The Public Utility Commission of Texas will research the development of a “reservation system” for Lifeline eligibility database inquiries made by prepaid companies, it told FCC officials last week, an ex parte filing said (http://bit.ly/15UpN0C). The PUC explained to the commission how the Texas eligibility portal works: If, in the first month of a Lifeline recipient’s eligibility, multiple prepaid companies submit for the same participants, the Texas system selects one of the companies to receive the participant. “We agreed to review the Texas process to determine what would be required to move to a randomization method,” the PUC said.

The FCC should clarify that Section 251 interconnection requirements in the Telecom Act apply to VoIP interconnection, Cbeyond, tw telecom, Integra Telecom and EarthLink told the commission in a letter Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1fnBSl8). Only by so doing, and applying “established principles of economic theory,” can the FCC ensure a “timely and efficient transition” from TDM to IP-based interconnection for voice services, the telcos said. The commission has long relied on economic theory in passing its rules, and such theory guides here, the groups said: ILECs have “no economic incentive” to provide competitors with opportunities to interconnect, and “strong incentives” to resist interconnection. “These incentives clearly do not depend on the transmission protocol of the traffic exchanged,” the companies said. They encouraged the commission to reject Verizon’s attempt to “manufacture a factual basis for ignoring economic theory” in claiming that it “has business incentives to pursue IP interconnection for VoIP traffic, and it will voluntarily negotiate commercial agreements” in good faith. “This is nonsense,” the companies said.

Controversy in the Capitol continued Wednesday about whether both chambers will pass a continuing resolution for the budget. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, continued an hours-long speech on the Senate floor in support of a House-passed CR that would strip the Affordable Care Act of funding, while leading Senate Democrats said that would fuel economic peril. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., encouraged Congress to pass a CR that retains healthcare appropriations before FY 2014 begins next Tuesday, saying in a Tuesday news release a government shutdown would cost the economy $30 billion a week (http://1.usa.gov/19zYM1b). The Senate may vote on a CR in the coming days that must be sent back to the House for passage before Tuesday to avoid government shutdown.

The Department of Homeland Security recently gave employees guidance about the possibility of a government shutdown, should a continuing budget resolution not pass by Monday. (See separate report in this issue.) “Prudent management requires that we be prepared for all contingencies, including the possibility of a government hiatus,” said DHS Undersecretary for Management Rafael Borras in a letter to DHS employees Monday. “If funding lapses on October 1, many government activities will cease because they no longer have the authority to incur further financial obligations, except those necessary to suspend operations. Employees who are associated with those activities would be temporarily furloughed."

Dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) in the 5.9 GHz band is “essential” to curbing vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) collisions and the spectrum must be protected from interference by unlicensed devices, said representatives of automakers and their trade associations in meetings this week with aides to acting FCC Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn and Commissioner Ajit Pai (http://bit.ly/16rcyao). “V2V safety has stringent communications requirements, but future pre-crash and automation requirements may be even more stringent,” the industry representatives said, according to the presentation. “All current DSRC channels are needed for future applications and re-channelization and channel use rule changes are not feasible.” A federal study estimates the technology could “address” more than 80 percent of crashes involving unimpaired drivers, the filing said. In January, former FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski floated a proposal to use 5 GHz spectrum, including the 5850-5925 MHz band already dedicated to DSRC, to help alleviate Wi-Fi congestion and improve data speeds.

The E-rate program “simply needs more money,” said Jon Bernstein, president of the Jon Bernstein Strategy Group and co-chair of the Education and Library Networks Coalition. The current demand of more than $5 billion is actually “tamped down demand” because a lot of schools don’t even apply for Priority 2 funding for internal connections, as they know they won’t get it, Bernstein said at the Comptel Plus conference Wednesday. The likely demand is probably closer to $8 billion, he said. Asking for the true demand would be a nonstarter, he said, so his coalition is pushing hard for an initial increase in the E-rate cap to $5 billion. He conceded “we don’t talk about the mechanics” of how that will happen. “We are not telling them how to get there,” he said of the FCC, but when the agency wants to raise money for other USF programs, “they do what they need to do on people’s phone bills.” Bernstein estimated that adding 40-50 cents a month to telephone consumers’ bills would raise enough money to double the cap. FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel told us last week that raising the cap “certainly merits a discussion” (CD Sept 23 p3).

