Sorenson does not block customers of other providers from leaving “Deaf SignMail” for its users, it told the FCC in a letter Tuesday (http://bit.ly/15HgUsH). The Video Relay Service provider was responding to allegations that Sorenson configures its equipment to block consumers from leaving video mail messages through point-to-point calls using a competing service. There are no standards for the design of video-mail systems, and some equipment is simply “not capable of leaving Deaf SignMail,” Sorenson said. Because VRS providers can’t compete on price, the commission should continue to allow them to differentiate their products with different features and capabilities, it said. “While such competition may sometimes result in incompatibilities between the enhanced features offered by different providers, it will ultimately lead to better technology and service for consumers."
Reps. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Tim Griffin, R-Ark., told the FCC they were “deeply concerned” about what they called the agency’s “mismanagement” of the USF Lifeline fund, in a letter made public on Tuesday (http://1.usa.gov/11QLVnt). Blackburn and Griffin asked why the commission has failed to create an eligibility database that would help “root out ineligible participants.” They also asked the FCC to say whether the alleged Boston Marathon bombers received benefits from the Lifeline program. “If the FCC isn’t able to conclusively state whether the alleged Boston Marathon bombers received Lifeline benefits, we believe the program should be frozen until there are mechanisms in place to do so,” the letter said.
The number of fatal crashes involving cellphone use may be higher than reported, the National Safety Council said in a report released Tuesday. The council reviewed 180 fatal crashes from 2009 to 2011 where cellphone use was a possible factor, but found that only 52 percent were coded in the national data as involving cellphone use. “We believe the number of crashes involving cell phone use is much greater than what is being reported,” said Janet Froetscher, council president. “Many factors, from drivers not admitting cell phone use, to a lack of consistency in crash reports being used to collect data at the scene, make it very challenging to determine an accurate number.” The study (http://bit.ly/10EMqyx) was funded in part by Nationwide Mutual Insurance.
The Parents Television Council launched a weeklong effort Monday called “#NoIndecencyFCC” to encourage its members to ask the FCC not to limit enforcement of indecency rules and to protest the commission’s policy on Twitter. The effort is a response to the FCC’s request for comment on its indecency policy (CD April 2 p1). “Only pursuing so-called ‘egregious’ complaints from the public about indecent TV or radio content will lead to broadcasters pushing the decency limits even further,” said PTC President Tim Winter in an emailed press release. Winter said more than 90,000 public comments have been filed, “most of them expressing outrage that the FCC would even consider such a proposal.”
AT&T will pay $18.25 million to settle an FCC investigation into improper billing of the Telecommunications Relay Service fund, the agency said Tuesday. The Enforcement Bureau was investigating whether AT&T improperly billed the fund for IP Relay calls without verifying customer eligibility (http://bit.ly/109q7Fk). AT&T will reimburse the TRS Fund $7 million, which includes interest; it will also make a “voluntary contribution” of $11.25 million to the U.S. Treasury, and implement a “robust compliance plan” that includes new operating procedures, revamped employee training, and periodic reporting requirements, an agency spokesman said. “Today’s settlement represents the fourth FCC enforcement action to date against Internet-based TRS providers, resulting in payments of nearly $40 million back to the Fund and the U.S. Treasury,” said Chairman Julius Genachowski in a statement. “The steps taken today will not only ensure the integrity of the program, but also send a strong signal to providers that we will not tolerate abuse of the system.” AT&T agreed to implement the compliance plan within 60 days, and to file compliance reports in 1.5, 12 and 24 months. “We and others in the industry brought the issue of customer misuse of IP relay to the attention of the FCC,” AT&T spokesman Marty Richter said. “While we disagree with some of the FCC’s positions underlying this consent decree, we decided that the best course is to resolve the matter and move forward."
T-Mobile fired back at AT&T, in a letter to the FCC, disputing arguments its onetime merger partner made in an April Department of Justice filing on the need for the FCC to limit who can bid in an incentive auction of broadcast TV spectrum (CD April 26 p6). “No party, not even AT&T, asserts that there should be no limits on spectrum aggregation, either generally or in the incentive auction in particular; the only dispute is about the means by which the Commission should engage in that process,” T-Mobile said. “AT&T would prefer a spectrum screen that is applied post-auction and that lumps all spectrum together, no matter what band it is in. By contrast, the Department endorses a spectrum cap that is applied pre-auction and that recognizes the unique value of below 1 GHz spectrum and the highly concentrated holdings of spectrum in that frequency range.”
