Boeing, Skybridge, Teledesic and Virtual GEO are expected to receive conditional licenses from FCC to operate nongeostationary systems in Ku-band pending final resolution of issues involving sharing with incumbent geostationary system, industry sources told us: “It was supposed to be out last Thursday or Friday, but we expect FCC to issue the order this week,” industry lawyer said. Conditional licenses are expected to allow companies such as Skybridge, which has been unable to attract investors, to move forward with financing plans while waiting for final ruling from FCC. However, attorney for one of applicants receiving conditional licenses called rulemaking “ridiculous and absurd.” He said conditional licenses was “worthless document,” saying it and $1.25 will “get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.” Ruling could be issued as early as today (Thurs.) source said.
Space Data International (SDI) received FCC authorization Wed. to operate on time-share basis 4 NASA Tracking & Data Relay satellites. SDI wants to provide services to seismic exploration vessels surveying ocean floor. It said it believed technology would facilitate development of new oil and gas resources. Survey vessels locate oil and gas deposits by taking soundings of surveyed areas, recording soundings on computer storage tapes and transporting tapes to land-based data processing centers by ship. Process can take 6 weeks to several months. SDI proposes to transmit information to data processing center by satellite. SDI estimated service would reduce cost of each individual survey up to $4.1 million. Plans call for SDI to place earth station on each survey vessel, with survey data transmitted via TDRSS satellite to NASA’s facility in White Sands, N.M., and then to data processing center in Houston by landlines. SDI said it must use TDRSS satellites to provide service because commercial satellite systems didn’t have technical capabilities, geographic coverage or capacity necessary.
National Exchange Carrier Assn. (NECA) gave FCC data on how much money is needed to support Telecom Relay Services (TRS) Fund in year starting July 1. NECA said $70.3 million would be needed, but since there was $11 million balance from this year, actual requirement was $59.4 million. TRS Fund is paid through contributions from telecom providers based on percentage of their interstate and international revenues. NECA also proposed reimbursement amounts for carriers that handle TRS calls: $1.309 per interstate min. for traditional TRS, $2.62 per interstate min. for Speech-to-Speech service, $7.449 for Video Relay Service. Providers are reimbursed separately for intrastate calls. NECA filing also included funding for nationwide campaign to educate public on using 711 to access TRS.
Following meeting last month on interference issues, satellite digital audio radio service (SDARS) licensees and Wireless Communications Services (WCS) operators don’t appear to be closer to agreement on terrestrial repeaters. In recent ex parte filings at FCC, XM Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio proposed rules that would cap number of high-power repeaters that could be deployed without first coordinating with WCS licensees. WCS licensee AT&T Wireless (ATTW) offered counterproposal, providing technical analysis that carrier said would demonstrate why SDARS plan still would cause interference to fixed wireless operations. XM submitted draft rule to FCC for terrestrial repeaters in effort to rebut concerns that repeaters operating at levels above 2 kw could cause interference. XM told FCC that AT&T Wireless “recently disclosed that its concerns with terrestrial repeaters are based on its having designed the front end of its receivers to tune to the entire 2305-2360 MHz band, covering both the WCS and the DARS band, and that it has no filtering to eliminate DARS transmissions in the 2320-2345 MHz band.” XM said it shouldn’t have to bear costs of AT&T’s “failure to adopt reasonable engineering practices.” Sirius raised similar arguments, saying WCS licensees should have used receivers with enough front-end selectivity to reject “the amount of interference that the rules already permit from nearby WCS operations.” XM proposed rule that would: (1) Put no additional limitations on low-power repeaters. (2) Define “medium-power” repeaters as operating between 2 and 10 kw. Such repeaters provide more targeted transmissions that increase power in given direction, using sectorized antennas and focus energy into relatively narrow beamwidth. Such antennas decrease probability that WCS base station would be located within that range. Every medium-power repeater would be coordinated with WCS licensees. (3) Limit to 250 number high-power repeaters, operating at 10-40 kw, that XM would operate without coordination. In Mon. ex parte filing, AT&T referred to meeting last month in which SDARS and WCS licensees exchanged technical data. SDARS licensees provided details on planned repeaters in Atlanta, Boston and San Francisco. AT&T said its interference analysis found: (1) If SDARS licensees operated terrestrial repeaters at levels of 10-13 kw each, “interference to the ATTWS fixed wireless base station would preclude the provision of service to more than 171,000 households in Atlanta alone.” (2) If SDARS licensees operated repeaters at 40 kw, interference to base station would preclude AT&T fixed wireless service to almost 435,000 households there. (3) If high-power repeaters were replaced with multiple standard power repeaters operating at 2 kw, SDARS licensees could “achieve the same coverage for their own service but reduce the size of the exclusion zone in Atlanta” by 43.2%. Carrier wrote: “Both sets of licensees paid for their spectrum at auction or in the secondary market. It is reasonable to expect that both services should bear the burden of establishing a viable co- existence.” AT&T urged FCC to adopt rule in which SDARS licensees could deploy terrestrial repeaters at peak power of up to 400 w/MHz, evenly distributed across band for total of 2 kw per 5 MHz. Proposal also would limit out-of-band emissions generated by SDARS terrestrial repeaters to levels specified by licensees that have less than transmitter power levels.
