The Texas Public Utility Commission may soon decide a right-of-way fee dispute between Houston and ExteNet that has rallied cities and the wireless infrastructure industry. Localities and industry say the PUC’s ruling could have broader implications for cities and backhaul providers across the state, and the tension between the groups could spill over into a federal fight if the FCC takes up a Mobilitie petition filed last month. In closing briefs in the Texas case Monday, cities alleged ExteNet and other backhaul providers avoid city right-of-way fees by claiming protection under a local code for telecom franchise fees.
The California Public Utilities Commission revised its conditional OK of Charter Communications' $90 billion buys of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable. Commissioners unanimously gave the deal the green light last May (see 1605120040), but afterward received applications for rehearing from the Office of Ratepayer Advocates (ORA) and Center for Accessible Technology (CAT), plus Entertainment Studios Networks and the National Association of African American Owned Media. In a Monday order, the commission approved part of the ORA/CAT petition asking CPUC to add conditions that Charter agreed to in a reply brief but that didn’t appear in the May order. The conditions involved service quality, semiannual reports to ORA, a customer service survey and communications with customers with disabilities, it said. But CPUC refused to add another requested condition, which was adopted in the FCC approval, banning Charter from imposing data caps or charging usage-based pricing for residential broadband service for seven years. California wasn't required to adopt the same conditions as the FCC on data caps and usage-based billing, and in any case, the issue is moot because Charter must comply with the federal conditions, the state commission said Monday. It disagreed with the Entertainment Studios application’s claim the company’s due process rights were violated because the CPUC OK didn’t mention its opening comments. "That the Commission did not adopt Entertainment Studios' proposals, which were never presented until they filed comments on the [proposed decision], does not demonstrate that they were denied due process,” the CPUC said. But the agency added a statement acknowledging Entertainment Studios filed opening comments and that Media Alliance and Stop the Cap filed replies, it said.
Vermont may conclude interconnected VoIP is a telecom service and not information under federal law. Public Service Board Hearing Officer George Young recommended the finding in a proposed decision in docket 7316 we obtained Tuesday. Comments are due Dec. 23 on the proposed decision, which isn’t final and may be modified by the board, Young wrote in a cover letter. The board has been examining whether fixed VoIP is an information or telecom service since 2013, when the Vermont Supreme Court remanded the board’s past VoIP decision, and PSB Member Sarah Hofmann last month hinted a decision was imminent (see 1611150014). The proceeding focuses on how Comcast’s fixed VoIP service meets that definition under federal law. The board previously ruled interconnected VoIP is a telecom service rather than information, arguing federal law doesn't pre-empt state regulation due to the ability to divide interstate and intrastate traffic. The company appealed the regulators’ decision. The court agreed with its appeal, but remanded to the board on the classification question. "Notwithstanding the differences in the manner in which calls are transmitted, from the consumer's perspective, there is no perceived difference between the VoIP service and traditional landline service,” said the proposed decision dated Friday. The customer uses the same phone, plugs into the same outlets and has the same voice communication experience, it said. Comcast markets its VoIP service as a substitute for the switched landline service, it said. The proposed decision cites in part the FCC net neutrality order, including an FCC finding that a provider is a common carrier “by virtue of its functions.” It also cited a 1998 FCC report to Congress in which the commission reached the tentative conclusion that "phone-to-phone" IP telephony is telecom service. And it referred to the Supreme Court Brand X decision saying an entity may not avoid Title II regulation of a telecom service by bundling it with an information service. Despite the precedent, some uncertainty remains, it said: "The FCC still has not definitively classified VoIP services as telecommunications services or information services." The proposed decision didn’t resolve how the board should regulate providers of VoIP services pursuant to state law authority. That question will be answered in a second phase of the investigation, it said. A PSB spokeswoman declined comment. Comcast didn't comment.
The Department of Transportation released its long-awaited NPRM on vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications Tuesday. DOT’s work has been closely watched in the communications industry as Wi-Fi advocates seek unlicensed use of 5.9 GHz spectrum earlier set aside by the FCC for anti-crash, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) systems. The proposed rules would require automakers to install V2V technologies in all cars and other light-duty vehicles. Comments will be due 90 days after the NPRM is published in the Federal Register.
Senate Democrats are signaling that Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel’s time at the FCC may not be up despite her upcoming forced exit. “I hope she'll be renominated and the Senate lives up to its word,” Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., told us in a statement Monday. Members of the upper chamber left town early Saturday without reconfirming her, which means she will have to leave the agency by Jan. 3, as expected (see 1612080056). That would create a 2-2 partisan split among remaining members.
APCO supported a proposal to require wireless carriers to disclose to potential customers at the point of sale whether they provide wireless emergency alerts, while public broadcaster representatives worried about costs. The FCC sought comment on additional changes as part of an NPRM approved in September, which accompanied an order making changes to the rules (see 1609290060). “Promoting consumer choice and providing better notice regarding WEA at the point of sale could lead to increased use of the system, which would benefit public safety,” APCO commented in docket 15-91. “Point of sale disclosures should include information such as how WEA capabilities vary by device, network technology, or geographic area. This is especially important for providers who elect to participate ‘in part.’” APCO also supported in general an FCC proposal to require carriers to file annual WEA performance reports. They would address geo-targeting, latency, availability and reliability. “Testing is fundamental to public safety communications, and the annual performance reports will increase transparency and improve the system’s trustworthiness and effectiveness,” APCO said. “For similar reasons, APCO supports the creation of a uniform format for alert logging and the collection of more detailed system integrity data.” Noncommercial broadcast stations can require updated or new equipment to continue receiving WEA messages if specifications change, said from PBS, CPB and America's Public Television Stations. The FCC should work to make sure federal funding remains available to cover "any reasonable costs" that public TV stations incur "to accommodate further changes to the specifications for WEA messages," the comments said. "PTV stations depend on funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce to cover the costs of updating their equipment or software to implement new capabilities required by the Commission with respect to the processing and transmission of WEA messages." Without the updates and the funding to make them, the public stations could be unable to receive WEA messages, they said.
Senate prospects for reconfirming Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel seemed to plummet Thursday, which would mean she would have to soon leave the FCC. The approval is believed to require filing for cloture, a timely process that no longer fits into expectations for the Senate’s remaining minimal time. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler committed to Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., earlier this week that he would resign immediately if it would ensure Rosenworcel’s confirmation, an agency spokesman confirmed.
It's surprising how many Lifeline providers opted for FCC broadband forbearance, said Norina Moy, Sprint director-government affairs, on an FCBA panel Tuesday. She said Sprint has begun offering Lifeline-supported broadband service to low-income customers, and it remains to be seen how much competition there will be. The National Hispanic Media Coalition was "troubled by the number of providers that asked for broadband forbearance," said Policy Counsel Carmen Scurato. Garnet Hanley, Wireline Bureau counsel, noted providers choosing forbearance could still offer Lifeline-supported broadband voluntarily.
Republican and Democratic senators flagged possible harms Wednesday that could arise from AT&T’s proposed buy of Time Warner. Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Mike Lee, R-Utah, immediately sought to vet AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson’s predictions of lower prices, but also questioned deal opponent Gene Kimmelman, president of Public Knowledge. The $108.7 billion deal was announced in October and the nearly three-hour hearing was the first on its merits.
The Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council will meet Dec. 21, the FCC said in a notice in Tuesday's Federal Register. The meeting will be CSRIC's seventh under its current charter, which charges the council to work on issues such as cybersecurity and wireless alert platforms. CSRIC's charter is to expire March 18. The meeting is to begin at 1 p.m. in the Commission Meeting Room at FCC headquarters.