Against backdrop of new study that showed minorities hadn’t risen to senior levels of cable industry to degree that mirrored society, NCTA Pres. Robert Sachs told almost 200 cable executives here in N.Y. that cable must step up its efforts to rectify “underrepresentation of minorities and women on boards and in senior management.” Sachs’s comments came at opening of 2-day conference of National Assn. of Minorities in Communications (NAMIC).
FCC’s Public Safety National Coordination Committee (NCC) approved system design criteria Fri. that would recommend more-robust signal levels to help public safety operators withstand potential interference from commercial operators at 700 MHz, although several licensees raised cost concerns. Policy statement adopted by NCC’s steering committee said that to fend off potential interference from commercial wireless operators at 700 MHz, public safety systems should be designed with higher minimum signal levels than they typically have today. NCC recommendation is similar to Nextel proposal for public safety receiver standards in FCC proceeding examining how to mitigate interference to public safety at 800 MHz. Among reconfiguration proposals pending at FCC are suggestions that public safety operators provide more-robust signal levels in range of 50 dBm, compared with 40 dBm for which many systems currently are designed.
FCC released proposal Thurs. on whether competitive frequency coordination should be allowed for public safety frequencies below 512 MHz. Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) petitioned Commission for change last year, saying that opening former service-specific channels to competitive coordination would streamline process, introduce competition, reduce costs for applicants. American Assn. of State Highway Transportation Officials, International Assn. of Fire Chiefs/International Municipal Signal Assn. and Forestry Conservation Communications Assn. opposed APCO petition. Each group argued other coordinators didn’t understand specific needs of their frequency users. Commission had left open possibility of competitive frequency coordination for public safety in its 1997 refarming order, in which it consolidated 20 private land mobile radio services below 512 MHz into 2 pools. FCC proposal examined 3 approaches: (1) Granting APCO request and opening all public safety pool frequencies below 512 MHz to competitive frequency coordination. (2) Introducing competitive coordination in limited way by adopting contour overlap approach similar to that of previous refarming order. All public safety pool frequencies could be coordinated by any public safety pool frequency coordinator, unless they had study showing that proposed station could cause interference to incumbent. In that case, consent of service-specific coordinator would be required. (3) Retaining exclusive frequency coordination procedures. FCC said that before public safety pool was created, former local govt. radio service frequencies had been used regularly by all eligible public safety entities for both emergency and nonemergency communications. “It has been our experience that competitive coordination for the former local government radio service frequencies has been successful,” proposal said. FCC said there were “potential differences” between public safety operations on frequencies assigned to former local govt. radio service and those on frequencies that now might be coordinated by only single entity. Proposal sought comment on what measures would address allegations that some public safety coordinators were “warehousing” spectrum, practice on which FCC said it didn’t have substantiated evidence. Proposal also requested comments on what steps could address those concerns “while not impairing the quality of frequency recommendations in the public safety pool.” FCC said it would accept comments on coordination alternatives other than 3 in proposal.
In report to FCC, Software Defined Radio (SDR) Forum said core Internet security technologies such as public key infrastructure that had been created for other communications applications also appeared to be applicable to SDR. When Commission adopted SDR order last year, it didn’t set detailed security or authentication requirements because of concern that agency not hinder technology development. At time, it left open possibility that it might have to revisit security requirements later as SDR developed. “There are ample market drivers to provide adequate incentives for the wireless communication industry to deploy security technologies, including core technologies that were not initially developed for SDR but which are applicable to SDR,” report said. Filing stressed incentives for private sector to ensure SDR products and wireless networks were secure. “Regulatory mandates of specific security methods, techniques and algorithms are counterproductive,” report said. “On the other hand, specifying functional or performance requirements for security robustness against defined threats may be appropriate.” Forum told FCC it had received responses from April request for information on security issues, with respondents including Intel, Motorola, 3rd Generation Partnership Project. As for public safety communications, report said that in several years, most radios used by responders would use some form of SDR technology. It said SDR developers and regulators also were eyeing issues in that area such as user verification, which it called “particularly important” to public safety. Central requirement is to ensure that radio interfaces, especially those that affect emissions and safety, remain under tight control of equipment maker and be protected through security measures, report said. Filing said SDR would allow radio functionality to be deployed in software that might not have been developed by hardware manufacturers, “but there is the potential for significant administrative problems associated with third- party software changes. Who would hold the third party accountable for the safe and reliable operation of the revised hardware-software combination?” Other public safety issues cited included protection from unmanaged use by other public safety users of other land mobile channels and possibility of unauthorized access to network. In international arena, report said ITU Working Party 8F, which focuses on 3G and systems beyond 3G, was examining mobile security issues and planned to update documents in next year and possibly come up with new recommendations. Group also is developing report on technology trends, including SDR.
