Fearing harm to South Dakota’s rural telecoms, a state legislator there is pushing a bill to bar rural local exchange carriers and free calling-service and conference- call service operators from splitting fees. The phenomenon, sometimes referred to as “traffic pumping,” depends on FCC- mandated rural phone rates and is a legal example of revenue sharing seen across the telecom spectrum, proponents said. The would-be ban in Bill 1097 was approved Thursday on a 7-6 vote by the State Affairs Committee of the South Dakota House. Full House consideration is set for Tuesday, said Rep. Deb Peters (R-Minnehaha), the measure’s sponsor. If the House approves the bill, its next stop likely will be the Senate State Affairs committee, Peters predicted.
The first round of hearings on Comcast’s deal to buy control of NBC Universal went better than expected for the companies and may bode well for the ultimate reception for the purchase on the Hill, said a participant and some observers. Back-to-back House Communications Subcommittee and Senate Antitrust Subcommittee hearings Thursday (CD Feb 5 p1)included vigorous questioning but didn’t raise worries for the deal, said some. The sessions may set the tone for further hearings, said a lobbyist and a communications lawyer.
Comcast and NBC Universal executives assured Congress joining forces won’t hurt consumers or competition. The companies faced the House Communications Subcommittee 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, and the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee beginning at 2:30 p.m. In the House, Democratic members expressed concerns about the deal’s effect on prices, competitors to Comcast and NBC, and network neutrality. Republicans generally showed more support for the deal, as was expected (CD Feb 4 p1). Senators from both parties raised red flags in the afternoon.
Native-American and Alaskan tribes will get priority in establishing new radio stations serving tribal lands, as expected (CD Dec 29 p2), said an FCC order released Wednesday. “Although well over a million Native Americans and Alaska Natives live on over 55 million acres of tribal lands across the United States, only 41 radio stations are currently licensed to native tribes,” the commission said in a news release. “Companies controlled by tribes that want to establish new radio stations designed to serve communities located on tribal lands” also get priority under Section 307(b) of the Communications Act, it said. Commissioner Robert McDowell hopes “the new stations that result - whether AM or FM, commercial or noncommercial - help to promote tribal self-sufficiency and economic development,” he said. Tribes “have been woefully underrepresented among the radio ownership ranks” and members “simply do not have access to a critical source of information that can contribute significantly to the economic and community development of Native peoples,” Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said. Commissioner Michael Copps said the new rule “is tailored to advance the interests of the Tribes in a manner that satisfies Supreme Court precedent concerning both tribal sovereignty and the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.” A rulemaking sought comment on whether to start tribal bidding credits and to extend the priority to “Non-Landed Tribes.” Comments are due 60 days after the further rulemaking notice appears in the Federal Register, replies 30 days later.
Access to dark fiber is a matter for the FCC to decide, members of the Maine Public Utility Commission voted Monday. The commission was ruling in a dispute between FairPoint Communications and Biddeford-based Great Works Internet. Last month the FCC asked for comments and replies on a petition by the Maine commission for a declaratory ruling on access to dark fiber and other elements that arose from the fight between FairPoint and Great Works (CD Feb 1 p3).
A dispute in Maine illustrates a wider conflict over Section 271 of the 1996 Communications Act, officials said. The Maine case pits FairPoint Communications against competitive local exchange carrier Great Works Internet in a fight over interconnection rates for dark fiber loops. Filings by the companies to the Maine Public Utilities Commission prompted the commission to ask the FCC for a declaratory ruling on carriers’ Section 271 duties. The FCC seeks comments by March 1, replies by March 15.
Broadband regulation should be minimal so that innovation remains “robust and unfettered,” said FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell at the Free State Foundation Telecom Policy Conference. Innovation, investment, deployment and adoption “have been growing rapidly with the stability of the current regulatory environment,” he said: “These are positive trends that should be nurtured and strengthened” and “when crafting the National Broadband Plan, the commission’s number one goal should be to do no harm.”
A coalition of public interest and consumer groups led by the Consumer Federation of America said the FCC should take “bold” action in the National Broadband Plan, due for release in March. Other comments were all over the board on the 30th public notice on the plan. AT&T resubmitted comments it had filed earlier. Broadcasters made one last pitch to preserve intact their spectrum. A National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors-led group said any plan must not override the traditional authority of local governments over their own rights of way. Staff briefings on the plan got underway Thursday on the eighth floor.
Critical infrastructure systems worldwide are the targets of repeated cyber-attacks, said a study by PC security provider McAfee commissioned by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Officials from the Department of Homeland Security proposed partnerships with the private sector and cross-sector coordination, during a panel Thursday, when the report was released.
The FCC asked another round of questions about early termination fees in letters to the four national carriers Tuesday. This time around, the commission also questioned Google, which recently released the Nexus One handset but isn’t a carrier that comes under conventional FCC regulation. T-Mobile is the only service provider for the phone for now. The letters were signed by Consumer Bureau Chief Joel Gurin and Wireless Bureau Chief Ruth Milkman.