Nine million North American households are directly connected to fiber networks, Fiber-to-the-Home Council Americas said Tuesday. Fiber to the home (FTTH) services are available to 21.3 million North American homes -- an increase of more than 10 percent in the last six months, the council said. “While large providers such as Verizon in the U.S., Bell and Bell Aliant in Canada and Telmex in Mexico continue to be very important, small providers such as rural telcos, real estate developers, small competitive providers and even rural electric co-ops are playing a key role in driving the expansion of fiber to the home,” said Michael Render, president of RVA LLC, in the news release (http://xrl.us/bnrd4u). RVA tracks FTTH deployments for the council.
National Religious Broadcasters supports “a full and public accounting” of radio spectrum, it said with an eye toward Friday’s FCC meeting where it’s scheduled to consider an incentive spectrum auction rulemaking notice. The religious broadcasters association “continues to urge a process that fairly honors the services and investments” of its members and other religious broadcasters, it said.
Free Press wants the FCC to maximize spectrum on the TV bands left open for unlicensed use, Policy Director Matt Wood reported telling FCC Chief of Staff Zac Katz. That’s particularly so in light of the FCC’s incentive auction plans for current broadcast spectrum, an ex parte filing in docket 04-186 said (http://xrl.us/bnrd3a). Wood said he clarified that Free Press has some concerns should the agency shift up 5 MHz the 2000-2020 MHz band licensed to Dish Network so it can potentially deploy mobile broadband on that S-Band spectrum. The group’s concerned the move may unintentionally idle the adjacent PCS H block, according to the filing.
The U.S. Trade Representative removed Israel from the Special 301 “priority” watch list for countries with troubling intellectual property practices, and placed it on the regular watch list, the agency said Monday. According to the USTR announcement, Israel’s move to the regular list is based on the country’s introduction of three proposals aimed at improving its pharmaceutical patent system. The proposals came about as a result of a memorandum of understanding between Israel and the U.S. signed in 2010. The memorandum said the U.S. would remove Israel from the watch list once the new laws are enacted. The introduction of these proposals demonstrate “the commitment of both the United States and Israel to providing transparent, efficient and effective patent systems for innovative and generic medicine producers,” USTR Ron Kirk said in a statement.
RCN CEO Jim Holanda wrote the FCC to urge commissioners not to allow a ban on exclusive contracts among cable operators and the networks they own to expire next month. A draft order that circulated last week would allow the ban to expire (CD Sept 17 p2). The remedies that would remain available to competitive pay-TV providers in the absence of the exclusivity ban involve lengthy and costly adjudications, the letter said (http://xrl.us/bnrdz7). “Were some future cable-affiliated Red Sox channel to refuse to sell to us, RCN would not be able to afford to spend a year or more arbitrating the issue or compiling evidence of harm for an unfair practices complaint,” it said. Lawyers for DirecTV also continued meeting with FCC officials to push for changes to the draft order, ex parte notices show (http://xrl.us/bnrd2u). Meanwhile, NCTA lawyers also visited commission offices to argue that the exclusivity ban is no longer necessary, an ex parte notice shows (http://xrl.us/bnrd28).
Telcos and associations challenging the FCC’s USF/intercarrier compensation order filed a joint preliminary brief Monday presenting 18 issues for the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to decide (http://xrl.us/bnrd3e). Questions include whether the FCC overstepped its authority by preempting the states’ authority to set intrastate rates, designate eligible telecom carriers and set service areas; requiring recipients of USF support to provide unregulated “information services”; and modifying or eliminating high-cost support mechanisms. Petitioners are also challenging the commission’s move to a “bill-and-keep” system of intercarrier compensation; a new obligation barring call blocking on VoIP providers; and the infringement of tribal sovereignty. Petitioners include CenturyLink, tw telecom, U.S. Cellular, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates, and several state public utilities commissions and rural telephone cooperatives.
The environmental problems posed by the billions of lithium-ion batteries in use and their recycling should be key points in an ITU-T study on environmental protection and recycling solutions for batteries for mobile terminals, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in a submission to an ITU-T study group meeting next month. Rechargeable batteries in many countries, especially in developing countries, don’t have to be recycled, it said. Standardizing the battery would make recycling easier, it said. Canada said the MIIT submission shouldn’t be considered during the October meeting, because it was a proposal, not work developed through collaboration. Canada raised concerns with battery standardization in the MIIT proposal as it pertains to specific absorption rate and electromagnetic compatibility requirements -- namely complex testing would subsequently be required following standardization -- and the implications for continued compliance. A group of industry associations in March said the main problem with the ideas in ITU-T work on a battery standardization is that standardization will seriously limit battery innovation. The submission was from DigitalEurope, Recharge, TechAmerica Europe, the Communications and Information Network Association of Japan, Battery Association of Japan, European Portable Battery Association and Rechargeable Battery Association. The work is examining various aspects, including energy efficiency, design, battery life and interchangeability, safety and environmental protection, recycling and reuse. A study on environmental protection and recycling solutions for lithium-ion and lithium-ion polymer batteries for mobile terminals and other tech devices is also being discussed.
Harris said Univision will use some of its back office software for playout and traffic information. The terms weren’t disclosed.
Moody’s raised Gray TV’s credit rating to B3 from Caa1 following a proposed refinancing from the broadcaster. Gray said it plans to buy back up to $268.5 million of its 10.5 percent senior notes due 2015 and issue up to $300 million of its 7.5 percent senior notes due 2020.
Level 3 and Bandwidth.com have “significant concerns” about a series of VoIP provider petitions seeking direct access to number resources, they told FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel Thursday (http://xrl.us/bnrdyd). Granting a waiver to Vonage or any of the other 15 petitioners would be “discriminatory,” and would give that party an “unfair advantage” over competitors, they said. Because of the “complex issues” involved in introducing non-carrier providers into the “current operational ecosystem,” any waivers would inevitably lead to “a significant level of operational breakdowns” in call routing, call completion, and port completion, they said. Waivers would also require carriers to develop new systems and back office changes “before the industry has even digested” the new intercarrier compensation rules in the USF/intercarrier compensation order, they said. “The Commission should address IP interconnection and other pressing needs before reworking aspects of the industry that are working well."