USTelecom told the FCC that the Dept. of Justice and VeriSign objected on “fallacious grounds” to USTelecom’s request for a delay in CALEA compliance for broadband Internet access and VoIP service. USTelecom said it asked the FCC to delay the start of the 18-month compliance clock because carriers don’t have “meaningful direction” about “what capabilities industry should standardize.” DoJ’s response “implies erroneously” that USTelecom is seeking to make broadband and VoIP providers exempt indefinitely and VeriSign “maintains manufacturers and trusted third parties can provide adequate solutions,” USTelecom said in a Jan. 30 filing. Neither argument is valid, for 3 reasons, the association said: (1) Broadband and VoIP providers must have answers regarding the scope of their CALEA capability requirements before they can implement those requirements.” (2) “Standards-based vendor solutions are not widely available.” (3) “Trusted third party solutions have not been endorsed by DoJ or the [FCC] and trusted third parties are not accountable for CALEA violations.” VeriSign said opponents ignore industry’s collaboration with the FBI for several years to develop CALEA capabilities for broadband and VoIP - which have become standards for use by vendors and product providers. “There is no broadband or VoIP provider who cannot become fully compliant today,” VeriSign said.

A request by Fibertech networks for FCC adoption of best practices for pole and conduit access attracted predictable comments on Jan. 30. CompTel said the FCC should grant the petition and adopt rules proposed by Fibertech as industry standards. “The problems identified by Fibertech are nowhere near as thorny and politically intractable as the other rights-of-way and building access issues that have plagued the Commission and the industry since 1996,” CompTel said. They are “reasonable and urgently needed,” the company told the FCC. USTelecom said Fibertech hasn’t shown the current system of access ILEC poles and conduit “is broken,” the FCC already has rules that work and the Fibertech proposal “would likely lead to a barrage of requests for rules that are tailored to accomplish a host of different desires from other companies seeking pole and conduit access.” USTelcom said “the premise of the petition… is that current rules… provide utilities and ILECs with too much latitude to use their processes to delay competitors’ deployment of services and impose unnecessary costs on new entrants.” However, USTelecom said, Fibertech hasn’t demonstrated that premise is true. Fibertech had listed a group of best practices for possible FCC adoption, such as: (1) “Permit installation of drop lines to satisfy customer service orders without prior licensing.” (2) “Require ILECs to share building-entry conduit with CLECs.” (3) “Allow utility-approved contractors to work in manholes without utility supervision.”

Responding to a USTelecom request, the FCC Wireline Bureau extended the comment deadlines for a rulemaking aimed at crafting new rules for distributing universal service support to Qwest and other “non-rural” carriers (CD Dec 12 p2). Non-rural carriers tend to be bigger companies with more urban than rural customers. The FCC pushed the comment deadline back 45 days to March 27, with replies May 26. USTelecom had asked for a slightly longer extension -- 2 months instead of 45 days for comments. The association sought delay because the rulemaking involves complex issues and telecom companies would need more time to gather and analyze data before commenting.

USTelecom Pres. Walter McCormick apparently is the highest paid communications association executive in Washington, according to the latest available Form 990 filings at the IRS. McCormick received a large increase in total compensation for calendar year 2004 - the year of all information in this article - to $1.87 million from $1.3 million in 2003 (CD Oct 17 p5). USTelecom reported revenue of $36.73 million in 2004, expenses of $33.67 million, with salaries totaling $4.89 million.

Digital content will provide “complete new business models” and “the flexibility to be creative” for content owners, carriers and others, but confusion over the “content lifecycle” -- standards, protection and operational issues -- is holding the market back, KPMG analysts said in a USTelecom Web presentation Tues. The clash between and within traditional players like telcos and music labels, and new entrants in hosting and delivery solutions, will be resolved over time, but many questions remain. “The rules of the analog world don’t apply anymore,” and some of the telecom stalwarts will leave the “ecosystem,” said Senior Mgr.-Risk & Advisory Services Trent Larson.

The FCC should deny USTelecom’s request for more time before applying CALEA requirements on broadband providers because there’s no reason for a delay, the DoJ told the Commission in an Jan. 19 opposition filing. USTelecom asked the FCC to reconsider a decision to give providers a year and a half from the effective date of the CALEA broadband order, saying carriers need more direction. However, DoJ responded: “No further delay is warranted, especially in light of the critical need for capabilities that will protect public safety and national security.” DoJ said industry, not the FCC, is responsible for determining how the requirements are implemented, in other words providing the direction sought by USTelecom. The CALEA law expects industry to take those steps through standard-setting, DoJ said, and in fact several standard- setting groups are working on the project.

USTelecom asked the FCC for a 2-month extension on a deadline to file for comments and an extra month for replies in a docket seeking advice on writing new rules covering distribution of universal service support to Qwest and other non-rural carriers. Comments otherwise are due Feb. 10, replies March 13, on a request for comments voted by the FCC in Dec. (CD Dec 12 p2). “The complexity of the subject matter, the procedural history of the issues (before the Commission and the courts), and the 10th Circuit’s mandate in this matter make clear that the ordinarily applicable time period for comments and replies will be insufficient for the generation of proper, substantive comments,” USTelecom said.

Major wireline and wireless carriers asked the FCC not to impose additional regulations on carriers on social issues -- including new rules protecting consumer records or covering truth in billing -- tied to a notice of proposed rulemaking the Commission voted out at the same time it approved an order in Aug. reclassifying wireline Internet access service as an “information service.”

Cities can’t deny wireless carriers permits for antennas only on esthetics and still obey Cal. and U.S. law, said the 9th U.S. Appeals Court, San Francisco, Tues. The court, in overruling a Cal. district court, said La Caada Flintridge, a wealthy L.A. suburb devoted to its tree-lined streets, had “overstepped its regulatory authority” in denying Sprint PCS permission to erect 2 wireless towers on the basis of a 2001 local ordinance setting esthetic guidelines for such towers. The court said any local denial must comport with state law; otherwise, it’s “invalid even before the application of the [Telecom Act’s] federal standards.” La Caada Flintridge said Sprint’s exercise of its right to build had comply with state and local law, but the court said Sprint could build, provided its towers complied with state or local law. Section 7901 of Cal. state code gives carriers “broad authority to construct telephone lines and other fixtures” unless the structures pose “extremely severe” aesthetic objections, which the court found Sprint’s antennas didn’t. USTelecom said the explosion of the wireless industry across the U.S. has “prompted debates” of a similar nature around the country.

USTelecom told the FCC it supported a universal service contributions plan that would assess fees on residential services based on “working telephone numbers and connections for broadband services.” The organization urged a slightly different fee plan for business services -- based on telephone numbers and “either bandwidth tier connections or interstate revenues.” USTelecom said in an ex parte filing last week that the contributions methodology should reflect changes in the market by broadening the base of contributions, shouldn’t “distort customer purchasing decisions” and should be easy to implement.