The FCC decision not to act on a Verizon forbearance petition seeking regulatory relief regarding charges to business customers for high-speed data was a win for Verizon -- but how big remains unclear, analysts said Tues. The exact relief provided by the FCC is uncertain because the Commission has released statements and a news release, but no order yet, analysts said.
Howard Buskirk
Howard Buskirk, Executive Senior Editor, joined Warren Communications News in 2004, after covering Capitol Hill for Telecommunications Reports. He has covered Washington since 1993 and was formerly executive editor at Energy Business Watch, editor at Gas Daily and managing editor at Natural Gas Week. Previous to that, he was a staff reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Greenville News. Follow Buskirk on Twitter: @hbuskirk
Rather than establish a simple test, the FCC should examine the relationships between designated entities (DEs) and major carriers case-by-case before deciding whether to allow an auction bidder to qualify for DE credits during this summer’s advanced wireless services auction, DoJ said in a filing at the Commission.
The FCC Fri. approved launch of a new bureau, the Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau, which will take in parts of 7 bureaus and offices (CD Feb 28 p1). Congress must be formally notified of the reorganization at the FCC and the Commission must secure support of a union that represents employees, but no other Commission vote is required. The FCC also sought comment on a proposal that would allow public safety agencies to provide video and other broadband applications, in addition to voice communications, using 700 MHz spectrum.
In a potential breakthrough, the National ITFS Assn. (NIA) and the Catholic TV Network (CTN) will offer in a filing at the FCC today (Fri.) to accept 20-year lease terms for education spectrum, in the interest of getting the FCC to vote out the stalled Education Broadband Service (EBS) item. The groups are willing to negotiate even longer lease terms, though they disagree on the details. Until this point, they have argued that lease terms should be no longer than 15 years.
The FCC should quit telecom merger review, leaving it to Dept. of Justice antitrust experts, former FCC chief economist Michael Katz said Wed. at a D.C. conference sponsored by FCBA and the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. In addition to his FCC stint, Katz once was a deputy assistant attorney gen. in DoJ’s antitrust unit.
The need for federal action to remove roadblocks such as slowed post-Katrina communications repairs will be a “major finding” of a pending Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee report, Chmn. Collins (R-Me.) said Wed. The report, due within weeks, will address the need to improve first responders’ interoperable communications, she said.
A NARUC forum’s intercarrier compensation (ICC) reform proposal is drawing opposition from NASUCA, wireless carriers, CLECs and VoIP providers. NARUC said it wants parties to study the proposal and comment at month’s end, but sources said the latest ICC reform proposal already faces some of the same opposition fatal to earlier bids at compromise.
Cantor Fitzgerald is launching an online tool for buyers and sellers to trade wireless spectrum rights through its Spectrum & Tower Exchange. Cantor Fitzgerald is one of the firms that has been leading in the development of a secondary market for spectrum in the U.S., following the FCC’s secondary markets order 1- years ago. Darrin Mylet, vp- wireless service at Cantor, told us Mon. the U.S. secondary market is potentially highly robust because of all the frequencies that are subject to leasing. “It’s a very inefficient market that’s mostly done by specialists in different frequencies,” he said. “We're trying to create a more open market for spectrum… What are the terms and conditions associated with me buying a specific license?” Cantor maintains a database listing thousands of licenses. The trading tool helps potential buyers find a license in a specific area or sellers find a lessor. Cantor charges a transaction fee when a deal is completed. “There’s a lot of inventory of spectrum,” Mylet said. “There’s a lot of action. There’s a tremendous number of deals being done. We hope to make them get done in a way that is more efficient.”
The FCC should require telecom operators to provide voicemail to customers displaced by disaster or simplify the process of porting phone numbers for those who have to abandon wireline phones, Pulver.com said. Pulver was joined by Evslin Consulting in a petition filed Mon. at the FCC. The proposal covers both wireline and wireless operators.
The FCC should reverse course on a change to its auction rules for the upcoming advanced wireless services auction, said rural wireless carriers in a petition for reconsideration. The shift would make it harder for smaller players to bid as part of a consortium, they said.