LAS VEGAS -- Questions are likely to continue to arise about usage-based pricing and whether some high-use subscribers should pay more than those that use much less, industry officials said during a panel Monday at CES. One key, speakers said, is that consumers have usage measurement tools available so they can see that the overwhelming majority utilize little enough bandwidth that they don’t face caps or extra charges, panelists said.
The FCC should move quickly to streamline foreign ownership rules, said industry reply comments to an August rulemaking notice seeking feedback on the agency’s foreign ownership practices for common carrier and aeronautical radio licensees (CD Aug 10 p11). In the initial comment round, the Satellite Industry Association asked for changes, while the Justice and Homeland Security departments jointly expressed concerns (CD Dec 6 p14).
USTelecom launched a new website offering what the association is calling “robust information on the broadband industry.” The site, available through www.ustelecom.org, will provide data on e-health, smart grid and online education and jobs, USTelecom said. An official at USTelecom denied that the group was hoping to push back against recent findings by the FCC that broadband wasn’t being deployed quickly or efficiently enough. But in the statement announcing the Web changes, USTelecom President Walter McCormick said: “Our research and data analysis clearly illuminate the highly competitive marketplace for voice services, which affirms our view that it is time to restructure long-standing legacy regulation on the industry that is not relevant to today’s marketplace.”
The FCC understands that some companies may not be able to meet newly imposed deadlines for auditing their books under new Universal Service Fund rules, Wireline Bureau Deputy Chief Carol Mattey said Thursday. “We are well aware of the challenges of companies that have not been able to submit to a financial audit,” Mattey said in a webinar hosted by USTelecom. “I do very much appreciate the time-sensitivity of it and I think we will be able to give some guidance on the timing of that. We recognize that certain things may not be able to be implemented by the deadline of this year.”
Media association heads grabbed the top three spots in our survey of non-profit group salaries. The field was led by RIAA President Cary Sherman at nearly $3.2 million. He was followed by former NCTA President Kyle McSlarrow at nearly $2.7 million and NAB ex-President David Rehr at $2.5 million. All figures are based on the groups’ most recent tax returns -- 2009 except where noted.
Southern Company Services and the Utilities Telecom Council pushed back against Public Knowledge in docket 07-52, arguing that the FCC’s net neutrality rules could threaten the emerging “smart grid.” Southern Companies had asked the commission to reconsider part of its net neutrality rules but its petition was assailed by Public Knowledge, which said utility companies could seek declaratory judgments in court based on individual facts in a given specialized service. USTelecom said it was generally sympathetic to Southern’s point of view, but suggested that the commission reject its petition for reconsideration.
AT&T, Verizon and CTIA raised concerns in separate filings at the agency about changes the FTC proposed to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) rule. In September, the FTC proposed more than two dozen changes to the COPPA rule imposing new requirements on website operators while further protecting children from online threats. USTelecom, the main wireline trade association, did not file comments, a spokeswoman said.
The FCC can expect to be flooded with petitions to reconsider its Universal Service Fund reforms (CD Oct 28 p1), telecom officials said and the public record showed. Petitions were expected from nearly every sector of the telecom industry, from state regulators to rate-of-return carriers, several telecom officials said. The commission is drafting a sua sponte -- of its own accord -- reconsideration in an effort to head off one of the thorniest issues in the docket -- whether local rates on local traffic exchanged between wireless and wireline companies should be subject to bill-and-keep immediately, FCC and telecom officials told us.
Competitive telcos think the FCC has turned its back on them, CLEC executives and lawyers told us. “I think the commission hasn’t taken any initiatives to promote competition,” said Eckert, Seamans telecom lawyer James Falvey. “There have been a number of issues that the CLECs have brought to the commission and said, ‘We need your help on this to promote competition.’ The commission hasn’t taken any proactive steps.”
New FCC ex parte rules were violated at least 11 times since taking effect June 1, a Communications Daily review of all filings and the agency’s own checks found. Some filings were made late -- from a day in many instances to a few weeks -- and others didn’t contain enough information on what was discussed during lobbying meetings. The filings were made by companies and associations big and small. They covered proceedings ranging from changing the Universal Service Fund to pay for broadband deployment to retransmission consent, ISP speeds, disabilities access legislation passed in 2010 and getting low-power TV stations to fully vacate the 700 MHz band for wireless broadband in the small portion they occupy.