FCC and NECA will host 2 Indian Telecom Training Initiative (ITTI 2001) conferences intended to increase telecom services in Indian tribal lands. Conferences are scheduled June 3-5, Radisson Hotel, St. Paul, and Sept. 23-26, Bally’s Hotel, Las Vegas. FCC said first meeting would target marketing, finance, sales and business development executives of telecom and utility companies. Conference speakers will be tribal govt. leaders, elders and college professors. Second meeting will provide information to Indian tribal leaders and other parties.
LAS VEGAS -- FCC Chmn. Powell stressed need for national spectrum planning at CTIA Wireless 2001 show here Tues., while acknowledging importance of policy role of Dept. of Defense for frequencies used for military operations. “We can’t trivialize uses of spectrum for national defense,” he said in response to series of questions from CTIA Pres. Thomas Wheeler. Meanwhile, parade of high-tech executives ranging from Yahoo Co-founder Jerry Yang to Intel Pres.-CEO Craig Barrett stressed that mobile Internet shouldn’t be seen as surpassing fixed-line Web because multiple devices would provide access to Internet.
S.D. doesn’t have to actually provide all services included by FCC in universal service entitlement in order to receive universal service subsidies. State’s highest court said that if carrier was “capable” of offering those services, it could obtain eligible telecom carrier (ETC) status that qualified it to receive support from federal and state funds. Court was ruling on appeals of lower court decision to remand back to PUC decision denying Western Wireless ETC status for its fixed wireless local services so PUC could take another look at public interest implications. Supreme Court said it didn’t want to “hamstring” PUC, but said it was “vital” that there be minimal delay in allowing Western subsidiary GCC License Corp. to begin operations.
Skybridge will officially announce Thurs. plan to start offering broadband service to business customers in Europe, Asia and Latin America in July by using terrestrial infrastructure and leasing capacity on geostationary satellites, Vp Mark MacGann told us. He said move was effort by startup data and Internet company to speed service to market. In meantime, company will continue to raise money for construction of 80-satellite constellation of low- orbiting birds that eventually will take over primary responsibility for providing services to customers, who will be expanded to include individual consumers. Volatile stock market conditions and regulatory issues have stymied progress thus far, although company expects to receive license from FCC “sometime next month,” MacGann said. Shift in strategy was expected following revelations last month that company was moving in different direction (CD Feb 23 p3).
Skybridge, DirecTV and EchoStar joined Satellite Bcstg. & Communications Assn. in filing petitions Tues. asking FCC to reconsider decision to allow terrestrial Multichannel Video Distribution & Data Services (MVDDS), including startup Northpoint, to share spectrum with satellite operators in 12.2- 12.7 GHz band (CD March 14 p3). PanAmSat and Skybridge also filed motions for reconsideration in effort to amend rulemaking and order (R&O) that would permit nongeostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) fixed-satellite service (FSS) providers to share frequencies in Ku-band with geostationary orbit FSS systems. Each of petitions filed involved critical spectrum-sharing issues that Commission made in crucial R&Os in Jan. (CD Jan 31 p3).
AT&T late last week offered proposal to FCC aimed at reducing CLEC access charges to level charged by incumbent LECs within year’s time. Plan is 2nd one proposed to agency, which is expected to act in 2-3 months to rein in CLEC prices that can be 14 times what ILECs charge long distance companies. AT&T has proposed that FCC immediately reduce originating and terminating access charges to 1.2 cents, which carrier said still would be twice what incumbent LECs charge, and then drop rates further over year. ALTS 2 months ago proposed another plan to reduce rates to 2.5 cents per min. on either end, which Assn. said would be 60% reduction from 4.27 cents CLECs now charge on average.
L.A. officials met with FCC staff recently to press for open access requirements on all cable operators and cable must-carry status for local Hispanic broadcasting station. In March 13 ex parte filing with Commission, L.A. City Councilman Alex Padilla, Govt. Representative Diego Alvarez and Asst. City Attorney Edward Perez urged agency to adopt “a uniform national open access policy” that matched or went beyond obligations imposed on AOL Time Warner by FTC and FCC. Otherwise, “some consumers in the same jurisdiction will have the benefits of open access while others will not,” they argued. They also stressed benefits of competition and First Amendment implications. In separate must- carry case, 3 city officials urged FCC to reverse itself and approve bid by Costa de Oro, L.A.-area station that presents bilingual programming. Calling agency’s failure to grant request “inequitable result” that denies more than one million Hispanic viewers access to station’s programming, officials said. Commission should consider “both the public interest and First Amendment issues” raised by station’s bid.
NextG Corp. requested that FCC determine Exempt Telecommunications Company status under Public Utility Holding Company Act. Incorporating in Nev., NextG said it would offer technical and administrative services to enable broadband interfaces for ESPs, DTV broadcasters and Internet service providers to install and use network interface equipment for Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) and MPEG-4 DTV broadband Internet services. Application said NextG intended to provide: (1) Broadband Internet2 Third Generation (3G) wireless and landline products and services. (2) Video PDA and other information network interfaces through affiliate and nonaffiliated companies. NextG proposed to establish and operate on-premises equipment facility to provide R&D for IP v6 network Internet appliances, DTV MPEG 4 video cell phone products and services, broadband GPRS/CDMA/GSM interfaces for utility company wireless and landlines. Comments to FCC are due March 30.
FCC Consumer/Disability Telecommunications Advisory Committee will hold its first meeting March 26, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in Commission meeting room. Committee is composed of 40 representatives of business, academia, consumer and disability organizations, Hispanic groups, Indian tribes. Intended to assist in serving consumers, including those with disabilities, committee is divided into 3 subcommittee working groups: (1) Consumer Protection and Education. (2) Access by People with Disabilities. (3) Availability and Affordability of Telecommunications Products and Services. Meeting, which is open to public, is chaired by consumer advocate Shirley Rooker, pres. of syndicated radio program Call For Action. Chmn. Powell and Comrs. Ness, Furchtgott-Roth and Tristani will make welcoming comments.
Walt Disney Co. took issue with bid by Network Affiliated Stations Alliance (NASA) for FCC inquiry into allegedly “unlawful network tactics and practices” (CD March 9 p2). In letter to FCC Asst. Gen. Counsel John Riffer Mon., Disney attorney Erwin Krasnow called NASA petition “questionable procedurally, substantively flawed and ill timed” and said it should be dismissed. Noting that competition to broadcasters from cable, DBS, wireless cable and Internet services had emerged in last 2 decades, Krasnow argued that “there is absolutely no reason to revisit the issue of network power given that the Commission previously considered and consistently rejected similar allegations at times when broadcast networks had far fewer competitors than today.” He also said it was “curious that the petition is spearheaded by the very same affiliates who own television stations and daily newspapers and who are pressing hard for repeal of the newspaper/broadcast cross- ownership rule.” He urged FCC to reject petition without even waiting for public comments.