The FCC Wireless Bureau denied ENMR Telephone Co-op’s request for an extra 18 months to show compliance with the substantial service requirements for two of its seven Local Multipoint Distribution Service licenses. “We find that ENMR has not justified a grant of an extension of time, or a waiver of the construction deadline, for its LMDS licenses,” the bureau said (http://xrl.us/bnvomy). “Without such extension or waiver, ENMR’s LMDS licenses have automatically cancelled ... as of June 1."
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gave Techno-Sciences a contract for a Medium Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (MEOSAR) ground station. Techno-Sciences will provide a Medium Earth Orbit Local User Terminal (MEOLUT) to the U.S. Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT) system, the company said in a press release (http://xrl.us/bnvomo). The new generation of MEOSAR technology will allow the nation to “enhance its ability to detect and locate people in distress situations faster and more accurately,” it said. The commercially available MEOLUT product “is compatible with all the mid-Earth orbiting satellite constellations contributing to the international MEOSAR system,” which includes the GPS system and the EU Galileo system, Techno-Sciences added.
Harris Corp. and Tampa Microwave developed a 1.3 meter tri-band satellite communications antenna that offers “the highest level of performance available today in a single-case unit small enough to be checked as airline baggage,” Harris said in a press release (http://xrl.us/bnvohd). The antenna is for use with Harris’s 1.3 meter Seeker, a very small aperture terminal that supports X-, Ku- and Ka-band communications, Harris said. It’s a center-fed antenna that “enables simple frequency and feed swap, and offers superior wind stability and satellite tracking performance,” Harris added. The Seeker system has an interchangeable, receiver/transmitter and outdoor modem module from Tampa Microwave.
The National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates questioned the legality of the FCC’s access recovery charges (ARC), before the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The filing is part of a case that reviews the FCC’s November 2011 USF/intercarrier compensation order. The FCC offered 29,000 words on its changes but never addressed the “legal authority” of the ARC, “in stark contrast” to the rest of the order, NASUCA said Tuesday. “The FCC cites no authority that would allow it to directly impose a new charge on end users to recover ILECs’ lost revenues caused by the FCC’s decision to move to a bill-and-keep (zero rate) ICC [intercarrier compensation] regime,” NASUCA said. “This is particularly true because a significant part of those lost revenues are intrastate revenues -- derived from calls that begin and end within a single state.” The charge is “particularly unreasonable” because it affects companies and not states, the association said. FCC action represents a “usurpation of state authority over ICC” and the charge is “unlawful” and totals millions, it added. Consequently, FCC adoption of the charge “must be reversed,” NASUCA said. “We are confident that the Commission’s Order is legally sound and look forward to defending it in court,” an FCC spokesman responded by email. He emphasized the potential benefits of the order: “Intercarrier compensation reform will unleash over $1.5 billion in annual benefits to consumers by eliminating hidden calling costs while removing major barriers to deployment of advanced IP-based broadband networks."
The FCC Media Bureau dismissed without prejudice the must-carry complaint of KSQA-TV Topeka, Kan., for carriage on Cox’s cable system, an order released Friday said (http://xrl.us/bnvikw). The main question was whether the station is entitled to carriage on Cox’s channel 12 when its over-the-air signal is on channel 12 but its program and systems information protocol (PSIP) channel is 22, the order said. “KSQA’s channel positioning choice may attach only to its Major Channel Number as carried in its PSIP,” the order said. “Therefore its demand that it be carried on Channel 12 must be denied.” But the station may renew its carriage demand after it completes a separate but related proceeding to change or delete its PSIP channel, the order said.
The FCC Media Bureau granted Mauna Kea Broadcasting’s must-carry complaint for its KLEI-TV Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, and denied Time Warner Cable and Hawaii Telecom Services Co.’s (HSTC) market modification petitions that would have prevented them from having to carry the station (http://xrl.us/bnvijn). “The unique geographic circumstances of the Hawaiian Island, in addition to other factors, argue in favor of not excluding KLEI from TWC and HTSC’s cable system communities,” the bureau said in an order released Friday. “Hawaiian broadcasters appear to rely on cable as on as one of the chief ways to serve the geographically fragmented audience on these islands."
The Association of Public Television Stations urged the FCC to consider issues for public TV stations regarding a spectrum auction, channel sharing and repacking of positions of TV stations on the dial. The association recounted a meeting with Commissioner Mignon Clyburn in an ex parte filing in docket 12-268 (http://xrl.us/bnvik4). APTS has urged the agency to ensure that the repacking process won’t affect stations’ ability to continue serving their existing populations (CD March 8 p7).
Nielsen Q3 sales rose 1 percent to $1.4 billion from a year earlier, the company said Monday. Profit increased 2.9 percent to $106 million. Profit was about what investors expected, but revenue was lower than consensus estimates, Sanford Bernstein analyst Todd Juenger wrote investors. “Any time a company misses revenue but hits earnings, investors are skeptical on the true organic pace of the business.” Nielsen’s shares fell 5.7 percent Monday.
The National Association for State Relay Administration Conference spotlighted Florida’s telecom role with a keynote speech from the head of the Florida Public Service Commission. “Almost 16 percent of Florida’s population can benefit from some form of relay service, and it is our responsibility to meet the needs of these Florida citizens,” Chairman Ronald Brisé said Monday at the Lake Buena Vista conference, according to the PSC (http://xrl.us/bnvihk). He also described the benefits of the AT&T Miami Relay Center that opened this past summer. It has created 44 jobs, according to the chairman. Brisé said “75 percent of Florida’s telecommunications relay service will be handled though this new call center.” The conference continues through Tuesday.
The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council commended the FCC for proposing millions of dollars in fines against prepaid calling card providers which target low-income and minority communities, MMTC said Sunday (http://xrl.us/bnvh2b). The FCC proposed a $5 million fine against NobelTel earlier this month for allegedly deceptively marketing its prepaid calling cards, and has proposed $30 million in forfeitures since Sept. 2011 (CD Oct 3 p5). “MMTC applauds the FCC for taking strong action to protect consumers from calling card fraud and to preserve the integrity of telecommunications services to minority, low-income, and multilingual communities,” it said.