With Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.) poised to take reins of Senate Commerce Committee, industry observers are expecting deregulatory agenda. Leadership change also appears to give FCC Chmn. Powell powerful ally on Capitol Hill. Broadcasters may have biggest interest in McCain’s agenda, especially as some observers believe he will use position to push for free air time for political candidates, 2nd phase of his campaign finance reform agenda. Media ownership also will be prominent and digital TV issues probably will receive more attention, we're told.

One of most “obvious” gaps in FCC’s current approach to wireless interference is lack of receiver standards, Chmn. Powell told U. of Colo. at Boulder conference Wed. Rather than simply outlining need for more spectrum for both licensed and unlicensed technology, Powell emphasized need for receiver standards, importance of underutilized or “white space” spectrum and focus on clear measures of what constituted acceptable interference.

NTCA released survey results Thurs. that it said underscored increasing challenges rural wireless carriers faced in vying with large nationwide operators. NTCA cited factors such as dwindling access to capital of some operators in current economic downturn and difficulty they faced in competing with large rivals in current FCC auction system. Survey showed that 51% of respondents had no plans to participate in future auctions and many were turning to unlicensed spectrum to provide services, even though they faced congestion in those bands. Study said 71% of respondents complained it had become more difficult to obtain financing for wireless projects in last year. “Obtaining access to spectrum is a major problem for survey respondents,” NTCA Economist Rick Schadelbauer said at Thurs. briefing.

FCC Chmn. Powell told U. of Colo. at Boulder conference late Wed. that one of most “obvious” gaps in Commission’s current approach to wireless interference was lack of receiver standards. Rather than simply outlining need for more spectrum for both licensed and unlicensed technology, Powell stressed need for receiver standards, importance of underutilized or “white space” spectrum and focus on clear measures of what constituted acceptable interference.

Federal govt. should punish WorldCom for its accounting fraud scandal by ordering it to spin off its UUNet division and by making it ineligible for General Services Administration (GSA) contracts, CWA and 8 other interest groups said Wed. WorldCom Gen. Counsel Michael Salsbury dismissed initiative as latest in series of attacks orchestrated by Bells to block competition: “CWA’s sole interest in this stems from its cozy relationship with the Bell companies, whose stated goal is to prevent WorldCom from emerging from bankruptcy.” He said none of accounting issues under investigation “affected in any manner the provision of competitively priced services to any of our customers, including GSA.” In addition to cooperating with those inquiries, WorldCom “terminated the individuals responsible for the problem, and [has] taken prompt remedial action to assure those problems will not recur,” Salsbury said. CWA Pres. Morton Bahr said in call-in news conference that federal officials must step up efforts to ensure WorldCom discontinued its “predatory ways.” Company “deserves the same treatment” GSA afforded companies such as Enron, whose accounting fraud paled in comparison to WorldCom’s, yet resulted in disbarment from GSA procurement, he said. Gray Panthers’ Corporate Accountability Project Dir. Will Thomas said WorldCom was “grossly unfit to bid for future federal contracts.” Govt. shouldn’t reward WorldCom, which is guilty of “misleading employees about the viability of the company” while simultaneously encouraging those workers to buy more WorldCom stocks for their 401K plans, he said. National Black Chamber of Commerce Pres. Harry Alford said MCI, before being “gobbled up” by WorldCom, had provided significant opportunities to small businesses and students through various entrepreneurship programs: “When MCI merged… with WorldCom, all of those activities ceased.” He said that as result of company’s overall record, “GSA should view WorldCom as untrustworthy,” particularly in businesses such as telecom that are so vital to national security.

Despite funding uncertainty for fiscal 2003, National Communications System (NCS) still plans to begin national rollout of initial operating capability of wireless priority service by year-end, Govt. Emergency Telephone Service (GETS) Dir. John Graves said Wed. He told Telecom Service Priority (TSP) Oversight Committee meeting at NCS hq in Arlington, Va., that 2003 capability for service designed to give priority to national security personnel and responders in emergencies still was on track because $208 million set aside to get program running was “any-year” money. Uncertainty involves $73 million sought by Bush Administration after Sept. 11 attacks that House and Senate conferees recently zeroed out of defense appropriations bill (CD Oct 15 p1). For initial capability, NCS is close to signing contract with T-Mobile USA and with Cingular Wireless, Graves said.

