The U.K. Office of Communications Friday proposed to allow 4G mobile services in the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz bands where such services haven’t already been permitted. It also plans to change the permitted base station transmit power for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System and 3G in the 900 MHz band. Liberalizing all mobile licenses in the 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz bands would align the permitted technologies across all mobile spectrum licenses, including existing ones in the bands and those now being auctioned in the 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands, Ofcom said. That would meet a long-standing goal to lower regulatory barriers to rollout of the latest available mobile technology, it said in a consultation document (http://xrl.us/bod52y). Comments are due March 29. Ofcom’s decision to allow 4G in the bands “will on the whole be welcomed by operators and is fully in-line with others countries and Ofcom’s commitment to removing the previous command and control approach to spectrum policy,” Ovum analyst Matthew Howett said in an email. However, even if operators are allowed to deploy 4G in bands previously restricted to 2G and 3G, most are unlikely to do so in the short run, he said. The bands first need to be cleared of existing use through a refarming process that will probably take years, he said. Spectrum currently being auctioned will most likely be used for Vodafone, O2 and Three’s initial 4G deployment, he said. Ofcom’s earlier attempts to liberalize the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands for 3G were “famously met with fierce opposition” from some parts of the industry since at one point it implied taking back spectrum from some operators and redistributing it to others to more fairly distribute the benefits from refarming, he said. Updating license conditions to allow for technological neutrality is a positive move because it lets spectrum holders decide its real economic value and the best way to use it, he said.
Eight consumer groups urged President Barack Obama and congressional leaders to ensure that the Internet and other telecommunications services remain affordable and accessible, and consumers’ privacy is protected. In joint letters sent last week, the groups also urged lawmakers and the president to protect consumers by ensuring open, competitive and fair markets through “tough” enforcement of antitrust prohibitions on anticompetitive mergers and “cracking down on monopolistic practices” that lead to higher prices and fewer choices for consumers. The letters were signed by executives from Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, National Association of Consumer Advocates, National Consumers League, National Consumer Law Center, Public Citizen, and U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
"The stakes are high” as the FCC moves forward on rules for the world’s first incentive auction of broadcast spectrum, said T-Mobile Vice President Kathleen Ham in a Thursday blog post (http://xrl.us/bodxqu). “If all goes well, the auction can serve as a model for competition and getting encumbered spectrum efficiently redeployed for wireless broadband use,” she said. “A misstep, however, could undermine the outcome most desired -- namely, stimulating investment and encouraging the rapid expansion of the mobile broadband services consumers so crave.” Getting widespread broadcaster participation in the auction won’t be easy, she said. “Maximizing broadcaster participation will require just the right mix of financial incentives as well as careful attention to mechanisms that shorten and simplify the auction,” Ham said. “Similarly, spectrum clearing rules must be both broad enough to satisfy minimum closing conditions for revenue, and granular enough to ensure that broadcasters who wish to exit a given market may do so. Enhancing broadcaster participation and, when feasible, calibrating clearing rules to local or regional market conditions, will increase the amount of spectrum available for broadband use and lead to a more successful incentive auction."
The Wireless Gigabit (WiGig) Alliance tested its WiGig technology last week at its first plugfest since agreeing in early January to merge with Wi-Fi Alliance. The plugfest, which included members of the Wi-Fi Alliance, helped interoperability to progress and the results will aid in the two groups’ efforts to develop a certification program, the WiGig Alliance said Thursday. “With each plugfest we move closer to achieving a fully commercialized new standard,” said WiGig Alliance President Ali Sadri in a news release. “The vision to introduce this technology, which will enable new applications and an unprecedented user experience, is already becoming a mainstream reality and when certification becomes available, we will see an explosion in WiGig products coming to market” (http://xrl.us/bodxpn).
