Ligado's plans for commercial access to the 1675-1680 MHz band for its terrestrial broadband network could face a hurdle in the form of downlinks from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Geostationary Operational Environmental Series satellite-R (GOES-R) set to launch in October. The company previously named LightSquared is pushing the FCC to open up that NOAA-used band for commercial sharing and auction (see 1512310016), and hopes to see that auction in federal FY 2017 (see 1602090067). But NOAA said a variety of issues -- chief among them interference with its downlinks -- need to be addressed first.
AT&T pressed the FCC to allow public filings with aggregated industry data in the agency’s broad review of its special access rules for the business broadband market. The incumbent telco said a commission prohibition on public disclosure of such aggregated data -- which it said shows widespread competition -- is limiting debate unnecessarily. “So c’mon FCC, take your thumb off the scale so that we can have a fair and transparent fact-based discussion here,” said Caroline Van Wie, AT&T vice president-federal regulatory, in a blog post Tuesday. The FCC had no comment. Many parties filed detailed reply comments Friday on the commission’s special access review in docket 05-25 (see 1602220059).
The North American Submarine Cable Association supports an FCC proposal to create a "clearinghouse" for information about submarine cable system landings in the U.S. and discussed potential benefits with International Bureau officials, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 15-206. Representatives of Alaska Communications, AT&T, Tata Communications, Tyco Electronics Subsea Communications and Verizon and other undersea cable operators attended the meeting, and NASCA Counsel Kent Bressie said in the filing that the group "emphasized the need for a centralized system of submarine cable deployment and contact information." An NPRM also would allow the creation of an outage reporting system for submarine cable systems (see 1511030019). In its initial filing with the commission about the outage reporting proposal, NASCA called the reporting requirements "needlessly burdensome" but lauded the FCC's focus on submarine cable protection (see 1512040037). During its meeting with the bureau, NASCA cited "overlapping -- and sometimes conflicting" licensing and permitting requirements that "burden" the industry, Bressie said. "The federal permitting process ... overlaps significantly with the state and local reviews." Permitting and licensing requirements tend to be burdensome due to the "logistical challenges inherent to submarine cable installation," the group said. Challenges include "the limited availability of cable ships globally, the expense and difficulty of storing cable when installation is delayed, the need to work around inclement weather and the need to work around seasonal environmental protections for protected species," it said. NASCA also discussed the "importance of coordination and information sharing in order to enhance protection of submarine cable infrastructure during its operational phase." The lack of a central federal government resource for information about installed undersea cable systems, plus a lack of no single point of government contact for undersea cable issues, "often results in agency actions that increase the risk of damage to submarine cable systems," NASCA said.
CEO Michael Small and others from Gogo met with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and key aides to press for FCC action on the 14 GHz Air-Ground Mobile Broadband Service. “Gogo discussed its critical need for additional spectrum to meet the growing capacity demands of commercial airlines and their passengers as well as federal and state government and military customers,” Gogo said in a filing posted Friday in docket 13-114. “Establishment of another in-flight service allocation would not introduce any new air safety or security risks.” Gogo officials said that to ensure flight safety and security, the company “must already satisfy stringent Federal Aviation Administration testing and approval requirements for all equipment and software and any modifications to such equipment and software,” the filing said. “The recently established Federal Interagency Working Group will be able to meet with relevant stakeholders and ensure continued air safety and security after the Commission establishes allocation, service, and technical rules for the new service.” Last month, the FCC said it and the Department of Transportation agreed to establish a federal interagency working group to focus on issues including "safe and secure use of consumer communications onboard domestic commercial aviation."
NARUC opposed any Lifeline USF changes that would usurp state regulators' role in designating eligible telecom carrier (ETCs) participation in the program subsidizing low-income telecom service. NARUC General Counsel Brad Ramsay met with FCC officials recently to discuss proposals by others that the agency give Lifeline USF support to non-ETCs, establish a federal designation process that bypasses state ETC designations in the first instance, or fund broadband without requiring carriers to provide voice service. “The impetus for this seems to be the misguided notion that, by cutting States out of the process, it will somehow encourage cable providers of broadband services to focus on providing facilities-based lifeline service at a discounted rate very close to the current lifeline subsidy rate,” Ramsay said in a filing posted Friday in docket 11-42. He said the Communications Act doesn't allow the FCC to: create a federal ETC designation process bypassing state commissions from the beginning, give funds to entities that aren’t telecom service providers and are ETCs, or give subsidies to carriers that don’t offer all designated support services. He said Section 214(e) makes “crystal clear” that states are to designate carriers as ETCs before they can receive USF support and that the FCC has no ETC role unless the state can't act due to state law. He also said the proposals were bad policy because they would: take “state cops off the beat” and thus lead to more Lifeline fraud and abuse; undermine other state efforts to promote service to low-income consumers; seem unlikely to succeed in getting cable and others to provide Lifeline service; and “certainly will undermine the program’s service quality.” AT&T, Comcast, Public Knowledge and others have urged eliminating or streamlining Lifeline ETC designation requirements. Ramsay met with aides to all four regular FCC commissioners or gave them copies of the filing. He also met with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's counselor Gigi Sohn, incoming Wireless Bureau Chief Jon Wilkins, Wireline Bureau Telecom Access Policy Division Chief Ryan Palmer and Eric Feigenbaum of the Office of Media Relations. Some lobbying was during NARUC's meetings last week in Washington, where a resolution was adopted on Lifeline (see 1602150004).
