FCC Chmn. Martin can expect a steady diet of oversight hearings in the House and perhaps the Senate -- as well as more demands on his conciliatory skills -- with the changing of the congressional guard, sources said Wed. NTIA Dir. John Kneuer and other key officials also can expect invitations to testify more often, sources said. Rep. Dingell (D.-Mich.), presumptive Commerce Committee chmn., urged “more oversight” on the AT&T-BellSouth merger, one of several communications issues likely to get early House attention.
The FCC Fri. launched a rulemaking expected to lead to a requirement that celltower operators install white strobe lights to protect migrating birds. A Commission notice of proposed rulemaking seeks guidance on other bird-friendly steps. It also asks more generally how much risk towers pose.
The FCC dropped the AT&T-BellSouth merger vote from the agenda for today’s meeting, indicating FCC Chmn. Martin is growing less certain of gaining approval. AT&T has indicated talks on merger conditions are at an impasse, sources said. At deadline, with discussions continuing, the FCC’s 2 Democrats said they were seeing progress.
The FCC is expected to designate BPL an information service like DSL and cable at its open meeting Fri., industry officials said. With the Commission issuing final BPL rules in Aug. (CD Aug 4 p2), BPL classification was the last federal issue for the industry, they said. The FCC’s rules have been appealed by the American Radio Relay League in federal court. The Commission pulled the classification item on the eve of its Aug. open meeting, but Chmn. Martin clarified to reporters there was no hold-up and all the commissioners support it.
Consultant Carolyn Coleman joins National League of Cities as dir.-federal relations … John Sander retires as Belo vice chmn., effective Dec. 31, but will keep working with senior vp-law & govt. on several projects… Changes at Amp'd Mobile: Bill Stone promoted to pres.; Sue Swenson, ex-T-Mobile, becomes COO; Dan Cohrs, ex-Global Crossing, exec. vp-finance & corporate development; Russ Eisenman, ex- Tower Records, vp-mktg.; Todd Meyer, ex- Jamdat Mobile, vp-human resources … Ia. Utilities Board Comr. Curt Stamp named chmn. of Qwest states Regional Oversight Committee for 2007… Michael Reed, ex-Verizon, joins Ind. Utility Regulatory Commission staff as exec. dir.- utility sectors, finance & consumer affairs…Sherwin Siy, ex-Electronic Privacy Information Center, moves to Public Knowledge as staff attorney and dir.-Global Knowledge Initiative … Scott Wallsten, ex-American Enterprise Institute, joins Progress & Freedom Foundation as senior fellow & dir.-Communications Policy Studies, Nov. 13… Jason Friedrich to leave Drinker Biddle to become asst. dir.- telecom regulation, Motorola.
Wireless Pathways told the FCC, despite claims by AT&T to the contrary, there’s substantial industry support for the FCC to order AT&T-BellSouth to divest not only 2.5 GHz but also 2.3 GHz spectrum as a merger condition. AT&T claims the issue is mostly a Clearwire gambit to snare 2.5 GHz spectrum (CD Oct 31 p1). “The Commission must take the time required to consider a divestiture requirement, and request and receive as much input as it needs to make a reasoned decision,” Wireless Pathways said. Besides Clearwire, it cited as divestiture backers American Antitrust Institute, Cbeyond Communications, the Center for Digital Democracy, Computer & Communications Industry Assn., Consumer Federation of America, Consumer’s Union, Free Press, Grande Communications, New Edge Networks, NuVox Communications, Supra Telecom, Talk America, XO Communications, Xspedius Communications and U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
E. LANSING, Mich. -- The once-sharp distinctions between telecom and media are blurring as digital telecom devices and services develop into a delivery vehicle for radio, movies, TV channels and games, FCC Comr. Tate told a Michigan State U. audience Tues. She said every day sees some new development in wireless and Internet video, in technology or market concepts, that blurs the line a bit more.
A federal court in Ill. told Sprint to provide rural Ill. incumbent telcos an unedited copy of its pact with MediaCom Communications to supply wholesale VoIP services. The rural telcos want the material for a suit in U.S. Dist. Court, E. St. Louis, challenging an Ill. Commerce Commission (ICC) order requiring they negotiate local interconnection agreements with Sprint. Sprint isn’t a common carrier or telecom provider as defined by law, the telcos say, claiming the terms of Sprint’s deal with MediaCom will support the charge. Sprint answered earlier requests with a redacted copy of the contract. The telcos said the parts Sprint censored directly relate to their claim that Sprint has no right to interconnection because it doesn’t offer wholesale VoIP services equally to all comers. Sprint and the ICC argued the telcos aren’t entitled to see anything not part of the ICC record when it ordered the telcos to negotiate interconnection with Sprint. The ICC said the telcos in that docket had a chance to demand to see all terms of the Sprint- MediaCom agreement but didn’t ask to. The ICC termed the suit an improper attempt to litigate the ICC ruling based on material not included in the ICC case record. Chief Judge Patrick Murphy in Case 06-CV-00073 ruled that the court has discretion to expand the record, cautioning in allowing the telcos to see the complete MediaCom service contract and question Sprint witnesses on it he isn’t letting the unedited agreement into the court record. He gave Sprint until Nov. 23 to produce the contract and set a Dec. 19 hearing on the rural telcos’ request for an injunction barring the ICC from enforcing its interconnection order.
Campaign spending in the 2006 elections is on track to set a record of $2.6 billion, with Republican interests slightly outspending Democrats, the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) said. With much of the money going to TV ads, the estimate is 18% higher than the 2002 midterm election’s $2.2 billion, the study said. AT&T ranked No. 4 among donors, giving $2.2 million, according to Federal Election Commission filings as of Sept. 11.
The communications industry is the 4th biggest contributor to congressional political campaigns, behind labor, financial services and health care, according to federal election reports and an analysis by PoliticalMoneyline. The industry’s political action committees (PACs) have given nearly $17.3 million this election cycle, compared with $18 million in 2003-2004 and $15.7 million in 2001-2002. Republicans got $11.1 million and Democrats $6.2 million during the 2005-2006 cycle, a split similar to the previous campaign’s.