“No question about it,” attorney David Honig responded when asked whether civil rights groups would seek en banc rehearing by 3-judge panel of U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., order throwing out FCC’s new EEO rules as unconstitutional (CD Jan 17 p1). Honig is attorney for Minority Media & Telecom Council and 29 other groups “representing virtually the entire civil rights movement,” he said. At National Religious Bcstrs. convention in Dallas earlier this week, FCC Mass Media Bureau Chief Roy Stewart said Commission still was considering whether to ask court for rehearing. Broadcast attorney predicted agency would seek en banc court reconsideration but said odds were “100-to-1” against court granting petition.
Cleaning up some unfinished business from its AT&T-MediaOne merger approval last year, FCC rejected application for review filed by Media Access Project, Consumers Union and Consumer Federation of America. In 4-page order issued Thurs., Commission denied bid by consumer groups to gain access to handwritten staff notes, e-mail messages, staff summaries of ex parte meetings, memos and other documents in agency’s merger consideration. Order said staff members had resolved some of consumer advocates’ objections by making some of documents available. It also found further discretionary disclosure of records “not appropriate here” because they “would foreseeably harm the institutional interest underlying the deliberative process privilege” and “would actually inhibit candor in the decision-making process.”
Eschelon Telecom filed complaint against AT&T at FCC for not paying interstate access charges. Eschelon said it also has taken action against AT&T in Hennepin County Dist. Court, Minn., for not paying intrastate access charges. Eschelon said AT&T owes it $131,380 in intrastate charges in Minn. and $248,900 in interstate charges. AT&T and other IXCs have been at odds with some CLECs over size of access charges they levy, issue that FCC is looking into.
National Exchange Carrier Assn. (NECA) said FCC shouldn’t require ILECs to provide number pooling until they could recover their costs. In Feb. 14 comments on FCC’s notice of proposed rulemaking (99-200), NECA said number pooling costs should be recovered through existing means, including interstate access charges, and should be available to carriers that aren’t local number portability capable. If FCC decides to subject carriers to number pooling rules before cost recovery is determined, rural carriers should be exempt because “they will be disproportionately affected by the implementation expense of number pooling,” NECA said. National Telephone Coop Assn. (NTCA) said rural LECs that weren’t capable of providing local number portability (LNP) should be exempted from 1,000-number block pooling. NTCA said it opposed FCC’s proposal to require rural LECs to become LNP-capable so they could provide pooling. “Rural LECs have not caused the numbering exhaust problem,” NTCA said. Imposing LNP and pooling on them “would not provide any meaningful extension to the life of the North American Numbering Plan.” Meanwhile, Assn. of Communications Enterprises (ASCENT) urged FCC not to adopt market- based allocation system for numbers, one idea mentioned in agency’s proposal on numbering resources. ASCENT said Commission didn’t have statutory authority to institute such system, whether by auction or otherwise, for giving out numbers. Assn., which represents resellers, said market-based system wouldn’t necessarily reflect cost of numbering administration, and providing numbers only to those willing to pay for them wouldn’t ensure competitive neutrality.
Dept. of Defense (DoD) and wireless industry remain apart on some technical issues regarding how bands occupied by military users could be altered for 3rd-generation uses. Govt. and industry officials, at meeting hosted by NTIA Thurs., emphasized that analyses of bands that could be used for additional 3G spectrum were continuing, with final FCC and NTIA reports due late next month. “We still have a lot of work to do,” Motorola’s Steve Sharkey said. “We have at least an idea of where the paths to move forward are.” Meanwhile, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) raised budget projections for proceeds from FCC spectrum auctions through 2007, with rosier outlook attributed to interest in 3G.
FCC asked for comments by March 16 on Ariz. Corp. Commission (ACC) proposal to set service area for Smith Bagley mobile phone company that’s different from study areas of 3 rural telcos it overlaps. Changing service area definition can make it easier for wireless providers to gain designation as eligible telecom carriers (ETCs), which in turn makes them eligible for universal service support. ACC proposes to define Smith Bagley’s service area as that portion of its existing cellular contour that encompasses tribal lands in Ariz., which is area Smith Bagley plans to serve as local telco. FCC issued call for comments Thurs. in response to Smith Bagley petition for FCC’s consent (DA 01-409, CC Doc. 96-45).
DTV channel changes approved by FCC: (1) WQHB-TV Sumter, S.C., can substitute DTV Ch. 39 for Ch. 38. (2) KOTA-TV Rapid City, S.D., can substitute DTV Ch. 2 for Ch. 22. (3) KAUN Sioux Falls, S.D., can substitute DTV Ch. 51 for Ch. 40.
Public broadcasting and foreign ownership of telecom companies were among subjects on what House Commerce Committee Chmn. Tauzin called panel’s “ambitious” oversight agenda. List released Wed. includes topics Tauzin and others on Committee have talked about repeatedly in last few weeks, such as FCC reform, DTV transition, networks’ election night coverage, broadband deployment. But it also includes: (1) Review of federal funding needed for CPB, including “in-depth examination of the estimated transition costs of the public broadcasters for converting from analog to digital television.” (2) Cybercrime prevention and critical infrastructure protection activities of various agencies, including FCC. (3) Wireless privacy and wiretapping issues, including examination of law enforcement’s needs under Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). (4) Violent content in media. (5) State of high-tech industry, including examination of causes of “economic malaise affecting the e-commerce industry. (6) FCC’s broadcast ownership rules and whether they comport with congressional intent. (7) Copyright rules online. (7) Spectrum management and other wireless policies such as spectrum cap. (8) Educational technology programs. Agenda said Committee planned to find “best way to combine the many differing and competing programs into a single funding mechanism.” (9) Phone calling rates for calling cards and in hotels. (10) Efforts of other countries to comply with their trade obligations, particularly in regard to telecom agreements, on which U.S. Trade Representative will release assessment March 31. Meanwhile, Tauzin and ranking Democrat Dingell (Mich.) submitted a budget request giving the Republican majority two- thirds of the Committee’s funds and staff, an arrangement Dingell called “a significant improvement” from the previous session.
FCC asked for nominations by March 16 for Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) board member who would represent low-income consumers. USAC administers universal service programs -- Sheryl Todd, 202-418-7400.
BellSouth asked FCC to reconsider portion of its building access order that lets building owners require relocation of network demarcation points without getting approval of subscribers. BellSouth said Commission, in requiring telcos to comply with building owner requests for relocation, “appears not to have considered whether it had the authority to allow nonregulated third party nonsubscribers to initiate service affecting network reconfiguration at the expense of [telecom] providers… and their actual service subscribers.” In Feb. 12 petition, BellSouth said carriers shouldn’t be required to comply with request by building owners for relocation of demarcation points “unless the request is accompanied by the consent of all service subscribers” in building. (WT Doc. 99-217, CC Docs. 96- 98,88-57)