999 that made Williams “preferred supplier” of infrastructure to support SBC nationwide long distance voice and data services. “We transported almost 1 billion minutes of voice traffic in the 3rd quarter for Texas alone, which shows the enormous potential to drive new traffic onto our network as SBC continues to seek 271 relief in states such as California,” said Frank Semple, pres., Williams network unit.
FCC called for nominations to fill 3 vacancies on agency’s Local and State Advisory Committee (LSGAC). Vacancies were caused by departure of 3 members -- Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, Albuquerque City Councilor Michael Brasher and San Francisco City Attorney Louise Rene. Commission said one vacancy would be filled by local govt. attorney and 2 by elected municipal officials (mayor or council member). LSGAC advises FCC on issues such as rights- of-way, facilities siting, universal service and public safety communications. Nominations close Nov. 30.
FCC named former Office of Engineering & Technology Chief Dale Hatfield Tues. to head inquiry into technical and operational issues involving deployment of Enhanced 911 (E911). Inquiry was among steps that FCC said it would take to examine rollout of E911 when it granted waiver requests of 5 national wireless carriers and began enforcement investigations against Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless (CD Oct 9 p1). FCC said inquiry would look into information from technology vendors, network equipment and handset-makers and public safety officials. It said that while parameters of inquiry would be shaped in coming weeks with help of Hatfield, at outset it would focus on technology standards issues, hardware and software development and supply conditions. Separately, FCC opened comment period for petitions filed by Cingular, Nextel and Verizon Wireless seeking reconsideration of certain parts of orders on their E911 Phase 2 waiver requests. Petitions contend that Commission improperly adopted strict liability standard for future compliance.
Eldorado Communications, which had vied with NextWave for PCS licenses in 1996 C-block auction, said this week it opposed settlement on licenses reached by NextWave, major wireless carriers and U.S. govt. Eldorado contended that NextWave bid up prices, shrinking amount of spectrum that smaller carriers could afford. Earlier this month, Eldorado had filed emergency petition at FCC asking that agency halt “secret negotiations” with NextWave and carriers, saying they violated Administrative Procedure Act, FCC’s own rules, due process protections. “In opposing this settlement, we will pursue our rights before the FCC, in the Congress and in the courts,” Eldorado CEO Will Yandell said. On Fri., when FCC and carriers unveiled final settlement agreement, Eldorado filed Freedom of Information Act request at FCC asking for access to certain documents related to settlement discussions. Eldorado is seeking information on meetings, personal exchanges, letters and e-mails between carriers involved in settlement and FCC staff on NextWave licenses. Eldorado said it had returned licenses it won at auction to FCC, as did other companies, “at substantial cost.” NextWave instead had chosen to “renegotiate” purchase by declaring bankruptcy, Eldorado said.
Coalition of long distance companies and user groups proposed revising method of collecting Universal Service Fund contributions from carriers, approach that could please some in industry, dismay others. Proposal, outlined to news media Mon. and submitted to FCC in Nov. 7 ex parte letter, was put forward by AT&T, WorldCom, E-commerce Telecom Users Group (ETUG) and Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee. It would replace revenue-based contribution scheme with flat-rate per- connection fee. Current system collects contributions from carriers for $5.5 billion USF based on percentage of carrier’s interstate revenues. Coalition members told group that current method was unfair to long distance companies that bore bigger share of it than other parts of industry.
Concord Media is “nothing more than a shell company” used by Clear Channel Communications (CCC) in certain instances to keep from disclosing number of stations it actually owns in certain markets, David Ringer charged in asking FCC to deny CCC’s pending purchase of WKKJ(FM) Chillicothe, O. As listener and radio advertiser (of his carpet store) in Chillicothe and Columbus (40 miles apart), Ringer said he was party of interest to transaction. CCC already owns other 3 radio stations in Chillicothe, he told FCC, and it owns or time brokers 11 stations in Columbus- Chillicothe market. Also, Bender claimed, CCC had failed to disclose in its filing 2 other stations it owned within Columbus-Chillicothe coverage area -- WFXJ(FM) Hillard and WRSW(AM) Hillsboro. Bender said that to avoid antitrust prosecution, CCC “has been playing an elaborate shell game with its radio station assets,” using Concord Media in some instances: “The FCC and the Justice Department should seek to uncover and remedy the anticompetitive actions of Clear Channel… The evidence indicates that Concord Media’s only real function is to purchase and hold radio stations for the benefit of Clear Channel.”
