The challenge process for the latest round of Connect America Fund Phase I support has been burdensome for cable companies, Cox, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and NCTA representatives told FCC Wireline Bureau officials Monday (http://bit.ly/1aZ4trP). Cable operators “have nothing to gain” from the process except “protecting their service areas” from USF-subsidized competition, they said in an ex parte filing. The cable companies asked the bureau to focus on availability of service, not provision of service, because a provider may have no customers in a particular census block even if it offers service there. The companies also asked the bureau to not award support to a price cap LEC to overbuild a competitor “based on the title or status of the individual that certifies an area is served.”
FirstNet issued a request for information on application platforms Wednesday. “We want to hear from all interested stakeholders on their creative and innovative ideas on how this platform should operate,” said General Manager Bill D'Agostino in a written statement. Responses are due Jan. 17, and any questions or clarifications are due Dec. 3 (http://1.usa.gov/1aZ7zfB). FirstNet wants to hear from stakeholders that have helped develop mobile device application solutions and app stores and have worked with big and public safety data. It also wants to hear from stakeholders with experience in developing application security requirements as well as in app testing and certification.
The Senate Judiciary Committee rescheduled its hearing on National Security Agency surveillance oversight. It was originally scheduled for Nov. 21 but was postponed. It will now be Dec. 11 at 2:30 p.m. in 226 Dirksen, the committee said in a notice Wednesday. NSA Director Keith Alexander, Deputy Attorney General James Cole and Office of the Director of National Intelligence General Counsel Robert Litt will testify.
The Patent and Trademark Office is proposing changes to rules of practice to implement an international design patent recognition system the U.S. is set to join. The 1999 Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning International Registration of Industrial Designs was ratified by Congress in 2007, but implementing legislation wasn’t passed until 2012. Under the Hague Convention, industrial design owners can apply for protection in multiple member countries using a single application. The treaty won’t take effect in the U.S. until several steps, including finalizing PTO’s regulatory changes, are completed, a PTO official has said. Comments on PTO’s proposed rule are due Jan. 28, said a PTO notice (http://1.usa.gov/196bh3I) set to appear in Friday’s Federal Register.
The trade facilitation text of a potential multilateral World Trade Organization package targeted by WTO officials for the upcoming Bali ministerial summit is proving an insurmountable obstacle, as negotiators have failed to develop consensus in recent days, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo told the Trade Negotiations Committee in Geneva Tuesday. Trade officials should not aim for progress during the Dec. 3-6 Bali summit, he said in a news release (http://bit.ly/1dBhEnb). “Holding negotiations in the short time we'll have in Bali would be simply impractical with over 100 ministers around the table,” said Azevêdo. “I don’t believe that small negotiating meetings behind locked doors would do the trick either. Anyway, they are not an option. Even at this critical juncture, I don’t believe members would be ready to abandon the transparent and inclusive nature of our negotiations.” U.S. Ambassador to the WTO Michael Punke echoed that Tuesday, saying more time will not benefit the process because the political will to advance a package has faltered (CD Nov 27 p15). Trade negotiators made more progress in the “past few weeks than we have over the past five years,” said Azevêdo. He encouraged negotiators and ministers to continue work in the weeks following the Bali summit.
The Department of Justice, FBI and Department of Homeland Security asked the FCC to defer action on a request to transfer assets, licenses and network facilities from Stratos Offshore Services Co. to RigNet SatCom (http://bit.ly/1aYPGxw). The law enforcement agencies are still reviewing the request for “national security, law enforcement, and public safety” ramifications, they said. Such requests are typical in FCC reviews of deals, and rarely do the national security agencies seek to block the transactions.
The House Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee rescheduled an FTC oversight hearing for 10 a.m. Dec. 3, said a committee hearing memo Tuesday (http://1.usa.gov/IsMLD1). The original hearing, set for Oct. 24, was to discuss the commission’s evolving jurisdiction in response to quickly shifting modes of communication (CD Oct 21 p9). House scheduling issues caused the delay (CD Oct 23 p12). Tuesday’s hearing will feature testimony from the four FTC commissioners; the fifth slot is vacant (http://1.usa.gov/H6DbF9).
The final rule that adjusts the royalty rates satellite carriers pay for a compulsory license takes effect Jan. 1. The Copyright Royalty Board adjusted the rates by 1 percent, it said in a Federal Register notice to be published Friday (http://1.usa.gov/17XvSfH). Secondary transmission for private home viewing results in a rate of 27 cents per subscriber per month, it said. For viewing in commercial establishments, satellite carriers must pay 55 cents per subscriber per month. The rates are applicable through Dec. 31, 2014, it said.
A national mobile roaming network could dampen the effects of mobile network outages, said a new report from the EU’s cybersecurity agency ENISA (http://bit.ly/1dzW56I). Mobile network outages -- often caused by natural disasters such as fires or extreme weather -- “can have a severe impact on both the economy and society and are also common,” said a release about the report. A national roaming network could be a backup when mobile communications go down, the report said, allowing users to roam on other operator’s mobile networks. The report recommends the establishment of “mutual aid agreements between providers in case of severe incidents.” ENISA Executive Director Udo Helmbrecht said in a statement: “This can improve security and resilience of European communications networks, and ensure that European citizens can communicate at all times, also during major outages."
APCO supports a “meaningful and enforceable” certification process for entities to verify they are in compliance with the FCC’s requirements for 911 circuit auditing, backup power for central offices and network monitoring, the association of public safety workers told FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Monday (http://bit.ly/IoLoWR). APCO wants covered entities to be “defined in functional terms to include current and future providers of service” to public safety answering points (PSAPs), the association said. It also supports “immediate and verified outage reporting” to PSAPs, it said.