FCC Wireless Bureau granted Port Authority of N.Y. and N.J. extra year -- until Sept. 11, 2003 -- to return network of public safety mobile and microwave facilities to operational status after they were destroyed in last year’s terrorist attacks on World Trade Center (WTC). Bureau’s Public Safety & Private Wireless Div. granted additional time to return stations to operating status without risk of forfeiting licenses for permanent discontinuance of operation. Port Authority last month sought temporary FCC waiver of rules related to its Part 90 land mobile service and Part 101 microwave radio service stations that used WTC as transmitting or receiving site. Part 90 and Part 101 licenses cancel automatically when operation permanently discontinues, which is defined as at least one year of nonoperation. One threshold that licensee must meet under FCC’s waiver standards is that “unique or unusual” factual situation exists in which applying rules would run counter to public interest. “We conclude that the attacks on the World Trade Center clearly constitute a unique and unusual circumstance,” order said. Bureau said it already had granted 6-month waiver of Part 101 rules to Winstar, which had 13 fixed microwave services stations on WTC. “The Port Authority faces a major challenge and a higher hurdle” than Winstar in reconstructing its WTC stations “given that its headquarters were once located at the World Trade Center and the extent of its network,” FCC said. Port Authority, which holds public safety licenses, also used WTC stations to operate its network of transport, terminal and commercial facilities throughout N.Y.C. area. While Port Authority didn’t ask for specific amount of extra time, FCC said it granted fixed waiver term “to avoid any ambiguity concerning the status of the licenses and to allow relicensing of any spectrum that the Port Authority may later decide is not necessary for its future operations.” Agency said Port Authority had started to reestablish operational status of some of its stations that were destroyed and temporarily or permanently had relocated some WTC stations elsewhere.
Satellite companies still are cashing in on post-9/11 fears over terrorism, representatives and executives of several companies told us Wed. as nation marked one-year anniversary of attacks. Satellite communications systems have proved to among best weapons in fight against terrorism when ground systems fail during emergencies or when extra security is needed, officials said. Despite being unable to compete commercially with land-based cellular networks, Globalstar, Iridium, Orbcomm and Qualcomm said they developed GPS tracking and satellite telephone systems that are being used for emergency communication backups and tracking systems with built-in high-tech security features that can help in fight against terrorism. Govt. and military have supported effort in last year by awarding several contracts to companies and closely scrutinizing technological advances, companies said.
T-Mobile (new name for VoiceStream), Western Wireless and Nextel asked FCC to “reaffirm” that wireless termination tariffs weren’t “proper mechanism” for creating reciprocal compensation arrangements for transport and termination of traffic under Communications Act. Wireless carriers said they were responding to moves by some small LECs to seek reciprocal compensation when they terminated mobile-to- landline traffic. Wireless operators told FCC in Sept. 6 petition for declaratory ruling that instead of pursuing interconnection negotiations, those ILECs had filed wireless termination tariffs. T-Mobile, Western Wireless and Nextel said those tariffs were “entirely one-sided” because they demanded that commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) operators pay reciprocal compensation but didn’t commit ILECs to pay such compensation to CMRS carriers. Tariffs “contain unlawful prices, terms and conditions,” carriers said, and ILEC with “lucrative” wireless termination tariff doesn’t have incentive to negotiate “reasonable” interconnection agreement with CMRS carrier. Wireless carriers said FCC had ruled in past that tariff process wasn’t compatible with interconnection negotiation process covered by Communications Act. As result, wireless carriers said they wanted Commission to direct ILECs to withdraw any wireless termination tariffs now in place or to declare them unlawful and void. T-Mobile and other petitioners said most carriers didn’t have traffic in sufficient volumes with most other carriers to justify use of direct, dedicated interconnection facility between 2 networks, so they interconnected with each other indirectly through LATA tandem switch. When carriers interconnect with one another indirectly in such cases, they typically don’t have interconnection contract but use bill- and-keep system, “at least for mobile-to-land traffic,” petition said. Petitioners said even though volume of traffic at stake with some small ILECs is small, they were willing to negotiate reciprocal compensation arrangements, as long it wasn’t one-way contract in which LECs would receive terminating compensation from CMRS carriers but not pay wireless carriers terminating compensation for land-to-mobile calls. Efforts by some small ILECs to file wireless termination tariffs would bypass that negotiation process, petition said. Wireless carriers said that has happened in Mo., where small ILECs filed complaints against CMRS providers for not complying with terms in tariffs, and in Neb., where PSC had suspended tariffs filed by small ILECs but opened proceeding on whether wireless termination tariffs were lawful. “The fundamental problem with these wireless termination tariffs is that the small ILECs unilaterally set unfair and unlawful terms and conditions for interconnection and employ non-TELRIC prices,” petition said.