In latest twist in debate over how FCC should set forth policy on ultra-wideband (UWB) devices, coalition of companies and trade groups has submitted new proposal to Commission. Proposal, drafted by groups that have expressed concerns about potential interference of UWB to GPS and other systems, urges FCC to: (1) Permit UWB ground penetrating radar applications below 1 GHz with licensing rules “appropriate for unintended emissions.” (2) Permit UWB communication devices between 6 and 12 GHz and automotive collision radar devices between 17 and 24 GHz. (3) Bar commercial use of UWB devices between 1 and 6 GHz. (4) Restrict out-of-band emissions to levels that don’t interfere with current authorized services, particularly GPS. (5) Develop expedited licensing plan for UWB devices. (6) Allow public comment before any new regulations are adopted. (7) Allow experimental uses of UWB devices under current FCC rules. Coalition includes Air Transport Assn. of America, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Lockheed Martin, Qualcomm, Sirius Satellite Radio, United Airlines, U.S. GPS Industry Council, WorldCom, XM Satellite Radio. Groups set out position to FCC Chmn. Powell in Nov. 15 letter that expanded on earlier proposals that UWB be authorized on category-by-category basis, with latest letter expanding on how those categories should be defined. Communications devices operating between 6 and 12 GHz wouldn’t lend themselves to “individual licensing scheme” because of large numbers of such devices, group said. “Equally, certification of compliance with the existing FCC Part 15 approach is not appropriate because testing to date has shown that UWB devices have characteristics that vary greatly from those of unintentional emitters.” FCC should address that category of devices in further notice of proposed rulemaking, group argued. Letter also calls for “further step” in which UWB manufacturers would apply for registration of each new type of device, including antenna design or other “significant changes” in design specifications. Applications would be placed on public notice, with comments accepted on technical interference, demonstration of aggregate effect on noise floor, consistency with applicable technical standards. “There would be an expedited procedure for Commission consideration and approval, and approved applications would go into a Commission-maintained ‘register,'” groups said.
FCC decision to let SBC offer long distance service in Ark. and Mo. (CD Nov 19 p1) could be affected by further action agency plans to take on carriers’ DSL resale obligations, Comr. Copps said in statement issued late Fri. Copps, who concurred in voting, said “questions raised in the closing hours of deliberation, arguably going beyond the Sec. 271 process, compel further consideration which the Commission… agrees to undertake in a new and separate proceeding to be initiated at the end of the year and completed as soon as possible next year.” He said that proceeding “could conceivably lead to changes in the implementation of the majority decision to authorize SBC to provide long distance service in [Ark. and Mo.]” Copps said majority of commissioners concluded “that our precedent is not adequately clear” on DSL resale issue.
European Commission (EC) member Erkki Liikanen, who heads enterprise & information society programs, told European-American Business Council Mon. that network security had taken on “new dimensions” since Sept. 11. “Users need to feel safe,” he said in luncheon speech that was part of 2-day visit to Washington. “A growing number of users experience security and privacy problems.” As example, he said that between Oct. 2000 and last June, spamming incidents had nearly tripled and virus incidents had doubled in European Union (EU). This summer, EC published communication on network & information society proposing creation of European warning and information system to strengthen activities of computer emergency response teams in member states and improve coordination. By year-end, EC plans to publish a “major communication” that would provide road map to areas such as public-private partnerships on network security and address issues such as integrity of Internet and private networks, Liikanen spokesman said. Liikanen said: “We need to develop forward-looking responses to existing emergency security threats and we need to take careful inventory of the measures taken at the national level to guarantee that our preparedness corresponds to global characteristics.”