State regulators have struggled to come to terms with a problem that more and more have heard about from state residents: call completion issues. They're especially common in rural areas, from what officials can tell, they said in interviews last week. They said the FCC will have to play a key role in solving the problem. On circulation at the commission is a notice of proposed rulemaking (CD Jan 25 p1) that would mandate telcos and carriers collect data so the FCC can compare urban and rural rates of dropped calls and identify where the problem is. Several state commissioners have monitored the issue, some more formally than others, and one state commission is trying to impose penalties in the only way it’s authorized to. NARUC adopted a resolution in the summer calling on the FCC to “expeditiously” identify providers which contribute to call completion problems and take “appropriate and swift action” in penalizing them. State regulators aren’t sure how to approach the problem now, some expressing growing frustration.
NARUC will tackle spectrum sharing, emergency communications coordination and the FCC’s “repeated abuses of informal rulemaking,” according to draft resolutions released this week (http://xrl.us/bob6pm). State regulators will consider the resolutions at their winter meeting in Washington in February. The proposed resolutions delve into past controversial territory, such as addressing FCC referral to the Federal-State Joint Boards on Separations and Universal Service. USTelecom objected to joint board referral provisions at the past two NARUC meetings, in Baltimore in November (CD Nov 14 p5) and Portland, Ore., last July (CD July 25 p8), although both of the resolutions passed.
The FCC should “stay the course” on hearing aid compatibility rules for wireless phones and not impose new rules or make big changes to the current rules, CTIA told the FCC in response to a November public notice. The Telecommunications Industry Association made similar comments, but the Hearing Industries Association (HIA) and groups representing the deaf and hard of hearing said more needs to be done to make better HAC phones readily available.
Spectrum experts at T-Mobile, Ericsson and Qualcomm said Tuesday they are open to the idea of sharing spectrum with federal users but said clearing is the best way to alleviate the demand for greater spectrum, during an event hosted by the Federal Communications Bar Association. Steve Sharkey, director of government affairs for technology and engineering policy at T-Mobile, said he is “hopeful” that the company will be able to work out ways to share spectrum with federal agencies. But there “has to be spectrum for the assured and reliable access that customers demand,” he said. Mark Racek, Ericsson’s director of spectrum policy, said he thinks there is a role for spectrum sharing, but “ultimately the clearing and auctioning of spectrum is the clear spectrum policy.” Racek said the government should strive to provide greater clarity for access rights to spectrum use, particularly when it comes to sharing. The spectrum that is most “suitable” for carriers is below 3 MHz, Racek said. “The problem is that that spectrum [band] is most congested [since] the primary user of the band is the federal government.” John Kuzin, senior director of regulatory affairs at Qualcomm, said there are three distinct paths that spectrum policy makers should pursue: first, clear more spectrum for wireless use; second, allow licensed users to share federal spectrum; and third, provide large additional swaths of spectrum at 5 GHz and above for unlicensed use. Financial incentives to relocate or share spectrum are less persuasive to federal users like the Department of Defense, said Peter Tenhula, a senior adviser at NTIA. Agencies “have missions that Congress has authorized them to do, fight wars, make sure planes land safely, catch criminals, fight fires. That is what drives them to do their job. … Until the federal folks get a clear understanding about what is in it for [them] from a mission standpoint … there’s no incentive.” Recent budgetary demands on federal agencies might encourage some federal users to seek spectrum sharing or relocation scenarios, said John Leibovitz, chief of the FCC Wireless Bureau. “You have to think about the cost not in pure dollars but the procurement cost they have to go through.” Leibovitz said the commission is focused on three sharing opportunities, the 1.7 GHz band, the 5 GHz band and the 3.5 GHz band.
Policymakers and telecom industry leaders must ensure opportunities for small, minority-owned business are created and that the openness and proliferation of innovation aren’t stifled by regulation, said current and former members of Congress. The way broadband and mobile devices will be used in the future is “mindboggling,” said Cliff Stearns, former chairman of the House Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. “There’s convergence, yet there is sort of a digital divide,” he said Wednesday at a Minority Media & Telecom Council event. Mobile broadband and other technologies are creating enormous opportunities for individuals and economies around the world, said David Grain, Grain Communications CEO. Over the next five years global mobile data use and higher speeds are expected to grow, he said. “We should recognize that the picture isn’t universally bright."
An FCC proposal to open up to 195 MHz of spectrum in the 5 GHz band for Wi-Fi is likely to run into opposition, especially from the automotive industry, which plans to use some of the spectrum for a vehicle-to-vehicle warning system, which is already being tested. The FCC is expected to propose use of most of the 5350-5470 MHz and the 5850-5925 MHz bands for Wi-Fi.
T-Mobile and Sprint Nextel told the FCC in separate reply comments some kind of local or regional coordination is necessary for public safety answering points (PSAPs) to ensure a smooth transition to a next-generation 911 world. The National Emergency Number Association (NENA), meanwhile, offered some basic principles for an NG911 transition. Reply comments on a Nov. 13 public notice by the FCC’s Public Safety Bureau were due at the FCC Monday. Industry groups filed initial comments last month (CD Dec 17 p7).
C-SPAN asked a federal court to dismiss antitrust allegations raised by Sky Angel, an online video distributor. Sky Angel sued C-SPAN In U.S. District Court, Washington, D.C. (CD Nov 14 p15), saying the cable network, a service of the major cable operators, refused to license its programming to Sky Angel’s Internet video service.
Thousands of census blocks are incorrectly identified as “unserved” by the National Broadband Map (NBM), said cable companies and wireless Internet service providers (WISPs) in comments in FCC docket 10-90 (http://xrl.us/bn99cn). But USTelecom, the Independent Telecommunications and Telephone Alliance (ITTA) and individual ILECs said the map incorrectly overstates the areas listed as served. The map is used to determine where Connect America Fund Phase I money can be distributed. Price-cap carriers get access to the money to help fund broadband buildout in areas the map lists as unserved.
A status hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Feb. 7 in the case of Bartholomew Caso, 62, who pleaded not guilty last month to charges of selling unregistered securities in Preferred Spectrum Investments. Investigators for the Palm Beach (Fla.) Police Department said Caso had told investors that Preferred “purchased license applications from the Federal Communications Commission for airway frequencies."