Deutsche Telekom made its “best and final offer” late Wednesday in its bid to merge its T-Mobile USA wireless carrier with MetroPCS. Deutsche Telekom’s new offer would still give MetroPCS shareholders $1.5 billion in cash and 26 percent ownership of the combined carrier, but it does address concerns about debt. Deutsche Telekom is now proposing to transfer $11.2 billion in debt to the combined carrier -- $3.8 billion less than in the original offer -- and has cut the interest rate on the debt by half a percentage point (bit.ly/14eCSCX). MetroPCS said it has moved a full vote on the merger to April 24; it had previously been set to occur Friday. The original merger proposal faced increased opposition in recent weeks, with two major MetroPCS investors saying they would vote against the deal, after several proxy advisory firms found Deutsche Telekom’s original offer did not reflect the true value of MetroPCS’s assets and involved too much debt (CD April 2 p9). Hedge fund Paulson & Co., one of the two MetroPCS shareholders leading opposition to the merger with T-Mobile, said in a statement it “intends to vote for the” revised deal, which it said was an improvement. P. Schoenfeld Asset Management, the other leading opponent of the original deal, said in a statement it’s reviewing the new offer.
The U.S. Thursday floated an approach to broadcasting protection that focused on “true signal piracy, real-time transmission of the signal to the public without authorization,” according to World Intellectual Property Organization closed captioning of the meeting of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, as blogged by Knowledge Ecology International Geneva Representative Thiru Balasubramaniam (http://xrl.us/boun4u). Considering that the issue of protection for broadcasting organizations has been under discussion for nearly 20 years; and that many stakeholders are concerned about creating extra layers of safeguards requiring more clearance of rights; and that the WIPO General Assembly in 2007 called for a signal-based approach, “the only realistic way to achieve results without years of additional debate would be to find a compromise based on a core of common agreement,” the U.S. said. It should be possible to coalesce around a simpler, more targeted approach that addresses the core problems of broadcasters today, including true signal piracy that takes place during real-time, unauthorized transmission, it said. This would be technology-neutral in the sense that it wouldn’t matter what platform is used for the act of piracy, it said. The proposal has several advantages, it said. This is an area where WIPO members already have considerable consensus and can move quickly. It could avoid the concerns voiced about additional layers of protection for content, and remove the need to address “other contentious or difficult issues such as term of protection or exceptions,” it said. The U.S. statement brought a cheer from Thompson Coburn partner James Burger, who represents tech companies. It expressed “what I believe supports the traditional and effective U.S. system protecting broadcasters: forbidding signal theft by real-time over-the-air retransmission of broadcast,” he told us. The approach also supports innovation and the consumer electronics/technology industries by not overlaying yet another set of copyright-like rights, he said. Burger reiterated his view (CD April 11 p13) that “copyright makes no sense for broadcast transmission” because a transmission can’t be “fixed.” The view of the European Broadcasting Union and all other broadcasters is that online services, insofar as they're provided by broadcasters and related to their offline services, should be included, because those services already arrive via the remote control on a TV screen, EBU Head of Intellectual Property Heijo Ruijsenaars told us. In an interview posted on WIPO’s website (http://xrl.us/boun6f), EBU Director-General Ingrid Deltenre said those who oppose updating broadcasters’ rights “would not appear to grasp why broadcasters need protection in the first place nor the nature of the protection that currently exists.” To safeguard and build on their sizeable investment, broadcasters must have the proper means to authorize or prohibit use of signals in upstream and downstream markets, she said. The broadcast signal must be shielded from the moment it’s created as a pre-broadcast signal through to its primary use to broadcast or retransmit programming and against unlawful secondary exploitation, she said. She dismissed claims that giving broadcasters new rights would hamper freedom of expression and innovation in consumer devices, or spark problems for ISPs or Creative Commons licensees. The committee meeting ends Friday.
