FCC affirmed Enforcement Bureau order year ago that found GTE Wireless of the South had violated regulations on service area boundaries. Violations involved boundaries of 3 cellular towers overlapping cellular geographic service area licensed to Bachow/Coastal in Gulf of Mexico. Commission also affirmed ruling that directed GTE to modify signal strength to rectify extensions of its boundaries. GTE petitioned for review of decision, disputing Bureau conclusion that Sand Island didn’t extend southern boundary of its cellular area beyond coastline and into Gulf. GTE relied on settlement decree between U.S. and Ala. approved by U.S. Supreme Court that stipulated that Ala. coastline included Sand Island.
Teeing up reciprocal compensation issue on Hill, House Commerce Committee Chmn. Tauzin (R-La.) has written to FCC Chmn. Powell and several CLECs asking for information on issue “so we can work together to fairly resolve this matter once and for all.” In letters sent Feb. 15 to Electric Lightwave, Focal, Intermediate Communications, ITC Deltacom, Pac-West Telecomm and WorldCom, Tauzin asked for detailed information on their reciprocal compensation payments, revenues and associated costs. For example, he asked for how much money they had received over 4 years in reciprocal compensation and how much they had paid out. He also asked percent of their total revenues generated by reciprocal compensation. He said he was particularly interested in arguments that eliminating reciprocal compensation would require CLECs to raise their connection rates for ISP customers, which might then pass costs onto end users. Tauzin asked Powell for additional information, saying, for example, he would like material “detailing how a CLEC’s costs of routing a dial-up Internet call typically compare with a CLEC’s costs of completing a 2-way voice local telephone call.” He asked whether there were differences in types of network facilities used for those 2 kinds of calls and requested that FCC brief his staff on agency’s “activities and views” on issue. In letter to Powell, he said it had been 4 years since ALTS asked for clarification on reciprocal compensation dispute and “we still have no resolution.” FCC has made some “nondecisions” in meantime but it still was unclear what calls were entitled to reciprocal compensation. Industry sources said they expected Tauzin to come out with wide-ranging bill soon that would add reciprocal compensation to data LATA provisions sought by Bell companies.
FCC Cable Bureau Chief Deborah Lathen proposed Thurs. that Commission consider adopting period of regulatory forbearance for new cable and possibly other services. In most provocative part of FCC general meeting, Lathen suggested that agency weigh creating “some type of safe harbor” or “perhaps some type of moratorium” to allow nascent technologies and services to grow, “at least for a little while.” Citing theoretical example of young ISP that seeks to offer cable programming by streaming video over DSL lines, she urged Commission to “take a step back” and “think outside the box” before slapping regulatory classification on such new services. “Why not get rid of the box?” she asked, adding that she didn’t have more specific plan.
Correction: Attorney representing FCC in U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., oral argument on reciprocal compensation Tues. was Lisa Boehley (CD Feb 21 p 3).
WorldCom appealed FCC’s order giving SBC Sec. 271 approval to enter long distance markets in Kan. and Okla. (CD Jan. 23 p2). WorldCom spokeswoman said company filed Wed. with U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., on ground that SBC wasn’t providing competitors with “nondiscriminatory access” to its local network as required by Sec. 271 checklist. Specifically, SBC doesn’t offer cost-based pricing for network elements in violation of Telecom Act, she said. This is first time WorldCom has appealed any Sec. 271 order. AT&T and Sprint also filed notice of appeal. AT&T spokesman said company “believes strongly that the FCC didn’t apply its own rules correctly or explain its decision adequately” in approving SBC entry in Kan. and “particularly Okla.” AT&T said Kan.-Okla. case offered “far more productive examination” of issues than FCC’s earlier action approving entry in Tex. Therefore, AT&T said, it had withdrawn earlier appeal of FCC’s Tex. decision.
FCC completed auction of 8 licenses in 700 MHz guard band, raising total of $20.96 million. Pegasus Guard Band won licenses in American Samoa, Guam and Pittsburgh, and Nextel Spectrum Acquisition in Columbus, O., Hawaii, Oklahoma City. Access Spectrum, separate guard band bidding unit created by Industrial Telecom Assn., Motorola and others, won licenses in Little Rock and Omaha. Down payments are due March 8. Licenses were put up for bid after they weren’t sold in original 700 MHz guard band auction held by FCC in Sept.
FCC Mass Media Bureau should have “considered other options” rather than approve sale of Titus Bcstg. radio stations in Binghamton, N.Y., to Clear Channel, FCC Comr. Tristani said. In statement, she said Bureau could have decided market would support only 2 competitors, considered whether enough effort was made to find other buyer or to use failing station principle. Tristani said approval meant 2 radio station groups owned stations with 91.2% of Binghamton ad market: “Duopolies like this make it significantly more likely that there will be no real competition for advertising revenue.” Because questions weren’t asked, she said, agency never will know whether duopoly was inevitable or whether decision was “simply another case of regulatory malfeasance by the FCC.”
Ameritech advised Ill. Commerce Commission (ICC) that it plans to petition for agency’s endorsement of Sec. 271 interLATA long distance bid by July. In letter to ICC Comr. Ruth Kretschmer, Ameritech said it had made many changes in its operation support systems (OSS) to facilitate processing CLEC service orders and had taken other steps that would bring it into full compliance with 14-point 271 open market checklist this year. Third-party testing of Ameritech OSS is to begin next month, with final report from KPMG Consulting not expected until spring 2002. In meantime, Ameritech wants ICC this summer to start looking at non-OSS-related checklist compliance issues. Ameritech parent SBC is providing long distance in Tex., and recently received FCC approval to begin offering long distance service in Kan. and Okla. starting next month. ICC Comr. Terry Harvill, frequent Ameritech critic, said he expected company would come “pretty close” to meeting Telecom Act requirements and he might endorse its entry if it could prove local customers could switch providers “easily.” Competitor-supported Ill. Coalition for Competitive Telecom said Ameritech shouldn’t be allowed into long distance until it proved it reliably could deliver retail and wholesale services it already sells.
FCC report said satellite TV has attracted most of its viewers from rural, rather than urban, areas. Report said 18% of TV households in rural areas received services from DirecTV or EchoStar. In urban areas where cable offers more channels, average satellite penetration is 11%, FCC said.
ORLANDO -- Investment bankers and analysts had more bad news for CLECs Wed. in panel discussion at CompTel’s annual convention here. Along with continued tight money for a year at least, they warned that regulatory environment for those companies could get worse with change in White House. “It’s going to be a hard road,” said Todd Scott, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter analyst. “It will be a year before the market opens broadly, even though some companies are still getting capital, he said.