Video relay service providers urged the FCC to reject a request by a consumer group representing the deaf for access to confidential company cost data. Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing asked for the data so it and other consumer groups could comment on new compensation rates for VRS proposed by the National Exchange Carrier Association (CD May 21 p5). VRS providers receive federal funding under the interstate telecom relay service fund. In an opposition filing Monday, Sorenson Communications, the biggest VRS provider in the U.S., said revealing the data could harm competition because it “would expose rivals’ market shares, as well as details indicative of individual business strategies, priorities and allocations of financial resources.” AT&T, Hamilton Relay and Sprint Nextel concurred in a separate filing. “The TRS Providers, while reluctant to oppose consumer group involvement in Commission proceedings, must respectfully object to the motion because of the potential damage that could be caused by the essentially limitless number of proposed parties seeking to review the TRS Providers’ confidential data submissions.”
President Barack Obama gave net neutrality proponents reassurance Friday when he reiterated his commitment to the policy in a speech outlining cybersecurity policy. “Our pursuit of cybersecurity will not -- I repeat, will not include -- monitoring private sector networks or Internet traffic,” Obama’s speech said. “We will preserve and protect the personal privacy and civil liberties that we cherish as Americans. Indeed, I remain firmly committed to net neutrality so we can keep the Internet as it should be -- open and free.” Free Press believes the statement affirms the administration’s commitment to making net neutrality “an essential component of his administration’s sweeping agenda,” said a written statement from Craig Aaron, senior program director. “The president’s words send a strong message to Congress and the Federal Communications Commission.” An industry source said “many of the evils that threaten networks require proper management” and “the wrong sort of network neutrality could make that difficult.” Washington Research analyst Paul Gallant said the president’s statement “shows the issue is still a top priority for Obama’s FCC, but it doesn’t resolve what net neutrality means in particular situations.” The Computer & Communications Industry Association said the statement shows the administration “understands the critical balance needed to keep the Internet open and safe … We know the pressure to deviate from this balance will be strong, and we hope he can stay on course.” - - AV
Embarq and CenturyTel received the final two state approvals -- Pennsylvania and Washington -- required for their proposed merger, the companies said Friday. Only FCC approval is outstanding. Pennsylvania’s Public Utility Commission and the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission voted Thursday to approve the merger with conditions. Several Pennsylvania commission members issued a statement dissenting with a portion of the decision in which the commission elected not to continue a rate freeze dating to the spin off of Embarq from Sprint and not to accelerate broadband commitments demanded of Embarq. The company has 30 days to accept the Pennsylvania conditions, which stipulate that the merged company must maintain “substantially the service levels” in place for wholesale operations, subject to reasonable and normal allowances for the integration of their systems; that the company negotiate multiple contracts simultaneously when that approach “will aid in addressing common issues;” that the company adopt the Embarq Administration and Service Order Exchange (EASE) service order system; that for the first three years following the merger, it report quarterly on integration of billing systems and business and repair office operations, with speed of answer statistics included in the report and for the same period, report quarterly the number of company personnel associated with maintaining Pennsylvania network facilities, with the level of maintenance expense and personnel detailed. In addition, the commission conditioned its approval on the company fulfilling service quality reporting obligations outlined in the 2005 Spinoff settlement for three years after the merger is completed. The merged company may not protest or challenge a competitive local exchange carrier’s right to interconnect or refuse to extend their interconnection agreements because the CLEC is providing wholesale service, the commission said. The final condition is that “any merger conditions imposed by the Federal Communications Commission with regard to offering stand-alone DSL also shall be extended to Embarq’s Pennsylvania customers to the extent possible,” the regulator said. It reserved the right to incorporate additional conditions mirroring those the FCC sets. Washington regulators also set a long list of conditions. The most prominent include restricting dividend payments under certain conditions; extending Embarq’s Service Quality Guarantee program to customers of both companies for one year after the deal is completed; requiring a credit of $15 to residential and $25 to business customers for missed service or installation appointments; informing customers of any name change or new billing system; ensuring that no costs incurred as branding or transition expenses are passed on to Washington ratepayers; giving Washington customers who use CenturyTel or Embarq for their long-distance carrier 90 days to choose another provider without a $5 switching fee; and a one-year minimum ban on requests to raise basic residential phone rates. Meanwhile, Virginia’s Corporation Commission said it told Embarq to gradually reduce charges for other phone companies to connect to its local network. The first cut will be made in two phases to be completed by July 1, 2011, the commission said. It said the gradual approach will reduce any upward pressure on basic local phone rates for Embarq customers. The Commission found that the carrier’s revenue from intrastate-access charges amounts to a subsidy to Embarq that’s out of step with state policy promoting competition and a level playing field in Virginia’s telecom market.
