Comments on the Connect America Fund Phase II cost model are due Nov. 19, the FCC Wireline Bureau said Friday (http://xrl.us/bnu3so). The bureau seeks comment on the following topics: determining customer locations; clustering; routing; capturing variation by geography; inter-office transport cost; voice capability; wire center facilities; sizing of network facilities; the use of company-specific values; calculating operating expenditures; and determining the annualized cost of capital investments.
Free Press took issue Friday with comments by FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell at the Free State Foundation that the FCC’s net neutrality order may have chilled investment in broadband (CD Oct 19 p6). “Let’s look at the facts: After the FCC adopted its Open Internet rules in December 2010, broadband providers continued to slowly increase network capacity by using more efficient and less capital-intensive technologies,” Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood said on the group’s blog (http://xrl.us/bnu3sb). “Cable providers continued their deployment of next-generation broadband technology across the majority of their service territories. Verizon upgraded most of its wireless network to 4G LTE, and AT&T carried out its LTE upgrades according to the plans it had in place before the FCC adopted its rules.”
The FCC International Bureau extended the license term of Dish’s authorization for the EchoStar 7 satellite. The license term is extended from April 22, 2012, to April 22, 2022, the bureau said in a public notice (http://xrl.us/bnu3qy). The bureau extended the license term of SES Americom’s AMC-3 satellite from Sept. 30, 2012, to Sept. 30, 2017, it said. AMC-3 provides fixed satellite service at 67 degrees west in the 3700-4200 MHz, 5925-6425 MHz, 11.7-12.2 GHz and 14.0-14.5 GHz bands, the public notice said.
The FCC received Office of Management and Budget approval to collect interconnected VoIP outage reporting information, said a Thursday notice in the Federal Register (http://xrl.us/bnu3h2). The commission extended mandatory outage reporting rules to facilities-based and non-facilities based interconnected VoIP service providers in February, to help ensure the reliability of 911 systems (CD Feb 22 p5). The commission expects 118 respondents to provide more than 150,000 responses, at a total annual burden of about 30,000 hours.
The FCC Wireless Bureau denied LMDS’s request for additional time to show compliance with the substantial service requirements for its six Local Multipoint Distribution Service licenses. As a result, the licenses automatically terminated June 1, the bureau said. On June 11, the company had asked for an additional extension beyond a four-year extension already in place. “LMDS, L.P., a company comprised of family, friends, and private investors, explains that it did not construct the licenses because it does not have the resources to be tied up unproductively in constructing the Licenses when it had no intention of operating them,” the order said (http://xrl.us/bnu3ju). “While they have undertaken many activities, such as requesting equipment financing and government loans and striving to deploy networks in its markets, LMDS, L.P. states it has been unsuccessful thus far in developing a business plan for constructing the Licenses. LMDS L.P. further states that it has exhausted its financial capital in an effort to build out in their markets only to learn that the equipment did not perform as specified. Finally, LMDS, L.P. states that it has exhausted a variety of strategies to comply with the Commission’s construction requirements for this spectrum.” To be eligible for an extension the company had to demonstrate that its “failure to meet the construction deadline is due to involuntary loss of site or other causes beyond its control,” the bureau said. “We conclude that LMDS, L.P. has not met this threshold.” The bureau also denied a time extension sought by LMDS licensee Mark Twain Communications (http://xrl.us/bnu3kg). “We find that Twain, which made no attempt to commence construction of its LMDS licenses in advance of the construction deadline, is readily distinguishable from several other licensees that attempted to build out their licenses prior to the deadline and that ordered equipment but failed to receive timely delivery of that equipment,” the bureau said. “Twain chose not to build facilities in advance of the deadline. Thus, its failure to construct its licenses was the result of its own business decision."
The FCC’s Wednesday order on Wireless Communications Service spectrum (CD Oct 18 p1) has to be seen as a net positive for AT&T, Moody’s Investors Service said in a research note. “Moody’s believes that AT&T is likely to incorporate this WCS band spectrum into its 4G network in the 2015 timeframe,” Moody’s said. “Moody’s believes that this transaction improves AT&T’s spectrum position, but that Verizon Wireless still has superior spectrum holdings due to its 700 MHz C-block and recently acquired AWS licenses. However, Verizon’s planned sale of its B-block 700 MHz spectrum licenses could provide an opportunity for AT&T to further close this gap. Moody’s believes that AT&T will be an aggressive bidder for these licenses, as they would complement its existing set of 700 MHz B-block licenses."
The FCC unveiled an updated version of its “Small Biz Cyber Planner,” originally launched in 2011 to help businesses develop a cybersecurity plan (CD April 11 p10). The new version (http://xrl.us/bnu3ep) was updated to include the latest security information to help keep confidential data secure, a commission spokesman said. “While broadband is creating significant opportunities for small businesses, the cost of cyber attacks are a real concern,” Chairman Julius Genachowski said. The new planner will let small businesses “quickly strengthen their online defenses,” he said.
Intelsat is seeking modification of its Galaxy 11 satellite authorization. It wants “to relocate Galaxy 11 to and to operate the satellite at 44.8 degrees west,” it said in its application to the FCC International Bureau (http://xrl.us/bnu3ei). From this location, the satellite will provide service using the 13750-14500 MHz, 10950-11200 MHz and 11700-12200 MHz frequency bands, it said. Jansky-Barmat Telecommunications requested an addition of the Amazonas-3 satellite network at 61 degrees west to the permitted space station list. Jansky made the request “to allow all U.S. C-band, Ku-band and Ka-band earth stations to uplink to the satellite in the conventional C-band and the Ka-band frequencies,” Jansky said in a separate application (http://xrl.us/bnu3g5). The satellite will provide domestic and international services “operating in FSS [fixed satellite service] frequency bands, including direct-to-home service in Ku band,” it said.
The FCC Wireline Bureau overturned 14 Universal Service Administrative Co. decisions Thursday. In each case, USAC denied or reduced funding to schools under the E-rate program, finding the applicant hadn’t timely submitted Form 486, which is a receipt of service confirmation form. The bureau said it found “good cause” to grant the appeals in each case, without providing further detail (http://xrl.us/bnu2un).
"All of us support -- and from the president on down -- increased two-way trade based on fair rules of the road and a level playing field between the U.S. and China,” said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland during a news briefing Thursday. She was responding to a series of reporter questions about whether recent U.S. actions, including limits on telecom firms Huawei and ZTE and on Chinese investments in U.S. wind farms, mean more protectionism. Fair trade with China is “good for the U.S., it’s good for China, creates jobs in both countries. The question is simply ensuring that the playing field is level, that the U.S. companies have the same access to the Chinese market as Chinese companies have to the U.S. market, and that the way companies conduct themselves is appropriate and is legal inside the United States,” Nuland said. A House Intelligence Committee report said the U.S. government and American companies shouldn’t do business with Huawei and ZTE (CD Oct 10 p3).