The FCC Wireless Bureau wants comment on a Ronan Telephone request for 3 more years to satisfy a tribal lands bidding credit construction requirement for service it plans to offer the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. In 2004, Ronan received a license for the lower 700 MHz C block -- UHF Channels 54 and 59 - covering a rural service area in Mont. Because of its commitment to be serving 75% of the Blackfeet reservation population by Jan. 29, Ronan got a $182,000 credit, 50% of its gross bid. But Ronan told the FCC that due to the proximity of a high-power, co-channel TV transmitter for channel 54 it cannot use any of the available high-altitude transmitter sites that would enable it to meet its mandate. So Ronan has been offering service via low- altitude transmitters. To date, it’s reaching only 50% of reservation residents. Comments are due Jan. 12, replies Jan. 17.
The N.M. Public Regulation Commission (PRC) approved a geographic split to relieve projected number exhaustion in the statewide 505 area code. The PRC adopted a plan keeping the 505 code for the northwestern quarter of the state, including Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Gallup and most Navajo tribal lands. The rest of N.M., including Roswell, Alamagordo, White Sands, Clovis and Taos will get the new 575 code. The PRC said the split means 7-digit local dialing for most New Mexicans, who will remain in the 505 area. It said an all-service overlay would have forced the whole state to use 10-digit local dialing. The PRC said it plans for the new code to come into play by early 2009.
“Broadband should be like water in a restaurant, something that comes with your meal,” said Kathleen Wallman, consultant with M2Z Wireless Networks and a former FCC bureau chief. She said modest-speed (300K), ad-supported Internet access should be included with basic telephone service: “Basic broadband connectivity should be free. If you want more than that, it would be available to purchase.” Wallman, a panel speaker at the NARUC annual meeting, said the U.S. lags far behind other nations in broadband penetration and service speed. “We need a different strategy for broadband deployment” for both wireline and wireless service. With wireless, she proposed the FCC grant exclusive 15-year leases of broadband spectrum and get a percentage of the annual revenue. E Copernicus consultant Chris McLean said ubiquitous broadband is “a national security imperative.” He said security demands multiple redundant broadband networks using both landline and wireless technologies. He said achieving universal broadband means policymakers and industry must take some risks: “There’s no single ’silver bullet’ solution for broadband development. It’s a layer cake of policy.” He said successful broadband policy should rely on market forces as much as possible, consider innovative approaches like spectrum leasing, support broadband with subsidies where necessary, create demand, and be flexible. He said that when govt. decides something is a genuine national priority, it generally gets done. He cited rural electrification and the national schools & libraries telecom program as examples. “We should be moving the broadband ball forward, getting it done, because broadband is important.” Consultant Bob Rowe, a former Mont. regulator, said broadband is changing the cost and revenue picture for providers. “Networks and costs don’t go away -- they change,” he said. For instance, he said, the rise of broadband is shifting costs from switching and general network operations to construction of new outside plant and to acquisition of content. He said that as broadband grows, providers will see less revenue from traditional narrowband phone services and more from selling new services made possible by broadband. But that demand for new services will stress the infrastructure and demand further investment. He said providers may need to consider new revenue models such as selling advertising.
Increased competition between cable and phone companies is spurring local cable operators to try to reengineer their corporate culture, local general managers said. As these companies compete for customers in video, voice and broadband, employees need a greater sense of competition, said Comcast Northern Va. Area Vp-Gen. Mgr. Chris Whitaker. “There is a significant cultural shift that our company has to go through,” she said. The companies likeliest to succeed with such campaigns already have their workers’ loyalty, a business professor said.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a notice announcing that it is establishing a new committee, the Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee (HSINAC). DHS states that HSINAC is being established to provide organizationally independent advice and recommendations to the leadership of DHS on the requirements of end users within State, local, Federal and tribal governments and the Private Sector regarding the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN). (D/N DHS-2006-0059, FR Pub 10/20/06, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/pdf/E6-17603.pdf)
The FCC asked for nominations to the CMRS Alert Advisory Committee, required by the WARN Act that President Bush signed into law last month. The FCC acknowledged that it doesn’t have much time to get the advisory panel running: “In order to ensure that the Committee holds its first meeting within 60 days of the statute’s enactment (i.e., no later than Dec. 12), as required by the WARN Act, the Commission is asking that nominations be submitted as early as possible,” the FCC said. The agency is seeking participants from a wide range of sectors, including state and local govt. officials, tribal govts. and industry.
