The FCC and the National Communications System (NCS) opened a national campaign Thurs. to urge public safety answering points (PSAPs) to register in the Telecom Service Priority (TSP) program. The FCC said joint research conducted with NCS indicated less than 10% of 7,500 PSAPs in the U.S. now participated. The program, created in 1988, gives govts. and key industries priority over other telecom users in emergencies. In case of a national emergency, the program ensures certain dedicated voice, backbone and access circuits for priority users can operate despite severe network congestion or disruption. The FCC said 911 centers “readily qualify” because they offer services essential to health and safety. NCS Deputy Mgr. Brenton Greene and FCC Office of Engineering & Technology Chief Edmond Thomas wrote to the National Emergency Number Assn. (NENA), National Assn. of State 911 Administrators (NASNA) and the Assn. of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO), which are part of the campaign on TSP. “Lack of participation could jeopardize the restoration of essential service provided by the PSAP administrators during times of disaster and could put citizens at substantial risk of injury or loss of property at times when they are most vulnerable,” they wrote. The FCC said it would be the federal TSP sponsor for all PSAP administrators because, under the program, all non-federal organizations seeking coverage must have a federal sponsor. The Commission developed initial guidelines to help PSAPs enroll. It said in an attachment to the letters to the public safety community that since Sept. 11, 2001, the agencies had been reviewing the “scope and effectiveness” of the TSP program. While they found it operated well in disasters, certain groups were underrepresented, particularly PSAPs. “This lack of participation by certain key organizations represents a serious vulnerability in our homeland security,” FCC and NCS said. The current lag in PSAP participation “could jeopardize the restoration of essential services provided by the PSAP administrators during times of disaster and, therefore, put citizens at substantial risk of injury or loss of property at times when they are most vulnerable.” NCS and the FCC said PSAPs might not join the program because they mistakenly believed telecom service providers automatically gave a high priority to restoring their lines in emergencies. NCS said it would expedite its processing of TSP applications by PSAPs. Current rules give NCS up to 30 days to do so, but it pledged to process valid PSAP TSP applications within 14 days -- only 3 days for most of them. APCO said that, along with industry standards bodies, it would develop additional “industry-specific guidelines” for PSAPs to assist in their enrollments. The FCC stressed Thurs. that a PSAP user didn’t have to purchase TSP coverage for all its lines. Typically, there’s a one- time charge of $100 for a local line and a monthly charge of about $3, but it said most TSP users sought coverage for only a portion of their lines to keep costs down. NASNA said it would provide information to its members to help enroll in the program and do follow-up with 911 center administrators. NENA said it also would provide information to its members and propose revisions in its standards to reflect adequate levels of TSP participation by PSAPs.
An upcoming report by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), drafted by a commission led by former Defense Secy. James Schlesinger, will recommend a White House-level body examine spectrum policy. The recommendation has received broad backing from govt., industry and academic participants involved in the drafting. The report, to be released next month, comes as the concept of a White House-level structure to take a broad look at spectrum management has gained traction among federal policymakers, sources said.
The FCC opened an inquiry Wed., asking for comments on whether providing broadband communications services over power lines could cause interference and how to best measure emissions. Commissioners said the technology could offer consumers a 3rd way to obtain broadband service, in addition to DSL and cable modems, although it still was in the experimental stage.
WorldCom asked the FCC Wireless Bureau to rule that SkyTel and its other wireless affiliates were eligible to participate in Commission auctions. In dispute is whether SkyTel qualifies to compete in a May 13 paging band auction amid questions over the default status of 2 Multipoint Distribution Services (MDS) licenses held by Wireless One, another WorldCom affiliate. FCC rules stipulate bidders are eligible to take part in an auction only if they have satisfied outstanding installment payment defaults.
A wireless industry challenge to the FCC’s retention of local number portability (LNP) faced tough questions Tues. from the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C. Attorneys for both sides sparred over the meaning of “necessary” as viewed by the agency in its rejection of forbearance on wireless LNP, which takes effect Nov. 24.
The Australian govt. unveiled Tues. a report that sets out extensive recommendations for the future of the country’s information & communications technology (ICT) industry. “Enabling Australia’s Future” was commissioned by the federal govt. to serve as the framework for policy decisions on ICT, the Dept. of Communications, Information technology and the Arts said. Recommendations include: (1) Commonwealth, State and Territory govts. jointly should articulate ICT goals and craft strategies to harness ICT for broad national objectives such as security and education. (2) R&D funding should be beefed up. (3) The govt. should give “close consideration” to recommendations of a regional telecom inquiry, including those related to access to high-speed data services in regional Australia. (4) The govt.’s review of digital agenda legislation should examine the balance of rights between creators and users in a digital environment and ensure that the country’s copyright regime didn’t hamper innovation and investment.
FCC Chmn. Powell emphasized to members of Congress Tues. that he didn’t plan to delay the June 2 completion of the FCC’s media ownership review. He used a 3-page letter to reply to nearly a month’s worth of letters from Capitol Hill -- some of which asked Powell to expedite the proceedings while others sought a delay.
The Parents TV Council (PTC) is urging parents to sign a complaint it’s sending to the FCC, saying its $27,500 fine against Infinity Bcstg. for an indecent broadcast on WKRK(FM) Detroit was nothing more than a slap on the wrist. “Broadcasters keep putting totally disgusting obscenity on the airwaves and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) does nothing!” PTC said in an alert sent to its members. The group is demanding tougher enforcement. PTC said the fine was “pocket change to Infinity, which has coughed up over $1.5 million in previous indecency fines -- not surprising, since Infinity is the radio home of the vile Howard Stern program.” A lawyer for Infinity said the company would have a response in a few weeks.
The American Cable Assn. (ACA) is afraid the merger between News Corp. and DirecTV will give the new company too much power over small cable operators that compete with satellite. ACA Pres. Matthew Polka asked for strict federal oversight of the deal. “Given the enormous vertical integration of Fox/News Corp. and DirecTV, the Federal Communications Commission, Congress and the Department of Justice must be actively involved to ensure that this vertical integration is not abused in any way,” he said. The ACA said federal agencies should focus on retransmission consent practices, consumer information about programming costs and possibilities of tiering and a la carte pricing, tying and bundling practices, ensuring regulatory parity between cable and satellite and extending program access laws and regulations to prevent self-dealing. Polka said News Corp. in the past had used tying and bundling of its services and had raised its rates in excess of inflation. The ACA asked the FCC to investigate the company’s retransmission consent practices, report them to Congress and provide protection through access regulations, retransmission consent regulations and other means.
The FCC plans to begin “systematically” evaluating scientific findings on the impact of communications towers on migratory birds, but that doesn’t necessarily mean rule changes are on the way, said Bryan Tramont, senior legal adviser to FCC Chmn. Powell. Speaking at a Wed. PCIA seminar, he said the Commission “in the near future” would seek input on scientific evidence, but: “We believe it would be premature to jump into something at the moment that would drastically change the regime because we just don’t think there’s enough information out there.” In related areas, Tramont said the FCC was nearing release for public comment of a nationwide agreement on streamlining tower siting decisions, and might hire a staff biologist to examine communications issues.