Net neutrality rules appear likely to take effect ahead of the one-year anniversary of approval by the FCC by a 3-2 vote at its Dec. 21 meeting. But many questions remain, including whether they will survive expected challenges in federal court and a possible stay as the court fight unfolds.
FCC video accessibility committee subgroups continue work with staff of the commission on three forthcoming reports required under last year’s communications disabilities legislation, participants said. They said efforts similar to those between career commission staffers and members of the Video Programming Accessibility Advisory Committee on the panel’s first report on Internet programming, released in July (CD July 15 p1) are underway on the forthcoming reports. The VPAAC reports will cover video description for multichannel video programming distributors and TV stations, user interfaces on consumer electronics and conveying emergency information.
Sprint Nextel is competitive with AT&T and Verizon Wireless, but is challenging AT&T’s buy of T-Mobile because of concerns about protecting the backhaul, roaming and spectrum it needs to stay competitive, said Sprint Senior Vice President Vonya McCann on an episode of C-Span’s The Communicators, which was set to air over the weekend. Sprint filed a legal challenge on top of the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against the merger to make clear its unique concerns with the deal, McCann said. Sprint will seek to have its case combined with DOJ’s case, she said. Meanwhile, attorneys general from seven states announced they are also joining the DOJ case.
Two of the three judges who heard Vermont Public Service Board v. FCC cited the FCC’s plan to revamp the overall Universal Service Fund as they considered Vermont and Maine’s request to fix the FCC’s non-rural high-cost system. In a U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit hearing, judges questioned the use of outdated data by the FCC and the states’ failure to seek a waiver to request supplemental high-cost support. The case stems from a 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals remand in the so-called Qwest II case, in which the commission said rural and urban rates “are reasonably comparable.” State regulators have challenged, claiming the FCC “failed to compare rural rates in each state to a national average urban rate.”
A group of consumer advocates and public officials urged the FCC to reject the incumbent-backed America’s Broadband Connectivity plan and the rural “consensus framework” for universal service reform. In a joint letter posted as an ex parte notice to docket 10-90 and organized by the National Consumer Law Center and the Utility Reform Network, the advocates said industry’s reform proposals should be “flatly rejected” (http://xrl.us/bmdmo8).
The FCC delayed for a second time emergency alert system rules for traditional media to get and pass on to viewers and listeners EAS warnings that the government distributes online. The commission Friday delayed by nine months to June 30 the date when all multichannel video programming distributors and radio and TV stations must be ready for the Common Alerting Protocol format. That’s longer than the four-month compliance delay sought (CD Aug 8 p3) by CAP’s developer, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It released the new standard in September 2010, and CAP is part of the integrated public alert and warning system (IPAWS).
Parts of the jobs bill’s spectrum provisions are being given by analysts, lobbyists and others at least a fighting chance of being enacted by Congress in coming months. Observers agree that spectrum fees called for in the White House-proposed legislation face a tough fight. While giving the FCC authority to hold incentive auctions has broad support on the Hill, many Republicans continue to oppose a proposal in the jobs bill giving public safety the 700 MHz D-block in addition to the 700 MHz spectrum it already has.
FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Rick Kaplan stressed the importance of spectrum sharing in making more frequencies available for wireless broadband, at an FCBA wireless lunch Thursday. Kaplan said questions need to be answered about the 1755 MHz band, a key target of carriers. Kaplan, a former aide to Chairman Julius Genachowski, moved to the bureau in late June.
The FCC is likely to get the Universal Service Fund revamp done in 2011, panelists said during a Regulatory 2.0 workshop Thursday. Congress should give the FCC as much flexibility as possible as it considers legislation giving the commission authority for incentive auctions for broadcast and other spectrum, they said.
House lawmakers are pointing to large costs and national security concerns as reasons not to allow LightSquared to move forward with its plan to build a national network. At a hearing Thursday before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, Democrats and Republicans said the cost of testing for and implementing methods to mitigate GPS interference might outweigh the benefits. The hearing also contributed to a political firestorm over an allegedly cozy relationship between LightSquared and the White House. And Subcommittee Chairman Michael Turner, R-Ohio, berated FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski for not appearing at the hearing.