Long-time FCC staffer Jane Mago was named agency’s gen. counsel, FCC Chmn. Powell announced Mon. Mago, who joined Commission in 1978, has been acting gen. counsel since Jan. Before that she was deputy chief of Enforcement Bureau, senior legal adviser to then-Comr. Rachelle Chong and to Powell when he was commissioner. Other FCC appointments announced Mon.: (1) Martha Johnston, ex-assoc. dir. of Assn. of Trial Lawyers, as dir.-Office of Legislative & Intergovernmental Affairs. Johnston was dir. of Congressional Relations at Dept. of State and dir. of congressional liaison at U.S. Information Agency. (2) Dane Snowden, ex-vp of MissionFish.com, Internet auction engine that raises funding for nonprofit groups, as chief of Consumer Information Bureau. (3) John Rogovin, partner in O'Melveny & Myers since 1996, was named deputy gen. counsel. (4) William Spencer, ex-Dept. of Justice, as deputy managing dir. (5) Linda Blair, chief of Mass Media Bureau’s Audio Services Div., to assoc. chief of Enforcement Bureau. (6) Lisa Fowlkes, legal adviser to Enforcement Bureau chief, as asst. chief of bureau.

FCC Thurs. revised universal service system that’s used to help nation’s 1,300 rural telcos defray cost of providing service in remote areas. Action at Commission’s agenda meeting came in response to Telecom Act mandate that Commission revise high-cost universal service mechanism to accommodate competition and remove implicit subsidies. Agency’s order increases high-cost fund by cumulative $1.2 billion over 5 years, raising it to $5.6 billion total over period. In first year, $124 million will be added to fund, which currently stands at $840 million annually. Order retains cap on high-cost fund, which rural telcos have fought, but includes mechanism that permits it to grow annually. There’s also some “above-cap” support for carriers that make new investment. New plan will begin July 1.

Subcommittee of House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee stressed at hearing Wed. need for better data on driver distractions such as cellphones, but generally shied away from advocating restrictions on drivers themselves. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Exec. Dir. Robert Shelton told panel that federal legislation implementing requirements such as hands-free devices “would be premature” because of lack of data on impact of such distractions. “At this point we don’t have data that show this would be the answer,” he said.

Comprehensive review of various state telecom taxes is proposed in bill (SB-394) in Cal. Senate Appropriations Committee. Review is necessary to ensure that rationale for levies was valid in light of developments related to Internet and telecom industry’s “competitive structure,” measure said. It would direct Legislative Analyst to evaluate justifications for levies and equitable treatment of taxpayers. Bill would extend until Jan. 2004 current moratorium on taxes on Internet access, use of online computer services, bandwidth tax and any discriminatory tax on online computer service or Internet access. Intent is to offset scheduled sunset of Cal. Internet Freedom Act Jan. 1, 2002. Measure also would extend prohibition on cities’ requiring franchise fees for cable-delivered Internet services if FCC or court of competent jurisdiction ruled cable modem service wasn’t cable service. Meanwhile, cable is fighting for safeguards against “unfair” competition potential of another bill (SB 23X) that would make it easier for cities to enter energy business in wake of problems of investor-owned utilities (IOUs). Cable anticipated that bill, which would allow new municipal utility districts (MUDs) to acquire IOU infrastructure, including utility poles, could result in cities’ jumping into cable business and raising rates for pole attachments. Cable didn’t want fast-track process to allow MUDs to compete with cable and telecom companies in “unfair manner,” Cal. Cable TV Assn. Govt. Affairs Dir. Gilbert Martinez said. Referring to recent amendments to address cable’s concerns, he said one that would bar MUDs from entering retail cable business wouldn’t suffice because city-owned utilities still could form partnerships with overbuilders such as RCN Corp. and lease their fiber on advantageous terms. What’s needed is level playing field provisions, he said. As for proposed freeze on pole attachment rates for 5 years, Martinez said that still left room for increases after 5 years. Cable wanted new formula for pole attachment rates charged by new MUDs, he said.

U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., seemed more concerned Wed. about procedural questions than merits as it heard arguments in Qwest challenge to FCC’s pricing rules for traffic that travels between ILECs and paging companies. Issue, outgrowth of reciprocal compensation regime, arose as result of dispute between Qwest and TSR Wireless, one-way paging company in Ariz. Qwest had billed TRS for dedicated facilities needed to pass paging calls to TSR customers. FCC sided with paging company and said charges weren’t legal.

