AUSTIN, Tex. -- NARUC adopted resolutions Wed. that call for careful federal review of pending telecom mega- mergers, and suggest a general extension or carrier- specific waivers of a year-end FCC deadline for full implementation of handset-based wireless E-911. However, because of a technicality they voted against a proposal that would have urged states and the FCC to consider naked DSL as a pro-competition tool when reviewing mergers or generally making regulations. The measures, approved by NARUC committees earlier this week, were approved by NARUC’s board Wed. as official NARUC policy.
Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV) weighed in on an FCC proposal to preempt state-specific truth-in-billing rules. MSV agreed with wireless and wireline carriers, who say a patchwork of conflicting state rules hobbles nationwide customer service. The Commission’s 2005 Truth-in-Billing Order extended wireline truth-in-billing rules to Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) providers, including Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) providers like MSV. MSV said it backs the Commission proposal to preempt state-specific truth-in-billing rules because “subjecting CMRS carriers to fifty disparate state regulatory schemes would be unduly burdensome, and would conflict with the federal government’s exclusive jurisdiction over interstate communications.” Further, MSV said, restructuring truth-in-billing requirements to apply state-specific regulations would raise carrier costs and customer rates. CMRS carriers generally have structured their offerings on a nationwide basis, without regard to state borders, MSV said. Compliance with state-specific truth-in-billing regulations would force CMRS carriers to: (1) Identify which communications are purely intrastate, and (2) let those communications be regulated without interfering with any interstate communications or other intrastate communications. MSV said it’s impossible to decide if an MSS call is purely intrastate or not. MSV uses 2 satellites to provide its service, each of which uses 5 slightly overlapping satellite beams across the N. American region. MSV said while it can tell which beam is being used for a particular call, each beam covers thousands of square miles, making it impossible to pinpoint a user’s exact location.
TMI/TerreStar and ICO again asked the FCC to redistribute abandoned 2 GHz spectrum between them, citing rural broadband access and public safety needs in comments filed Mon. With the additional spectrum, the companies said, they could offer broadband and basic telephone services to all areas of the country, no matter how remote, furthering the federal govt.’s goal of universal broadband access by 2007. TMI/TerreStar said, if granted the extra spectrum, they could compete more effectively with other satellite service providers, the Broadband Radio Service and the nationwide cellular/SMR/PCS providers. Further, they said, they could provide emergency responders and homeland security end-users “seamless communications using the same low-cost, broadband-capable devices in any emergency anywhere in the country.” Citing 9/11 and the Asian tsunami, ICO said: “Time and again, MSS has proven to be the only effective means of communications at times and in locations where terrestrial wireline and wireless systems have failed.” But without the spectrum, both MSS operators said, their service offerings could be constrained. On the financial end, TMI/TerreStar asked for a prompt redistribution to foster investment in the new MSS services. Both noted they have less spectrum than other MSS licensees, like Globalstar, MSV and Inmarsat. But MSS competitor Inmarsat again lobbied the Commission to license at least 3 MSS providers in the band. Inmarsat said, with entry into the 2 GHz band, it “stands ready to deploy an expansion MSS system that will provide much-needed broadband service to all of the U.S. by the end of the decade.” Replying to wireless bids for the spectrum, TMI/TerreStar said there is “a wealth of evidence” that terrestrial wireless has ample spectrum to meet its needs for the foreseeable future. Intel urged the FCC to allocate all 24 MHz of the returned 2 GHz spectrum for “flexible, fixed and mobile terrestrial use.” It estimated an auction of the 24 MHz of spectrum for terrestrial services would bring bids of over $9 billion: “This high valuation reflects the exploding consumer demand for terrestrial wireless services, and contrasts sharply with the MSS industry’s struggle for financial viability.” Intel also urged allocating all 24 MHz, not 13 MHz, of the returned spectrum for terrestrial use, saying that would provide “substantial cost savings” and “greater benefits” for