The FCC upheld a decision by its Office of Engineering & Technology (OET) that rejected a request to open a proceeding on the possible need to revise guidelines for evaluating human exposure to radiofrequency (RF) emissions. The full Commission backed OET’s decision to reject the petition by the EMR Network. The guidelines were created in 1985 to regulate the amount of RF radiation to which humans may be exposed by transmitters regulated by the FCC, including cellphones. The existing guidelines were finalized in 1997, relying in part on recommendations of federal agencies and groups with expertise in health areas and standards-setting. EMR had argued that the FCC’s RF exposure guidelines didn’t take into account nonthermal effects and the impact of long- term low-level exposure. OET rejected the petition, saying the FCC historically had turned to agencies with primary expertise for ensuring health and safety, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). OET said the existing exposure guidelines were based on criteria set by the National Council on Radiation Protection & Measurements and the IEEE and took into account the advice of agencies such as EPA and the FDA. EMR said the FCC couldn’t defer responsibility for its rules to other expert agencies, contending that current research on RF bioeffects on humans was largely the domain of private entities and as a result lacked credibility. The Commission said OET’s action didn’t run against existing laws or regulations. “OET’s fundamental premise -- our reliance on the expertise of health and safety agencies in this area -- is our sound guiding principle and EMR has failed to advance any argument that persuades us otherwise,” the order issued last week said. The FCC said it had “carefully and assiduously” developed RF guidelines based on the best available science, as interpreted by relevant expert agencies. “When there is an appropriate indication by such agencies, or other expert sources, whether self-initiated or in response to outside petition or activities, we could consider the need for an investigative effort in support of possible exposure rules revisions,” it said. The Commission also said the 2nd U.S. Appeals Court, N.Y., had upheld its RF exposure guidelines in a 2001 ruling. The court had pointed out the FCC had tools in place for taking into account changes in scientific information in thsy area. In a separate statement, FCC Comr. Copps stressed that the order reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment “to monitor developments related to the biological effects of RF energy. Should additional scientific evidence emerge, concerned parties should bring such evidence to our attention… Evidence of this type could mean that the Commission would have a ‘basis for opening a rulemaking or fact-finding proceeding.'”
Last week’s blackout in the Northeast marked the first big test for the wireless priority service (WPS), which gives priority on mobile networks to national security and first responders in emergencies. Because some snags in mobile service were related to power disruptions at cell sites, industry observers said they expected a new focus on WPS funding issues and reliability questions connected to such power sources.
FCC Chmn. Powell urged consumers Thurs. to ask about E911 availability when choosing a wireless service and called on govt. officials and carriers to “redouble” their deployment efforts. “Consumers need to know that some wireless carriers have invested more than others in implementing E911,” he said. The Commission issued a consumer advisory that cautioned that in some areas 911 operators didn’t yet automatically receive the phone number and location of a wireless call. The advisory said that although much progress had been made on E911 in the last year, “some wireless carriers and some state and local governments have invested more than others in bringing this life-saving technology to consumers.” The Commission said more than 1/3 of emergency calls came from wireless phones. “Government officials and the wireless industry need to redouble their efforts to make this a number one priority,” Powell said. The consumer advisory came after he earlier this week outlined the FCC’s next steps on E911 in a speech at the Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) annual conference (CD Aug 12 p1). Senate Communications Subcommittee Chmn. Burns (R-Mont.) and Sen. Clinton (D-N.Y.) are co-sponsoring a bill (S-1250) that would require location technology for wireless calls and would bar states from taking money from E911 funds for other purposes. “Wireless consumers in all but a handful of states pay E911 surcharges on their bills that go to state and local governments for E911,” Powell said Thurs. “Consumers have every right to expect that money to be used for E911 upgrades.” The National Emergency Number Assn. lauded the FCC’s guidelines for consumers, saying most subscribers didn’t realize that public safety answering points could locate automatically only about 10% of wireless calls.
Even as the debate over media consolidation rages following the FCC’s decision to raise the ownership cap for commercial broadcasters, voices are emerging in the public broadcasting arena calling for public TV stations to break with PBS, making them truly independent. Exhorting PTV stations to drop the PBS main feed and “go it alone,” Frederick Thomas, exec. vp-gen. mgr. of MHz Networks, said it would enable stations to make their own programming decisions. “It’s the entrance fee to being able to call yourself truly independent since PBS’s hold on local public television stations is just another form of media centralization,” said Thomas, whose MHz Networks operates 2 independent PTV stations in northern Va.