House Commerce Committee Chmn. Tauzin (R-La.) isn’t going to rely on good-faith efforts of ILECs to comply with Telecom Act and in May 9 markup of broadband deregulatory bill will act on repeated calls to bolster FCC’s enforcement authority, spokesman Ken Johnson said. “Chairman Tauzin supports beefing up enforcement of the Telecom Act and he intends to address the issue at Wednesday’s markup,” he said. “We are going to give the FCC expanded authority to enforce the Act.” Move follows FCC Chmn. Powell’s recent recommendation that Congress raise level of fines imposed on carriers for violating Telecom Act’s local competition requirements.

Qwest is providing in-region interLATA services in violation of Sec. 271 of Telecom Act, AT&T charged in May 1 letter to FCC. AT&T said information was apparent in auditor’s report that Qwest filed under conditions of Qwest-U S West merger: “The auditor’s report finds that in-region private line services for 266 customers were billed and branded as Qwest services” with revenue in excess of $2.2 million for 8 months. AT&T said Qwest’s defense -- that it didn’t transport that traffic itself -- wasn’t sufficient because FCC had held that offering 3rd party long distance service under Bell company brand was considered part of prohibited provision of service. AT&T also complained that report was “incomplete” because certain contracts weren’t made available to auditors, including Qwest’s teaming agreements with other carriers to provide long distance service to federal agencies. Qwest has acknowledged it offers long distance services to federal agencies in conjunction with Touch America, AT&T said. “Although these contracts raise obvious and significant Section 271 concerns, there is no mention of them in the auditor’s report.” FCC should “act promptly to impose appropriate sanctions on Qwest,” AT&T said. Letter went to Dorothy Attwood, chief of Common Carrier Bureau, and David Solomon, chief of Enforcement Bureau.

Nondiscriminatory access to multitenant dwellings by communications service providers was viewed as commonly shared impediment to competition Wed. at Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee hearing. Although witnesses offered divergent perspectives on extent of competition stemming from 1996 Telecom Act, incumbent, competitive and interexchange carriers all chimed in that restrictive landlord policies had stymied their market expansion efforts.

NAB and its Canadian counterpart CAB should be denied intervenor status at upcoming Canadian Copyright Board hearings, Montreal-based Webcaster JumpTV.com and Canadian Cable TV Assn. (CCTA) said in separate briefs to Canadian Copyright Board. NAB had filed brief in April (CD April 3 p3) asking for intervenor status at Copyright Board hearings expected later this year on how Internet retransmission should be dealt with under Canadian copyright laws. Board is expected to rule within next few weeks on broadcasters’ petitions to participate in hearings, sources said.

FCC late last week stood by its earlier decision that Bell companies couldn’t provide interLATA information services without obtaining Sec. 271 authorization. Agency had agreed late last year to reconsider whether Sec. 271 requirements applied to information services (CD Dec 4 p5) after Verizon and Qwest sought court intervention. FCC requested, and was granted, voluntary remand from U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., to reconsider 1996 order because Bells raised arguments that hadn’t been considered originally. Bell companies argued that Telecom Act’s definition of “interLATA services,” which are subject to Sec. 271 requirements, included only telecom, not information, services. FCC in order released April 27 (CC Doc. 96-149), said it still believed “interLATA services” as used in Sec. 271 “encompasses interLATA information services as well as interLATA telecommunications services.” Agency reiterated its view that interLATA information services couldn’t be provided without interLATA transmission component and thus fall within definition of prohibited services. Although Bells had argued that agency’s 1998 universal service report to Congress conflicted with that conclusion, FCC said it didn’t agree. Bells had contended that report defined telecom and information services as exclusive categories, with provider of information services “using” rather than “providing” telecom services. Agency concluded: “Although the Act is not a model of clarity in many respects, our examination of the statutory terms, structure, history and purposes all lead to the conclusion that a BOC’s bundling of interLATA transmission with an information service offering constitutes the provision of an ‘interLATA service’ in the context of Sec. 271.” Bells say they want to offer Internet access and other information services in more competitive way. Because of Sec. 271 restrictions, they or their customers have to contract with long distance companies to act as middlemen carrying portion of transmission that goes to Internet backbone node from Bell company’s server.