Rural broadband deployment has “stalled” over the past two years due to “persistent regulatory uncertainty,” NTCA told FCC acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn and her staff Thursday, an ex parte filing said (http://bit.ly/13YyXqB). Surveys of NTCA’s members have shown that nearly 70 percent of them had either cancelled or postponed broadband network construction projects because of uncertainty about ongoing reform efforts (CD March 9/12 p3). Even those telcos not affected today by the quantile regression analysis high-cost support caps face a “threat” of being “potentially capped in the future,” NTCA said. The association urged the commission to update and correct study area boundaries, develop a more “robust and predictable” cost model and revamp the waiver process. If anything, quantile regression caps “should be utilized as a trigger for more thorough review of carrier operations, rather than employing them to disallow support as a mechanical matter,” NTCA said.

The FCC granted several Time Warner Cable petitions last week to exempt it from municipal rate-setting for basic-video and some other prices in several communities in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee, said Media Bureau orders. Time Warner Cable’s petitions cited video competition from DirecTV and Dish Network. The deregulation affects just over 93,000 households in Kentucky, including Calloway County, Graves County, Somerset and South Fulton. The deregulation affects around 8,900 households in Claiborne County in Tennessee and around 25,000 in Ohio, including Ironton, Hanging Rock and Perry Township.

The California Telehealth Network selected Arkadin and Vidyo to equip it with Web videoconferencing abilities, said a Friday press release from Arkadin (http://yhoo.it/1c4YkIS). “The service is called CTN Connect powered by Arkadin/Vidyo and will enable healthcare providers to virtually connect with other healthcare providers or patients using a standard wired or wireless Internet connection,” the company said. The project has a focus on rural and medically underserved individuals, it said.

Public interest groups continued to urge the FCC to make changes to its draft order collecting broadband deployment data, or pull the item from circulation before the vote scheduled for Thursday’s FCC meeting. This echoes comments Free Press has made to commission staff, although FCC officials have told us pulling the item is “unlikely” (CD June 17 p10). Improving the granularity of the commission’s data was a key recommendation of the National Broadband Plan, said the National Hispanic Media Coalition, Center for Media Justice and New America Foundation in a joint letter (http://bit.ly/107NYWe). NTIA collected block-level information, which shows the approach is feasible, the public interest groups said. The groups also pushed for the collection of pricing information to “facilitate meaningful analysis of marketplace competition.” Researchers should have access to the data in a “searchable and user-friendly database,” and ISPs should report whether service in a Census block is available to every residence in that block, they said. “The measures in this letter will empower researchers, local governments and members of local communities across the nation to understand what is happening in their communities, compare that to what is happening elsewhere, and press their local internet service providers to provide affordable access for everyone.” If the commission can’t implement the recommendations before the Thursday’s FCC meeting, it should “pull the item from the agenda,” the groups said. NAF separately wrote the agency to say it’s concerned that broadband deployment data collected at a “relatively large census tract level” won’t be fully sufficient for “reliable analysis” (http://bit.ly/107MATz). “The most effective digital literacy and broadband interventions take place at the neighborhood level,” said NAF’s Open Technology Institute. “With data only at the tract level, it is difficult to locate trainings and resources in very densely populated urban areas, where there may be a need for multiple points of service within a tract.” Low population density in rural areas can “skew” an analysis, with a large tract showing as “served” even if only one person in that tract has service, OTI said. It called for collection of data at the block level to help urban and rural areas use scarce resources more effectively. The FCC is preparing to collect broadband deployment data on its Form 477, in order to take over National Broadband Map duties from NTIA (CD June 7 p16). NAF said it uses the data frequently to identify geographic areas for outreach efforts, and to understand the reasons for low broadband adoption.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau settled investigations against Airadigm Communications and TeleGuam Holdings, for violation of the commission’s hearing aid compatibility rules. Airadigm agreed to pay $260,000 and TeleGuam $280,000 in consent decrees and both also agreed to put in place robust compliance plans (http://fcc.us/126mi4V). “Wireless technology is transforming the very fabric of our lives,” said acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn. “We must continue to ensure that all Americans -- regardless of their hearing disability or where they live -- can enjoy the benefits these technologies have to offer."

The Federal Aviation Administration extended the deadline for an aviation rulemaking committee looking at the use of electronic devices in flight to complete its work. The 28-member group is now slated to wrap up its work in September. It had planned to finish July 31, an FAA spokesman said. The committee is looking at personal electronic devices like tablets and e-readers, but not cellphones, which are the purview of the FCC, according to a fact sheet released by the aviation agency Friday (http://1.usa.gov/130flW7). Under current FAA rules, the devices must be turned off during takeoff and landing and when aircraft are below 10,000 feet to protect key aviation systems from interference. “The FAA recognizes consumers are intensely interested in the use of personal electronics aboard aircraft,” the agency said in a statement Friday. “That is why we tasked a government-industry group to examine the safety issues and the feasibility of changing the current restrictions. At the group’s request, the FAA has granted a two-month extension to complete the additional work necessary for the safety assessment. We will wait for the group to finish its work before we determine next steps.” The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that a draft of the report indicates consensus that the restrictions should be relaxed.

The FCC Media Bureau is seeking comment on Samsung’s request for a waiver of the commission’s “cable ready” analog tuner requirements for its Smart Media Player, said a public notice released Friday (http://bit.ly/183VXbZ). Samsung has said the device, “a cable-compatible and Internet-enabled set-top box,” is intended to be used only with digital cable, and so doesn’t need an analog cable tuner. The commission’s rules require that “cable-ready” devices “be capable of receiving analog NTSC transmission of cable channels 1 through 125.” Samsung argued that “requiring the Smart Media Player to include an analog tuner would only serve to hinder competition and innovation, increase costs to customers and undercut energy conservation efforts,” said the PN. If granted the waiver, Samsung has committed to educate consumers to prevent confusion about the Smart Media Player’s capabilities, the PN said. Samsung had asked the Media Bureau in a May filing to expedite the waiver process (CD May 23 p16)), arguing that a delay in getting the waiver would prevent the Smart Media Player from hitting store shelves in time for the 2013 holiday season. Comments on the PN are due July 11, reply comments are due July 22.

The House Communications Subcommittee plans a hearing on “Equipping Carriers and Agencies in the Wireless Era” at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in 2322 Rayburn. Witnesses haven’t been announced.

President Barack Obama said he will nominate Terrell McSweeny to the FTC. Currently, McSweeny is senior counsel-competition policy at the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. Until 2012, McSweeny was the deputy assistant to the president and domestic policy adviser to the vice president.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee plans a Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) oversight hearing at 10 a.m. Wednesday in 2172 Rayburn. Witnesses scheduled to testify are: James Glassman, a former BBG chairman and founding executive director of the George W. Bush Institute; Enders Wimbush, a former governor of the BBG and current executive director for strategy and development at the National Bureau of Asian Research; and Jeff Hirschberg, a former BBG governor and current chairman of high-speed train manufacturer Northeast Maglev.