NBC and ABC joined CBS Fri. in denying charges by Network Affiliate Stations Alliance (NASA) in asking FCC to open inquiry into what Alliance claimed were “illegal” network practices (CD March 9 p2), while Fox said it still was “digesting the 42-page” document, plus attachments. “It’s a shame” request was filed, said NBC. “We've made so much progress in terms of our relationship with our affiliates [and] it’s as good as it has been for many years. We're confident the FCC won’t find any merit to their claims.” Said ABC: “The references in the NASA petition regarding ABC are wholly without merit. The public would best be served by deregulating the broadcast industry to reflect today’s highly competitive environment, not the sweeping and unjustifiable governmental intrusions that NASA demands.” After filing petition at FCC Thurs., affiliates took their arguments to Hill where they received “very thoughtful” reaction from telecom leaders in Congress, said NASA Chmn. Alan Frank, pres. of Post-Newsweek Stations. Several in Congress were “surprised that it took us so long” to challenge networks at FCC, Frank said. Asked why NAB wasn’t informed of filing in advance, he said Assn. “has some network members [CBS, ABC] and we didn’t think it was appropriate.”
Sirius Satellite received authority from FCC to modify space station license from 2- to 3-satellite constellation using nongeostationary (NGSO) system instead of geostationary in 2320- 2332.5 MHz band. No objections were filed. Sirius said change would provide system with “enhancements” and better fulfill potential of radio network. Spokeswoman said higher elliptical orbit would allow satellite signals to be receivable at all times. She said “higher angle of elevation will provide better line of sight from satellites to vehicles” and create less chance for interference. Spokeswoman said Sirius engineers decided to make modification shortly after receiving license to construct, launch and operate satellite from FCC. “We spent a lot of resources on technical aspects of the company,” she said: “This 3-satellite configuration enables us to deliver the best service to our customers.” Testing is under way in several cities, including Houston, N.Y., San Francisco. “Our terrestrial transmitters are operating,” spokeswoman said. Sirius is expected to begin service in June.
As expected, Senate Communications Subcommittee Chmn. Burns (R-Mont.) introduced bill that would remove caps and limitations on universal service support by amending Sec. 254 of Communications Act. S-500, which is co-sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Daschle (D-S.D.)and Democratic Sens. Baucus (Mont.), Dorgan (N.D.) and Lincoln (Ark.) would: (1) Eliminate restrictions on size of high-cost support (2) Lift caps on how much universal funding individual service providers could receive. (3) Prevent FCC from enforcing or reimposing “caps or limitations on support mechanisms for rural telephone companies or exchanges they acquire based on fund size or other considerations unrelated to the sufficiency of support.” Burns said bill “would provide rural telephone companies with the resources they need to provide their customers the same high-speed Internet services that families living in urban areas enjoy.” Staffer said fact that bill had 4 Democratic co-sponsors and no Republicans “should not be read into too deeply” and Burns said expected full bi-partisan support “A lot of folks [from Congress] in rural areas obviously are interested in high-speed broadband deployment,” staffer said. Gary Lytle, USTA interim pres., said bill would enable companies “to make critical network upgrades and provide a platform they can build on” to deliver advanced services. National Telephone Coop Assn. (NTCA) said lifting of caps was “long overdue.” NTCA Pres. Michael Brunner said “small independent telecommunications carriers lost out on $130 million last year in vital support due to these caps.” Bill was referred to Senate Commerce Committee.
In light of Appeals Court ruling on cable ownership limits, FCC ought to suspend deadline for AT&T to divest cable interests until agency decides how to respond to court, FCC Comr. Furchtgott-Roth said Fri. Action by U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., (CD March 5 p1) has left agency without 30% cable ownership cap, making it hard to force AT&T to comply with it, he told reporters at breakfast briefing. “It’s impossible to compel a company to come into compliance with rules the court said are unconstitutional,” he said. Court decision, Furchtgott-Roth said, “places in substantial doubt what happens to the AT&T merger conditions.”