More dynamic broadband initiatives are needed in Minnesota, a group argued before the Legislature. The Minnesota Governor’s Task Force on Broadband updated the state’s Senate Jobs, Agriculture and Rural Development Committee Wednesday afternoon. It released its recommendations in December, pointing out obstacles in reaching statewide 2015 broadband goals (CD Dec 13 p15). Task Force Chair Margaret Anderson Kelliher, who presented the update, is president of the Minnesota High Tech Association as well as a former speaker of the Minnesota House. “Without further policy intervention, we will not meet that border-to-border goal,” Kelliher told legislators. She pointed out the ways broadband is important for commerce, healthcare and education and said the group sees itself as “technology neutral” in expanding broadband infrastructure and adoption. Mobility will be important but has limitations, she cautioned, pointing out the problems of using mobile devices for activities like applying for jobs. Connect Minnesota Senior Program Manager William Hoffman also gave an update on the mapping and survey efforts within the state. Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democratic-Farmer-Labor party member, created the group in November 2011.
Sales at Viacom during its fiscal Q1 fell 16 percent from a year earlier to $3.3 billion, while operating income fell 22 percent to $797 million, the company said. Most of the sales drop came from its filmed entertainment division, which brought in $975 million, a 37 drop from a year earlier. At its media networks division, affiliate fee increases helped offset ad sales declines, leading to a 2 percent drop in revenue to $2.4 billion.
Chairman Julius Genachowski had to little to say on when he plans to leave the FCC, during a Thursday news conference following the commission’s monthly meeting. The chairman’s likely departure has been a widely discussed topic for at least the last six months among lobbyists and other FCC watchers. Genachowski was asked point-blank by several reporters about his plans. “I'm working hard every day and we have a terrific agenda,” he said. “I'm focused on the agenda and that’s what I'm going to continue to do.”
Increasing use of small cells will cause an increasing need for last-mile backhaul -- 2.27 million small cells will need a backhaul medium in 2017, up from the 170,000 small cells that required backhaul globally in 2012, said Multimedia Research Group (MRG) Thursday. Backhaul is not necessary for all small cells, but it’s required for outdoor metropolitan and indoor picocells, microcells and “a percentage” of enterprise femtocells, MRG said. There are at least 11 backhaul medium types for small cells -- five for wireline and six for wireless. But by 2017, microwave radios will be the most-used medium, with an estimated 2 million radios forecast to be in use, MRG said. Slightly more than 1 million small cells will be connected by fiber and another 933,000 will be connected MM microwave radios (http://xrl.us/bodxnp).
A bipartisan group of Arizona congressmen urged the FCC in a letter sent this week to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski to “expeditiously” distribute resources from the commission’s Connect America Fund (CAF). The lawmakers noted that less than half of the CAF support was distributed in 2012 and said they're “anxious to see tangible results” in areas where broadband infrastructure is lacking. They said they were encouraged by the commission’s Nov. 19 rulemaking notice aimed at refining CAF eligibility rules and asked the FCC to consider the proposal as soon as possible. The letter was signed by Democratic Reps. Ed Pastor, Raul Grijalva, Ann Kirkpatrick, Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Reps. Paul Gosar and David Schweikert. Separately, in a letter sent this week, Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., urged Genachowski to “promptly deploy” CAF resources “for the good of rural consumers.” Crawford said much of the $600 million set aside to invest in new broadband deployment in 2012 “remains on the sidelines and the wait for broadband continues,” according to the letter. “The current slow pace is unfortunate when you consider that the FCC financed state-of-the-art networks for thousands of other rural Americans a decade or more ago,” he wrote. Crawford further urged the commission to act on its NPRM to refine CAF rules and enable carriers to quickly deploy broadband infrastructure to unserved citizens.
The State Department seeks comment on its proposal to amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations by revising Category IV of the U.S. Munitions List (USML), which includes space launch vehicles, guided missiles and rockets. The revisions are aimed at describing more precisely the articles warranting control on the USML, the department said Thursday in a Federal Register notice (http://xrl.us/bodxd2). The proceeding is part of President Barack Obama’s export control reform effort, which includes moving some satellites and equipment from USML to the less-restrictive Commerce Control List (CD May 21 p3). Comments are due 45 days after the publication date, it said.