The National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO) warned the FCC it had concerns about a proposed program agreement designed to streamline the review process for sites under the National Historic Preservation Act. Comments are due at the Commission Fri. on a draft nationwide agreement to streamline that process for communications facilities under Sec. 106 of the act. That provision requires federal agencies to consider the effects of an “undertaking,” including tower construction and expansion, on historic properties. A similar agreement reached in 2001 had focused on colocation on existing towers, while the draft covered new sites. The draft agreement spells out for state historic preservation officers and industry what is needed for compliance, included tower projects that meet certain criteria and would be excluded from routine review. The NCSHPO board in an ex parte filing last week told the FCC that it and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation shouldn’t assume that NCSHPO would sign the draft agreement. The conference reiterated its concerns on issues not addressed in the draft: (1) The area of potential effect, which covers a mandatory radius for towers, especially those taller than 1,000 ft. That provision would stipulate a geographic visual range, setting restrictions on the visual effects on a proposed tower. For example, the draft proposes a range of 1/2 mile for towers under 200 ft. NCSHPO said for towers higher than 1,000 ft., the area of potential effect should be determined by the applicant along with the state historic preservation officer. (2) Lack of notice to state historic preservation officers in the process, although local govts. are notified when companies build in exclusion zones. (3) Lack of an opt-out provision for individual SHPOs to pinpoint areas “of known or predicted historic properties to be removed from an exclusion zone.” Separately, the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) said in a filing that it was working with the FCC on a joint memorandum of understanding and a related best practices document on Commission consultation with USET tribes on cellphone tower construction issues. USET said it had concerns that the exclusions in Sec. 106 review requirements in the draft “could not lawfully be applied to Indian tribes under the National Historic Preservation Act.” USET said it also discussed an exception to exclusion provisions proposed by the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation had proposed that no tower sites be excluded from tribal review and provided for confidential treatment of tribal review. A representative of the Navajo Nation previously voiced concern that part of the National Historic Preservation Act that applied to tribes hadn’t been fully taken into account in drafting the agreement.
The FCC’s Wireline Bureau told the Commission at its agenda meeting Wed. that broadband subscribership was growing in rural as well as urban areas, but Comrs. Copps and Adelstein questioned the timing of the report and the quality of the data. The bureau submitted a report showing the percent of occupied housing units with high-speed lines in service grew nationwide to 16% in Dec. 2002, from 2% in Dec. 1999. On a state-by-state basis, rural areas also were gaining more broadband subscribers, for example growing in S.D. to 6% of housing units in Dec. 2002 from less than 0.5% in Dec. 1999, in Ark. to 9% from 1%. Among more urban states, the N.Y. percent of high speed lines increased to 25% from 2% and Mass. to 24% from 4%. The bureau said the percentages were estimates. Other data it reported: (1) The number of high-speed lines connecting homes and businesses to the Internet at the end of 2002 was nearly 20 million, vs. 2.8 million at the end of 1999. (2) In Dec. 1999, 60% of the nation’s zip codes had at least one service provider with at least one subscriber to its high-speed service, 10% had at least 4 providers and only 1% had 7 providers. By the end of 2002, the comparable figures were 88%, 39% and 17%. The report defined high-speed lines as those that provided services at speeds exceeding 200 kbps in at least one direction. Copps said the report “seems like good news” because progress was being made in the number of people with high-speed access. However, he questioned the survey’s methodology in 2 areas: (1) The use of “skeletal zip code data” to measure use of high-speed services because “finding one high-speed subscriber in a zip code and counting it as service available throughout is not a credible way to proceed.” (2) “Basing our measurements and our objectives on a broadband revolution at 200 kilobits may be just a little passe.” He said it might be time to use “a more rigorous bandwidth standard.” Copps said the Commission wasn’t conducting the congressionally mandated Sec. 706 broadband surveys frequently enough: “When the Commission undertook its first Sec. 706 inquiry, it stated that the agency would inquire annually into the deployment of broadband. Yet it has been a full 2 years since the Commission released its last notice of inquiry.” Adelstein said the report was “a good effort but we must do more.” It has been 2 years since the Commission began its last inquiry and 19 months since it issued its last report, he said. A bureau spokesman said the Commission planned to release a notice of inquiry this fall. -- EH
The FCC at its agenda meeting Thurs. announced the creation of an Office of Homeland Security within its Enforcement Bureau, aimed at consolidating issues that relate to homeland security and emergency preparedness into a “more efficient and effective organizational structure.” James Dailey, deputy chief of the Enforcement Bureau and a 31-year FCC veteran, was named dir. of the new office. The office also will have responsibility for proceedings relating to the Emergency Alert System as well as the Commission’s Communications & Crisis Management Center and its Emergency Operations Center. FCC Comr. Copps said he hoped the action would give homeland security “the high priority it deserves at the Commission.” He said “I frankly worry that, as we as a nation move further away from 9/11, we have a tendency to let our guard down, to go back to business as usual.” He said organizational changes such as this one “can help in this effort -- or they can hurt.” It can help if “the priority remains heightened and the leadership is aggressive,” he said. It can hurt if the office “becomes just one more division among several in one bureau, or if the effort becomes one office’s job rather than every office’s job.” FCC Chief of Staff Marsha MacBride outlined the agency’s “action plan” for homeland security, including such things as: (1) Work with the Dept. of Homeland Security to promote the use of best practices developed by the Network Reliability & Interconnection Council and the Media Security & Reliability Council. (2) Develop a service restoration memo of understanding with N.Y.C. and promote it to other metropolitan areas. (3) Double participation by state and local 911 centers in the Telecom Service Priority program. (4) Help tribal groups develop critical communications infrastructure protection plan. (5) Convene a “stakeholders summit to address communications issues that confront individuals with disabilities during national emergencies.” (6) Work with the FBI to review CALEA compliance by telecom carriers. MacBride emphasized that the FCC was “just one component of a complex network of public and private partnerships” working to improve security and reliability of telecom infrastructure.