INDIANAPOLIS -- FCC Chmn. Powell told the Assn. of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) here Mon. the agency’s E911 Coordination Initiative would focus next on working with governors’ offices to build support for ensuring state funds set aside for E911 rollout were used for that purpose. “Consumers have an expectation that fees appearing on their bills for E911 will be used to further the deployment of these life-saving technologies, and we must ensure that those expectations are honored,” he said. Outlining the Commission’s next steps on E911, Powell also said it was creating a technical group on 911 network architecture and technical standards that would work under the Network Reliability & Interoperability Council (NRIC).
The Aug. congressional recess isn’t likely to be relaxing for network lobbyists, who are trying to slow the momentum for rolling back broadcast ownership caps. With the Senate scheduled to vote to throw out all of the FCC’s controversial media ownership rule changes, network backers said they would use the month to try to change the direction of the nationwide media ownership debate. And while both sides acknowledge that it’s still uncertain what, if anything, Congress will do on media ownership rules, it seems clear that the impact of the issue on Capitol Hill has surprised many and seems likely to carry over into other media issues.
National Telecom Coop Assn. (NTCA), in a filing to the FCC, supported delaying implementation of the Commission’s recently adopted “do not fax” rules. NTCA supported the American Society of Assn. Executives (ASAE), which requested the agency stay the fax rules (CD Aug 5 p4) and sought emergency clarification. The NTCA petition said: “Nonprofit tax-exempt organizations have a relationship with their ‘customers’ that is unique and distinguishable from a commercial enterprise. The nonprofit organization is providing a service and does not seek commercial profit on behalf of shareholders. In the case of NTCA, association with the organization is voluntary and not tied to the purchase of goods or services. Its members expect to receive promotional, educational and informational materials. There is no statutory or public policy reason to apply a blanket application of the ‘do not fax’ rules to nonprofit, tax- exempt organizations.” The FTC said Wed. that nearly 30 million people have signed up for the ‘do not call’ registry, with most coming from Cal., Fla., and Tex.
The Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Tues. there had been progress in state, local and regional first- responder aid in the National Capital Region (NCR) through the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI). NCR, which includes, D.C., Md. and Va., has received more than $60 million in resources from the federal UASI organization “to secure the area’s critical infrastructure and respond to potential acts of terrorism” and so far had made “significant progress” in planning as well as starting initiatives. The NCR was the first region to conduct a full need and risk assessment, determining capabilities and developing a strategy for communication equipment and training. Planning efforts also have focused on developing operating plans that include a “communications strategy with business rules for interoperable communications (data and voice) and a regional emergency operations center.” It said accomplishments included identifying new information management systems under development and assessing interoperability requirements and capabilities of the emerging systems with existing information networks and tools, and assessing current communications systems as the technological basis for a NCR Virtual Joint Information Center. It also cited progress in the Capital Wireless Integrated Network and the Agile system, which help the NCR implement the technology to support interoperable communication of both voice and data. The report said the new resources would help complete interoperability soon.
An FCC decision to tighten the rules governing unsolicited fax transmissions has created consternation among nonprofit associations that say the rules will make it difficult for them to provide members with services they seek. At issue is a new rule that commercial faxes can’t be sent without prior consent, an apparent disagreement about what constitutes a commercial fax message and an FCC decision that having “an established business relationship” no longer is enough to justify sending unsolicited faxes. The Commission revised its rules on unsolicited faxes as part of its June 26 vote to establish a national do-not-call list to lessen unwanted telemarketing calls. The order takes effect Aug. 25.
MCI’s latest woes aren’t going to “doom” the company because many in govt. want to see it remain in business, but they might cause it to emerge from bankruptcy later and perhaps in a less powerful position than expected, analysts said. Adding to week-old allegations of access charge fraud and related investigations by the Justice Dept. and the FCC, GSA announced Thurs. that it had suspended MCI from participating in new federal contracts because of concerns about lack of internal accounting controls and questionable business ethics (CD Aug 1 p1). Analysts said MCI generated $1.5 billion in sales each year from public contracts, 60-70% of them supervised by the GSA.