The FCC Wireline Bureau needs more information before it can rule on Accipiter Communications’ request for a waiver of the $250 per-line limit on high-cost universal service support and a postponement of the high-cost loop support benchmarking rule, it said in a letter to the company Thursday (http://xrl.us/bn77tx). The bureau asked for the responsibilities and compensation of all of Accipiter’s employees and affiliates for 2009-2011; details of any distributions of capital to shareholders for non-rule development projects during those years; information on building and vehicle leases; and total marketing and advertising costs for 2012. This information will “provide necessary context and details that were not evident from the information provided in the initial filing, but are necessary to evaluate the waiver request,” wrote Bureau Chief Julie Veach.
Three phone companies have asked the California Public Utilities Commission for permission to consolidate two of the companies into one. Frontier Communications Southwest, Frontier Communications West Coast and Citizens Telecom Co. of California (also known as Frontier California) are all separate ILECs, legally speaking, in the state, according to its petition posted Wednesday (http://xrl.us/bn77ud). But they're requesting permission for Frontier West Coast and Frontier California to merge “to order to increase operational efficiencies and ... to operate under a consistent regulatory format,” they said. The proposed merger wouldn’t include Frontier Southwest due to its “multi-state legal structure,” the petition said. Petitioners promise “synergies and savings,” among other benefits: “Once the merger is complete, the additional exchanges current served by Frontier-West Coast would become open to the same level of local wireline competition as Frontier-California, pursuant to the FCC’s and the Commission’s local competition rules,” they added. Frontier West Coast has 9,350 access lines and Frontier California 113,300, the petition said.
Comcast asked the FCC to extend a waiver from the government’s Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) requirements at some of its smallest and furthest-flung cable systems. In a letter to the agency’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau chief, the country’s largest cable operator requested another two months beyond the six it already got before it must comply with the requirements at those systems (http://xrl.us/bn77tk). The waiver is to expire Monday and covers about 0.2 percent of Comcast’s total subscriber base, it said. Comcast said the systems at issue still lack broadband hook ups, which are needed for CAP-compliant Emergency Alert System (EAS) connectivity. It said it has installed the necessary equipment -- Communications Laboratories’ Emergency Management Communications Network satellite system -- but it discovered interoperability and software problems while testing the system. Its EAS equipment vendors are already working on a software update, but “out of an abundance of caution, Comcast requests further time so as to accommodate any final unanticipated complications,” it said.
SES signed an agreement with Turkey’s Anadolu Networks to use capacity for broadcasting local TV channels. Under the agreement, Anadolu will use one transponder at the ASTRA 31.5 degrees east orbital position, SES said in a news release. Anadolu will begin using the capacity Tuesday “to launch its direct-to-home platform that will broadcast local TV channels to the whole of Turkey,” SES said. SES also plans to provide capacity to Anadolu on ASTRA 5B, which is scheduled to launch next year, SES added.
ViaSat requested use of a satellite under the authority of the U.K. ViaSat wants to use the satellite to access the U.S. “using portions of the Ka-band at the nominal 79 degrees west orbital location,” it said in an application to the FCC International Bureau (http://xrl.us/bn77rk). SES requested a 60-day extension of its special temporary authority to operate a Ku-band 11-meter antenna at a site in Elkwood, Va., it said in a separate application (http://xrl.us/bn77rz).
The Regulatory Commission of Alaska is seeking comments in a proceeding about moving a payphone less than 100 feet. OTZ Telephone Cooperative wants to move this public interest payphone “to the Kobuk exchange from the now publically [sic] inaccessible Public Health Service building to the City Building for the city of Kobuk,” it said in a notice Wednesday (http://xrl.us/bn77sb). Comments are due Jan. 25.
LightSquared urged the FCC to initiate a proceeding that would add a primary allocation permitting non-federal terrestrial mobile use of the 1675-1680 MHz band as an alternative to LightSquared’s use of the 1545-1555 MHz portion of the L band for terrestrial mobile broadband purposes. LightSquared petitioned the commission for a rulemaking proceeding as an effort to move forward with its effort to build a terrestrial network (CD Nov 6 p14). Comments submitted concerning LightSquared’s petition establish that “more than sufficient reasons exist to initiate such a proceeding,” LightSquared said in replies to comments in docket RM-11681 (http://xrl.us/bn77pr). The proposed allocation would facilitate the implementation of LightSquared’s 4G wireless network, “which would extend the benefits of competitive mobile broadband service to hundreds of millions of American consumers,” it said. LightSquared said it has no objection if the notice of proposed rulemaking also explores the types of issues raised by some of the commenters, including “sharing criteria with the incumbents that will remain in the 1675-1680 MHz band” and “compatibility with users in adjacent bands.” The Aerospace Industries Association supported the concerns raised by Lockheed Martin, the U.S. GPS Industry Council and the Coalition to Save Our GPS that urge the FCC to ensure that band can be shared with existing users. Allowing LightSquared to use its high-powered signals in this band “will likely pose many of the same issues as it did with regard to GPS and has the potential to jeopardize aviation safety and the efficient functioning of the national airspace system,” it said (http://xrl.us/bn77p7). Significant analysis should be employed “to determine if such sharing with federal systems is viable in 1675-1680 MHz,” AIA said.
Verizon Wireless spent $240 million “to expand 4G LTE and other advanced wireless technologies” in Florida throughout 2012, the carrier said Thursday (http://xrl.us/bn77ni). 4G LTE now covers “the vast majority” of the state and major markets, and Verizon will be done with all buildout by the end of 2013, it added. In a statement, Florida Network Executive Director Frank Wise called Verizon “far ahead of our competitors.” The year’s work included upgrades to network processing centers and reinforcement of 3G EVDO technology, Verizon said.
Berkshire Partners agreed to buy and merge fiber providers Lightower Fiber Networks and Sidera Networks. The $2 billion deal will result in a combined fiber network of more than 20,000 route miles in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, Lightower said Thursday. Lightower investor Pamlico Capital and Sidera investor ABRY Partners will retain undisclosed ownership stakes in the new Lightower. Current Lightower CEO Rob Shanahan will remain head of the merged company, Lightower said (http://xrl.us/bn77ik).
Wireless Strategies, Inc. (WSI) defended its September petition for reconsideration, asking that license applicants be allowed to decide on the optimum performance specifications and the size of antennas not meeting Category A performance standards, as long as they comply with FCC Rules 101.103 and 101.115(f). Verizon and Verizon Wireless had asked the FCC to reject the petition (http://xrl.us/bn77c5). “The Commission correctly determined that eliminating the minimum Category B standards for Fixed Service microwave links, as WSI proposed, would authorize the deployment of inefficient antennas and would ‘result in an increased potential for interference and make it more difficult for other licensees to share spectrum,'” Verizon said. Verizon also said WSI’s petition “supplies no valid ground for the Commission to reconsider that determination.” “Removing the unneeded and arbitrary Category B specifications from Rule 101.115 will still permit the safe use of small optimized antennas, finally permitting licensees to safely and cost-effectively provide broadband to the millions of un-served and underserved communities and to enterprise and backhaul markets,” WSI said (http://xrl.us/bn77dh). “In doing so, the Commission would take the next step in advancing microwave backhaul and access."