The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials urged the FCC to act to improve location accuracy for wireless calls to 911, in response to Sept. 9 FCC public notice. The issue is the topic of an Oct. 2 workshop at the commission. “APCO has frequently urged the Commission, wireless carriers, and location technology providers that improvements must be made in location accuracy for 9-1-1 calls made from indoor locations,” the group said, saying it plans to take part in the Oct. 2 workshop. “More and more American homes are ‘cutting the cord’ and relying exclusively on wireless devices for all of their voice communications. Recent data suggests that nearly a third of U.S. households may no longer have wireline service.” The “predominant” technology for most of the calls is Assisted GPS (A-GPS) APCO said (http://bit.ly/18q16aO). “However, as the technology implies, A-GPS relies in large part on having direct line-of-sight for GPS signals, which do not penetrate buildings well in most cases,” the group said. “Thus, it is indisputable that a wireless 9-1-1 call from an indoor location will generally provide significantly less accurate location information than a call from an outdoor location.” The International Association of Chiefs of Police (http://bit.ly/1bGg95g) said the commission’s Communication Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council has looked at “evolving indoor location accuracy technologies,” which “represent a significant advancement and offers consumers and first responders a valuable tool to improve the capabilities of our nation’s public safety system.” The International Association of Fire Chiefs said it’s time for the FCC to update its wireless location accuracy rules. “Currently, the FCC’s rules establish an automated location information and accuracy standard for PSAP calls and contacts, including those initiated using wireless handsets outdoors, but not for wireless calls initiated indoors,” the group said (http://bit.ly/17139nd). “The majority of emergency calls placed to Emergency 911 are made from indoors and large and growing shares of emergency calls are made from wireless communication devices."

The FCC Media Bureau said Gallup Public Radio in New Mexico is apparently liable for a $12,000 fine for failing to retain all required documentation in the public inspection file for its station KGLP(FM), Gallup, N.M. The commission established a base forfeiture amount of $10,000 and the bureau adjusted it upward to $12,000, the bureau said in a notice of apparent liability and memorandum opinion and order (http://bit.ly/171c7AR). Although the licensee admitted to violating the rule, “it did so only in the context of the question contained in its license renewal application that compelled such disclosure,” it said. The violations occurred for nearly six years of the eight-year license period and involved 21 issues/programs lists, the bureau said.

Discovery Communications’ investment in the 3D-based 3net is “cash-flow neutral” to Discovery, but the channel’s annual programming has been trimmed to 30-40 hours, about half the original plan, Discovery Chief Financial Officer Andy Warren told us. Verizon’s FiOS has provided the primary distribution for 3net with access to 2 million subscribers, while DirecTV has kept it on a lower programming tier, Warren said. The channel’s future may hinge on the availability of glasses-free 3D, Warren said. “If it’s cash-flow neutral to us, we are happy to wait and see,” Warren said. “We don’t put a lot of money behind it because we are not so sure of the progress in glasses-free that we're going to lose money on it,” he said. “My imperative was cash-flow neutrality, so we decided to manage” 3net with less programming hours. The channel began in 2011 as a partnership involving Discovery, Imax and Sony. Meanwhile, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), which Discovery operates in a venture with Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions, has turned cash-flow positive with more than $100 million in annual subscription fees and $200 million in total sales, Warren said. OWN is available to 70 million cable and satellite subscribers, with an option to go above 80 million, Warren said. OWN launched in January 2011, but by May 2012 had lost $330 million, industry officials have said. The channel responded by increasing its carriage fee -- it had been free for the first two years -- to be more in line with basic cable.

Inmarsat signed a contract with Telecom, a New Zealand telecom and information technology services provider, to establish and manage a Pacific Ocean Region (POR) satellite access station (SAS) for Inmarsat’s Global Xpress Ka-band network. Telecom will develop its Warkworth Satellite Earth Station “to host Inmarsat and its Global Xpress satellite antenna,” Inmarsat said in a press release (http://bit.ly/18WKFqK). Warkworth will act alongside Inmarsat’s Auckland-based land earth station and teleport as a co-primary SAS for the Pacific Ocean Region, it said. “Both will act as gateways between the broadband traffic routed via the POR satellite and terrestrial fixed networks."