Verizon Communications formally requested a meeting with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in response to a press release the two unions released Thursday (http://xrl.us/bnhke5) asking the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) to step in to assist in labor contract negotiations. The unions were unhappy at the length of time the contract negotiations have taken -- more than a year, they said in their release. Verizon declined the request to proceed to mediation Thursday afternoon. “We have been in contact with the parties,” a FMCS spokesman confirmed, although he said he couldn’t comment further due to the service’s confidentiality agreements. “The Unions’ issuance of a press release tying its suggestion of mediation to distorting the Company’s bargaining position strongly suggests that the proposal was simply one more effort to erect an obstacle to bargaining rather than negotiate an agreement,” wrote Verizon Senior Vice President-Labor Relations Lawrence Marcus in a letter to CWA regional Vice President Chris Shelton late Thursday. “It is extremely disappointing that the unions refused to make themselves available today to receive a proposal from the Company and continue bargaining regarding a number of issues. It is also disconcerting that the North unions [representing employees in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, a Verizon spokesman clarified] have failed to make any proposals this week although the ball is in your court regarding almost all issues.” Marcus asked Shelton to meet Friday at 10 a.m. so Verizon can “present another comprehensive proposal,” as he wrote in the letter. The unions had alleged “Verizon management continues to insist on drastic cuts in benefits and employment security,” the unions said Thursday. Marcus disagrees with the CWA assessment of Verizon greed and points out that two months ago Verizon “proposed continuing job security protection for the 38,000 associates who are presently covered provided that the Company received some relief relating to movement of work and people,” his letter said. CWA Communications Director Candice Johnson said she didn’t know details of any meetings Friday morning but described “regular bargaining sessions” that haven’t produced results. “Frankly, why wouldn’t Verizon want to try something that could help produce a contract?” Johnson told us. “That’s in everyone’s interest.”
Access to cable Wi-Fi must be a condition if the FCC approves the Verizon Wireless/cable deals and Verizon’s spectrum swap with T-Mobile, the Rural Telecommunications Group told the FCC. “The launching of CableWiFi’s 50,000 hotspot network is akin to the launching of a large mobile wireless competitor in the various markets it serves,” RTG said (http://xrl.us/bnhjxf). “It would be antithetical to the public interest if SpectrumCo and Cox were allowed to sell all of their AWS licenses to Verizon Wireless (and thus preempt the emergence of a facilities-based mobile wireless competitor) only to turn around and offer WiFi offload roaming only to select carriers such as Verizon Wireless and not offer those same data connectivity roaming services to other providers at commercially reasonable rates, terms and conditions.” In addition, RTG said, “Any roaming condition must be buttressed by the Commission with additional requirements that do not allow the cable companies to deny access to WiFi offload roaming by making device authentication, network testing or billing file transfers overly complex so as to frustrate the end-user’s access to seamless roaming or otherwise delay the launch of these data roaming services.&rdquo
Fred Campbell, director of the free-market oriented Communications Liberty & Innovation Project at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said Friday a statement by Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel (CD July 30 p13) at Thursday’s FCC meeting puts pressure on Chairman Julius Genachowski to establish a timeline for future auctions. “Yesterday, FCC Commissioner Rosenworcel joined fellow Commissioner [Ajit] Pai in calling for a clear timeline for upcoming incentive auctions,” Campbell said Friday in a written statement. “Setting a timeline for critical decisions that will affect the future of the mobile Internet for the next decade is common sense. It would ensure sound management of the agency’s resources and set appropriate expectations for Congress and the communications industry. Now that the timeline has bipartisan support, the Chairman will likely be unable to continue avoiding accountability on this issue.” Rosenworcel “also proposed something that no one in the Obama Administration has been willing to mention: An incentive auction approach to reclaiming federal spectrum for commercial use,” Campbell noted. “This doesn’t mean the Administration should abandon its consideration of spectrum sharing. At the recent House oversight hearing, Commissioner Rosenworcel said that incentive auctions alone would not be enough to meet our nation’s spectrum needs. But, as Commissioner Rosenworcel suggests, the Administration should be exploring options for providing federal agencies with incentives to clear spectrum as well, including through incentive auctions."
