State telecom deregulation will continue and may not harm consumers, argued National Regulatory Research Institute Principal Sherry Lichtenberg in a paper to be released Wednesday. NRRI is an affiliate of NARUC. “It is clear from the number of bills passed since Indiana’s 2006 deregulation bill, as well as the bills pending in 2013, that deregulation will continue, either individually, state by state, or via FCC forbearance,” the 72-page paper said. It’s an update to a survey of legislation she released last summer. Lichtenberg described the legislative survey results and conclusions of this research to us earlier this spring, saying she worries less about deregulation these days (CD March 29 p13). Such deregulation bills have passed or are pending in 70 percent of states, the paper said. The research examines the wave of recent laws and pending bills, such as those limiting state regulation of Internet Protocol-enabled services (CD April 1 p7). It analyzes which telcos are dominant in areas where regulation is being or has been reduced. “Legislation passed or pending in the 22 states where AT&T is the primary ILEC could almost totally eliminate state utility commission oversight of retail telecommunications across the AT&T region,” Lichtenberg’s paper argued. “As the largest carrier in these regions, AT&T has moved aggressively to encourage state legislatures to deregulate both traditional wireline and emerging VoIP and IP-enabled services throughout the territory. AT&T’s key legislative goals appear to be protecting VoIP and ‘emerging IP-enabled services’ from regulation and eliminating the [carrier of last resort] COLR and/or basic service obligations not shared by its more lightly regulated competitors.” Verizon is “least active” in sponsoring these deregulation efforts in its 13-state ILEC area, Lichtenberg said: “Rather than push for deregulation, Verizon appears to have focused its efforts on increasing the penetration of FiOS where it is already available, addressing the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, resolving quality-of-service issues raised by the failure of the 911 system during the 2012 Derecho, and responding to questions about service quality raised in New York and California.” The paper confirms what Lichtenberg told us about the effects of state deregulation: “The early results seem, if not positive, then at least ‘palatable.’ Carriers have not withdrawn service from their traditional markets, including their rural markets. ILECs have not raised prices significantly or eliminated traditional TDM wireline service offerings.” And PUCs and consumers are adjusting, she said. She proposed strategies for these stakeholders, suggesting state regulators work with other agencies to fill in gaps in oversight where regulatory power has been removed or reduced. Lichtenberg is scheduled to present her research Wednesday morning at a USTelecom event on state telecom policy.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is “disappointed” in the FTC’s decision to retain its July 1 implementation date for the new Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act rule, said Bill Kovacs, senior vice president-environment, technology and regulatory affairs, in a statement after the agency disclosed the decision Monday (CD May 7 p8). “Given that the amended rule was adopted in December and that the clarifying guidance was issued less than two weeks ago, Chamber members have expressed great concern about being able to come into compliance by July 1, 2013, because of the lead time required to make technical and product changes."
Fibertech Networks plans to expand its fiber network in Delaware beyond the 160 miles already in service in Wilmington. “To fulfill major new sales agreements, Fibertech will extend its current infrastructure by more than 80 miles from Wilmington, through Dover and into Georgetown,” the company said Tuesday (http://yhoo.it/10EtUGz). It will offer “both dark fiber and optical broadband options to area businesses that have predominately used traditional carrier lines in the past,” it added.
The EAGLE-Net Alliance is inviting network operators to negotiate partnership deals, said a 16-page document the broadband infrastructure stimulus grantee released Tuesday (http://bit.ly/16eAv2Z). EAGLE-Net received $100.6 million from NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program and escaped a five-month suspension in late April, with little grant money left and a need for private money -- an additional $10 million to $15 million, by some estimates -- and more time (CD May 1 p5). The entity is to connect Colorado schools. Responses are due June 3. “EAGLE-NET desires to enter into a public-private partnership whereby a Network Operator assumes day-to-day management of the Network in a manner consistent with EAGLE-NET’s mission to deliver broadband primarily to schools,” the document said. “EAGLE-NET understands that it is not itself an operator but instead the owner of the Network.” The intergovernmental entity wants a “revenue-sharing arrangement” that puts the operator in charge of all management and operation of the network, it said. “As a reflection of that commitment, EAGLE-NET requires the selected Network Operator to provide an initial capital investment that will be used toward completing the Network consistent with EAGLE-NET’s mission, building out laterals for customer connections and other working capital requirements,” it said. Respondents should expect to deploy and manage a network expansion of at least 1,000 route miles and provide an initial investment of at least $8 million, EAGLE-Net said. The operator “will assume responsibility for the Network in stages” as part of an “agreed turnover process,” it said. The operator should be able to support initial elements of the network by August of this year, which is when the BTOP grant’s scheduled to sunset; NTIA has told us EAGLE-Net can ask for a grant time extension and will need one. EAGLE-Net plans a respondents’ kickoff conference May 17, to notify shortlisted respondents by June 10 and finally select a network operator by the week of July 22, according to the document.
