The Rural Cellular Association said it’s “difficult to overstate” the importance of a 700 MHz interoperability mandate to “the future health of the wireless industry,” in comments to the FCC. RCA has made an interoperability requirement one of its top priorities. The main resistance has come from Verizon Wireless and AT&T. But CEA and TIA weighed in against a mandate, giving the two major carriers critical support. Where the newly reconstituted FCC will come down remains to be seen, agency and industry officials agreed Monday.

The FCC gave itself another 90 days to act on NCTA’s petition, to forbear from barring combinations of cable systems and CLECs in the same area, before the request is deemed automatically granted. The June 21, 2011, petition to not apply Section 652(b) of the Telecom Act would have been OK'd by default a year later, a Wireline Bureau order said Thursday (http://xrl.us/bm9xv9). The bureau took the option to extend the period three months because the petition “raises significant questions regarding whether forbearance from the application of section 652(b) or 652(d)(6)(B) meets the statutory requirements set forth in section 10(a),” said the order signed by Chief Sharon Gillett. NATOA and NASUCA had opposed the petition, which as an alternative sought forbearance from Section 652(d)(6)(B) that local franchising authorities must approve a merging cable system/CLEC’s request for FCC waiver from the cross-ownership ban (CD Sept 22 p17). Deals involving Comcast and Time Warner Cable have gotten FCC waivers.

Facebook competing with Comcast? The FTC foresees such a scenario, and is taking a closer look at the competition and privacy issues that may arise as disparate platform providers increasingly enter each other’s businesses, commissioners Maureen Ohlhausen and Julie Brill said in a pretaped interview on The Communicators set to be shown this weekend on C-SPAN. They were attending last week’s Cable Show in Boston, and raised the possible inquiries into convergence independently of each other in separate interviews. Ohlhausen conceded she hasn’t personally read privacy policies and disclosures from at least one major Internet company, while Brill hinted the FTC may take interest in the spectrum deal between Verizon Wireless and four cable companies.

Facebook competing with Comcast? The FTC foresees such a scenario, and is taking a closer look at the competition and privacy issues that may arise as disparate platform providers increasingly enter each other’s businesses, commissioners Maureen Ohlhausen and Julie Brill said in a taped interview on The Communicators set to be shown this weekend on C-SPAN. They were attending last week’s Cable Show in Boston, and raised the possible inquiries into convergence independently of each other in separate interviews. Ohlhausen conceded she hasn’t personally read privacy policies and disclosures from at least one major Internet company, while Brill hinted the FTC may take interest in the spectrum deal between Verizon Wireless and four cable companies.

Public Knowledge and the California Public Utilities Commission squared off in reply comments to a March 1 FCC public notice on intentional interruptions of wireless service by government agencies seeking to protect public safety, disagreeing sharply on whether the FCC has authority to impose national rules. The FCC issued the notice after the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) shut down wireless service at one of its stations for three hours last August to prevent a possible protest (WID May 2 p2).

Public Knowledge and the California Public Utilities Commission squared off in reply comments to a March 1 FCC public notice on intentional interruptions of wireless service by government agencies seeking to protect public safety, disagreeing sharply on whether the FCC has authority to impose national rules. The FCC issued the notice after the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) shut down wireless service at one of its stations for three hours last August to prevent a possible protest (CD May 2 p8).

The European Commission Monday will propose measures to boost online trust and convenience by making electronic identification (eID) and e-signature rules more uniform across Europe, EC sources said Wednesday. The two-part plan would extend existing national eID systems for public services that require formal electronic identification across Europe, and will standardize e-signature and e-authentication rules, they told reporters at a briefing where they spoke on the condition they not be named. Competitiveness ministers Wednesday urged the EC to submit the proposal by June. Despite that, the sources said, they expect some concerns from governments worried about the potential burden of accepting eID services from other countries, and from some EU lawmakers who might be troubled by perceived privacy issues.

The European Commission Monday will propose measures to boost online trust and convenience by making electronic identification (eID) and e-signature rules more uniform across Europe, EC sources said Wednesday. The two-part plan would extend existing national eID systems for public services that require formal electronic identification across Europe, and will standardize e-signature and e-authentication rules, they told reporters at a briefing where they spoke on the condition they not be named. Competitiveness ministers Wednesday urged the EC to submit the proposal by June. Despite that, the sources said, they expect some concerns from governments worried about the potential burden of accepting eID services from other countries, and from some EU lawmakers who might be troubled by perceived privacy issues.

There are enough problems with consumers gaining full Internet access “to warrant strong and targeted action” to safeguard users, although not necessarily more regulation, EU Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said Tuesday. She responded to a European Commission-ordered report by the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) into potential net neutrality problems. Internet access works well most of the time for Europeans, but survey findings showed a need for more regulatory certainty and better consumer choice, she said. In addition to its report on traffic management practices, BEREC launched consultations on several issues in the context of net neutrality: Quality of service guidelines (http://xrl.us/bm9pti); differentiation practices and related competition issues (http://xrl.us/bm9ptk); and Internet Protocol interconnection (http://xrl.us/bm9ptp).

There are enough problems with consumers gaining full Internet access “to warrant strong and targeted action” to safeguard users, although not necessarily more regulation, EU Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said Tuesday. She responded to a European Commission-ordered report by the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) into potential net neutrality problems. Internet access works well most of the time for Europeans, but survey findings showed a need for more regulatory certainty and better consumer choice, she said. In addition to its report on traffic management practices, BEREC launched consultations on several issues in the context of net neutrality: Quality of service guidelines (http://xrl.us/bm9pti); differentiation practices and related competition issues (http://xrl.us/bm9ptk); and Internet Protocol interconnection (http://xrl.us/bm9ptp).