Telemundo’s objection to FCC staff grant of waiver of rules to Pappas Telecasting to move transmitter site in purchase CP for KIDN-TV Avalon, Cal. (CD March 6 p2) “is based solely” on interference station would cause to 500,000 viewers in L.A. service area, Telemundo (which owns dominant Spanish-language network in U.S.) said Fri. “It is unfortunate,” said Telemundo, that Pappas and Azteca America, its partner in plan to start 3rd Spanish-language TV network in U.S., “have taken out their frustrations [with move] to the press and it is unsettling that Pappas/Azteca would use unfounded attacks on Telemundo’s motivations as a means of diverting attention away from a significant electrical interference issue.” Telemundo said it wasn’t seeking to “restrain competition from Pappas/Azteca,” as Azteca America claimed in FCC filing, but merely wanted to assure that its ability to serve viewers wasn’t impeded.
NTIA released test results Fri. analyzing potential impact of ultra-wideband (UWB) devices in GPS bands, raising questions about potential scenarios in which UWB would be used for high-data rate applications in that spectrum. Test results, in highly technical 150-page report submitted to FCC, appeared to raise fewer concerns about applications of UWB at lower pulse rates, such as ground- penetrating radar. Fantasma Networks, which is developing UWB devices for non-GPS bands, said report raised “open-ended questions” on UWB in GPS bands and FCC should move ahead and authorize operation above 2 GHz while GPS concerns were being addressed. Another UWB developer, Time Domain, said it was heartened by apparent NTIA conclusions that in certain scenarios UWB pulses have same impact as Part 15 unlicensed devices. NTIA study sets stage for FCC decision later this year, with more data placed before agency on this issue “than there is in all but a few FCC proceedings,” said Jeff Ross, Time Domain vp-corporate development & strategy.
N.C. Utilities Commission (NCUC) will take comments April 18 and replies May 9 on proposed rules to supplement FCC’s prohibitions against slamming and cramming. NCUC last year signed on to become enforcement agent for FCC’s slamming rules after realizing state had no law or rule explicitly banning slamming or cramming. NCUC in Doc. P-100, Subsec. 148 said penalties prescribed by FCC rules were too small to have deterrent effect on repeat slammers who viewed such penalties as cost of business. Proposed rule for both local and interexchange services would allow NCUC to impose penalties beyond those of FCC, including additional compensatory refunds on intrastate calls, and fine of $1,000 per slammed customer for each day unauthorized service was available. Rule would place burden of proof on new carrier to show switch was authorized. It also would require carrier to provide, on request, letter spelling out rates, terms and conditions of service offer before it made switch. Cramming ban would apply to any unauthorized service added to phone bill, including nontelecom services, with fine of $1,000 for each day unauthorized service was made available to customer. Proposed rule also would require specific consumer disclosures be made in any advertising, direct mail or telemarketing solicitation. NCUC said 37 states ban slamming by law and 7 by commission rule.
FCC could make decision as soon as this month to allow dominant carriers such as Bell companies to bundle their basic phone service with customer-premises equipment (CPE) and enhanced services, industry sources said. CPE restrictions have been on books since early 1980s. FCC detariffed and deregulated CPE but said carriers had to offer it separately from their phone services, meaning they couldn’t offer bundled package to consumers that included CPE and telecom service. Situation is somewhat unclear on whether phone companies can offer enhanced services such as e-mail as part of telecom service packages so FCC action would provide clarity. Commission in Oct. 1998 proposed lifting restrictions only for nondominant carriers but discussion since has expanded to possibility of including dominant Bells. In Feb. 27 ex parte letter to FCC, WorldCom said if agency allowed Bells to bundle services and equipment it should require them to still offer basic phone services on standalone basis as well. Otherwise, WorldCom said, Bells will be able to “mask discrimination in the rates it charges competitive service providers for services and facilities over which it maintains a monopoly.” “Since there are no alternatives to their basic services, dominant carriers must be required to make their basic telecommunications services separately available on nondiscriminatory terms,” it said. Commercial Internet eXchange Assn. urged FCC in earlier ex parte letter to “clearly articulate its intentions with regard to the application of regulations and legal doctrine that apply to bundling, to minimize the potential for uncertainty.” ISPs already are having difficulty securing telecom services, particularly DSL, from ILECs “at reasonable rates and on nondiscriminatory terms,” group said.