Carriers are moving toward a voluntary solution so subscribers can send emergency text messages to public safety answering points, Verizon and Verizon Wireless said in reply comments at the FCC. But a group representing the deaf and hard of hearing said the FCC should impose a mandate on all carriers. In December, the FCC approved a further NPRM asking questions about how the commission can best make sure that all wireless subscribers will one day be able to send 911 text messages, amid warnings that widespread ability to do so could be many years way (CD Dec 13 p12). Verizon pointed to continuing progress. “Just last week, the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions and the Telecommunications Industry Association released a new technical standard that will provide service providers and PSAPs with a clear and feasible technology path toward text-to-911 implementation,” Verizon said (http://bit.ly/10Q16hU). “The Competitive Carriers Association also announced that most of its members will be able to implement the ‘bounceback’ requirement by the Agreement’s June 30 target. And Verizon Wireless launched text-to-911 service in Frederick, Md., where the Maryland School for the Deaf is located, and is working with PSAPs and other officials on deployments in several other states and localities.” A coalition led by Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing said the FCC should impose a mandate. “Text- to -911 is critical for more than just disability access,” the coalition said (http://bit.ly/Zbs7fP). “This Text-to -911 solution would not only provide access for people who are deaf and hard of hearing, and other TTY users, but provide a viable alternative for hearing people who are unable to use their voice while calling 911 due to speech disabilities or emergency circumstances where silence is necessary to avoid detection and further harm to their well being.” Earlier comments in general support the use of SMS as an interim solution for carriers to put in place for texting to 911, AT&T said. “While there is some diversity of opinion on the scope of the obligation to provide text-to-911 and on aspects of its implementation, in the main the comments applicable to CMRS providers support using the Carrier-NENA-APCO Agreement as a template for any interim solution,” AT&T said (http://bit.ly/14ejPIL). “NENA is encouraged by the many supportive comments filed in response to the FNPRM,” the National Emergency Number Association said in reply comments(http://bit.ly/10Q5a1B). “In addition to providing a factual record for the Commission’s interim text proceeding, the comments relating to interconnected- and applications-based-text providers clearly demonstrate the additional capabilities (e.g., enhanced location determination) that can come from these now-common services.” In the earlier comment round CTIA warned the FCC that a text-to-911 mandate on carriers may not survive a judicial challenge (CD March 13 p12). “NENA agrees with AT&T that the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA) provides clear authority for the Commission’s proposed Text-to-911 rules,” the group said. “Despite trade-group insistence to the contrary, the CVAA cannot be read so narrowly as to exclude Commission authority over the transition to IP-enabled emergency services like interim Text-to-911."
The FCC Wireless Bureau gave most, but not all, carriers with licenses in the 700 MHz B block a six-month extension of the June 13 interim four-year construction benchmark deadline. As expected, AT&T and Verizon Wireless don’t get the same relief (CD April 9 p1). To get an extension, carriers had to have signed a petition asking the commission to address interoperability issues in the Lower 700 MHz band “asserting that the development of two distinct band classes within the Lower 700 MHz band has hampered their ability to have meaningful access to a wide range of advanced devices,” the order said. In addition, carriers that filed notifications of construction for the interim construction benchmark on or before April 9 did not get an extension. The four carriers not entitled to relief because they didn’t complain about interoperability are Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility Puerto Rico, Red WL Corp. and New Cingular Wireless PCS. Five carriers aren’t entitled to a waiver because records show they notified the FCC they had started to build out their licenses -- AT&T, Bend Cable Communications, Choice Phone, Glenwood Telephone Membership Corp. and King Street Wireless. “The extension granted in this Public Notice is non-transferrable, and any proposed assignee or transferee seeking Commission approval to acquire a 700 MHz band B Block license subject to the extension granted herein may independently seek relief justifying an extension of the Interim Construction Benchmark Deadline,” the order said. “Because we take this action on our own motion, all previous requests for extension or waiver of the Interim Construction Benchmark Deadline filed by Lower 700 MHz band B Block licensees remain pending.” The Competitive Carriers Association has led advocacy on a 700 MHz interoperability mandate and President Steve Berry said the order is helpful. “It is clear the FCC recognizes the challenges smaller carriers face in accessing devices and utilizing existing 700 MHz licenses, yet there is still work to be done to get to the heart of the problem -- interoperability,” Berry said.
Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., bowed a cybersecurity bill Wednesday modeled after last year’s revised SECURE IT Act (S-3342), said her spokesman. Blackburn’s 2013 SECURE IT Act differs slightly from last year’s Senate bill by including “consumer protection and data breach notification” provisions, her spokesman said. Blackburn described the bill as a “conservative, incentive-based framework that opens up collaboration between the government and the private sector while also providing safeguards to citizens when their sensitive data is compromised,” in a news release. “Pretending this problem can be subtly deposited in our desktop recycling bin is just as much a losing proposition as President Obama’s heavy-handed executive order,” she said.
