FCC Chairman Kevin Martin circulated an order that would put an abrupt end to M2Z’s effort to build a free, nationwide wireless broadband network in the 2.1 GHz band. Martin has asked fellow commissioners for a quick vote. Meanwhile, M2Z put the FCC on notice that it will seek a writ of mandamus in federal court that would force the FCC to act on its petition. M2Z will tell the court that the FCC was statutorily required to make a public interest determination on its license application by May 5, 2007 but hasn’t issued it.
Alaskan regulators want the FCC to investigate Verizon’s plan to stop selling calling cards to Alaskans, and recharging old ones, because service there costs so much. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska said that, before the MCI-Verizon merger, many Alaskans used MCI national calling cards, for 2.9 cents a minute. The cards, now with Verizon’s name, still are offered at that price to most Americans, but not those with Alaskan ZIP codes or phone numbers, the commission said. Verizon now plans to stop recharging old MCI cards on Sept. 4. Recharging the old cards is the only option left for MCI/Verizon users, the regulatory commission said.
Communications and technology PACs gave $2 million to Democratic candidates in the first half of 2007, compared with $1.5 million to Republicans, according to Federal Election Commission records compiled by Political Moneyline. The industry is the fourth largest contributor among corporate PACs for the 2007-08 election cycle, its $3.6 million slightly behind the No. 1-ranked agriculture sector at $3.9 million. It’s a position likely not to change, as communications has held the No. 4 spot since the early 1990s.
Broadcasters asked the FCC to clarify that sales of ads in bulk through third-party websites (CD July 9 p11) shouldn’t be reflected in the rates that radio and TV stations offer to federal candidates. NAB, 47 state broadcast associations, Gannett, Media General and other companies said three decades of FCC precedent mean that ads sold through nonbroadcast networks should not be subject to the lowest unit charges (LUC). At stake is whether broadcasters must directly offer politicians rates that could be even lower for airtime, because the Internet auction sites offer advertisers lower prices than they could get if they bought commercials from individual stations. Also at stake is the development of what many FCC filings referred to as “nascent” industry of Google’s dMarc Broadcasting, Bid4Spots, SoftWave Media Exchange and others that sell unwanted airtime.
Hearings and letters to the FCC and NTIA on DTV consumer education will multiply in September, when Congress returns, Hill aides said in interviews this week. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D- Hawaii, told reporters he will convene a fall hearing on the DTV transition, saying a July 26 session convinced him “more needs to be done.” House Telecom Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey, D-Mass., also will scrutinize consumer education efforts, an aide told us.
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Taking his 700-MHz band auction show on the road, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin passionately defended the Commission’s adoption of open access requirements as helping consumers and innovation. Speaking at a North Carolina Chamber of Commerce lunch Thursday, he predicted the rules will lead to greater competition in wireless communication.
Broadcasters claimed victory Wednesday after the FCC released reports on Office of Engineering and Technology tests of devices designed to operate without causing interference in TV white spaces. But the White Spaces Coalition wasn’t conceding defeat, saying engineers for the coalition need to work with the FCC to better understand the results and how the tests were conducted.
Federal law enforcement authorities have “overreached” in seeking more surveillance access to wireless packet technology, commenters told the FCC in filings Wednesday. The comments responded to a petition by the Justice Department, FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration for an FCC ruling that an industry standard for law enforcement access to CDMA2000 technology doesn’t meet Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act standards. Justice is out of line to make that demand, industry and user groups said, contesting language in the petition that appears to indicate that the Department wants the rulemaking applied to other technology as well.
A federal court upheld a 2006 Texas Public Utility Commission order lifting Consolidated Communications’ rural competition exemption and compelling it to negotiate an interconnection agreement with Sprint for wholesale VoIP services sold at retail via Sprint cable partner Suddenlink Communications. The PUC order’s effectiveness was put on hold in March when the U.S. District Court, Austin, gave incumbent telco Consolidated a temporary injunction pending the case’s outcome. In its appeal (Case A-06-CA-825-LY), Consolidated said the PUC erred in finding Sprint a common carrier entitled to interconnection. Consolidated said Sprint’s wholesale VoIP service isn’t common carriage because pricing is confidential and the service isn’t offered indiscriminately to all potential buyers. But the court cited a 2006 federal New York court decision and a March 2007 FCC ruling that held wholesale telecom service providers are common carriers under Sec. 251. The court said telecom services sold indiscriminately by Suddenlink to the public, at published rates, won’t work without Sprint’s switching and routing functions. The court said that means Sprint “provides telecommunication services and does so in a manner that offers indiscriminate service which is effectively available directly to the public.” The Texas court noted the New York ruling’s conclusion that Sprint’s partnership arrangements with cable companies represented a new type of business arrangement, and said granting common carrier status to Sprint’s arrangement fitted the federal Telecom Act fundamental purpose, to promote local competition. The court dissolved its injunction, remanding the case to the PUC with instructions to give parties reasonable time to implement an interconnection agreement.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has made a “good start to open things up” with a proposal for the 700 MHz auction, House Telecom Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey, D-Mass., said at an oversight hearing Tuesday. The plan could be improved by making wireless carriers let consumers switch carriers and take along their phones, and by addressing early-termination fees, Markey said. But Republicans sharply criticized the idea of putting restrictions on the spectrum, which many said would reduce auction revenue.