"The best way forward is to ensure that all parties have an explicit, upfront indication of their operating rights and responsibilities,” said de Vries, co-director of the Silicon Flatirons Center Spectrum Policy Initiative. “Such well-defined rights and responsibilities would give incumbents confidence in the level of protection they will receive, and new users a better understanding of the radio environment they are entering. It would make enforcing rules and determining liability in the event of interference a transparent and straightforward process."
The office of Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead (R) touted his state’s broadband work Thursday. “This expansion of fiber networks by private partners means the infrastructure will also be available to more private businesses,” the Republican said in a statement (http://1.usa.gov/12rpWEx). His office described the state’s work to attract data centers and to have faster broadband connections throughout the state, especially focused on schools and telecommuting. “The most recent map from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and Federal Communications Commission shows high-speed access for Wyomingites moved from 54% to 85% between 2010 and 2011,” according to Mead’s office. “Over two-thirds of Wyoming students now have access to high-speed internet connections at school -- this is up from a quarter of students at the beginning of 2011.” Mead’s staff helped orchestrate the law restricting state regulation of VoIP and IP, which staff said was done to increase such tech investment (CD Feb 1 p7). The governor signed that law recently, which takes effect in July. The data center progress may be “just the beginning,” Mead noted, pointing to the expansions of the Green House Data center in Cheyenne and Ptolemy Data Systems’ centers in Sheridan. Microsoft plans to expand a center in Cheyenne and Silver Star Communications hopes to open one in Afton, he added.
The 2011 FCC USF order has spurred multiple Texas telcos to seek recovery of millions of dollars worth of lost federal support money from the state’s USF. Valley Telephone Cooperative petitioned the Texas PUC on Friday to allow it to hike rates and recover $613,903.69 from the Texas USF, citing the destructive impact of FCC reform. Valley is the latest among many companies that want state USF money for that reason. Valley and other telcos have asked to recover a total of more than $2.6 million in federal support losses from the Texas USF fund, with more companies potentially following suit despite some opposition.
But the notice isn’t likely to lead to policy change any time soon, Liberman said. He said that’s especially since the notice came a week after FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced his upcoming departure. “It’s a hot potato,” and an interim chairman is unlikely to do anything substantive with the issue, Liberman said. “There are a lot of things that you can do to make it look like you're doing something without doing anything."
The FCC asked if it should stick to what has become an indecency policy of sorts of not fining broadcasters for airing single instances of cursewords or nudity and instead pursuing only what it deems to be more significant cases. A public notice Monday asked whether it should stick with its recent policy of restrained enforcement or instead return to an earlier policy of censuring radio and TV stations for fleeting indecency. The agency has taken the restrained approach under outgoing Chairman Julius Genachowski. FCC officials had said that tack was buttressed by June’s Supreme Court ruling dismissing fines against affiliates of Disney’s ABC for airing in 2003 seven seconds of nudity on NYPD Blue and censuring News Corp.’s Fox for unscripted cursing by Cher and other celebrities on the 2002 and 2003 Billboard Music Awards (CD June 22 p1).
Comments on the FCC proposal to ease the process for allowing Internet access on planes are due May 22, the commission said in a Federal Register notice (http://1.usa.gov/13EtZ59). Replies are due June 21, it said. The notice corrects a previous notice that said the deadline was April 8, it said. The proposal aims to establish earth stations aboard aircraft as a licensed application for communication with fixed satellite service stations (CD Dec 31 p8).
As interim chair of the FCC, Commissioner Mignon Clyburn would likely take on a number of issues, starting with her big issue of late, prison calling, FCC and industry officials said last week. Another big issue for Clyburn has been 700 MHz interoperability, but how much she would be able to do on that with a 2-1 commission is unclear. A former top FCC official said Clyburn’s staff should already be looking around for a few issues on which she can make her mark as the first woman to head the agency.
The push to keep states from regulating Internet Protocol-enabled services goes strong in 2013. Legislators in more than half a dozen states introduced such IP bills this year. More than two dozen states had already passed laws before 2013 began, California prominent among them (CD Oct 2 p7). The IP transition’s urgency escalated when AT&T introduced an FCC petition urging transition trials last November, and it’s widely accepted that much voice traffic will shift to VoIP and IP-enabled frameworks in the next decade amid these transforming state roles. Proponents and observers told us these state laws will keep appearing, while NASUCA and AARP fear they'll create public safety and affordability risks.
Industry commenters largely acknowledged that Telecommunication Systems (TCS) identified a real problem in its petition last August -- companies providing E-911 and next-generation 911 call routing and location information and carriers face predatory lawsuits by patent assertion entities (PAEs). But commenters disagreed whether the FCC can grant the relief sought by TCS. Qualcomm said not denying the petition would have “devastating public policy consequences.”
The Women’s Media Center urged President Barack Obama to make history and appoint the first woman to chair the FCC. “We're writing to make sure that with all that crosses your desk, you see a piece of good news,” the group said Friday in a letter to the president (http://bit.ly/Yu372W). “The best qualified candidates to chair the Federal Communications Commission are all women. You will be able make good policy and good history at the same time. You have the chance to democratize the media with one key appointment when you nominate the next Chair of the Federal Communications Commission. We are writing to urge you to pick a woman.” The center lists as candidates former Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Ambassador Karen Kornbluh, current commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel, and former commissioners Susan Ness and Cathy Sandoval. “While there is no easy fix to getting women into the top jobs in the telecom and media industries, the government watchdog can and should be headed by a woman,” the center said.