The federal govt. would devote $500 million to E-911 deployment, under legislation introduced Thurs. by Sens. Burns (R-Mont.) and Clinton (D-N.Y.). The bill would also create an NTIA task force to help coordinate E-911 deployment and require the FCC to monitor how states are spending E-911 funds.
The FCC asked for comments on a draft nationwide agreement to streamline the review process for communication facilities under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The Commission also asked for comments on a proposed amendment to its rules to incorporate the requirements set forth in the agreement. The agreement, it said, will establish further exclusions of colocations of antennas on existing structures from routine historic preservation review and prescribe standards and procedures for communications towers and for colocations that aren’t excluded under the colocation agreement. The Commission said it also intended to seek direct tribal input and consultation, including appearance at appropriate forums. FCC Chmn. Powell said the agreement was a “vital piece” of the Commission’s Environmental & Historic Preservation Action Plan, and said he was “committed to moving forward to finalize the agreement as soon as possible.” He said the agreement sought to “clarify the regulatory muddle and delay that has beset many tower-construction proposals… Our goal is to identify promptly those proposed sites that do impact historic sites and develop mitigation plans or alternative siting plans that allow services to be developed in those areas.” The agreement, he said, will also allow those sites that don’t have any potential historic impact to move forward without regulatory delay.
Federal grants for Native American telecommunication must be put back on the Bush Administration’s list of priorities, speakers said at an oversight hearing of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on the status of telecom in Indian Country. Sen. Johnson (D-S.D.) said improving telecom for Indians was “a matter of public safety, not luxury,” and Sen. Inouye (D-Hawaii) said the Administration had proposed eliminating outreach initiatives such as the Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) and the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP), both of which helped increase the “hook-up” on Indian reservations, which still have the lowest telephone penetration rates in the nation. TOP has given $17.5 million to Native American tribes for “projects establishing networks that enhance access to education, health and government as well as build capacity for e- commerce, e-training and distance learning,” said Kelly Levy, assoc. administrator for the Office of Policy Analysis & Development in the U.S. Commerce Dept.
FCC Chmn. Powell pledged Thurs. a more “proactive approach” to environmental and historic preservation issues related to tower siting, ranging from better coordination with other agencies to stepped-up enforcement. Under an “environmental and historic preservation action plan,” he told reporters the Commission would take up a proposal addressing human radiofrequency exposure and open an inquiry to evaluate the impact of towers on migratory birds. Powell also wrote Thurs. to Fish & Wildlife Service Dir. Steven Williams suggesting the agencies agree on streamlining measures, such as identifying tower categories that posed little risk to endangered species and could be excluded from routine review under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Five U.S. Copyright Office officials plan hearing today (Fri.) on whether agency should recommend to Librarian of Congress that some DVD users be permitted to evade copy- protection mechanisms. Copyright Office is holding series of hearings as part of its triennial review of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), specifically its assignment under Act to see whether law’s ban on circumvention causes undue harm. Copyright Office received numerous requests for exceptions for breaking DVD coding, such as desire to make backup copies or to play region-coded DVD in another region-coded player. All such proposed exceptions were opposed by joint filing of numerous trade associations supporting intellectual property rights, including MPAA, whose Washington Gen. Counsel will testify. Also testifying is AOL Time Warner’s Shira Perlmutter, who offered separate reply comments opposing exceptions. Other witnesses include 321 Studios.com’s Robert Moore, Jay Sulzberger of New Yorkers for Fair Use, economist Michael Einhorn, Interactive Digital Software Assn.’s Stevan Mitchell and consumer Phil Gengler. Sulzberger’s group has organized rally outside hearing, and urged attendees by saying that if “the DMCA is not overturned, in a matter of years governments and a few large companies will force spy machinery and remote control machinery into every home computer in the world… The DMCA will also end free private, tribal, business and public use of the Internet.” On Thurs. Copyright Office held hearing on exceptions for literary works and eBooks for persons with disabilities, and after DVD hearing another will be held on potential exemption for literary works that are damaged, malfunctioning or obsolete. Copyright Office held its first set of hearings April 11, with more scheduled May 14-15 in L.A. Copyright Office will join with NTIA in making recommendations to Librarian later this year. Librarian has until Oct. 28 to complete rulemaking.
The FCC plans to begin “systematically” evaluating scientific findings on the impact of communications towers on migratory birds, but that doesn’t necessarily mean rule changes are on the way, said Bryan Tramont, senior legal adviser to FCC Chmn. Powell. Speaking at a Wed. PCIA seminar, he said the Commission “in the near future” would seek input on scientific evidence, but: “We believe it would be premature to jump into something at the moment that would drastically change the regime because we just don’t think there’s enough information out there.” In related areas, Tramont said the FCC was nearing release for public comment of a nationwide agreement on streamlining tower siting decisions, and might hire a staff biologist to examine communications issues.
FCC hopes to issue public notice on comprehensive nationwide agreement to streamline tower siting decisions next month, Wireless Bureau Commercial Wireless Div. Chief William Kunze said Fri. Related tower siting policies will be among division’s priorities for this year, including issues on migratory birds, Fish & Wildlife Service requirements and overall processes in that area, he said. Kunze spoke at FCBA Wireless Practice Committee lunch at which chief of Auctions & Industry Analysis Div., Public Safety and Private Wireless & Policy also discussed their 2003 agendas.