Vonage’s shares are undervalued given possible product moves, Phoenix Partners Group analyst Robert Routh wrote in a research report Monday. Vonage recently began an international calling plan with Globe Telecom in the Philippines and expanded its unlimited voice plan to wireline and mobile phones in Vietnam and South Korea. Vonage also recently started Vonage World Mexico, which features unlimited voice plans for wireline and mobile, the report said. Vonage’s management has repeatedly suggested it’s working on developing a “very cheap” domestic voice plan, which the company could partner on or introduce on its own, and Costco would make the most sense as a partner for such a service, Routh said. “We think a partnership that bundles a white label domestic VG service with Costco memberships could be a win-win as it would grow Costco memberships as well as VG subscribers materially with low risk to either party,” he wrote, referring to Vonage’s stock symbol. “Although unsure, it would seem this partnership makes the most sense as far as offering a white label service with a big box retailer in our opinion."
The Media Bureau gave Enseo a waiver of the FCC’s CableCARD rules for Enseo’s HD4000 device, a cable box designed for hotel and governmental applications, an order released Monday said (http://xrl.us/bno8cw). The waiver will let Enseo sell the device without an analog tuner. The waiver was granted on the “condition that Enseo honor its commitments to limit its marketing and sale to commercial and governmental customers and to properly educate its customers about the fact that the HD4000 is an all-digital device without the ability to receive analog cable,” the order said.
Tw telecom detailed how it provides special access services and bills customers, and described the data it would be able to give the FCC in response to a mandatory data request (http://xrl.us/bno8as). The letter responded to a request from a Wireline Bureau official, and discussed hybrid circuits -- circuits that are “partially on-net and partially off-net.” The billing details were redacted from the public document.
The FCC Media Bureau gave itself another two months to make a decision in its review of Project Concord’s arbitration award with regard to carriage of NBCUniversal programming, an order said (http://xrl.us/bno8ab). Under the terms of the Comcast-NBCU merger order, the bureau had until Sept. 14 to act on the appeals each party filed after the arbitration, it said. “Given the substantial record compiled in the course of this arbitration proceeding, and the complexity of the issues, we find that extending the review period for an additional 60 days will enable the Bureau to review more fully the arbitration decision at issue, and thus serves the public interest,” the order said. The bureau’s new deadline is Nov. 13.
Five owners of broadcasters and daily newspapers in the same market sought a delay, to 60 days after the FCC releases an upcoming order on its delayed 2010 quadrennial media ownership review, to change pending requests to the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rule. Bonneville International, Calvary, Cox Enterprises, Morris Communications and Scranton Times want to extend the Sept. 27 NBCO deadline for supplements set by the Media Bureau last month (http://xrl.us/bno79v). It dismissed as moot those companies’ request to extend a cross-ownership waiver deadline for the 2006 ownership review, after the Supreme Court this summer said it wouldn’t consider challenges to that quadrennial order. “Changes to the NBCO Rule currently are under Commission consideration on remand from the Third Circuit and in the pending 2010 Quadrennial Media Ownership Review” (CD Jan 20 p4), the five media companies said in a new motion. “Until that proceeding is concluded, the NBCO Rule and the applicable standards for evaluation of waivers of that rule are uncertain and subject to change.” Making the companies file waiver supplements now, and at the FCC “the attendant staff review of those requests, would be a substantial waste of both private and administrative resources,” said Monday’s filing in docket 06-121 (http://xrl.us/bno8a6). “The Media Parties hereby represent that they will file such supplements notwithstanding the pendency of any administrative or judicial challenges to the Commission’s Report and Order and regardless of whether the NBCO Rule adopted by the Commission is effective or its effectiveness has been stayed."
The FCC Wireline Bureau announced the agenda for its Connect America Fund Phase II cost model workshop (http://xrl.us/bno77a). The workshop, to be held Thursday and Friday, will discuss the design and mechanics of two cost models. The model submitted by the ABC Coalition estimates the cost of providing broadband service to the entire nation; the model submitted by Alaska Communications Systems estimates the cost of providing service to Alaska. The workshop will discuss the CostQuest Broadband Analysis Tool and its economic underpinnings, and will review the tool’s current results.
The FCC takes its visits to deployment sites and meetings with carriers “very seriously,” and continues to make adjustments to its USF reforms “as necessary,” Chairman Julius Genachowski told Alaskan members of Congress in a letter made public Friday (http://xrl.us/bno76j). Genachowski wrote in response to correspondence from the Alaskan lawmakers urging the commission to grant a waiver to Windy City Cellular, which operates on the remote island of Adak (CD Aug 13 p6). Genachowski pointed to the April “Benchmarks Order” in which the Wireline Bureau revised the high-cost loop support benchmark categories to reflect similarly situated providers, added new variables, and adjusted the phase-in period of the changes. Genachowski noted the reform was unanimously approved by the commission, and said it was important to “keep moving forward” on implementation, and “not roll back progress.” He also pointed to the six-month waiver already granted to Windy City, which gave the carrier $40,000 “to support the status quo” in its service area while the commission considered a petition by its parent company, Adak Eagle Enterprises. “During my trip to Alaska last year, I had an opportunity to visit deployment sites and meet with many of the Alaska carriers to get an understanding of the unique challenges they face. We take these visits and meetings very seriously, and the Commission -- and the staff on delegated authority -- continues to make adjustments to our reforms as necessary,” the letter said.
The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council warned school systems that many must comply with the FCC’s Jan. 1 narrowbanding deadline. “Schools, colleges, and universities use two-way radios for campus safety and security, athletic departments, school bus management, and facilities management,” NPSTC said. “In addition, two way radios are used to help coordinate everything from crowd control to event management. … If you use wireless communications, other than your laptop, Bluetooth, or Wifi this mandate could affect you."
The FCC should allow license-exempt and opportunistic use of licensed spectrum by cognitive license-exempt devices in the TV bands, the WhiteSpace Alliance said in comments filed at the agency. “Across industries the use of the [TV white spaces] spectrum is vital, given its propagation characteristics, improved building penetration and enhanced regional and rural coverage,” the alliance said (http://xrl.us/bno7uh). “WhiteSpace Alliance urges that spectrum should not remain unused if there are radio technologies that can make opportunistic use of the spectrum. Licensed use should emphasize interference protection rather than exclusive use. Therefore, the existence of licensed service should no longer prevent other innovative uses, provided that protection for the licensed users is maintained."
FiberTower asked the FCC to grant it a waiver or time extension to meet the substantial service requirement faced by its 24 and 39 GHz licenses. The request came in a letter to Chairman Julius Genachowski. “Granting this request will not only further the Commission’s policy goals and serve the underlying purpose of the Commission’s build-out rules, it would save countless jobs at FiberTower and its vendors and subcontractors who are [predominantly] U.S. based,” the wireless backhaul provider said. “It would also protect FiberTower’s industry partners, including the major wireless carriers, from economic harm, and ensure that FiberTower’s commercial, government, first responder, and school customers continue to receive uninterrupted service.” FiberTower reminded Genachowski it’s “a key supplier to rural and urban America and has entered into spectrum leases” across the U.S. “FiberTower has also taken a number of actions to ensure that its non-deployed spectrum assets are available for lease in the secondary market and that it is prepared to provide robust backhaul and transport services in response to growing market demand,” the letter said. “These actions, including developing market-viable equipment through a variety of suppliers and making that equipment -- along with a spectrum lease -- available to rural and urban customers alike, are precisely the types of actions that aggressively promote your important Broadband Acceleration Initiative goals.” All of the millimeter wave band licensees faced June 1 build out deadlines. Many have requested extensions.