The FCC will consider the Frontline plan in an NPRM embedded into its 700 MHz band plan order, industry sources said Thurs. The same day, public comments responded to a pro-Frontline filing and mixed comments by Comr. McDowell Wed. (CD March 5 p1). Frontline proposal foes pounced, citing “needless uncertainty” and outlining criteria for proper use of public safety spectrum. CTIA Pres. Steve Largent attacked the plan in a letter to Chmn. Martin (R). Former Comr. Harold Furchtgott-Roth listed a set of criteria for safety spectrum allocations that ultimately didn’t favor the plan. Meanwhile, Public Knowledge and others filed ex parte recommendations for the 700 MHz band, including an open access proposal favorable to Frontline. (See separate story in this issue.)
Carriers are expected to challenge in court the FCC’s decision to require them to get customers’ consent before sharing customer proprietary network information (CPNI) data with joint venture partners or independent contractors for marketing, sources said Tues. Under the rule change, customers must “opt in” to give carriers permission to share the data.
In asking the FCC to waive its antenna rules for the 11 GHz band, 5 organizations have “demonstrated a strong interest” in using smaller antennas in the band, said the Commission in the text of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released Tues. The NPRM was adopted at the March 22 meeting (CD March 23 p13). The FCC tentatively concluded that modifying the antenna rules could promote efficient use of the 11 GHz spectrum. It rejected arguments by the Satellite Industry Assn. (SIA) that the shared nature of band should “preclude” the Commission from changing its antenna rules. FSS operations are primary but limited in the 11 GHz. Microwave wireless services are co-primary. SIA has argued that changing the rules will stop any expanded use of the 11 GHz band. The NPRM is an outgrowth of a petition filed by FiberTower in 2004. The limitations on antenna size “reflect the technical sophistication of the communications equipment and the needs of the various users of the band at the time that the rules were adopted,” the FCC said. The comment period for the NPRM will be triggered when it’s published in the Federal Register.
The FCC can’t regulate deals between cable operators and owners of multiple-dwelling units (MDUs) because Congress didn’t authorize the agency to intervene in private contracts of that sort, said some communications lawyers and apartment trade groups. The Commission would violate the rights of cable operators and property owners alike if it decides it has authority under the Telecom Act to remedy anticompetitive video contracts. Last Thurs., commissioners voted to take a first step, seeking public comment in a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) tentatively concluding the FCC has such authority. The NPRM addresses allegations by SureWest and Verizon that exclusive video deals make it harder for them to sell packages of video, phone and broadband (CD March 23 p7).
ORLANDO -- Wireless will have a major role in the USF program, FCC Chmn. Martin reassured wireless carriers Tues. Sources said after Martin’s remarks to the CTIA conference here that they're having trouble reconciling Martin’s advocacy of caps on reimbursements to competitive eligible telecom carriers (CETCs) with his insistence Tues. that USF be technologically neutral.
The Swiss Federal Communication Commission (ComCom) renewed 3 of 5 GSM licenses for Orange, Sunrise and Swisscom Mobile through 2013, ComCom said. Frequency refarming during renewal allows Switzerland’s 3 main wireless carriers better distribution of frequencies for UMTS in the 900 MHz range, an official said. Licenses are ostensibly technology neutral, but ComCom wanted Orange to have at least one channel for UMTS in the 900 MHz range. Sunrise and Swisscom Mobile yielded some frequencies to Orange, which gave up some frequencies in the 1800 MHz range. The 3 license renewal dates now are harmonized, as are Tele2’s and In&Phone’s GSM license renewal dates, giving ComCom flexibility to make changes. “There’s been a lot of talk about migration from GSM to UMTS, but no one really knows when this will come,” an official said. The 3 main operators first got 10-year licenses in 1998.
The BPL industry sees a big opening in a push in Congress and the states for improved energy efficiency and power grid reliability, officials said. With provisions of the 2005 Energy Act urging states to consider requiring utilities to install automated meters so customers can price energy in “real-time,” manage electricity and perform other such tasks, many state PUCs are starting proceedings, they said. “To the extent the states come back and say we want to do that, then it opens up another opportunity for BPL,” Brett Kilbourne, regulatory dir. of the United Power Line Council (UPLC), said. The business is so promising even phone companies like AT&T are jumping in, said Roger Gale of the Galvin Electricity Initiative (GEI).
CTIA and wireless carriers asked the 9th U.S. Appeals Court, San Francisco to uphold a lower court’s decision overturning proposed state regulation of line charges on subscriber bills. The case touches on one of CTIA’s major focuses: Carriers’ need for the certainty of national rules rather than state-by-state regulation. If the court sides with CTIA, which filed an amicus brief, the issue may be headed for Supreme Court review, sources said.
A federal court threw out a wireless carrier’s lawsuit against the Ariz. Corporation Commission (ACC) over its handling of an interconnection dispute with a rural incumbent telco. The U.S. Dist. Court, Phoenix ruled that plaintiff Autotel Communications hadn’t heeded a Telecom Act mandate that it have a final order from the state commission on a completed interconnection agreement before it suing in federal court. The case began in 2002 when wireless carrier Autotel sought to interconnect with rural telco Citizens Utilities. The parties couldn’t agree and sought state arbitration, which led to a July 2004 ACC order on the disputes. The commission directed the companies to complete and file an interconnection agreement incorporating its order. Autotel refused, suing the ACC and Citizens, claiming the ACC overstepped its authority and violated Autotel’s due process rights, and that Citizens acted in bad faith. The ACC and Citizens sought dismissal on jurisdictional grounds. The court (Case 05-CV-328) agreed it lacked jurisdiction because Autotel hadn’t submitted a completed interconnection agreement for state approval and so had no final order from the ACC. The court said the Telecom Act’s intentions would be compromised if judicial review began before a state had completed its administrative review.
BERN, Switzerland -- Swisscom Fixnet debuted prices Tues. for a suite of new regulated products to be offered when the Revised Telecom Act takes effect April 1. Swisscom and rivals then have 3 months to work out differences, but the Swiss Competition Commission likely will be fielding complaints.