Letters that the FCC Wireless Bureau sent to Apple, Google and AT&T -- on the blocking of Google Voice service over the iPhone -- put in question some revenue of wireless carriers, financial analysts said Monday. Various public interest groups welcomed the inquiry. Meanwhile, Google CEO Eric Schmidt resigned from the Apple board.
Meredith Baker was sworn in Friday as a member of the FCC by Chairman Julius Genachowski. A private ceremony was held in Genachowski’s office. Baker told us that she will rely on staff on loan from around the FCC while she puts together a permanent staff over the next month or so. “I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and working on policies and programs that will help build a 21st Century communications infrastructure that can provide sustained economic growth, opportunity and prosperity for the nation, and for all telecommunications users,” Baker said in a statement. “The FCC staff is well known for their expertise, professionalism and dedication, and I look forward to working together on these important issues.” Mignon Clyburn will be sworn in as the fifth FCC commissioner at 11 a.m. Monday by federal Judge Matthew Perry Jr. at the Matthew J. Perry Jr. Courthouse in Columbia, S.C. Democrat Clyburn was a member of South Carolina’s Public Service Commission. Baker, a Republican, was the NTIA’s acting administrator in the George W. Bush administration.
Legislation (S-251) allowing targeted jamming of cellphone signals in prisons is scheduled for markup at an Aug. 5 Senate Commerce Committee meeting. The bill has been revised several times to address concerns raised at a July 15 hearing (CD July 16 p2) over interference with emergency communications and commercial calls in an area that would use jamming technology. The bill calls for a study not only to gauge interference likelihood, but also a review of other blocking technologies preventing inmates’ illegal use of phones inside prisons.
The FCC’s inspector general is investigating the Universal Service Fund low-income program and plans to submit a report to the commission and Congress, acting Inspector General David Hunt said Tuesday. In a letter to various committee chairmen and ranking members in the House and Senate, he said his office has withdrawn the previous IG’s December finding that all payments by the program were incorrect, because it may not provide a “meaningful and accurate” picture.
The FCC Wireline Bureau wants comment on a petition by UTex Communications for the bureau to arbitrate an interconnection dispute between the company and AT&T over $7.5 million in access fees charged by AT&T for VoIP traffic terminating on the public switched telephone network. UTex is a competitive local exchange carrier whose customers are VoIP providers. This month, the carrier told the FCC that the Texas Public Utilities Commission had stopped action on the matter in June 2006, and UTex asked the federal regulator to preempt the state commission’s authority to arbitrate (CD July 15 p8). Comments are due Aug. 11, replies Aug. 18.
“Vulnerabilities remain” and states have yet to take many recommended steps to deal with problems previously pointed out in emergency communications across the country, the GAO said. Meanwhile, a House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee Monday called in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s administrator, Joe Fugate, and other witnesses for a hearing on emergency alerts, FEMA and whether the agency should again be made independent from the Department of Homeland Security.
Verizon Wireless said it would support legislation or an FCC rule mandating roaming agreements under certain conditions for a minimum of two years. The commitment came in a letter it sent to House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., late Wednesday. Waxman didn’t have a response to the letter, a spokeswoman said Thursday. Verizon said its offer came after a “dialogue” with committee staff on in-market roaming arrangements. Waxman wants carriers to expand roaming, he’s made clear at hearings and in past legislation.
Fighting over whether there’s a need for new FCC broadband regulation raged on in reply comments this week on the commission’s development of a national broadband plan. The argument pits big broadband providers and conservative think tanks against Internet companies and public interest groups, and it highlights continuing tension over proposed net neutrality regulation. It’s unclear whether the full commission or just the chairman’s office will write the final report, FCC officials said Wednesday.
The Rural Cellular Association, seeking FCC rules limiting handset exclusivity agreements, Tuesday said a new policy that Verizon Wireless announced last week doesn’t go far enough (CD July 20 p1). The association said the policy only applies to new handsets and the restriction “eliminates the ability of all small, mid-size and regional carriers to ever sell any of the 50+ handset models currently within Verizon Wireless’ device portfolio,” including the popular BlackBerry Storm. It also questioned why Verizon Wireless limited the benefit of the new policy to carriers with fewer than 500,000 subscribers, providers “dwarfed” by the four major carriers. “Although this policy change will bring an end to Verizon Wireless’ use of exclusive handset agreements lasting more than six months -- a significant development -- the commitment does not go far enough to rectify the consumer and competitive harms caused by these agreements,” the association said. “Neither Congress, nor the Department of Justice nor the Federal Communications Commission should allow any carrier to unilaterally dictate the nation’s telecommunications policies, particularly as the policies affect handset availability.” The Verizon Wireless announcement, together with expressions of concern by members of Congress “provide notice to AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile that the long-term exclusive handset arrangements that they continue to benefit from -- at the expense of consumers and vibrant competition -- are coming to an end, particularly as these arrangements receive more scrutiny from the public and private sectors,” the association said.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and Commissioner Robert McDowell exchanged letters discussing proposals for agency reform. Meanwhile, Genachowski’s office is asking all companies and groups that seek meetings with the chairman’s office to fill out a five-question form explaining the purpose of the visit and how they have reached out first to the various bureaus and offices prior to meeting with the chairman.