Public safety groups weighed in Mon. strongly supporting Nextel arguments that it should get spectrum at 1.9 GHz as embraced by the “consensus” plan, and not at 2.1 GHz proposed by CTIA and other wireless carriers. The groups said they have grown “frustrated” with delays tied to the latest rebanding debate and hope for a quick decision.

The proposed Cingular-AT&T Wireless merger faces no meaningful objections and should face no hurdles at the FCC, the firms told the Commission in reply comments in the merger docket. “This merger has met with very little opposition. Indeed, no wireless carrier -- [and] for that matter, no telecommunications company of any type -- has opposed the merger. The only telecommunications company that made a filing, United States Cellular Corp., stated that the merger is in the public interest.” The companies said no filers against the merger had standing to challenge the deal under the Communications Act: “The eight oppositions that were filed came from: A shell corporation that, years ago, was a wireline [competitive local exchange carrier]; 2 consumer organizations; parties with unrelated private disputes with one or the other of the applicants; and a few individuals.” Cingular and AT&T also answered criticisms by the Consumers Federation of America and Consumers Union that the merger would raised concern because Cingular is jointly owned by BellSouth and SBC: “Nothing about the merger will change the nature or extent of the current relationship between Cingular and its parents. Nor is there any basis to question the continuing ability of market forces and regulatory oversight to preclude the imagined misconduct with respect to the special access market.”

AT&T called on the Bell companies to enter binding arbitration to reach long term commercial agreements that would “preserve local telephone competition and allow for a smooth transition to its own facilities.” With the June 16 effective date approaching for the D.C. Appeals Court order eliminating the FCC’s UNE-P rules, the company said it was “frustrated by the lack of progress in reaching commercial agreements” with the Bells. It also said it expected an independent arbiter to report to federal regulators and govt. officials on the status of the talks.

The House Commerce Committee postponed markup of the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act (SHVIA) Thurs. A House source said the Judiciary Committee, working on a version of the legislation that focuses on copyright, asked the Commerce Committee to hold off on its markup so the 2 committees could continue to harmonize the bills. Additionally, the Senate Judiciary Committee didn’t address the SHVIA bill it had on its calendar for Thurs. business meeting. At a hearing Wed. (CD May 13 p4), Senate Judiciary ranking Democrat Leahy (Vt.) said the Committee needed time to make adjustments to the bill. The bill introduced by Senate Judiciary Committee Chmn. Hatch (R-Utah) simply extends the current SHVIA provision for 5 more years, but Hatch indicated he thought royalty fees should be raised for DBS providers.

With commissioners noting the complexity of the issue, the FCC at its agenda meeting Thurs. clarified some of its rules for CLEC access charges, but generally affirmed a 3- year-old order limiting how much CLECs can charge. FCC Wireline Bureau Chief William Maher said the agency opted to deny petitions for reconsideration that it thought would have resulted in higher access rates.

At the heart of the debate on Capitol Hill on the balance between fair use and copyright law is whether Congress should regulate technology or behavior. Whenever technology causes legal problems, this debate surfaces. It’s central to the current debate over spyware legislation, and it was part of the debate during the 1998 passage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). That debate continued Wed., as the House Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection considered legislation that would rewrite DMCA to permit circumvention of copy- protection technology to engage in fair use of protected content (see separate story, this issue).

At the heart of the debate on Capitol Hill on the balance between fair use and copyright law is whether Congress should regulate technology or behavior.

Advanced telecom capabilities such as broadband are being deployed to all Americans in “a reasonable and timely fashion,” telecom and cable operators said in comments to the FCC Mon. The comments were filed in response to the 4th inquiry launched by the Commission under Sec. 706 of the Telecom Act earlier this year (CD March 12 p6). The Act requires that the Commission conclude the inquiry and report to Congress within 180 days.

A group of CLECs revealed an intercarrier compensation plan Tues. different from the bill-&-keep (B&K) proposal being developed by the Intercarrier Compensation Forum (ICF), made up of carriers including the Bells and AT&T. B&K basically would eliminate payments such as access charges and reciprocal compensation and make up any shortfalls through other means such as the subscriber line charge (SLC). The plan presented at the ALTS conference Tues. by the Cost-Based Intercarrier Compensation Coalition (CBICC) calls for retaining a “unified cost-based” payment for circuit-switched traffic with a “minimal increase” in the SLC.

House members expressed concern over the Nextel Consensus Plan in a letter to FCC Chmn. Powell. Led by Rep. Wynn (D-Md.), a bi-partisan group of members said they worried there wouldn’t be enough money to adequately pay for public safety groups to relocate. The May 5 letter listed 4 concerns: (1) No guaranteed funding for public safety groups. (2) The plan caps relocation funding at $700 million for public safety agencies. (3) The plan will be tied up in litigation for years. (4) Several public safety organizations have expressed similar concerns. The letter raises the concern that public safety groups wouldn’t be able to afford the up-front costs. “This scheme is irresponsible because in order to front the costs, these agencies would initially be required to obtain appropriations from their local government,” the letter said, adding that public safety agencies would then apply for reimbursement from private entities such as a “fund administrator” and a “relocation coordination committee.” “Since neither of these private entities is associated with the United States government, they would not be held accountable for paying the reimbursements.” The letter also said Motorola estimates that Nextel’s projection of $850 million for handset replacement is low. Motorola has estimated that handset replacement could be as high as $2 billion. “If the FCC allows a cap on the already undependable funds for relocation costs, then the public safety agencies would risk imposing significant costs on local governments that could otherwise be avoided by dedicating spectrum auction funds,” the letter said. The members also questioned if the plan would hold muster in court. Noting that several wireless companies have already promised to sue, the members said the plan’s “centerpiece is a transfer of spectrum without the auction required by section 309(j)” of the Telecom Act. Members also doubted Nextel’s claim that the public safety community was behind the plan. The letter noted that the Fraternal Order of Police, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Assn. and the National Volunteer Fire Council have raised concerns about the plan. Reps. Shimkus (R-Ill.), Strickland (D-O.), English (R-Pa.), Wexler (D-Fla.), Bachus (R-Ala.), Engel (D-N.Y.), Brady (R-Tex.), Green (D-Tex.), Forbes (R-Va.) and Barrett (R-S.C.) also signed the letter.