The North American Numbering Council will hold its next meeting Sept. 20, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at FCC headquarters (http://xrl.us/bnnrcm).
The FCC sought comment on whether it should let Citizens Long Distance Co. stop offering long distance calling card service. The Higginsville, Mo., carrier told the FCC it received notice in June that its current underlying carrier was dropping service “and Citizens has been unable to find a suitable replacement,” the FCC said (http://xrl.us/bnnrcd). “Citizens specifies that throughout the years it has issued calling cards to a total of 413 customers in Missouri.” Comments are due Sept. 13.
Residents of Pennsylvania’s fifth-class Mercer County will continue to pay a fee of $1.25 per telephone line for their 911 service, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission ruled Thursday. “Local phone companies collect the fee for the counties,” the PUC explained (http://xrl.us/bnnraw). “The maximum fee that can be collected per telephone line is $1 for first- and second-class counties; $1.25 for third- through fifth-class counties; and $1.50 for sixth- through eighth-class counties.” The commission reviews the rates to ensure they're appropriate, it said. Pennsylvania counties are classified based on population. The first-class counties are the largest.
In similar proceedings, the FCC has already rejected the same objections raised by the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel to Comcast’s petitions for effective competition in seven Hampton-area local franchises, Comcast said in a reply filed with the FCC (http://xrl.us/bnnnky). “Inexplicably, Rate Counsel ignores those decisions, despite having been previously chastised by the Commission for repeating arguments that have been rejected in earlier cases,” it said. “Comcast has met its evidentiary burden ... [and] respectfully requests that the Media Bureau promptly issue an order recognizing the existence of effective competition in the Franchise Areas,” it said.
A pair of House lawmakers discussed USF contribution reform following recent news reports that suggested the FCC may levy a new “tax” on Internet service (CD Aug 29 p1). Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., said in an email statement that the government should generally refrain from adopting a USF contribution mechanism that is “likely to cause broadband subscribers to seriously reconsider whether to maintain their broadband subscription” “Accordingly, I'd encourage the FCC to review how price sensitive consumers might be to varying Connect America Fund assessment levels on their broadband service bills,” he said. Separately, a spokesman for Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., said the congressman supports using the USF funds for broadband deployment in rural areas but “does not support any additional fees on top of the current fee.”
A federal judge in New York approved an agreement between BMI and the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) over the fees radio stations pay for playing songs in the BMI repertoire through 2016, said the committee, which represents some 10,000 radio stations. The license period covers Jan. 1, 2010, to Dec. 31, 2016, it said. The settlement calls for a $70.5 million credit against 2010-2011 industry payments and expanded rights to accommodate broadcasters’ new media platforms, among other features, the committee said. “This is a gratifying result for the radio industry,” RMLC Chairman and Saga Communications CEO Ed Christian said.
SES signed a capacity agreement with Romantis to support the connectivity needs across Russia and Central Asia. Germany-based Romantis will use 24 MHz of Ku-band capacity on SES’s NSS-12 satellite at 57 degrees east “to deliver a variety of communication services across the region,” SES said.
Cable attorneys met separately with aides to FCC Commissioners Robert McDowell and Jessica Rosenworcel to discuss an item that would make it easier for cable operators to buy CLECs (CD Aug 23 p2), an ex parte notice shows (http://xrl.us/bnnni6). They argued that the current process, which requires obtaining a waiver and getting approval from local franchise authorities “is impeding efficient and pro-competitive transactions,” the notice said. The commission could still review those deals under Section 214 of the Communications Act, the notice said. “Imposing additional regulatory hurdles for such transactions serves no valid purpose, given that far more competitively significant transactions are reviewed without the need for relief from Section 652,” it said.
The U.S. Trade Representative proposals for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would impose “limitations on fundamental human rights” and must be opposed, public interest organizations said in a statement Wednesday in the lead-up to next week’s TPP negotiation in Leesburg, Va. (http://bit.ly/PuTMzT). The statement’s 12 signatories include the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Citizen and Public Knowledge. The statement is critical of the limitations and exceptions language contained in the document that “jeopardizes countries’ ability to set what best fit their needs.” Instead of the proposed language in the leaked version, the statement suggests considering the proposal from New Zealand, Malaysia, Chile, Vietnam and Brunei, which would allow countries “to tailor copyright exceptions and limitations to their domestic needs, and extend such limitations into the digital environment to create new exceptions as they find appropriate.” The statement urges TPP participants to resist such proposed limitations and push proposals that honor current international standards.
Sales at Concurrent for its fiscal Q4 fell 2.6 percent from a year earlier to $14.7 million, the company said Wednesday. CEO Dan Mondor called the revenue results disappointing, but said the company remained profitable after greatly reducing costs during the year. “The competitive positions of our products remain solid, however we were significantly impacted by lower spending levels at some of our top customers in fiscal 2012,” he said. The company’s net income was $209,000, up from a $1.2 million loss a year earlier.