The FCC is asking Congress for $359.3 million for fiscal year 2014, up $12.5 million from this year, all of which would be paid for through regulatory fees. Under the FCC’s budget (http://bit.ly/YLROE9), the number of full-time equivalent staff would increase from 1,776 this year to 1,821 in FY 2014. The Wireline Bureau would get the biggest staff increase, up 41 to 217. The Office of Managing Director would gain 20 to 223. Staff assigned to the chairman and commissioners would increase by six to 31. The FCC seeks $10.9 million to pay for the increasing cost of overseeing the USF. “More resources are required to continue the Commission’s work to modernize USF, implement reforms, and increase its oversight of the newly-reformed programs,” according to the budget document. “This request will support funding for additional staff” including attorneys, economists, IT specialists, program managers and technologists. The agency asks for $500,000 to help it construct a Public Safety Answering Points Do Not Call Registry, as mandated by Congress last year. But the agency also identified $2 million in cuts, through “identified efficiencies and savings in travel, telecommunications, contracts, and other expenses.” The FCC also asks for $4.8 million to move part of its Enforcement Bureau field operations from an old farmhouse at the FCC’s Columbia, Md., campus to its D.C. headquarters. “If the FCC continues to house employees and equipment in this facility, it must undergo a complete renovation,” the FCC said. “This extensive work would require replacement of walls, ceilings, floors, mechanical and electrical systems, furniture and other equipment. The farmhouse is a historical building, and as a result has presented challenges to any efforts to upgrade the facility."
The FTC will take a novel approach to protecting consumers in the ever-evolving digital landscape, said FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Senior Attorney Lesley Fair, speaking for herself and not for the agency. Fair pointed to a recent case involving websites across 80 domains that told visitors their computers needed repair and charged them to fix the computers without actually detecting or solving any problems. “The size of it in no way scared off the FTC or FTC staff from going after these cases,” she said. Fair also discussed the recently updated “Dot Com Disclosures” guidelines. The disclosure guidelines apply to mobile devices with smaller screens, she said. “Just because the screen is smaller, does not mean that the advice to clients is, ‘Don’t worry about making disclosures.'"
The FCC Wireline Bureau asked for comments on the transfer of assets from Baja Broadband to TDS Baja Broadband, as those entities applied for in March (http://bit.ly/YlCa35). “TDS Baja Broadband will acquire substantially all of the assets of Baja, including its customers and Commission operating authority” if the bureau approves the transfer, it said in its Wednesday public notice. Comments are due April 24, replies May 1.
Austin officials said Google didn’t receive special treatment in bringing Google Fiber to the Texas city, as the mayor first said Tuesday after the partnership was announced (CD April 10 p10). AT&T had proposed its own gigabit network in Austin but only if it got the same terms and conditions as Google, prompting such questions. “We are prohibited by law from favoring one provider over another,” said Austin Telecommunications and Regulatory Affairs Officer Rondella Hawkins during a live Gigabit Nation show Wednesday. State regulations limit what the municipality can require in terms of open access or bandwidth caps, Hawkins said. Council member Laura Morrison agreed. “What I learned is that we're under state regulations and we don’t have the authority to offer anything to one franchise that is not completely available to the other,” she said. “We did not offer incentives. … There were no accommodations that weren’t available to everyone.” They described the amount of enthusiasm building in Austin across email listservs already and the many letters of community support they had attained to help secure the Google Fiber deal, expected to connect its first Austin homes in mid-2014. The city response was “spontaneous and immediate” when Google Fiber first asked for information, Morrison said. The city presented letters of support from the Texas House, Senate, the city council, the city manager, creative leaders and from the health and education sectors of the city, among others, she said.
There are too few women in technology, said FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. While women have about half the jobs in this country, “they have less than a quarter of all jobs in STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] fields,” she said Wednesday at a women’s history month event sponsored by Minority Media and Telecommunications Council in Washington. (The event was postponed from March.) “We should strive to close that gap,” she said. “If we don’t, it’s like playing cards with half a deck.” Women are about 52 percent of the FCC’s population, said Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. Out of that number, 52 percent are attorneys and 12 percent are engineers, she said. “While those numbers are incredible, we still have a lot of work to do,” she said. Oftentimes, the incredible contributions women make “are not reflected on the doors, on the marquees, [and] in the history books,” she added. Former Commissioner Gloria Tristani urged young women to consider careers in public service and government. “Public service is a good calling and we need more than a few good women to embrace public service [and] leadership,” said Tristani, who served under President Bill Clinton. “We need more women in the House, in the Senate, in the Cabinet and at the FCC.”