Univision selected Ramp to deliver search across 96 Univision Web and mobile properties. Ramp’s topic and page publishing solution identifies and publishes thousands of user-friendly and search engine optimization-friendly topic pages “for easy navigation across Univision’s content collection,” Ramp said in a press release (http://bit.ly/108ICcW). Ramp’s MediaCloud platform continuously ingests all of Univision’s content and creates rich metadata, “including time-coded transcripts and tags for video content and automated tagging and indexing of text and image content.” This indexed content is then deployed across all of Univision’s online properties using Ramp’s template search results pages, it said.
The SES-6 satellite arrived at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and is being processed for launch on an International Launch Services Proton Breeze M rocket, SES said. Liftoff is scheduled for June 3, the company said in a news release (http://bit.ly/12OyLGP). The satellite has 43 C-band and 48 Ku-band transponders, SES said, and will deliver next-generation broadcast services to North America, Latin America, Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, it said.
Southern California Telephone & Energy is expanding to Newport Harbor, Calif., it said Tuesday (http://yhoo.it/16efxRI). The company runs the state’s largest private Wi-Fi network, it added. CEO Greg Michaels described the benefits this would bring for the community’s many boat owners and referred to the greater need for open Wi-Fi networks with “telecommunications improving daily and the ability to pull data via hand held devices such as the Apple iPhone, Samsung Smartphone and Motorola Droid,” in a statement.
Outdoor Channel Holdings said it intends to postpone its Wednesday stockholder meeting, which was called to approve its amended merger agreement with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. A new date and time haven’t been set, Outdoor Channel said in a press release (http://bit.ly/16bqx0r). This week, Outdoor Channel’s board decided InterMedia Outdoors’ offer to buy the distributor is superior to Kroenke’s offer (CD May 7 p15). Kroenke can propose changes to its terms within four business days from its Saturday offer, it said. Outdoor Channel determined that it’s in the best interest of stockholders to adjourn the meeting until after Thursday, “the date by which this four business-day period will expire,” it said.
The Kentucky Public Service Commission formally named AT&T as a defendant Monday (http://1.usa.gov/1411Sco) in a case after Duo County Telecom complained over failed payments in late April. Duo County had previously asked the PSC to oversee this dispute in an interconnection agreement proceeding, which the PSC declined to do because it wasn’t the appropriate forum (CD March 25 p16). The complaint focuses on “AT&T Kentucky’s failure to compensate Duo County Telecom for intrastate access services provided to AT&T Kentucky in connection with the transport and termination of intraLATA toll traffic” under an interconnection agreement between the two parties, according to Duo County. The PSC ordered that AT&T respond or satisfy the complaint’s concerns within 10 days of its Monday order. AT&T declined comment.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski circulated for commission approval an item on amendments to FCC tower siting rules for small, temporary cell towers. The item is in response to a Dec. 21 petition for expedited rulemaking by CTIA asking the FCC to add an exception to the commission’s public notice requirements for towers that are under 200 feet in height, will be in use for 60 days or less, require the filing of a Form 7460-1 with the Federal Aviation Administration and do not require marking or lighting under FAA regulations (http://bit.ly/13ZjVQc). The FCC Wireless Bureau recently sought comment on the petition (http://fcc.us/14iLEvQ). “There are many non-emergency situations that occur without any significant advance notice and require the construction of temporary towers to address significant short-term capacity constraints,” CTIA said in the petition. “The current [antenna structure registration] notice requirements can effectively prevent the actions necessary to address capacity concerns and ensure service availability.”