NTIA urged the FCC to avoid proposing rules or procedures that would increase the burdens placed on non-federal satellite operators in its proceeding to improve interference protection for communications between commercial satellites and federal earth stations. The commission adopted an NPRM on the issue last week (CD May 10 p1). The FCC also should not consider imposing any requirements “affecting federal agencies that are not applicable to non-federal applicants and licensees,” NTIA said in a letter to Chairman Julius Genachowski (http://bit.ly/104MTva). The proceeding stemmed from an NTIA petition (CD May 6 p5). NTIA wants a modification of the national table of frequency allocations so that federal earth stations are treated the same as non-federal earth stations, “but we are not expecting the FCC or non-federal users to consult or coordinate with NTIA or other federal agencies to any greater extent than they already do under current rules and procedures,” it said.
The 800 MHz Transition Administrator recommended that the FCC delay from July 1 to Dec. 31 the “true up” date for calculating whether Sprint Nextel owes the government a windfall payment as part of the 800 MHz transition. When the commission approved its landmark 800 MHz rebanding order in 2004, it required Nextel, pre-merger with Sprint, to pay the full value of the 10 MHz national spectrum license it got as part of the rebanding agreement. The FCC set the value of the license at $4.8 billion and the value of spectrum that Nextel would contribute as part of the rebanding at $2 billion. That left $2.8 billion in costs for Nextel to cover. Sprint’s rebanding costs continue to mount since the commission’s last True-Up Deferral Order in December, the TA said. “With respect to cash expenditures, Sprint Nextel has reported to the TA that as of December 31, 2012, it had incurred, on a cash basis, approximately $1,672.5 million in total incumbent licensee reconfiguration costs, including replacement equipment, and approximately $342.6 million for its internal costs,” the TA said (http://bit.ly/13pEbbL).
On Wednesday, the Texas Senate unanimously passed legislation relating to the state’s 911 service. House Bill 1972 passed the House easily April 24 and with its Senate passage is now enrolled. The bill (http://bit.ly/11HVLNZ) sets out to revise the liability portions of Texas law relating to 911 service and to address Internet Protocol-enabled service and other technology changes affecting 911 service. According to the Legislature’s analysis (http://bit.ly/107s5GT), the bill would expand liability protections to include “communications service providers, developers of software used in providing 9-1-1 service, and third parties or other entities involved in providing 9-1-1 service” and “extend this protection to the officers, directors, and employees of these providers and associated entities.” It also kills references to “telephone” and replaces them with “communication devices,” among other language changes. The act will take effect Sept. 1 if it is signed into law.
The Alliance for Community Media cautioned the FCC against allowing AT&T’s U-verse pay-TV service and cable operators to move public, educational and governmental channels off the analog tier. The PEG channels “continue to suffer from discriminatory treatment in quality, accessibility and functionality by AT&T U-verse,” ACM said in an ex parte filing in docket 09-13 (http://bit.ly/18NQVPg). ACM continued to urge the FCC to act on 2009 petitions concerning the placement of the channels during a meeting with staff from Commissioner Ajit Pai’s office. “Adding insult to injury, the lack of response by the FCC is emboldening other companies to discriminate against PEG channels.” Critical concerns of PEG station representatives include difficulty in finding channels and AT&T’s refusal to “provide the station with a subscriber feed for monitoring purposes,” ACM said.
Clearwire urged its shareholders again Thursday to vote in favor of Sprint Nextel’s $2.2 billion buyout bid, which Clearwire’s board of directors said “delivers fair, attractive and certain value.” If shareholders do not approve the deal, “there is no assurance that your shares of Clearwire common stock will be able to be sold for the same or greater value in the future,” Clearwire said. The board of directors noted that Sprint’s bid has received the approval of proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services and Egan-Jones (http://bit.ly/12Ecdu2). Proxy firm Glass Lewis has recommended shareholders vote against the deal (CD May 13 p14). Crest Financial, Clearwire’s largest minority shareholder, contacted Clearwire shareholders late Wednesday, urging them to reject Sprint’s bid. Crest said it believes Clearwire and its spectrum are the “ultimate prize in the intensifying battle for Sprint” -- one in which the No. 3 U.S. carrier is attempting to extract “value from the Clearwire stockholders without offering them fair value.” Both SoftBank and Dish Network are attempting to buy majority control of Sprint, and they hope to quickly reduce the debt burden caused by that purchase in part by selling off Clearwire’s excess spectrum. That can only occur if Sprint is Clearwire’s sole owner, Crest said. If shareholders are able to prevent Sprint’s buyout bid, they can keep Sprint from profiting from any spectrum sale at their expense, Crest said. Clearwire shareholders are set to vote on Sprint’s offer Tuesday; Sprint currently owns 51 percent of Clearwire.
Orbcomm unveiled a self-powered machine-to-machine asset tracking and monitoring device. The GT 1100 is “targeted for a variety of global markets including transportation and logistics, heavy equipment and oil and gas,” the company said in a news release (http://bit.ly/183UPCd). The product is sensor-compatible and self-powered with solar recharging technology for low power consumption, it said. It will be offered initially with cellular communications capability and, this fall, the satellite and dual-mode versions will be commercially available, Orbcomm said.
Thuraya created an innovation division to accelerate development of cutting-edge mobile satellite products and solutions. The new division will focus on “spearheading strategic initiatives for the development and implementation of innovation in products, services and business models,” Thuraya said in a news release (http://bit.ly/17zFv2r). Global recruitment efforts to find a candidate to head the division are under way, it said.
Correction: Internet Governance Project member Brenden Kuerbis was the person who said regional Internet registries “have obviously spent a lot of time influencing the process” (CD May 16 p13).
The FCC Wednesday turned down a 2008 request by the Utilities Telecom Council and network security company Winchester Cator that the commission open the 14.0-14.5 GHz band for terrestrial point-to-point and point-to-multipoint communications. The order was handed down by the Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology (http://bit.ly/rLC3t). “The Bureaus disagreed with the petition’s argument that the band could be licensed without an auction,” Fletcher Heald said in a blog post summarizing the order (http://bit.ly/105qoK9). “They also had concerns about interference into fixed satellite uplinks, which are primary in the band, and expressed doubts as to whether the proposed single-entity frequency coordinator could identify and resolve any interference issues that occurred."
Providing support for loops used to provide standalone broadband service “would promote and accelerate the ongoing IP evolution, and finally provide the basis for a Connect America Fund that supports broadband-capable networks that enable advanced communications and enhanced consumer choice in all rural areas,” NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield told an aide to FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn Monday, an ex parte filing said (http://bit.ly/10z9HCh). The commission also needs to address ongoing concerns about uncertainty caused by the regression-based caps on high-cost loop support, and the potential for additional cuts, Bloomfield said. She also urged the commission to take swift action to “sanction publicly and forcefully” any parties that fail to properly route calls to rural areas. This would send a message that the commission’s recent enforcement action against Level 3 (CD March 13 p7) “was not a ‘one-time occurrence’ and that such conduct will indeed not be tolerated,” she said.