The FCC hopes broadcasters and minority groups soon agree on how to alert non-English speakers to disasters, storms and the like using stations’ emergency alert systems (EASs). In six months, the FCC will issue a rulemaking on the matter, it said Thursday in an order voted on at its May meeting (CD June 1 p6). At the gathering, commissioners held off voting on a Minority Media & Telecom Council petition on Spanish-language EAS alerts to give the group and broadcasters time to compromise. The Council and other advocates wanted stations to translate warnings into Spanish and other tongues when a foreign-language station in a market is knocked off the air. Broadcasters want to get translations from authorities.
A large and diverse digital TV education group is gaining momentum, adding more than 100 members the past four and a half months and getting the FCC to join, the group said. The Commission formally joined the Digital Television Transition Coalition several days ago, an agency spokesman said.
A large and diverse digital TV education group is gaining momentum, adding more than 100 members the past four and a half months and getting the FCC to join, said members. The commission formally joined the Digital Television Transition Coalition several days ago, an agency spokesman said. Formal FCC affiliation makes good on Chairman Kevin Martin’s public promises to collaborate with NTIA, other agencies and private bodies to alert Americans to the Feb. 17, 2009 analog cutoff (CD June 26 p2). On Monday, NTIA Administrator John Kneuer and FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein spoke to about 60 coalition members, according to participants in the meeting at National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) headquarters. Adelstein told the group it has made progress but must do much more because “few Americans really understand” the transition.
Arguments against capping universal service subsidies to competitive carriers are based on “short-term self interest rather than long-term public interest,” OPASTCO told the FCC. “Excessive growth in the High-Cost program that is threatening its sustainability is attributable solely to competitive ETCs,” said OPASTCO in reply comments on the cap proposal. On the other hand, extending the interim cap to all rural telecom companies would “seriously threaten” wireline rural carriers, OPASTCO said. “At greatest risk would be continued service to subscribers in the most remote and highest-cost regions that may not have other reliable service options,” said the group, which represents wireline LECs.
The N.M. Public Regulation Commission (PRC) reported progress on a dispute between Qwest and Pojoaque Pueblo that threatened phone service across northern N.M. The PRC said the pueblo tribal govt. extended a land lease for Qwest’s switching office lease by 4 months, to Feb. 1, 2008, instead of requiring Qwest to vacate pueblo land Oct. 1. The PRC said the sides seem to be negotiating seriously again. The dispute erupted after the pueblo changed its incumbent telco from Qwest to Mescalero Apache Telephone Co. Talks on transferring the Qwest exchange to Mescalero broke down over price; in Oct. the pueblo threatened to evict Qwest’s switching center. That would have affected communities in the Pojoaque Valley plus tens of thousands of customers across northern N.M., because the switching center also is a connection point for the Qwest and Windstream phone networks. The PRC intervened after talks broke off, to safeguard phone service in the state.
The 6th in a series of FCC roundtables with Indian tribal leaders will be July 10-11 in Albuquerque and will cover the DTV transition, including consumer options. The FCC Indian Telecom Initiatives event also will take up broadcast station ownership to help tribes interested in obtaining licenses for noncommercial educational radio stations.
The N.M. Public Regulation Commission expedited its inquiry into an exchange transfer dispute between Qwest and the Pojoaque Pueblo -- which could affect up to 50,000 customers across northern N.M. -- after learning that Qwest and the pueblo had broken off negotiations. The dispute began in early spring when the pueblo tribal govt. chose Mescalero Apache Telecom to replace Qwest as the pueblo’s incumbent carrier in hopes of obtaining more-advanced phone services. The pueblo and Qwest entered into negotiations regarding transfer of the area’s exchange prefix and switching facility, but those talks stumbled on the matter of price. The facility is on a leased plot of pueblo land, and the pueblo decided not to renew the lease when it expires in Oct. The dispute caused the PRC concern because the switching office serves not only the pueblo but also adjacent Pojoaque Valley communities. It’s also where Qwest’s network connects with Windstream Communications’ facilities serving tens of thousands of customers across northern N.M. Qwest said it would build 5 microwave towers to reroute Pojoaque Valley traffic and Windstream meet-point traffic to its Santa Fe office. The PRC said it’s concerned that Qwest’s transition to a new routing system could disrupt phone service across northern N.M. Some Pojoaque Valley residents also voiced concerns about the towers’ visual and environmental impact. The PRC told all parties to file their written positions by June 13 and said it will hold hearings this month.
