Network specialist Ciena is providing next-generation 100G coherent optical technology to Comcast for use in its core network. Ciena said Thursday its Packet-Optical Platform, which contains WaveLogic coherent optical line interfaces that can scale to 400G, can provide Comcast and other providers with a “cost-effective, scalable way to further enhance their networks while supporting continued broadband growth.” The platform deployment will help Comcast satisfy growing subscriber demand for high-speed services and applications, including HD video, mobile data and cloud computing, Ciena said. It will also help Comcast evolve its network and become more energy efficient. “Adding Ciena’s WaveLogic 3 to our already installed 6500 Packet-Optical Platforms lets us leverage that investment to deliver more content, faster Internet speeds and enable new cloud-based applications for our customers, while also providing future core 400G scalability,” said Kevin McElearney, Comcast senior vice president-network engineering, in a Ciena news release. “As we scale beyond our 100G network, Ciena’s coherent optical technology will help us to deliver on our ongoing commitment to maintain and operate a high-performance, feature-rich advanced network.” Ciena said Comcast is also using its Ciena Specialist Services portfolio for network management system capabilities and other services. Comcast has been using Ciena’s coherent 40G and 100G technologies on its network since 2009 (http://xrl.us/boa89k).
The state of California identified “significant weaknesses” crippling the California Public Utilities Commission’s budgeting processes, the finance department said in an audit. Gov. Jerry Brown (D) requested the review last July after special fund reporting discrepancies were uncovered, the audit said. It slammed ineffective management, poor forecasting methodologies, subpar budget monitoring and appropriations adjustments as well as a lack of compliance with the Division of Ratepayer Advocates’ statutory requirements. The CPUC oversees millions in telecom funds, administering Lifeline, high-cost support and other benefits, which the audit scrutinized. The CPUC tried to reconcile large discrepancies in its fund accounts starting last August but has fallen short: “CPUC’s fund condition statement reconciliation process for the seven funds [out of 14 funds administered total] with $1 million or greater variances [between the State Controller’s Office and Finance records] as of June 30, 2011, lacked sufficient instructions from CPUC management, resulting in inconsistent and inadequately prepared reconciliations for five of the seven funds.” It identified staff shortfalls and found “general confusion and lack of knowledge by the Budget Office, program staff and management regarding the responsible parties for certain budget tasks.” There’s poor communication, coordination and training as well as outdated duty statements and limited written policies, it added. Some predictions lack “viability” or basis, the audit noted: “A fund forecasted approximately $33 million in fiscal year 2012-13 and $64.8 million in fiscal year 2013-14 for wireless services expenditures that lacked a specific timeframe for implementation.” Auditors discovered an $81-million typographical error in a fund forecast, which has now been corrected. The audit includes responses from the CPUC, dated Jan. 8, that acknowledge failings: “Some of the inaccuracies in the forecasting for the telecommunications public purpose funds are attributable to the fact that the policy approaches to many of the programs have changed significantly over that time period, with the budgets attempting to anticipate the potential policy changes to the programs,” Executive Director Paul Clanon explained. He agreed that there’s management problems and better procedures needed and said the CPUC has begun “mapping out our corrective answers” in response to the audit. He expects “all recommendations to be accomplished” by the end of 2013, he said. The CPUC declined comment beyond these answers. The audit ordered a corrective plan from the commission within 90 days.
Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, introduced a bill Thursday to prohibit the sale or rental of violent videogames to minors. Matheson, a member of the House Commerce Committee and the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, said: “There has been a troubling rise in violent images in television, movies and video games which many fear desensitizes our society to real violence,” in a news release. “We need to empower parents, giving them full access to resources to block content in their own homes and to evaluate the media that may reach their children.” His bill, the Video Games Ratings Enforcement Act (HR-287), would require retailers to post Entertainment Software Ratings Board ratings of videogames and prohibit the sale or rental of mature videogames to those under the age of 17, according to the text of the legislation (http://xrl.us/boa86m). If enacted, retailers that violate the law would be subject to FTC enforcement under the commission’s rule regarding unfair or deceptive practices and would be subject to a maximum $5,000 civil penalty for each violation. The bill is similar to a California state law (http://xrl.us/bkvtkf) that was ruled unconstitutional in a 2011 Supreme Court decision. The court affirmed in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association that videogames have First Amendment protections equal to that of books, newspapers and other forms of speech. The 7-2 opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia said videogames qualify for First Amendment protections and that the government lacks the power to restrict expression because of its message, ideas, subject matter or content. Kate Edwards, executive director of the International Game Developers Association, said in an email: “a bill enacting something the Supreme Court has already deemed unconstitutional would seem to be a waste of taxpayer money and of legislative efforts that could be better spent elsewhere.” The Entertainment Software Association did not comment.
NTIA hopes to provide a report on the future use of the 5 GHz band “shortly,” NTIA Associate Administrator Karl Nebbia said Thursday during a meeting of the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee. The international community is also going to be looking at 5 GHz, he said. The FCC is preparing what is expected to be a notice of proposed rulemaking on the use of the band for Wi-Fi (CD Jan 16 p1). “The WRC prep schedule is not necessarily slow moving or for the faint of heart,” Nebbia said. “That’s a critical item.”
