Google Fiber has suffered “delays and complications” in pre-registering Kansas City residents of condos and apartments, Google said Monday. “The reason is because collecting addresses for these buildings -- also called Multiple Dwelling Units (MDUs) -- isn’t completely automated, and sometimes we don’t get the right apartment numbers,” the company said on its blog (http://xrl.us/bnmnws). “The process to fix this has been long and painful.” Pre-registration began July 26. Google assures Kansas City that it’s “making great progress” in fixing the system kinks. It’s calling property owners and managers to verify numbers as well as visiting “hundreds of condos and apartment complexes to get a list of unit numbers,” Google says.
The Astra 2F satellite from SES is scheduled to launch Sept. 21. It arrived in French Guiana to be processed for launch aboard an Ariane V rocket, SES said Tuesday. It will be located at 28.2 degrees east and carry Ku- and Ka-band payloads “for the delivery of high performance direct-to-home and next generation broadband services in Europe, Middle East and Africa,” SES said. Astra 2F is the first of a series of satellites aimed at providing replacement capacity and enhanced capabilities at that orbital location.
AT&T announced Friday that only subscribers on the new “Mobile Share” shared data plan will be able to use the popular iPhone FaceTime app on the carrier’s mobile network, which prompted renewed charges Monday that restrictions on the app’s use violated FCC rules. All iPhones are currently only able to use the app via Wi-Fi, but will be able to use it on mobile networks on the new iOS6 system set to debut this fall. Last month, speculation centered on whether AT&T would charge users a fee to use the app on its mobile network, prompting public interest groups to charge that such a move would violate the FCC’s Open Internet rules (CD July 19 p11). News that mobile use of the app would be restricted to “Mobile Share” subscribers renewed those charges. “The FCC’s rules prohibit such blatantly anti-competitive conduct by wireless companies,” Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood said in a statement. “Such behavior would be a problem no matter what Internet platform you choose. It would be unimaginable on your home broadband connection. Apple’s FaceTime comes pre-installed on a Macbook Pro, too, but no home broadband provider would dream of blocking the app there unless you'd signed up for a more expensive data plan.” AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said AT&T does not believe their decision to limit mobile use of FaceTime violates FCC rules. “FaceTime is available to all of our customers today over Wi-Fi and we're now expanding its availability even further as an added benefit of our new Mobile Share data plans,” he said.
The amount of nudity during prime-time TV broadcasts has increased, the Parents TV Council said. Such instances, though often blurred or pixelated, have increased sharply in recent years, the organization said. Likewise, “during prime time hours across all broadcast networks the use of bleeped or muted f-word increased from 11 instances in 2005 to 276 instances in 2010,” the PTC said. President Tim Winter asked members of Congress to urge the FCC to clear a backlog of pending indecency complaints. “We call on you to give the FCC your full support for decency enforcement,” he wrote (http://xrl.us/bnmjgu).
Several Texas telcos asked the Public Utility Commission to continue proceedings against Halo Wireless in spite of the company’s liquidation in late July. Halo had been facing multiple proceedings in different state commissions on allegations over unpaid access fees and a controversial interconnection agreement with AT&T. “The Complainants respectfully request that a further order be issued in this proceeding continuing the initial prehearing conference and setting a deadline of September 12, 2012, for the filing of the next status report in this proceeding,” they said in a Friday filing (http://xrl.us/bnmjfn). AT&T and the trustee of Halo posed no objections to their request, they told the PUC.
Liberty Media said it plans to increase its stake in Sirius XM and is now seeking de jure control of the satellite radio company. In an application filed with the FCC International Bureau, Liberty said the application is “one of a series of applications seeking FCC consent to the transfer of de jure control of Sirius XM” to Liberty (http://xrl.us/bnmje4). Liberty intends to “acquire beneficial ownership of additional shares of common stock that ... would represent more than 50 percent of the outstanding shares of common stock,” it said in an amended statement of beneficial ownership with the SEC (http://xrl.us/bnmjfk). Liberty initially filed an application to assume de facto control of Sirius, which was dismissed by the commission (CD May 7 p12).
Funding provided through the FCC’s Rural Health Care Pilot Program (RHCPP) can help rural healthcare providers with the recurring costs of broadband access and helps construct broadband networks where coverage is unavailable, said Arthur Spies, project coordinator for the Iowa Rural Health Telecommunications Program, in a letter to the FCC Monday. The FCC’s Wireline Bureau released a report last week that said the RHCPP, which funds 50 projects across 38 states, “provides fertile ground to help the Commission determine how best to reform the existing rural healthcare program, which provides ongoing support for telecommunications and Internet access services” (CD Aug 14 p11). The Iowa program, one of the 50 that receive RHCPP funds, is a consortium of hospitals in Iowa and South Dakota, along with the Iowa Hospital Association and the Iowa Communications Network (ICN), that connects participating hospitals through a dedicated broadband network using ICN infrastructure, Spies said. In describing the project and the program, Spies recommended the Wireline Bureau grandfather in urban hospitals that are part of RHCPP programs. “This will help support and sustain the consortia/network into the future,” Spies said in the letter. “We believe funding should continue as long as an urban site is a member of the consortium with rural health care providers” (http://xrl.us/bnmjdv).
Comcast shot back at the FCC and Tennis Channel Friday in a reply brief arguing why a federal appeals court should stay the FCC’s recent Tennis Channel carriage order while it reviews it. “The partial stay issued by the FCC’s General Counsel does not alter the need for a judicial stay,” it said in a brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. “It leaves in place the burdens on Comcast’s speech and operations that cannot be remedied after a favorable merits ruling,” Comcast said. “Indeed, because it was issued pursuant to delegated authority, the stay reflects only the views of the lawyers litigating the case,” it said. It called the FCC’s carriage order a textbook First Amendment violation that should be rejected by the court.
BriarTek urged the U.S. International Trade Commission to begin an investigation into an alleged patent infringement for two-way global satellite communication devices. In its complaint (bit.ly/NYFcEh), BriarTek, a developer of personal locator devices, said DeLorme and Yellowbrick violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act by infringing on claims of its “380 patent” for a global bidirectional locator beacon and emergency communication system. BriarTek filed the complaint “to remedy the unlawful importation in the United States, the sale for importation and/or the sale within the United States after importation by the owner, importer, consignee … of certain two-way global satellite communication devices (SCD), system and components thereof that infringe a valid and enforceable U.S. patent owned by BriarTek,” it said. DeLorme violated the patent through its two-way SCD product InReach, BriarTek said. The Yellowbrick 3 SCD and Yellowbrick Messenger software also infringes the “380 patent,” the complaint said. DeLorme is reviewing the complaint, a spokeswoman said. Yellowbrick didn’t comment.
The FCC solicited public comment on TiVo’s late-July petition to be temporarily let out of certain home networking requirements that are to become effective Dec. 1 for cable set-top boxes. Comments will be due to the agency 15 days after the public notice asking for them (http://xrl.us/bnmja4) is published in the Federal Register the commission said. Replies will be due 10 days after that. The docket number is 12-230.