KLEI-TV Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, got some support from its home state in its bid to have Time Warner Cable carry its signal on more Hawaiian cable systems. The FCC received letters supporting KLEI-TV from Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie, County of Hawai'i Mayor William Kenoi, Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle and others last week, filings show (http://xrl.us/bndbh7). Additionally, KLEI-TV licensee Mauna Kea Broadcasting and the state of Hawaii’s Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) separately opposed TWC’s petition to exclude the station from the Honolulu designated market area (CD July 16 p12). “Communities throughout this market are closely connected economically, historically and politically,” the licensee said (http://xrl.us/bnmi6u). “TWC’s Petition ignores the unique nature of the Hawaii market and historical, cultural, social and economic links that unite the Hawaiian Islands into a single market.” Inter-island broadcasting “provides not only relevant news programming, but also a valuable unifying factor within islands,” the DCCA said (http://xrl.us/bnmi8u).
The FCC Public Safety Bureau approved a waiver allowing the state of Maryland to use 700 MHz narrowband secondary trunking channels for air-to-ground interoperable radio communications as part of the Maryland First Responders Interoperable Radio System Team system. The bureau noted that the proposal has broad support. “The record indicates that the secondary trunking channels are currently unused and that neither Maryland nor any of its neighbors intend to use them for the purpose specified in the rules,” the order said (http://xrl.us/bnmi3i). “The secondary channels are also more suitable for airborne use than other 700 MHz or 800 MHz narrowband channels, which are heavily used for terrestrial communications and could not be used for airborne communications without substantial risk of harmful interference. Additionally, the record demonstrates that all of Maryland’s neighboring states support Maryland’s petition and that Maryland has coordinated with these states via the Region 20 Planning Committee.” However, the bureau imposed some restrictions, including a coordination requirement and a requirement that “Maryland’s air-to-ground operations must accept interference from other licensees and must not cause harmful interference to other licensees.”
The FCC is requesting comments on the Commission’s Lifeline recertification requirement, a Monday filing said. Its request is in response to a recent petition for waiver of requirements for subscribers enrolled between Jan. 1, and June 1, the filing said (http://xrl.us/bnmi3e). “PR Wireless argues that its subscribers enrolled between January, 1, 2012 and June 1, 2012 have already demonstrated eligibility, viewed disclosures and made certifications as part of the process in Puerto Rico and that these disclosures and certifications meet nearly all of the requirements of sections 54.410(d) and (f),” the Wireline Bureau said. “PR Wireless asserts that subscriber confusion and attrition will result if its waiver request is not granted.” The comment due date is Sept. 10 and the reply date is Sept. 24.
The FCC Wireline Bureau denied an appeal by the Truth or Consequences Municipal Schools (TCMS) seeking review of a decision by the Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC) denying the New Mexico district E-rate funding for 2007. “In its decision, USAC determined that TCMS violated E-rate program rules by failing to evaluate all the bids it received,” the order said (http://xrl.us/bnmizi). “Based on our review of the record, we agree with USAC’s determination."
Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter recommended in a letter to President Barack Obama (http://xrl.us/bnmixz) a long list of actions the administration can take to address the growing demand for more spectrum for wireless broadband. “The wireless innovation community is increasingly indispensable to the U.S. economy and employment, supporting today nearly 3.8 million American jobs,” Spalter wrote. “Even in today’s challenging economic climate, direct U.S. employment by wireless carriers has grown almost 6 percent annually over the past four years. These jobs extend beyond the technology world, powering small business growth, as well as expansion and innovation in manufacturing, healthcare and most other leading sectors of our economy -- progress that makes U.S. workers and companies more competitive around the world.” Among Spalter’s recommendations are addressing Channel 51 interference concerns, further streamlining tower siting and finishing up FCC work on orders addressing the Wireless Communications Service, 2 GHz Mobile Satellite Service and the 1675-1710 MHz and 1755-1850 MHz bands.
The International Bureau dismissed Satelites Mexicanos’ [Satmex] request to add the Satmex 8 satellite to the FCC’s Permitted Space Station List. Satmex does not provide all the information required by the commission’s rules, “which renders the petition unacceptable for filing and subject to dismissal,” the bureau said in an order (http://xrl.us/bnmigz). The petition doesn’t provide technical information for the Satmex 8 satellite and it didn’t submit an interference analysis, the bureau said.
Operators of an unlicensed Austin, Texas, FM station lost a challenge to U.S. efforts to collect a $10,000 FCC fine, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week (http://xrl.us/bnmh7s). Jerry and Deborah Stevens’ request to overturn a U.S. District Court in Texas’s denial of their motion to dismiss the penalty was denied by Judge James Dennis. The lower court was right to decline to consider the Stevens’ arguments that the commission lacks jurisdiction to regulate interstate broadcasts, Dennis wrote for himself and fellow judges of the New Orleans-based court Jerry Smith and Eugene Davis. “As the district court recognized, it would be anomalous to permit an unlicensed broadcaster to circumvent the congressionally-mandated judicial review scheme and corresponding deadlines simply because the government must go to district court to recover the monetary penalty.” The Stevens had no comment on the ruling filed Friday on docket 11-50862 in U.S. v. Stevens. The FCC usually fines so-called pirate radio stations $10,000 each, and closed down dozens of them last year (CD Sept 28 p4).
The FCC Public Safety Bureau approved a 10-month waiver of its Jan. 1 narrowbanding mandate for the state of Oregon. “The record shows that Oregon has exercised due diligence and good faith in its efforts to timely comply with the narrowbanding requirements since 2005,” the bureau said (http://xrl.us/bnmhyn). “The record also shows that Oregon had to abandon its original plan -- by which the State was to migrate to a 700 MHz digital trunked system and relinquish its UHF and VHF frequencies, thus eliminating the need to upgrade the VHF/UHF systems -- because of the State’s budgetary problems. In addition, the record shows that, notwithstanding its best efforts to comply with the narrowbanding deadline, Oregon encountered several technical and weather-related problems that substantially affected its ability to complete its revised plan to upgrade its aging UHF/VHF radio systems on schedule."
GAO is reviewing “progress made in modernizing” the U.S. emergency alert system and last year’s nationwide EAS test, the FCC said (http://xrl.us/bnmjjz). The office is reviewing “efforts underway to address any weaknesses in the EAS identified by the test,” said a Public Safety Bureau public notice dated Friday. “GAO has requested test result information” from the commission, and the FCC is sharing with the office information from EAS participants about the test, the notice said. It said radio and TV stations, pay-TV operators and others that participate in EAS were ordered in November to give test information to the commission, which an FCC order “specifically provided that submitted information would be presumed confidential and not released to the public."
Comments on an NCTA petition for the FCC to change some CALM Act rules are due Sept. 4, replies Sept. 14, in docket 11-93, said a commission notice in Monday’s Federal Register (http://xrl.us/bnmhwn). Other promotional material shouldn’t constitute a commercial under the FCC’s implementation of the CALM Act, the NCTA said. The association also asked that cable operators not be held liable in cases where spot checks of noise find noncompliance (CD Aug 10 p17).