House Commerce Committee Chmn. Barton (R-Tex.) suggested that federal preemption of states and localities is needed when Congress looks to rewrite telecom law this session. But separately Wed., Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) said local govts. should stay involved at least in consumer protection and service quality.

In a potentially troubling development for wireless carriers, the FCC Fri. asked for formal comment on a petition for declaratory ruling asking the Commission to further streamline its rules on tower siting, in this case for towers that have already received wetlands clearance from the Army Corps of Engineers.

Cities are bracing for a fresh push by telephone and cable companies for state legislation to keep them out of the broadband business, even as they prepare to deal with the regulatory implications of Bell efforts to enter video markets. Bills restricting or placing conditions on municipal entry have cropped up in Ind., Ore., Neb. and Ohio, said Desmarie Mosco, an American Public Power Assn. (APPA) lobbyist. Similar legislation is expected in Fla. and Ia., she said. Interestingly, the Bells and cable haven’t always seen eye to eye on legislation to limit cities’ ability to provide broadband services, but lawyers for cities said it was too early to say whether that results from Bells’ video plans.

Cities are bracing for a fresh push by telephone and cable companies for state legislation to keep them out of the broadband business, even as they prepare to deal with the regulatory implications of Bell efforts to enter video markets. Bills restricting or placing conditions on municipal entry have cropped up in Ind., Ore., Neb. and Ohio, said Desmarie Mosco, an American Public Power Assn. (APPA) lobbyist. Similar legislation is expected in Fla. and Ia., she said. Interestingly, the Bells and cable haven’t always seen eye to eye on legislation to limit cities’ ability to provide broadband services, but lawyers for cities said it was too early to say whether that results from Bells’ video plans.

T-Mobile urged the FCC to act at its Feb. meeting on a petition it and 2 other independent carriers filed 2-1/2 years ago challenging certain “unlawful” LEC state tariffs. “The Commission’s failure to act on this petition has harmed consumers and impeded wireless carriers’ ability to serve rural markets,” T-Mobile CEO Robert Dotson said in an ex parte filing with the FCC Wed.: “Prompt resolution of this longstanding petition is a matter that is of the highest priority for T-Mobile and its customers.”

The NAB joined big media companies in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the 3rd U.S. Appeals Court, Philadelphia, ruling that blocks media companies from buying more local TV stations and newspapers. The NAB said the case raises “critically important questions” about the FCC’s disregard of congressional decisions in the Communications Act regarding radio and TV station ownership. The local radio market redefinition upheld by the appeals court also violates the Act and violates Congress’s intent to deregulate the industry, the NAB said. The Newspaper Assn. of America (NAA) also petitioned the Supreme Court to review the lower court’s decision to remand the FCC’s new cross-media ownership rules. The FCC rule changes on newspaper-broadcast cross- ownership were based on “solid evidence” that repealing the old rules would serve the public interest, said NAA Pres. John Sturm.

SBC’s merger with AT&T undoubtedly will require some divestitures, analysts and others predicted Mon. as the companies announced the $16 billion transaction. SBC Chmn. Edward Whitacre told the news media he didn’t expect regulators to order spinoffs but others say such action may be inevitable, with reviews expected by state regulators, the FCC, the Dept. of Justice and possibly international regulatory bodies. The merger will eventually gain antitrust and regulatory clearance “but could be subject to significant divestitures, particularly in SBC’s region,” Legg Mason predicted in a report Mon. Regulatory attorney Andrew Lipman said there’s a “high probability” of regulators requiring “spinoffs and surgery.”

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a proposed rule in order to review and reconsider its 2003 hours-of-service (HOS) final rule concerning drivers and operators of property-carrying commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). This final rule, issued in April 2003 and amended in September 2003, was vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (Court of Appeals) in July 2004.

House Commerce Committee Vice-Chmn. Pickering (R- Miss.) speculated Wed. that the House could be done with comprehensive telecom legislation by the end of the year but that action on a Senate counterpart would take longer. Before it tackles telecom reform, Pickering said, the House Commerce Committee would try to move leftover bills that weren’t enacted last year, including those on broadcast decency, junk faxes and spyware.

House Commerce Committee Vice-Chmn. Pickering (R-Miss.) speculated Wed. that the House could be done with comprehensive telecom legislation by the end of the year but that action on a Senate counterpart would take longer. Before it tackles telecom reform, Pickering said, the House Commerce Committee would try to move leftover bills that weren’t enacted last year, including those on broadcast decency, junk faxes and spyware.