The White House's Cybersecurity National Action Plan (CNAP) includes “a few big-ticket items” like the formation of the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity (CENC), but “in many ways it's corralling a lot” of the work President Barack Obama's administration has done on cybersecurity since 2009, said Department of Commerce Senior Adviser-Cybersecurity and Technology Clete Johnson Thursday during a USTelecom event. Federal officials highlighted many of the cybersecurity programs pulled into CNAP. The programs include the National Institute of Standards and Technology's ongoing assessment of the Cybersecurity Framework and the FCC Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council's (CSRIC) continued work on cybersecurity issues. CNAP, which the White House announced last week, also includes the creation of the Federal Privacy Council and a federal chief information security officer position. The White House released CNAP in conjunction with the release of its FY 2017 federal budget proposal, which includes a 35 percent hike in cybersecurity spending (see 1602090068).
The central purpose of the 1996 Telecom Act was “mandatory sharing” of monopoly phone networks, said Reed Hundt, who was FCC chairman when the act took effect. Such sharing was needed to help new entrants address upfront costs and the “network effects” of ubiquitous Bell systems serving existing customers, he said Tuesday night, calling the concept still relevant to telco and cable broadband providers. "Mandatory sharing was the mandate of the act,” he said in a speech opening an FCBA CLE on the act, one of many such events (see 1602110030, 1602080062 and 1602090048) for the law that turned 20 last week. The FCC didn’t get everything right in its initial implementation, “but we didn’t get it all wrong,” said Hundt.
As the IP transition continues, state regulators are concerned about network capacity reliability, service quality, device and service interoperability, services for individuals with disabilities, service functionality, communications security, coverage area and public safety answering point and 911 services, said Robin Ancona, Michigan Public Service Commission Telecom Division director. Education and outreach are also concerns, and state regulators want to know what their role is versus the FCC's role, she said Saturday at the NARUC meeting in Washington. Ancona said one of the most important parts of the transition is advance notice to consumers to let them voice concerns. Michigan has also encountered some rights of way problems, she said.
A California administrative law judge shortened the California Public Utilities Commission’s time frame on its review of Charter Communications' $89.1 billion takeovers of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable, in an order released Thursday. ALJ Karl Bemesderfer set a final decision date for May 12, earlier than the previously scheduled June 10, which means a proposed decision could come by April 12, the order said. Charter originally had hoped to close the deals in the first part of 2016 but recently submitted a motion for an expedited calendar that would see CPUC deciding by April 21 (see 1602040027).
The FTC is seeking a court order making DirecTV identify all parties for whom it has paid the legal costs for the agency's 2015 complaint in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on the direct broadcast satellite company's advertising practices (see 1503110042). In a filing Wednesday in the case, the FTC said DirecTV hasn't produced "numerous categories of requested materials in discovery," making the agency go to third parties doing business with DirecTV for the information. But the FTC said Dish's lawyers from Sidley Austin also represent many of those third parties, some of whom also are responding slowly if at all. "Determining whether DirecTV is paying for these nonparties' legal fees and costs will help the FTC, and ultimately the Court, assess the extent of DirecTV's influence over these witnesses, weigh bias and ensure orderly and transparent discovery," the agency said. In the same case, DirecTV disputed the FTC claims, saying the problem is that the agency "issued sweeping and over broad requests, requiring the responding parties and the FTC to engage in weekly meet and confer session to discuss how these requests could be narrowed and what documents will be produced." The FTC has received more than 468,000 separate records and documents from DirecTV and Sidley Austin-represented third parties, and more are coming, the satellite company said, saying the court shouldn't issue the order the agency seeks. It also said the commission has no authority for its claim that the same attorneys can't represent both a party and a non-adverse third party. While federal law says fee arrangements aren't confidential communications, DirecTV said, California law does protect those as confidential.