The FCC should exempt carriers serving tribal lands from a proposed cap on universal service subsidies to competitive carriers, General Communications Inc. (GCI) said Thurs. in an ex parte letter to the FCC and staff. The alternative is impeded deployment of services to these hard-to-serve areas, the Alaska-based company told the FCC. Under a plan by GCI, the cap exclusion would apply to services on tribal lands and Alaska native regions defined under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. A CETC (competitive eligible telecom carrier) serving a tribal area could avoid a cap only by offering broadband service over its own facilities to 50% or more of tribal area households, “with a commitment to increasing coverage to at least 80% of the households over the next three years,” GCI said. The carrier proposed an initial broadband standard of 400 kbps, rising to 1 Mbps over the 3 years. “Compliance would be verified by certifications and supported by reporting requirements,” GCI said. Uncapped support would be limited to “one payment per each residential account,” so subsidies couldn’t be used to fund multiple lines or handsets in a single household. “A cap exclusion crafted in this way will ensure that a cap will not unintentionally… deepen the divide between today’s communications haves and have-nots,” GCI said. Comments on the proposal by the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service to cap CETC subsidies are due June 6 at the FCC.
The N.M. Public Regulation Commission voted Tues. to intervene in an exchange sale dispute between Qwest and the Pojoaque Pueblo because the tiff could have adverse effects on phone and Internet service for 50,000 northern N.M. customers of Qwest and Windstream Communications. The dispute arose after the pueblo’s tribal govt. authorized Mescalero Apache Telecom to replace Qwest as the pueblo’s incumbent telecom provider in hopes of speeding delivery of advanced phone and Internet access services to pueblo residents. Pojoaque offered to buy from Qwest the pueblo’s “455” exchange prefix so it could be assigned to Mescalero, along with the Qwest switching office, on leased pueblo property, that serves the pueblo and about 3,500 other customers in adjacent areas. The parties couldn’t agree on price, and the pueblo told Qwest it wouldn’t renew the switching office lease. Qwest said it could shift service to its Santa Fe office and keep serving the pueblo from Santa Fe until Mescalero takes over service. But the issue isn’t just with Qwest’s own customers. The Pojoaque switching center also is a meet point between Qwest and Windstream networks handling traffic for about 45,000 Windstream customers across northern N.M. The PRC said if the Qwest/Pojoaque dispute led to a shutdown of the Pojoaque switching center, there could be adverse consequences for Windstream customers, and potential impairment of broadband development throughout northern N.M. The PRC said it intervened to ensure service in the region isn’t disrupted.
The N.M. Public Regulation Commission voted Tues. to intervene in an exchange sale dispute between Qwest and the Pojoaque Pueblo because the tiff could have adverse effects on phone and Internet service for 50,000 northern N.M. customers of Qwest and Windstream Communications. The dispute arose after the pueblo’s tribal govt. authorized Mescalero Apache Telecom to replace Qwest as the pueblo’s incumbent telecom provider in hopes of speeding delivery of advanced phone and Internet access services to pueblo residents. Pojoaque offered to buy from Qwest the pueblo’s “455” exchange prefix so it could be assigned to Mescalero, along with the Qwest switching office, on leased pueblo property, that serves the pueblo and about 3,500 other customers in adjacent areas. The parties couldn’t agree on price, and the pueblo told Qwest it wouldn’t renew the switching office lease. Qwest said it could shift service to its Santa Fe office and keep serving the pueblo from Santa Fe until Mescalero takes over service. But the issue isn’t just with Qwest’s own customers. The Pojoaque switching center also is a meet point between Qwest and Windstream networks handling traffic for about 45,000 Windstream customers across northern N.M. The PRC said if the Qwest/Pojoaque dispute led to a shutdown of the Pojoaque switching center, there could be adverse consequences for Windstream customers, and potential impairment of broadband development throughout northern N.M. The PRC said it intervened to ensure service in the region isn’t disrupted.