Time Warner Cable (TWC) said it’s negotiating with Netflix for “acceptable commercial terms” to participate in Netflix’s Open Connect content delivery network. “While they call it ‘Open Connect,’ Netflix is actually closing off access to some of its content while seeking unprecedented preferential treatment from ISPs,” TWC said in a statement Wednesday. “We believe it is wrong for Netflix to withhold any content formats from our subscribers and the subscribers of many other ISPs.” TWC said it believes its own network is “more than capable” of delivering content to Netflix subscribers. Cablevision recently agreed to participate in Open Connect, joining other ISPs like British Telecom, Telmex and Virgin Media that already use the Open Connect CDN (CD Jan 9 p13).
The updated Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act rule, unveiled by the FTC last month (CD Dec 20 p10), was published in the Federal Register on Thursday. The new rule will go into effect on July 1.
The Greenlining Institute, which represents the interests of minorities, warned that it is considering filing a late petition asking the FCC to deny Deutsche Telekom’s proposal to buy MetroPCS, to merge the company with T-Mobile USA. Greenlining and T-Mobile have been at odds over whether officials with the group should have access to confidential information filed at the FCC on the transaction. On Jan. 7, T-Mobile argued in a filing that the group is not a participant in the proceeding and should not have access. “Shortly after the transaction’s announcement, Greenlining and T-Mobile engaged in a series of conversations regarding the purported benefits of the proposed transaction,” Greenlining told the FCC (http://xrl.us/boa8qf). “At those meetings, T-Mobile repeatedly stated that it wanted to be completely open about the transaction, and that Greenlining would have access to T-Mobile’s confidential materials. Greenlining stated that it tentatively supported the transaction, and if T-Mobile addressed the issues raised by Greenlining, Greenlining would file comments in support of the transaction with both this Commission and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).” Subsequently, “it appears that T-Mobile falsely represented that if Greenlining did not make an initial filing with the Commission, T-Mobile would not object to the Greenlining’s receipt of T-Mobile’s Confidential and Highly Confidential documents.” Greenlining said it’s “exploring the possibility of submitting a late-filed Petition to Deny on the grounds that T-Mobile’s material misrepresentations constitute good cause for the delay.” T-Mobile responded. “The combination of T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS will create a stronger carrier, well situated to compete effectively against the other nationwide carriers and better positioned as the country’s leading value carrier,” said Kathleen Ham, T-Mobile vice president. “Importantly, our FCC applications demonstrate that this transaction will result in substantial service quality improvements for the customers of both companies. Suggestions to the contrary are baseless, as are suggestions that T-Mobile has acted in any way to mislead the Greenlining Institute. We intend to respond fully at the FCC."
Angela Giancarlo, chief of staff to Commissioner Robert McDowell, is leaving the FCC, McDowell’s office said Thursday. Giancarlo has been with McDowell since 2007, working for the same boss longer than any other current legal aide to an FCC member. Erin McGrath, McDowell’s media adviser, will take on Giancarlo’s portfolio covering wireless, international and public safety, the commissioner’s office said in a news release (http://xrl.us/boa8zt). Giancarlo previously worked for the law firm now called Hogan Lovells. “Angela has worked tirelessly on many key proceedings, including: auction and licensing rules for the 700 MHz spectrum band, media ownership, unlicensed use within the TV white spaces, public safety spectrum operations, promotion of wireless medical body area technologies, universal service contribution reform, and countless transactions involving satellite, media and wireless licenses,” McDowell said. Unusual for the departure of a legal adviser, Commissioner Mignon Clyburn released a statement on Giancarlo’s departure. “Commissioner McDowell is not … the only one who will regret her departure,” Clyburn said (http://xrl.us/boa899). “This agency is losing a legal advisor with an impressive amount of institutional knowledge. My advisors constantly tell me how much they appreciate her leadership, knack for quickly finding common ground, and her willingness to carefully consider our recommendations on circulated items.”
The FCC plans to release a public notice soon on narrowbanding compliance, the Utilities Telecom Council said. A council blog post (http://xrl.us/boa8nv) described a meeting this week of land mobile frequency coordinators with FCC officials on the Jan. 1 narrowbanding deadline for operators in the VHF and UHF bandwidth. “The FCC said most licenses are now narrowband compliant and that the FCC is still getting waiver requests for the narrowband deadline,” the council said. “The Commission staff urged licensees that may have narrowbanded, but did not file an application, to file it now. The staff said that the Gettysburg licensing facility has a large backlog of applications related to the deadline.” There’s a good chance the FCC won’t finish dealing with applications until the end of 2013’s first quarter and will then consider an audit of non-compliant entities, with the possibility of canceling their licenses, the post said. The FCC wants “a single point of contact at its Enforcement Bureau” but doesn’t have one yet, it told the council. “Until further notice, these non-compliant wide band systems will be considered as analog compliant narrowband with an emission designator similar to 11K2F3E,” it said.
An adviser to FCC Wireline Bureau Chief Julie Veach filed comments Wednesday to inform interested parties that the commission’s responses to the House Commerce Committee Request for USF data “may be relevant to a number of issues raised in the petitions for reconsideration pending before the commission” (http://xrl.us/boa8ii). Several parties have filed petitions for reconsideration of the reforms passed in the USF/intercarrier compensation order. The commission’s responses to Congress, which were provided in October, are available at http://xrl.us/boa8ik.