The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology said it will start a 45-day public trial of Google’s TV band database system on Monday. “As part of its authorization process for TV band database systems, the Commission stated that each database will be subject to a public trial period of not less than 45 days to ensure that the database is providing accurate results before it is allowed to be made available for regular public use,” OET said (http://bit.ly/XHCfMs). “OET has examined the Google database system’s channel availability calculator and registration facilities and finds that these capabilities are ready for trial testing by the public.” The FCC has already completed tests on two database administrators, Spectrum Bridge and Telcordia Technologies. White-spaces devices designed to use vacant TV channels to access the Internet must first check that channels are locally available through the use of a white-spaces database, under the FCC’s rules.
NexGen Global Technologies CEO Rick Shaffer and others from the company met with FCC staff to explain the products and technologies the company offers to supplement text-to-911 communications. “NexGen has developed products and technologies for real time transmission of photos, video and text for law enforcement and first responder purposes,” the company said in an ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/YEeP6Y). “NexGen’s solution is a complement to text-to-911, and has the capability to accelerate and scale NG-911 services, with features and functionalities that can enhance public safety."
The FCC Public Safety Bureau released transcripts of the two-part Feb. 5 field hearing on the reliability and continuity of communications networks in disasters. The hearing was in New York City (http://bit.ly/XHzpax) in the morning and Hoboken, N.J., in the afternoon (http://bit.ly/YbTXHa).
Adak Eagle Enterprises and Windy City Cellular laid out for FCC staff how they're cutting costs in their attempts to serve remote Adak Island, Alaska, following the FCC’s grant of a waiver to the companies temporarily giving them extra support to serve the remote area (http://bit.ly/WlFw6a). The order was from the Wireless and Wireline bureaus as they evaluate the two carriers’ need for extra funding. “AEE and WCC have been struggling to maintain operations since their universal service funding was drastically (and immediately, without notice) reduced under the USF ... Transformation Order, including a staggering 84 percent flash-cut to WCC’s funding and the subsequent rapid phase-down of funding for AEE,” the carriers said (http://bit.ly/XLbKD0). “AEE and WCC appreciate the interim relief provided by the Bureaus as they are evaluating a long-term resolution of their waiver requests. AEE and WCC have been actively pursuing cost-cutting measures in order to minimize the amount of universal service support necessary for the companies to continue providing quality service to their customers in a safe manner.” Much of the data submitted was redacted from the public version posted by the FCC.
T-Mobile USA said it added a net 61,000 subscribers in Q4, versus a net loss of 526,000 subscribers at the same time in 2011. The carrier’s earnings were reported as part of owner Deutsche Telekom’s quarterly earnings report. The gains came because T-Mobile added a net 166,000 prepaid subscribers, while it lost a net 515,000 contract subscribers. The carrier said it had $4.9 billion total revenue -- the second consecutive quarter of sequential growth, but down 5.2 percent from the same period in 2011. The year-over-year decline was due mostly to a 14 percent drop in revenue from contract subscribers, T-Mobile said Thursday. The carrier said its “bring your own device” program has resulted in about 100,000 iPhone owners “making the switch to T-Mobile” each month, bringing the carrier’s total iPhone customers to more than 2 million. The carrier plans to begin selling the iPhone itself at some point this year. T-Mobile said it’s also preparing for its proposed merger with MetroPCS, and the deal is “on track” to close in the first half of the year, following a March 28 vote on the merger by MetroPCS shareholders. The merger “will substantially benefit the shareholders and customers of both companies by creating the leading wireless value carrier with expanded scale, spectrum and financial resources to compete across the entire U.S. market,” Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann said in a news release (http://bit.ly/13rmMnH).
Democratic Sens. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut introduced the Do-Not-Track Online Act on Thursday (http://xrl.us/bokdyj). It would require all online companies to minimize data collection about citizens’ browsing habits once requested, require online companies to destroy or anonymize individual browsing data once it’s no longer needed and enable the FTC to pursue enforcement actions against any violators. The bill aims to bolster voluntary efforts by industry members to offer a do-not-track option to citizens who wish not to be tracked online, the senators said. “Industry stood at the White House and made a public pledge to honor do-not-track requests, but has since failed to live up to that commitment,” said Rockefeller in a news release Thursday. “My bill gives consumers the opportunity to simply say ‘no thank you’ to anyone and everyone collecting their online information. Period.”
The FCC Media Bureau sent equal employment opportunity audit letters to a batch of randomly-selected stations, a public notice said (http://bit.ly/WungSG). The bureau changed some of the information it asked for this year to “reduce audit burdens on stations while at the same time encouraging broader job outreach,” it said. It asked for fewer job notices, on-air ad logs and less information on initiatives that go beyond FCC requirements, it said. “We intend for reduced response burdens to encourage stations to have vigorous recruitment without the need to provide as much detail as before in audit responses.” A list of stations to be audited and the audit letter is at http://fcc.us/YCJhyk.
The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau proposed $45,000 in fines against Mount Rushmore Broadcasting for violating public file rules at three Casper, Wyo., radio stations, notices of apparent liability released Thursday said (http://bit.ly/YCIq0r, http://bit.ly/XFLexU, http://bit.ly/Xo3ISo).
The FCC Enforcement Bureau issued a $15,000 fine to Pierre Nixon Jean for operating an unlicensed radio station at 92.5 MHz in West Palm Beach, Fla., a forfeiture order said (http://bit.ly/13qMYzc). The bureau issued the order after receiving no response to a notice of apparent liability issued in June 2012, it said.
House Democratic lawmakers hailed a recent report that confirmed the FCC must require sponsors of all broadcast ads to identify themselves, even for political spots. The GAO report (http://xrl.us/bokdta) said the FCC has the right to prevent advertisers from misleading viewers and require true sponsors to disclose their identity, said a joint news release issued by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Henry Waxman, D-Calif.; and House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. “It’s been said that sunlight is the best disinfectant -- and this report makes clear that the FCC has the power, the authority, and the responsibility to shine a bright light on the organizations and campaigns behind our political advertisements,” Pelosi said. “The FCC must simply update its rules to reflect the law, ensuring disclosure in our elections, transparency in our campaigns, and fairness for all voters.” Eshoo said “it’s time for the FCC to play a crucial role in bringing greater transparency to America’s electoral system by requiring sponsors of political ads to disclose their true identity, not just their ambiguously-named Super PAC.” Waxman urged the agency to “take full advantage of the authority already granted by Congress to provide maximum transparency for consumers and voters.” The commission’s sponsorship identification requirements apply to both commercial and political advertisements and require broadcasters to identify “the individual or group truly responsible for funding an advertisement with political or controversial content,” the GAO report said. It urged the FCC to modernize its broadcast sponsorship identification rules and provide status updates to broadcasters that are under investigation for violations. It said FCC guidance on broadcast sponsorship announcements addresses older technology that is in some cases no longer used. The GAO report also said broadcasters would benefit from more clarification from the FCC on how sponsorship identification rules apply in certain situations like when a video news release or product is aired. Ex-Commissioner Michael Copps commended the report. “The government’s own watchdog says what I've been saying all along -- the FCC can and should make full disclosure a reality,” said Copps, a special adviser at Common Cause, a political advocacy group. “I hope the FCC will take heed -- the American people have had their fill of unaccountable and anonymous ads.” NAB did not comment.