Any USF reform should encourage participation by new technologies, including satellite broadband, the Satellite Industry Assn. told the FCC. The Commission fielded comments Wed. on using reverse auctions to improve USF distribution (CD Oct 12 p6). Reverse auctions could “reveal various providers’ relative cost” of serving rural areas, SIA said, adding that satellite providers can serve rural communities efficiently and cheaply. “Satellite technology is in many respects ideally suited to delivering service to rural and high-cost areas,” SIA said: “A customer in rural Montana can get the same satellite service as a customer in downtown Chicago.” Basing universal service support on technological efficiency would cut the fund’s burden, as variations on the reverse auction have in Chile, Colombia, India, Peru and S. Africa, SIA said. The key to reverse auctions’ success is ensuring that entrants with new technologies -- including satellite providers -- can participate in the program, the satellite group said. To ensure satellite providers can participate effectively in reverse auctions, SIA said, the Commission should: (1) Not award set-asides, credits or other favorable treatments to incumbents. (2) Let satellite providers that provide broadband services on a non-common carrier basis keep that status. (3) Avoid restrictions such as service areas that give certain providers an edge over others. SIA also pushed for targeted USF pilot projects to prove satellite providers’ ability to bring telecom service to remote areas. “Reverse auctions could be used to award contracts to provide service to areas or individuals that currently lack access to any communications services,” SIA said. Pilot projects could focus on specific areas -- some tribal lands, for instance -- historically unserved by traditional telephony, SIA said.
Any Universal Service Fund reform should encourage participation by satellite broadband and other new technologies, the Satellite Industry Assn. told the FCC. The Commission fielded comments Wed. on using reverse auctions to improve USF distribution. Reverse auctions could “reveal various providers’ relative cost” of serving rural areas, SIA said, adding that satellite providers can serve rural communities efficiently and cheaply. To ensure satellite providers can participate effectively in reverse auctions, SIA said, the Commission should: (1) Not award set-asides, credits or other favorable treatments to incumbents. (2) Let satellite providers that provide broadband services on a non- common carrier basis keep that status. (3) Avoid restrictions such as service areas that give certain providers an edge over others. SIA also pushed for targeted USF pilot projects to prove satellite providers’ ability to bring telecom service to remote areas. “Reverse auctions could be used to award contracts to provide service to areas or individuals that currently lack access to any communications services,” SIA said. Pilot projects could focus on specific areas -- some tribal lands, for instance -- historically unserved by traditional telephony, SIA said.
On September 30, 2006, the House and Senate passed (agreed to) the conference version of H.R. 4954, entitled the "Security and Accountability for Every Port Act of 2006" (SAFE Port Act), which is a measure intended to improve maritime and cargo security through enhanced layered defenses, and for other purposes.
USDA awarded $8.9 million in 21 broadband community connect grants. The community connect program supplements USDA Rural Development’s standard high-speed telecom loan program. Berry, Ky., received $209,891 to connect the Harrison County Fire Dept. to the Berry Fire Dept., the post office and the city hall. N.M.’s 6 grants totaling $3.3 million will connect more than 660 tribal residences and community centers in the towns of Paguate, Seama, Encinal, Mesita, Paraje and Laguna. USDA also gave grants to Ewing and Cleveland, Va., to provide broadband service to libraries, schools and other community buildings and a $529,340 grant to Springdale, Wash., to connect the police department, medical center, school and community center. Grant terms require each community to make at least 10 computers available to the public.