The FCC should use an annual USF access tariff allocation method based on total eligible recovery amounts rather than interstate base period revenue, the National Exchange Carrier Association told Wireline Bureau officials, an ex parte filing said (http://xrl.us/bnp6na). NECA intends to propose to continue the pooling process by reallocating billed switch access revenues to pooling companies with positive eligible recovery, it said.
Verizon supports cell booster rules that don’t require “every booster user to obtain affirmative carrier consent,” provided other protections are in place for carrier networks, company representatives reported saying in a call with FCC Wireless Bureau officials (http://xrl.us/bnp6m6). “In particular, the boosters must be designed and certified to meet one of the two technical safe harbor standards proposed in the June 8 Ex Parte [http://xrl.us/bnc4dw], the boosters must operate under the carriers’ licenses and be registered with the licensed carrier, and they must operate on a secondary, non-interfering basis and be shut down at the request of the FCC or a carrier if they cause harmful interference,” the carrier said. “We also stated that Verizon would not oppose an affirmative carrier consent requirement, and that we continue to oppose licensing individuals to operate signal boosters."
In light of “ballooning federal USF charges,” the FCC should shift to a “fair, workable and future-proof” connections-based contribution mechanism, Google representatives told FCC Wireline Bureau officials and aides to commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Ajit Pai Wednesday, an ex parte filing said (http://xrl.us/bnp6k3). “A wide cross-section of commenters have described numerous benefits that could flow from a connections-based system, including greater equity, reduced administrative burdens, and greater simplicity,” Google wrote.
The FTC settled with two online senior care center recommendation services, CarePatrol Inc. and ABCSP Inc., over charges that the companies misled consumers about how knowledgeable the websites were about the care centers they were recommending. The agency said (http://xrl.us/bnp6ms) CarePatrol told users that it monitors and grades centers, while ABCSP told users that recommendations are based on the personal knowledge of ABCSP’s personnel. The FTC said the claims were false. “Senior citizens need honest information when they're considering long term care options,” said David Vladeck, director of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a statement. “Companies that claim to know which facilities to recommend to consumers need to be able to back up their claims or they will hear from the FTC.” The agreements prohibit the two companies from making misleading promises to their users in the future and will be open for public comment until Oct. 17.
AT&T plans an anti-texting while driving event at George Washington University in Washington Wednesday, the carrier said Monday. Among high-profile speakers slated are Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. Attendees can view a “Texting While Driving Simulator” from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Officials are to speak starting at 2 p.m. It takes place at GW’s University Yard, 21st and H streets NW.
The Copyright Office delayed three sets of deadlines. Replies to a notice of proposed rulemaking on verification of statements of account and royalty payments from cable and satellite operators now are due Oct. 3, after “stakeholders” sought an extension, the office said Friday (http://xrl.us/bnp6gv). Also after a similar request, comments are due Oct. 25, replies Nov. 26 on an NPRM on reporting monthly and annual statements of account for “phonorecords” including digital ones under compulsory licenses, the office said (http://xrl.us/bnp6ie). Comments to a notice of inquiry on “remedies for small copyright claims” must be filed by Oct. 19, as “it appears that some stakeholders may need additional time to respond,” the Copyright Office said (http://xrl.us/bnp6ir).
Inmarsat began the SBTV inflight TV service for airlines to send content over Wi-Fi or other connections to passengers’ mobile devices. “News, sports and other video content is transmitted to the aircraft over the SwiftBroadband network and then distributed wirelessly to passengers’ own devices, which can include smartphones, laptops, tablets and other personal media players,” the satellite company said in a Monday news release (http://xrl.us/bnp6f8). “Content can be uploaded live, and updated as often as the airline chooses.” Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband is used by many major airlines outside the U.S.
Most marketers predict that digital marketing budgets will continue to grow, said digital marketing research firm Econsultancy and the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization, a digital marketing trade association. According to their State of Search Marketing Report 2012 (http://xrl.us/bnp6n9), 86 percent of respondents predicted growth for digital budgets, and 37 percent predicted “significant” growth. Four percent predicted a reduction in digital budgets, the release said, and marketers listed obtaining budgets and hiring talent among their growing challenges. Small and medium-sized companies, the study said, are reconsidering their decision to stop using Facebook ads and only 56 percent of participants said they regularly use Facebook pay-per-click ad campaigns, down from last year’s 74 percent. Eighty-seven percent called recent Google algorithm changes aimed at combating spam sites “significant or highly significant,” the study found. Most think the changes have been positive, but “success in combating SEO spam sites has come at the expense of many legitimate brands,” it said. The study said the mobile Internet is “still keeping search marketers up at night,” with 88 percent calling it “significant or highly significant,” up from 79 percent in 2011.
Among improvements Comcast’s made to its inexpensive broadband service for the poor this year, letting community groups bulk-order Internet Essentials has been implemented in Florida, the cable ISP said in a Monday news release. The Urban League Broward County in Florida, where the service has 12,000 families, has 100 such accounts, the company said (http://xrl.us/bnp5xf). “Families will be selected from Urban League Broward County programs, including youth and education programs funded through the Children’s Services Council of Broward County.” Public school districts, Boys & Girls Clubs and the United Way are among those working with Comcast on Internet Essentials in Florida, the operator said of its $9.95-a-month product, which it agreed to begin as part of getting FCC approval to buy control of NBCUniversal in 2011 (CD Feb 1 p8).
The FCC determined that 52 applicants are qualified to bid in Auction 901, the Mobility Fund Phase I auction, Sept. 27 (http://xrl.us/bnp5q5). Only one applicant, Syringa Wireless, which serves southern Idaho, did not qualify. The agency will do a mock auction on Friday. “A bidder should take advantage of the mock auction to practice taking actions it might wish to take during Auction 901, even if the bidder has previously participated in FCC spectrum auctions,” said the notice, by the Wireless and Wireline bureaus. Under rules for the auction, all bidding is anonymous and bidders must not coordinate or discuss their bids with each other or anyone else, including the press.