The American Association of Information Radio Operators is asking the FCC not to issue a rulemaking notice, triggering a long proceeding, and instead provide basic guidance to the group’s members on what they can broadcast under federal rules on the travelers information service. The travelers-aid stations involved could be use to broadcast Amber Alerts to help find missing children.
An FCC report on rural broadband prescribes government intervention to spur availability and demand. The report, released publicly on Wednesday, was required by Congress in the 2008 Farm Bill and did not require sign off by all commissioners. Instead, writing in the first-person, acting Chairman Michael Copps highlighted common problems affecting rural broadband, including technological challenges, lack of data and high network costs. Copps also urged a revamp of the Universal Service Fund, new rules on network openness and an audit of all spectrum that the FCC has licensed, with an eye on where it is being used effectively or could see more use on a secondary basis.
OTTAWA -- Canada’s big private TV broadcasters are feuding again with cable and satellite providers over mandated carriage fees and financial support for local stations. The fight flared again late last week when leading cable and satellite operators accused CTVglobemedia, one of Canada’s largest broadcasters, of violating terms of its broadcast license by appealing during newscasts for viewers to support its position in favor of carriage fees (CD May 26 p13).
The FCC is asking other countries to supply broadband data to help it develop a national broadband plan. Tuesday, the FCC released letters sent earlier this month by the International Bureau to Canada, Australia, Nigeria, South Africa, Singapore, Korea, Japan and Hong Kong. The commission is required by the Broadband Data Improvement Act to do an international comparison of broadband speeds and prices (CD April 21 p2). “We hope to learn from the experiences of others in meeting the shared challenge of delivering broadband to all of our citizens,” the bureau wrote. “While some national level data is available through institutions like the Organisation [for] Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), we are interested in obtaining broadband data at more granular levels -- for example, by city, county, state, province or prefecture. Similarly, we are interested in demographic and socioeconomic data at comparable unit levels.” More letters are expected to appear on the FCC’s Web site in the next few days, a commission official said, but the total is unclear. -- AB ----
Change is coming to the European Parliament and Commission this year but some important telecom matters will carry over, said officials from the EU bodies, industry and consumer groups. With European elections June 4-7 and a new EC expected to be seated by early next year, completing an overhaul of e-communications rules is the highest priority, telecom groups said. Broadband rollout, digital content and Internet access are also on the agenda, they said.
Purple Communications said it’s not violating interoperability or Do-Not-Call Registry rules, as alleged by Sorenson Communications. Earlier this week, relay provider Purple defended itself against the interoperability claim, saying its equipment has gone through “intensive interoperability testing,” including by Sorenson engineers (CD May 19 p7). Wednesday, in a letter to the FCC, Purple added that it’s not violating a Federal Trade Commission rule on who is permitted to add a number to the Do-Not-Call Registry. “As is plain from the FAQs on the Purple web site that Sorenson cites, Purple does not offer to place customer’s Purple Local Numbers on the Do-Not-Call Registry,” it said. The FTC’s rules on removing a number from the list are unclear for relay, it said. “The only technical way to remove a number is for the consumer to dial an automated line from the telephone number for which removal is sought. However, that method does not work for relay telephone numbers at this time apparently due to their routing through a relay call center.” Purple’s telephone number vendor created a work-around so relay customers can remove their numbers by contacting Purple’s customer-care department, the company said. “If the Commission believes this to be improper, we will immediately cease offering relay consumers the ability to remove their numbers from the Do-Not-Call Registry,” Purple said. “However, we believe such action would violate the requirement for functional equivalency mandated by Section 225 of the Communications Act of 1934.”
Hasbro’s participation in a joint venture with Discovery Communications won’t be challenged by the U.S. The Federal Trade Commission cleared the deal under the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust act Wednesday. Hasbro is paying $300 million to Discovery to form a cable network with shows based on the toymaker’s brands (CD May 1 p11).