Seattle e-mail solution company InstantService said Mon. that it and Internet infrastructure company WebEx were teaming to host free cybercast with Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) of “Chat and the Online Gamer” at 1 p.m. Sept. 18. During cybercast, SOE Customer Service Dir. Thom Terrazas plans to discuss benefits of incorporating online chat in customer service offerings. Cybercast is to be first in series highlighting partnership of InstantService and WebEx, they said. SOE uses InstantService chat to provide customer support to its popular EverQuest online game, which it said had more than 430,000 active subscribers. During peak periods, close to 100,000 gamers have explored world of game simultaneously, SOE said. Terrazas said: “InstantService online chat has revolutionized SOE’s ability to provide online customer service. Our EverQuest gamers love chat.” InstantService CEO Mike Lande said company was “eager to share our success with the rest of the gaming industry and to educate them as to the benefits of chat.”
In keeping with Regulatory Flexibility Act, FCC sought comment Fri. on possible revision or elimination of some of its rules. Commission invited public to comment on rules chosen for review in proceeding (DA 02-2152) by Nov. 8. It said it would consider several factors in reviewing rules, including continued need for rule, rule’s complexity, extent to which rule overlapped, duplicated or conflicted with other federal rules and perhaps some state and local govt. rules, and degree to which technology, economic conditions or other factors had changed in area affected by rule. Among rules chosen for review were: (1) For cable, broadcast carriage, diversity of cable system ownership and restrictions on ownership interests by video programming providers, political candidates’ use of cable facilities, and general operating and record-keeping requirements for cable TV systems. (2) For broadcast, AM and FM technical rules, TV ad limits, broadcast operating procedures, broadcast auxiliary stations, ITFS and translators, political ads. (3) For cellular, cellular geographic service area, limits on transfers of authorizations, interests in multiple applications, 5-year build-out period, unserved area licensing process, minimum coverage requirement, content and form of applications. (4) For private land mobile radio services, submission and filing of applications, license modifications, limits on authorization or assignment changes above 800 MHz. (5) For unlicensed wireless devices, measurement standards, definitions, radiated emission limits. (6) For common carrier, long list including procedures implementing National Environmental Policy Act; jurisdictional separations of telecom property costs, revenue, expenses, taxes and reserves for telecom companies; Part 61 rules on administrative details for filing tariffs; implementing telecom relay services; restrictions on indecent telephone message services; expanded interconnection; terminal equipment connection, including defining demarcation point between customer-premises wiring and that controlled by LEC; computation of access charges, including establishment of switched access element for line information database queries.
FCC in recent weeks has been virtually overrun by lobbyists seeking to convince commissioners and their staffs that “primary video” means either single video programming stream or as many as 6 streams of video, data and other material. Whether agency is poised to make decision remains unclear. Question could land Commission in Supreme Court, which is why commissioners are weighing arguments so carefully, FCC sources said. Sources said Commission may soon put issue out for public comment in new rulemaking in order to further spur DTV transition, but it couldn’t be determined at our deadline whether it would be on Sept. 12 meeting agenda. Issue centers on “must-carry” in digital world, where broadcasters will have 6 MHz of digital spectrum at their disposal. Although FCC already has decided broadcasters have right to carriage on cable systems, cable MSOs are fighting idea that stations have right to carriage of however many streams they can pack into that 6 MHz using digital compression technology.