Network technology experts said Wed. that the definitions the FCC had used so far to explain the broadband deregulation part of its UNE order didn’t comport with the way networks actually were designed and used. That raises questions about how the order will play out and whether the lack of clarity will encourage the Bells to “game” the rules, they said at an ALTS conference.
With the FCC bypassing regulatory issues and opting to examine technical questions in its inquiry (CD April 24 p1) into the nascent broadband over power line (BPL) industry, utilities say the speed with which state regulators act on approvals will have a big influence on the timetable for commercial rollout of the service. Some of the regulatory issues that FCC Comr. Copps recently said he wanted the Commission to tackle (CD April 24 p1) fall within the purview of state regulators, including the potential for cross- subsidies by power companies, they said. The 2 major obstacles at the state level that could impede the large- scale deployment of BPL, they said, are: (1) Possible conditions such as open access imposed by state PUCs on affiliate transaction approvals. (2) Barriers to entry on BPL technology providers.
The Canadian govt. should “remove entirely” the effective 46.7% foreign ownership limit, “including the requirement of Canadian control,” from the country’s phone, cable and satellite TV industries, a parliamentary committee said in a release accidently posted briefly Fri. on the govt. Website. Under current rules, non-Canadian companies can’t hold more than 20% of voting stock in telco and cable or a 33% stake in a Canadian holding company.
Is The Christian Network Inc. (CNI) a “network organization” under the FCC’s chain broadcasting rules adopted in 1941, FCC Media Bureau Chief Kenneth Ferree is asking in a previously unreported March 10 letter to the parties involved. He raised several questions involving an affiliate’s right to reject network programming, plus several other conditions on network-affiliate relations, in the sale of KPXF (Ch. 61) Porterville, Cal., by Paxson Communications to Univision. The transfer was approved Feb. 7, 2002, and the Media Access Project (MAP) filed a petition for reconsideration.
WorldCom asked the FCC Wireless Bureau to rule that SkyTel and its other wireless affiliates were eligible to participate in Commission auctions. In dispute is whether SkyTel qualifies to compete in a May 13 paging band auction amid questions over the default status of 2 Multipoint Distribution Services (MDS) licenses held by Wireless One, another WorldCom affiliate. FCC rules stipulate bidders are eligible to take part in an auction only if they have satisfied outstanding installment payment defaults.
Product placements (PPs) by advertisers in body of TV programs will become much more common in the future, broadcasters and advertisers said during and after a TV Bureau of Advertising (TvB) conference in N.Y. Tues. Appearing via videotape, CBS CEO Leslie Moonves said the profitable Survivors series never would have made it to the network’s schedule without PPs. Noting that he had turned the reality show down 3 times before it got on the air, Moonves said advertisers’ products “are immensely successful in the body of a show.”
A wireless industry challenge to the FCC’s retention of local number portability (LNP) faced tough questions Tues. from the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C. Attorneys for both sides sparred over the meaning of “necessary” as viewed by the agency in its rejection of forbearance on wireless LNP, which takes effect Nov. 24.
In the next 2 months, the FCC will move ahead with a long-awaited rule and further notice designed to facilitate secondary markets for spectrum, Wireless Bureau Chief John Muleta told reporters Mon. The Commission proposed rules in 2000 that focused on an array of wireless services, but didn’t include broadcasting and public safety, Deputy Chief Peter Tenhula said at a bureau news briefing. Those other areas, including regulatory relief for transactions involving broadcast and public safety spectrum, have been examined since then by the Commission’s Spectrum Policy Task Force. Commercial wireless issues considered long ripe for review will be part of the order, while new areas will be part of a further notice, officials said.
“Triumph of hope over substance” was how videogame industry group described legislation in works to fund permanent research on media’s impact on childhood development. Reaction came quickly Thurs. from Douglas Lowenstein, pres. of Interactive Digital Software Assn., responding to report that Senate Governmental Reform Committee ranking Democrat Lieberman (Conn.) and Sen. Brownback (R-Kan.) were crafting bill they hoped would lead to “permanent stream of funding” for research into impact of electronic media on children. Prospective bill, discussed Wed. at Children’s Digital Media Center news conference at National Press Club in Washington, specifically would create new entity at National Institutes of Health to determine how media consumption could be detrimental -- as well as beneficial -- to childhood development.
The FCC plans to begin “systematically” evaluating scientific findings on the impact of communications towers on migratory birds, but that doesn’t necessarily mean rule changes are on the way, said Bryan Tramont, senior legal adviser to FCC Chmn. Powell. Speaking at a Wed. PCIA seminar, he said the Commission “in the near future” would seek input on scientific evidence, but: “We believe it would be premature to jump into something at the moment that would drastically change the regime because we just don’t think there’s enough information out there.” In related areas, Tramont said the FCC was nearing release for public comment of a nationwide agreement on streamlining tower siting decisions, and might hire a staff biologist to examine communications issues.