wireless carriers. Intel also said maintaining only 2 MSS licensees in the 2 GHz band would suffice to keep them from gaining market power in provision of mobile voice service or broadband wireless services because of strong competition from MSS licensees in other bands and from terrestrial wireless and wireline carriers, it said. Separately, the CTIA said both wireless and satellite commenters “overwhelmingly rejected” the FCC’s proposal to give the abandoned spectrum to ICO and TMI. Neither TMI or ICO has shown a need for additional spectrum, “let alone for their planned satellite service offerings,” the group said. Pointing to the “significant interest in the 2 GHz spectrum at issue” from various segments of the communications industry, including CMRS and SDARS, the CTIA urged the FCC to “evaluate the best use of all the surrendered spectrum -- all 24 MHz -- in a single rulemaking proceeding… Where additional spectrum is to be used for terrestrial mobile service, the Commission should not classify it as auction-exempt satellite spectrum but should reallocate it and auction it for the benefit of the public.” Cingular echoed the CTIA comments, saying TMI and ICO are “years away from commencing operations and therefore have no immediate spectrum needs.” -AK, SP
The FCC said it set up a task force with NARUC to “facilitate timely and effective enforcement of the Commission’s VoIP E911 rules.” The task force, with staff from the FCC and state PUCs, will work closely with public safety representatives including APCO and NENA, it said. “The federal and state Task Force members will look at developing educational materials to ensure that consumers understand their rights and the requirements of the FCC’s VoIP E911 order and rules and how best to expedite compliance and facilitate enforcement, where necessary,” the FCC said: “The Task Force will also compile data and share best practices.” Task force members will be named soon.
Data security, U.S., technology developments and telecom policy and Internet governance were key topics for Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) working Washington this week. Traversing Capitol Hill and federal agencies, delegates spent 3 days gabbing with a parade of political power brokers -- sometimes seeing eye-to-eye, sometimes befuddled by the U.S. system -- but always stressing the need for more U.S.-Europe collaboration on communications issues.
Law enforcement agencies asked the FCC to add in- flight satellite broadband to the technologies covered by federal wiretap law, in comments filed last week with the Commission. The Dept. of Justice, FBI and Dept. of Homeland Security said the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) “is a technology-neutral statute that applies to all ’telecommunications carriers,'” regardless of whether the platform is wireline, wireless, cable, satellite or others. The comments were in response to the Commission’s rulemaking (05-20) on creating a regulatory framework for aeronautical mobile satellite service (AMSS), which includes broadband service on aircraft.
A N.Y. Public Service Commission staff report said the $8.44 billion Verizon-MCI merger would lead to a significant increase in market power in the state. N.Y. presents the pending merger a key clearance hurdle. The PSC didn’t find similar concerns with the SBC-AT&T merger, at least in N.Y. Wall Street is watching N.Y. and other key states as big tests for the merger.
Cingular or Verizon Wireless likely would face the toughest fight if they emerged as the purchasers of T- Mobile, regulatory sources said Tues. Other potential players, including rumored suitor Vodafone, or less conventional wireless players like Comcast or even Microsoft, would likely have an easier time winning approval, they said.
FCC Comr. Adelstein urged industry-govt. cooperation in developing security standards for software defined radio (SDR) and cognitive radio (CR) without hampering the advancements of those nascent technologies. The FCC has largely left the implementation of appropriate SDR security measures to industry, which, Adelstein said, is “in a good position to determine what kinds of security measures are best.” Adelstein’s remarks came at the Global Regulatory Summit on SDR and Cognitive Radio (CR) sponsored by the SDR Forum in Washington Mon.
The FCC would operate more like the FTC, tackling individual instances of alleged market power abuse rather then exerting proactive economic regulatory control, under model legislation from academic and think tank scholars led by the Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF). The proposal released Fri. is the first from PFF’s Digital Age Communications Act (DACA) project on Telecom Act reform (CD Feb 2 p5).