More than 40 percent of those who use paid cloud services share their log-in credentials with people inside their organizations, said a study by the Business Software Alliance. “This points to a worrisome new avenue for software license abuse,” said BSA President Robert Holleyman (http://xrl.us/bnhjkm). He said the trend is the “latest sign that piracy is evolving in the cloud era, rather than dying out.” Sharing does not always mean “pirating” cloud services, he said, saying some organizations hold licenses that allow users to share accounts. But “it is worth noting that 56 percent of those who use paid cloud services for business believe it is wrong to share employer-provided log-in credentials for those accounts with other people in their organizations,” he said. The study said cloud piracy could take several forms: (1) End users could abuse their licenses for cloud services by sharing their account credentials. (2) A rogue business or an enterprise could set up a “dark cloud” for its own use that will enable to it provide pirated software to its employees. (3) An enterprise could use a private “gray cloud” to provide legally purchased software to more users than the license allows. “We need to modernize intellectual property laws so they provide clear protection and allow for vigorous enforcement against misappropriation and infringement of IP in the cloud,” said Holleyman.
Russia’s delay in submitting tariff schedules for accession to the World Trade Organization Information Technology Agreement were a “concern” for the U.S., EU and several other countries during an informal meeting of parties to the agreement, a trade official said. The schedules should have been completed by the time of Russia’s formal accession to the WTO, he said. Russia’s terms for joining the trade organization are expected to clear both houses of the Russian Parliament before a July 23 deadline, a WTO official said earlier this month. The EU said the process is running “rather late,” the first trade official said. The U.S. showed “strong concern,” he said. The U.S. said it’s urgent that Russia submit its list of schedules for verification and approval by members, he said. Japan, Australia, Taiwan, South Korea and Malaysia echoed the views expressed by the EU and the U.S., he said. The meeting’s chairman will convey the views to the Russian delegation, which did not attend the meeting, he said.
Early reviews for the Verizon Wireless shared data plan have been “great,” said Verizon Communications Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo, during the company’s quarterly financial call with analysts. He noted that customer adoption of the new “Share Everything” plans, available since June 28, has met expectations. “We are seeing a wide variety of customers and family share accounts opting into Share Everything, including existing smartphone customers with unlimited data plans,” Shammo said during an investor call Thursday. Subscribers get unlimited voice minutes and text under the new plans, but pay for a shared pool of data for up to 10 mobile devices. Public interest groups have criticized Verizon’s plans, as well as the similar “Mobile Share” plans AT&T announced Wednesday. The company had record wireless profits in the quarter, but saw weak results from its wireline products. Shammo also said Verizon is confident its AWS spectrum license purchase will clear FCC and Justice Department approval -- and that the deal will be completed this summer. The company is “ready to go” with the “auction” of its 700 MHz A and B spectrum licenses on the secondary market once the AWS purchase is completed, Shammo said.
Dish Network and West Virginia Media reached a deal that returned four TV stations to the Dish programming lineup. WBOY (NBC, ABC) Clarksburg, WVNS (Fox, CBS) Bluefield, WTRF (CBS, Fox, ABC) Wheeling and CBS affiliate WOWK Charleston confirmed the deal on their websites. The stations went dark for Dish customers July 1 (CD July 3 p14).
FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said Thursday the FCC must establish a “clear timeline” for pending spectrum auctions. Rosenworcel also said more must be done to provide incentives for federal agencies to embrace giving up spectrum for commercial use. “While past efforts to reclaim spectrum from federal users have involved the stick, I think going forward we should explore the carrot,” she said. “Today, the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act provides funding to federal users for relocation when their airwaves are reallocated for commercial use. It also now provides upfront funding for planning. What is missing is a series of incentives. What if we were to financially reward federal authorities for efficient use of their spectrum resource? What if they were able to reclaim a portion of the revenue from the subsequent re-auction of their airwaves? Would they make smarter choices about their missions and the resources they need to accomplish them? It’s an idea worth exploring."
FCC commissioners heard a presentation Thursday on the FCC’s use of next-generation mapping. “The breakthrough with maps is that it allows users to visualize data -- making complex mountains of data accessible, understandable, and actionable,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. He mentioned in particular the National Broadband Map, which the commission developed in coordination with the NTIA. “The map identifies what services and what speeds are available in each community -- information that is useful to consumers, policy makers, as well as businesses and entrepreneurs,” he said. “It’s the first of its kind, just the beginning, and holds tremendous promise."
Arbitron said the Media Rating Council (MRC) accredited the ratings from its Portable People Meter device in five markets: Los Angeles, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Baltimore, Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif., and San Antonio. Riverside-San Bernardino and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater are seeing their accreditation restored, after it had been withdrawn by MRC in January, Arbitron said. Separately, the company said Q2 revenue increased 9.1 percent from a year earlier to $104.4 million and profit increased 31 percent to $10 million.