Verizon told R.I. PUC that it was halting project for 3rd party testing of its operation support systems (OSS) effective immediately. Company said Wed. it stopped testing program to “reassess its allocation of resources” for OSS testing project in R.I. Move follows PUC order denying Verizon’s request to narrow scope of OSS testing as it approved master plan for KPMG’s test. Verizon proposed eliminating certain tests on performance-metrics validation, maintenance and repair, and billing function. It contended FCC in its order granting Sec. 271 approval to SBC in Kan. and Okla. had established principle that repeat testing of OSS functions that passed muster in one state wasn’t needed for subsequent states using same system. PUC said SBC situation was different in that SBC already had Sec 271 long distance approval in “anchor” state of Tex., unlike Verizon in New England whose anchor state of Mass. still is pending. PUC said OSS functions Verizon wanted to remove from test program were vital to development of local competition, so state-specific testing was justified.
E-rate program won’t be folded into block grants to states along with Education Dept. technology programs in Bush Administration’s initial proposal to Congress, but that doesn’t mean it won’t meet that fate later, Education Dept. spokeswoman told us. E-rate supporters were cheered this week by Education Secy. Roderick Paige’s comments at House hearing that e-rate wouldn’t be included. But spokeswoman told us that was just for logistical reasons, since e-rate wasn’t funded by Education Dept. and no final policy decision had been made. “We are considering - - and continue to consider -- if the e-rate can or should be consolidated with other technology grant programs,” she said. “The fact that the e-rate is not in the Department’s jurisdiction makes the considerations different.” Several House Telecom Subcommittee members defended e-rate at Thurs. hearing. Ranking Commerce Committee Democrat Dingell (Mich.) said tinkering with e- rate would be “disaster for schools and libraries everywhere, but particularly those in the neediest areas of the country who have come to rely so heavily on this program.” However, Dingell also renewed his concerns that some telecom carriers might be over- collecting for e-rate and pocketing the difference. Subcommittee ranking Democrat Markey (Mass.) also backed e-rate, as did several witnesses. Meanwhile, Dingell said he would reintroduce his bill to use money from phone excise tax (estimated $6 billion per year) to pay for digital divide trust fund while excise tax was phased out over period of several years. He said some of that money could be used to strengthen NTIA’s Technology Opportunity Program (TOP), which is favored by Subcommittee Chmn. Upton (R-Mich.). Dingell said he would reintroduce bill with Rep. Towns (D-N.Y.) “in the near future” and hoped to work with Upton on it. He also took indirect swipe at FCC Chmn. Powell, who has questioned existence of meaningful digital divide. He said Powell’s father, Secy. of State Colin Powell, was member of board of PowerUp, “whose explicit mission is to close the digital divide. So it appears that at least the elder Powell would agree the digital divide issue is an important one.” Upton said he would focus on several education technology programs this year, not just e-rate and TOP. He singled out Instructional TV Fixed Service (ITFS) licenses, saying they were “very much on our Subcommittee’s radar screen as our nation grapples with spectrum management issues.” Full Committee Chmn. Tauzin (R-La.) said he wanted “every child in Louisiana to have access to the Internet” before he leaves Congress. However, he also said it was “important to understand” that closing digital divide “is not strictly dependent upon federal support,” praising companies such as WISH-TV that make voluntary contributions of Internet access.