FCC announced resignation of John Hoffman as chmn. of N. American Numbering Council (NANC), effective Mon. NANC meeting scheduled for May 22-23 has been cancelled. Hoffman had been chmn. since Sept. 1, 1999, and cited “other demands” on his time as reason for resignation.
CLECs and their trade organizations urged FCC to retain and possibly improve “most-favored-nation” (MFN) conditions that it placed on mergers of Bell Atlantic-GTE and SBC-Ameritech. In comments filed April 30, groups that included Assn. of Communications Enterprises (ASCENT), CompTel and several individual telcos, urged Commission not to waive MFN conditions as suggested by Verizon. MFN conditions require ILECs to make portions of their interconnection agreements with CLECs available to any other requesting CLECs. Verizon asked FCC on Feb. 20 to clarify that MFN condition on Verizon’s merger didn’t apply to reciprocal compensation for Internet-bound traffic. “Merger conditions, including the MFN merger condition, continue to be necessary to limit the ability of the merged entities to engage in anticompetitive conduct,” ASCENT said. CompTel, joined by Advanced Telecom Group and KMC Telecom, said MFN condition should be clarified “so that Verizon and SBC understand that they encompass all Communications Act requirements, including Sec. 252(b) obligations.” CompTel charged that both Bell companies had tried to “frustrate the utility of the merger conditions.”
OPASTCO invited its members to host guest from FCC or Congress at their telephone company during National Small Independent Telephone Company Week Sept. 10-16. Rural Outreach Program will give regulators and lawmakers chance to “see what goes on in the world of rural telecommunications,” OPASTCO said in weekly report to members on Washington issues.
Multi-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in U.S. (CFIUS) finalized its review of VoiceStream, Deutsche Telekom and Powertel merger, allowing companies to clear last remaining regulatory hurdle before deal closes. VoiceStream said CFIUS ended its review with decision to take no further action. Panel includes departments of Defense, State, Commerce and Treasury. VoiceStream reiterated that it expected merger to close May 31. FCC unanimously gave green light to transaction last week with no major merger conditions. Successful CFIUS review had been expected after companies reached agreement with FBI and Dept. of Justice earlier this year on national security issues. That auxiliary deal was incorporated into FCC approval of transaction. CFIUS itself was created under Exon-Florio amendment to 1950 Defense Production Act and its investigation typically can last up to 45 days.
Despite complaints by CE manufacturers and retailers, NCTA told FCC that cable industry continued to make progress in resolving DTV-cable compatibility issues with consumer electronics industry (CD April 30 p5). In its 2nd 6-month update to Commission, NCTA said CableLabs had completed its OpenCable hardware specifications for competitive digital cable set-top boxes to be sold at retail level. Group said CableLabs also was developing companion OpenCable software specifications for digital cable boxes. NCTA said cable and CE industries had completed gaining approval of new network interface specifications that NCTA and CEA negotiated early last year. NCTA also said cable industry was working with its set-top manufacturers to implement carriage of independent Program & System Information Protocol (PSIP) data for electronic program guides on cable systems, which cable and CE industries also agreed to last year. “As we said in our November 30 report, the agreement focuses on the carriage of PSIP through the distribution chain and not its creation by program providers,” NCTA said. “As such, these carriage requirements are based on the availability of PSIP data from the content provider.”
White House sent nomination of Mike Copps to be FCC commissioner to Senate late Mon. Democrat’s nomination joined those of 2 Republicans -- Kathleen Abernathy and Kevin Martin (CD May 1 p4) -- and Chmn. Powell’s reappointment to 5-year term. Senate Commerce Committee could move quickly on all 4 nominations. Panel is looking at May 17 for hearing, spokeswoman told us.