Vonage, SmartEdgeNet, WilTel, IntelePeer and Millicorp are the interconnected VoIP providers that will participate in a six-month trial giving them direct access to numbers, the FCC Wireline Bureau said (http://bit.ly/11o8HWR). The commission will use the information gleaned to inform its broader rulemaking on direct access to numbering by entities that have not been classified as telecom carriers, it said. During the trial, the commission will examine issues of number exhaust, number porting, VoIP interconnection and intercarrier compensation, to see how to best address those issues, it said. The bureau declined to accept a proposal by Fractel to participate in the trial, as the commission decided only to accept proposals from companies with pending petitions for direct number access on file, it said.

The FCC has the power to address intrastate inmate calling service (ICS) rates in its ongoing rulemaking, docket 12-275, said attorney Lee Petro of Drinker Biddle on behalf of Martha Wright, who filed the original petition seeking FCC help in lowering ICS rates. “There should be no reasonable question” on this, said Petro (http://bit.ly/11oa9IL). “The FCC directly called for comment on its ability to encourage states to change their intrastate ICS policies, and asked for comment on the sources of FCC authority to address ICS rates.” The adoption of a benchmark ICS intrastate rate “fits squarely within the well-established ‘logical outgrowth’ test in accordance with FCC precedent,” said Petro.

The FCC is processing Broadcast Co. of the Americas’ renewal request for permission to deliver programming to Mexican AM station XEKTT Tijuana, and objections are due in 30 days, said a public notice Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1atWUJU).

The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council said the FCC should drop its 700 MHz narrowbanding mandate, which is set to kick in Dec. 31, 2016. The requirement, adopted in 2002, will do little good, NPSTC said in response to an NPRM. The deadline was timed to occur 10 years after the initial proposed date for the DTV transition. Under the requirement, systems would have to use 6.25 kHz channels for their communications, rather than the 12.5 kHz channels that had been the norm. “NPSTC believes that public safety licensees and the regional planning bodies are in the best position to judge whether the higher level of 6.25 kHz or equivalent efficiency is required for a particular jurisdiction and/or region, respectively,” NPSTC said (http://bit.ly/1bWLQTm). “Agencies in the congested metropolitan areas may very well need to implement the higher level of efficiency while states, cities and counties with lower population densities may be able to meet their needs more economically with the current 12.5 kHz efficiency.” If the FCC doesn’t drop the narrowbanding mandate, it should at least extend the deadline until Dec. 31, 2024, NPSTC said.

Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., urged FCC acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn to move an NPRM on the sports blackout rule, in a letter sent Wednesday (http://1.usa.gov/19iUL25). The letter said it has been “over a year” since the commission initiated a notice of inquiry on the issue and the record contains “thousands” of comments. “With so much detailed information on the record from such a wide range of stakeholders, it is time for the commission to take the next logical step and move to a NPRM,” the letter said. The FCC has “ample authority” to amend the sports blackout rule sua sponte, without any action from Congress, the senators said. “In light of this, we not only urge you to move this proceeding to the NPRM phase but request that such NPRM seek comment on what would serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity,” the letter said.

AT&T representatives took staff from the FCC Wireless Bureau on a tour of a distributed antenna system in an AT&T building, AT&T said in an ex parte filing. “We advised Bureau staff of industry efforts to develop a clear, concise, and flexible definition of small cells that would accommodate the evolution of technologies and different types of deployments, while simultaneously minimizing any impact on the environment or historic properties,” AT&T said (http://bit.ly/19iWzbm). “AT&T advocated that the minimal impact of DAS and small cells warrants minimal regulatory treatment.”

The broadband network of Connect Anoka County is complete, said Zayo Group Tuesday (http://bit.ly/11OrQxD). The network offers high speed to areas in Anoka County, Minn., funded with $13.4 million from the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. “The network enables access to Ethernet service, Direct Internet Access, Private Line, Wavelengths and Dark Fiber for 145 local public facilities, and other local broadband users,” said Zayo President of Ethernet Chris Morley in a statement. Anoka County is the fourth most populous county of Minnesota, with a population of roughly 333,000.

Six consumer, veterans and rural interest groups said Wednesday they want the FCC to grant TracFone’s petition to amend the rules for the Lifeline wireless phone subsidy program to bar same-day distribution of phones, arguing that would prevent potential abuse of the system. TracFone’s petition asks the FCC to require eligible carriers to ship handsets via U.S. mail or an approved delivery service after the carrier verifies an applicant’s eligibility. Five groups -- Community Action Partnership, Consumer Action, Maryland Creating Assets, Savings and Hope Campaign, the National Association of American Veterans and the National Consumers League -- said in a letter that TracFone’s recommendations “would both prevent and detect abuses while ensuring that wireless Lifeline-supported service remains available for those who qualify” (http://bit.ly/19iMc7w). National Grange said in a separate letter that it supports TracFone’s petition, which is in keeping with the FCC’s “focus on common sense and already effective reforms, while preserving the benefits of the program and fulfilling the mandate of affordable telecommunications access for all Americans” (http://bit.ly/19iRKPi).

Viacom and Twitter will partner to deliver social video advertising campaigns around “the most popular shows and biggest events” in Viacom’s portfolio, Viacom said in a Wednesday release (http://prn.to/10xyP33). The company is the latest to join Twitter’s Amplify program, and the partnership will launch at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 25, it said.

Time Warner Cable will partner with Common Sense Media to help parents teach their children to safely use the Internet and other technologies, it said in a Wednesday release (http://bit.ly/10xvhxG). As part of the campaign, TWC committed $1 million of in-kind donations to promote the campaign through public service announcements. It will also make available Passport mobile app and other materials that help parents address safety, cyberbullying, privacy and responsible cellphone use, it said. Common Sense Media will make the app available for free through Aug. 31, it said.