Cable operators, incumbent telcos and network overbuilders are increasing broadband speeds to meet rising consumer demand for video streaming, content uploading, multiplayer gaming and social networking, executives told us. Prices at most companies we surveyed generally stayed the same or rose slightly as ISPs have promoted higher speeds in recent years to lure new customers and keep current ones. But analysts said few broadband subscribers seem to need the companies’ fastest broadband packages, because computers in some homes can’t process information quickly enough to make use of them and few people use online applications needing the speeds.

Verizon, AT&T and Qwest have to deal with questions on forbearance rules, retention-marketing practices and other matters in a Sept. 30 letter from House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich. Dingell, who introduced HR- 3914 to abolish the “deemed granted” rule, said the policy “perverts the forbearance process and does not serve the best interests of consumers.” He spoke out against the rule at a Telecom Subcommittee hearing in July (CD July 23 p1), but his bill hasn’t passed. The letter asked the carriers whether they have forbearance petitions that would come up between November and “well into 2009,” when only four commissioners’ positions probably will be filled. If that’s the case, is it “appropriate” for the FCC to allow deemed granted petitions without an accompanying written order,” Dingell asked. Verizon was asked whether its retention-marketing practices are “consistent” with section 222 (b) of the Communications Act, which prohibits carriers from using proprietary information received from other carriers for marketing purposes, the letter said. All the companies were asked whether they thought consumer privacy and retention-marketing provisions in the Communications Act should be changed. Noting Verizon’s possible plan not to maintain copper where it installs fiber (CD July 15 p8), Dingell asked the companies what their plans are in cases like that. Verizon was asked how it would reconnect customers to copper lines if they cancel fiber service and whether customers would have to pay the costs. The companies were asked whether the FCC should set a uniform rate for pole attachments and how it would be figured. On number porting, Dingell asked the carriers if a 48-hour interval for intermodal shifts is appropriate. USTelecom told the subcommittee in July that many of its members receive from competitors porting requests which “don’t fall within the four business day standard,” the letter said, asking the companies if they do, too. Would consumers be “well-served if the Commission established a two-day porting interval for the three largest incumbent phone companies,” the letter asked. Responses are due in three weeks. AT&T said it has no forbearance petitions pending. The company is reviewing the letter and “will respond accordingly,” a spokesman said. Verizon and Qwest said they were preparing responses to the letter.

Wireline and wireless providers should pay FCC regulatory fees under one umbrella, said the Independent Telephone & Telecommunications Alliance. In comments on an FCC rulemaking, ITTA and others urged it to recalibrate fees so they better reflect technology convergence and agency organizational changes.

Attendance is waning at wireline trade shows. Numbers at Supercomm and CompTel are in decline, while VON -- the big VoIP show -- is dead. The large trade show format may have become unsustainable, said several industry officials involved with show spending. Conference organizers say they're upbeat.

NCTA criticized an analysis by USTelecom of pole attachment rates in an ex parte letter filed with the FCC. USTelecom’s analysis “present[s] an incomplete and… misleading comparison of the differences between cable and ILEC pole attachment payments,” the letter said. “If the commission is serious about promoting regulatory parity and broadband deployment and adoption it should take steps to implement NCTA’s proposal,” which would allow ILECs to opt in to cable pole attachment contracts at the cable rate, NCTA said.

Planning, technology and messaging are critical in preparing for a pandemic, panelists said Thursday at an FCC summit on the subject. Expanding telecom infrastructure like broadband networks will be crucial to dealing with a pandemic, officials said. But officials foresee challenges in keeping networks working during emergencies.

“In hindsight, we accomplished brand confusion” naming an industry show “NXTcomm,” USTelecom President Walter McCormick said Monday in a phone conference. After being Supercomm for years, then briefly splitting into “TeleNext” and “GlobalComm,” the show debuted as NXTcomm in 2007. In 2009 it again will be Supercomm, held June 8-11 in Chicago. The name game was a product of the dynamic between the Telecommunications Industry Association and USTelecom. After breaking up, the groups reunited in 2007, thinking “NXTcomm” a catchy combination of TeleNext and GlobalComm, McCormick said. But the names were tough to keep straight, he said. Now planning a revamped show structure for 2009, USTelecom and TIA have revived the familiar Supercomm, he said. The show, with a focus on “21st century broadband,” will cover communications technology more broadly than “niche” trade shows, McCormick said. Invited are wireline companies of all sizes, wireless, cable and satellite carriers, healthcare and other companies with high-speed networks, government bodies, and content and entertainment providers, the event organizers said.

The telecom conference formerly known as Supercomm will regain that name in 2009, organizers said Wednesday. Supercomm last occurred by that name in 2005, after which organizers USTelecom, then USTA, and the Telecommunications Industry Association parted ways. In 2006, each held its own show, with TIA staging GlobalComm and USTelecom hosting TeleNext. Mixed reviews of the split led the groups to reunite and hold a single show, NXTcomm, in 2007 and 2008. “We are re-establishing [SuperComm] due to popular demand and structuring it to better serve today’s 21st century communications providers and partners,” event organizers said in a statement. Supercomm will be June 8-11 in Chicago.

T-Mobile asked the FCC not to adopt new requirements for dual-mode CMRS-VoIP phones as the commission revises rules for VoIP E-911. The dual-mode phone issue loomed large last month as commissioners debated a rulemaking required by the NET 911 Improvement Act. Other commenters said the dual-mode issue appears unique to T-Mobile and asked the FCC to table the issue to focus on the Act’s main thrust: Ensuring that interconnected VoIP providers have access to E911 services.

Telecom and cable firms, states and others resisted an AT&T plan for an interim intercarrier-compensation revamp (CD Aug 13 p8). In comments last week, they urged the FCC to keep its eye on the comprehensive overhaul promised by Chairman Kevin Martin for November. Comments on an alternative interim proposal by Embarq are due Tuesday.