Several associations representing local governments have weighed in with the FCC on proposed measures to make user interfaces and programming guides more accessible to those with disabilities, according to letters filed with the FCC Tuesday. FCC staff have said the commission is likely to issue an NPRM soon on sections 204 and 205 of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), which govern user interfaces and program guides (CD May 1 p6). The National Association of Counties, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors signed a letter (http://bit.ly/13fB49K) asking the commission to require cable operators to carry “community provided local program information and local channel names” on their onscreen program guides, if the community chooses to provide them with the information. “For local government the issue of accessibility and availability are intertwined,” said the letter. Montgomery County, Md.’s Office of Cable and Broadband Services filed an ex parte letter (http://bit.ly/ZF0vgB) asking the commission to require those user interfaces and video programming guides that display channel and program information to include a symbol identifying the programs with accessibility options “in real time” so users can know if a program has those options before they start watching it. “Our organizations strongly support the Commission’s efforts to convert the legislative mandates of the CVAA into practical safeguards,” said the letter from the national organizations.
CenturyLink experienced a nationwide service outage Tuesday but was unable to provide many details of why. “CenturyLink is currently experiencing a disruption in service,” a spokeswoman told us by email around midday during the outage. “We are working to restore service as soon as possible and apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. We will continue to work towards resolution until all issues are resolved.” The company posted the same statement to its Facebook page, which attracted more than 300 comments -- many expressing displeasure. The spokeswoman said later she believes service was restored to most customers by early afternoon Tuesday. The telco’s customer service Twitter account was interacting with several customers who had begun to receive service again around that time. CenturyLink has about 5.85 million high-speed Internet subscribers and is the third largest telecom provider in the U.S., as of its last earnings report. The telco offers services in 37 states, based on the state fact sheets the telco offers.
Consolidating has big benefits for U.S. broadcasters, said Moody’s Investors Service in a report Tuesday. Moody’s said broadcast buyers in a merger get “immediate financial arbitrage with minimal risk,” so they can raise retransmission consent fees, and in turn “offer sellers generous multiples for the chance to gain arbitrage opportunities.” Moody’s said the broadcasters have full coffers to make such purchases due in part to the political ad campaigns of 2012. Moody’s said the value of M&A deals among TV broadcasters in 2013 and 2014 will be more than $3.5 billion, and could exceed $6 billion. The report spotlighted LIN Television, Nexstar, Sinclair and Tribune Co., as likely buyers while “Allbritton Communications and broadcasters owned by financial sponsors, including FoxCo, Granite Broadcasting and Local TV” could be takeover possibilities. “In the near future, Moody’s expects that Oak Hill Capital will sell stakes in Local TV and FoxCo, and that Silver Point Capital will follow up its divesting of holdings in Communications Corporation of America with the sale of Granite Broadcasting,” said Moody’s.
The 115.6 million TV homes in the U.S. is an increase of 1.2 percent from the 2012-2013 estimate, according to Nielsen’s 2014 Advance National TV Household Universe Estimate (UE) released Tuesday. Nielsen estimates that 294 million consumers ages 2 and older live in TV homes, up 1.6 percent from last year. The data are based on figures from the U.S. Census Bureau and auxiliary sources such as state governments and the U.S. Postal Service, which are used to arrive at Advance TV UEs in early May before the television industry’s upfronts, it said. Nielsen distributes final UEs before the start of each TV season, it said. “Despite slight shifts in population changes, the advance UEs are ‘largely stable’ and TV viewing remains ‘very strong,'” said Pat McDonough, senior vice president-Insights and Analysis, Nielsen. Nielsen expanded the definition of a TV household in February to include viewing from additional sites in current homes and new homes for the September TV season. According to Nielsen, the 2014 National UEs reflect: (1) real changes in population since last year; (2) updated TV penetration levels, differentially calculated for qualifying market break and age/sex demographic categories; and (3) the expansion of Nielsen’s current definition of a TV home to include homes that receive TV via broadband connection only.