Zoning challenges that remain for wireless tower build- outs include complying in some cases with local rules that limit structures to heights that may not be tall enough to meet colocation mandates, panelists said at PCIA zoning conference Wed. Some communities have policy that requires new towers to accommodate colocation but “require towers to be less than 80 feet in height,” PCIA Pres. Jay Kitchen said at one-day conference in Alexandria, Va. “At a minimum, that means the colocation opportunity is limited to one other carrier.” In other cases, zoning rules don’t address trend of tower companies’ focusing less on building new sites and more on redeveloping existing inventory that can predate local laws, said Liz Hill, corporate assoc. counsel, zoning, for American Tower. In yet other cases, federal siting issues are playing increasing role in local zoning arena, experts said.

Public safety groups last week opposed petitions by medium-sized carriers that challenged what they viewed as “strict liability” component of recent FCC Enhanced 911 Phase 2 order. Alltel, American Cellular and Dobson Cellular had petitioned for reconsideration of order that granted small and medium-sized carriers more time to meet interim Phase 2 deadlines. Carriers focused on part of order they said would deem companies noncompliant for failing to meet benchmarks without regard to manufacturers’s or vendor’s inability to supply equipment. Assn. of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO), National Assn. of State Nine One One Administrators and National Emergency Number Assn. urged Commission to dismiss petitions “because the FCC has a duty to enforce its regulations, particularly where the carriers have negotiated and agreed to comply with the regulations by a specific date.” Rather than impose “strict liability,” groups said FCC “did no more than warn the petitioners and similarly situated carriers that it would treat a failure to satisfy waiver conditions in the same manner as a rule violation, and that such violation would be subject to possible enforcement action.” Groups reiterated concerns about “seemingly endless stream of extensions of time and waiver requests” as potentially leading to complacency among carriers instead of “all-out” compliance efforts: “The Commission has not heartlessly closed off their ability to provide a reasonable explanation for noncompliance.” CTIA took different view, raising concerns about enforcement standard that would penalize carriers for failing to comply with E911 rules “for reasons beyond their control.” Those factors, CTIA said, include vendor failure to provide compliant products on time and LEC “intransigence” in providing necessary network upgrades. CTIA said “fundamental issues of due process, as well as the Communications Act itself, mandate that the Commission provide notice and opportunity to challenge any Commission finding of noncompliance.” Sec. 503(b) of Communications Act requires forfeitures not be imposed until FCC issues notice of apparent liability. CTIA said that language couldn’t be squared with strict liability language in E911 order, which said assertions vendors couldn’t supply compliant products wouldn’t excuse noncompliance. Nextel and Nextel Partners in joint filing said FCC had recognized that action wasn’t willful in context of compliance if it involved unavoidable circumstances.

LAS VEGAS -- While bemoaning fact entire $73 million budget for fiscal 2003 for wireless priority access was eliminated in recent Defense Dept. spending bill, Govt. Emergency Telecom Service (GETS) Dir. John Graves told Federal Wireless Users Forum here Fri. that funding would come from somewhere. He said timetable for transferring to Initial Operating Capability (IOC) on Dec. 31 and Full Operating Capability (FOC) following year remained on schedule. Funding options, Graves said, could range from including program in supplemental spending bill or reprogramming of funds within Defense Dept. GETS is wireline equivalent to priority access service, which gives national security and emergency personnel priority queuing on phone networks during emergencies.

Wide-ranging inquiry FCC released Wed. on wireless Enhanced 911, led by former Office of Engineering & Technology Chief Dale Hatfield, points to “seriously antiquated” wireline infrastructure for emergency calls. “It is an analog technology in an overwhelmingly digital world,” Hatfield concluded. “Yet it is a critical building block in the implementation of wireless E911.” Those limits will be felt as wireless E911 calls increase and will constrain E911’s reach to nontraditional systems such as PDAs, telematics and voice-over-IP networks, report warned.