TelePacific supports Verizon’s request that the FCC continue to permit the industry to use the existing entity reseller certification process until it adopts a service-specific certification rule through a rulemaking process, the telco said in a letter Tuesday (http://xrl.us/bnoixe). “The Commission should clarify that (1) the Universal Service Administrative Company may not require a wholesale carrier that meets the reasonable expectation standard to restate revenues and (2) obtaining resale certifications on an entity basis is consistent with the reasonable expectation standard,” TelePacific said.
FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai called for a 21st century communications infrastructure that can support the U.S.’s transition to all-Internet Protocol networks. He was in the Kansas City area Wednesday to see Google’s high-speed fiber project firsthand (CD Sept 5 p8), and to determine how to apply lessons there more broadly, he said. “It is critically important that states and local communities adopt broadband-friendly policies when it comes to rights-of-way management,” he said (http://xrl.us/bnoiw4). “To enable the nationwide deployment of next-generation networks like Google Fiber, we need to eliminate regulatory barriers to innovation and investment at all levels of government. Whether we are dealing with economic regulation or rights-of-way management, we cannot apply 20th century approaches to our 21st century challenges."
O1 Communications lodged a complaint against Verizon California, Verizon Communications and Verizon Business over a longtime fight about payments related to an interconnection agreement. O1 asked the California Public Utilities Commission to enforce dispute resolution proceedings and prevent the termination of its agreement with Verizon. “Over the years, a series of disputes have arisen between O1 and both Verizon entities, including disagreements regarding traffic mix and charges for ISP-bound, Voice over Internet Protocol ('VoIP'), VNXX and other traffic,” O1 said in a Tuesday filing (http://xrl.us/bnohzh). “O1 has reached a stalemate with Verizon California relating to 2012 charges for these services, necessitating the filing of this Complaint to avoid disconnection. Each carrier owes the other compensation for traffic.” O1 is owed more than it owes, the company said. Verizon California attempted to sever its interconnection agreement with O1 in May without telling O1 and refused to meet with O1, O1 recounted. The threat of termination is “improper” as well as “unjustified and illegal” and puts “all of the end users on O1’s network, including sensitive entities, such as hospitals and schools, in jeopardy of losing service,” O1 said. Verizon declined to comment.
Tribune fired back at critics of its newspaper-broadcast cross ownership waivers in the process of the company’s exit from bankruptcy protection. Those critics have renewed their objections to the waivers recently (CD Aug 28 p3). “Tribune has more than amply demonstrated that it is entitled to waivers of the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rule,” it said (http://xrl.us/bnoivv). “Moreover, Petitioners also seek to relitigate their pending petition for reconsideration of the 2007 FCC decision approving the transfer of control of Tribune and the grant of several” Tribune station license renewals, it said. “All of these challenges ... are without merit and should promptly be rejected as nothing more than a last-minute effort to delay FCC approval now that the bankruptcy court has confirmed the plan for Tribune’s emergence from bankruptcy."
AT&T Kentucky engaged in what Budget Prepay called “an unlawful restriction on resale of bundled local and long distance cash back promotions.” AT&T was obligated to offer those products for resell to Budget Prepay, Budget said in a recent complaint (http://xrl.us/bnoie7). AT&T Kentucky is ordered “to satisfy the matters complained of or file a written answer to the complaint within ten days of the date of this Order,” the Kentucky Public Service Commission said Tuesday. AT&T acted in ways that are “preferential, discriminatory and anti-competitive as AT&T seeks to impair competition, enhance its competitive position, and gain a competitive advantage through an inappropriate intra-corporate transaction and/or tying arrangement with its affiliate long distance company,” the complaint said. Budget Prepay lodged similar complaints against AT&T in North Carolina recently (CD Aug 30 p12). AT&T declined to comment.
A group of broadcasters asked the FCC to clarify that it would intend to exercise its “statutory discretion to consider, in any particular case, whether it would serve the public interest to authorize, condition or disallow proposed foreign investment in excess of the 25 percent benchmark” for broadcast assets. The group, calling itself the Coalition for Broadcast Investment, asked the agency to clarify that it would “conduct substantive, facts and circumstances evaluations of proposals for foreign investment in excess of 25 percent of the parent company of a broadcast licensee,” a letter from the group said. “Taking this modest procedural step would place broadcasters on the same footing as every other industry participant and signal that the broadcast sector continues to be a vital and valued part of the 21st-century media and telecommunications ecosystem,” it said. “It would send a positive and powerful message to the industry, the capital markets, viewers, listeners and advertisers alike that in the appropriate circumstances, U.S. broadcasters may be afforded access to new sources of capital.” The coalition includes CBS, Disney, Univision, Sinclair, Ion, LIN TV, Hearst, Entravision, Clear Channel and others.
The U.S. wireless industry’s cash flow will continue to grow this year into 2013, while the nation’s wireline telecoms are set to remain stable, Moody’s Investors Service analysts said in industry outlooks Wednesday. The wireless industry’s free cash flow will rise almost 11 percent this year, with an additional 12-14 percent increase in 2013, Moody’s analysts said. But much of that growth will come from the top carriers -- Verizon Wireless and AT&T -- which together will account for 67 percent of industry revenue. The smaller carriers, including Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile, will continue to struggle and will see their percentage of industry free cash flow continue to drop, Moody’s analysts said. The service attributed Verizon Wireless and AT&T’s ability to keep customer churn low to stable pricing and both carriers’ service offerings. Wireline’s operating income will rise by 1 percent this year and an additional 1 percent increase in 2013, Moody’s analysts said. The stable market will come as a result of the industry’s cost cuts and gains from TV services, which Moody’s believes will offset continued weakness in wireline voice. Though incumbent telecom companies will see competition increase from cable companies, AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink will be less exposed to the threat than carriers that do not have “strong enterprise business products,” including Frontier Communications and Hawaiian Telcom, Moody’s analysts said.
The FCC’s notice of proposed rulemaking on incentive auctions is expected to be massive, running 240 pages or more with appendices and supporting documentation, agency officials told us Wednesday. One said it’s expected to include dozens of questions, with few “tentative conclusions.” The notice is to be circulated by Chairman Julius Genachowski Friday, for a vote at the commission’s Sept. 28 meeting (CD Aug 31 p1).
The White House Wednesday released an upgraded mobile app offering live video streams, news releases, the text of speeches and other information (http://xrl.us/bnoirz). The app works with iPhones, iPads and Android devices. The White House noted in a news release that in 2010, 5 percent of visitors used a mobile device to access WhiteHouse.gov, compared to 15 percent this year.
The IEEE Standards Association approved the latest revision to its IEEE 802.3 “Standard for Ethernet,” the organization said Wednesday. The standard, which IEEE said has a “pervasive” presence worldwide, defines wired Ethernet connectivity on local area, access and metropolitan area networks. The newest revision includes technical updates and consolidates amendments approved since IEEE 802.3 was last fully revised in 2008, IEEE said. “IEEE 802.3 is constantly being refined to address new challenges and applications,” Wael William Diab, vice-chair of the IEEE 802.3 working group, said in a news release. “We see the standard being expanded horizontally to address the specific needs of new markets such as energy efficiency, in-car networking, data-center networking and content delivery. At the same time, IEEE 802.3’s relevance is being expanded vertically in terms of bandwidth speeds and connection media. Work, in fact, is already underway on a variety of fronts that will have dramatic impact on the next generations of the world’s ubiquitous wired connectivity protocol of choice” (http://xrl.us/bnoiqu).