The FCC asked Comcast to list its regional sports networks and provide information on the number of subscribers at each of the company’s cable systems, to help “the Commission in its evaluation of the various options pertaining to the exclusive contract prohibition.” As the agency devises whether to extend, sunset or follow another option for program access rules barring the withholding from multichannel video programming distributors of channels affiliated with cable systems, it also asked similar questions of Cablevision (CD July 5 p16). “We are also analyzing a cable operator’s marginal profit when the cable operator acquires an additional residential customer from a competing MVPD,” Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake wrote Comcast Senior Vice President Kathy Zachem. “We are exploring two scenarios: (i) where the switching customer purchases only video services; and (ii) where the switching customer purchases the bundle of video, voice, and high-speed data services that the average customer of the cable operator purchases.” The letter dated June 27 and posted Thursday to docket 12-68 (http://xrl.us/bnfrc5) asked for by July 11 some revenue and cost figures for voice, video and broadband service. The responses can be kept confidential, under two protective orders, Lake wrote.
The ITU Secretariat in Geneva Friday announced a high-level roundtable discussion on “the worldwide surge in patent litigation and the growing lack of adherence to standards bodies’ existing patent policies.” One focus in the discussion on Oct. 10, to which the ITU will invite key standardization bodies, industry players and governments, is the relevance of current arrangements based on reasonable and non-discriminatory patent policies, said an ITU news release (http://xrl.us/bnfrby).
There’s no consensus to open up Internet-related public policy discussions to all stakeholders at the ITU. After presentation of a proposal from the Swedish delegation at this week’s ITU Council meeting in Geneva, an ad hoc group had to be established to try to forge consensus before the end of the meeting July 13. Sweden’s proposal recommends the inclusion of all stakeholders as observers to the meetings of the ITU Council Working Group on international Internet-related public policy issues, particularly open and face-to-face consultations with all the stakeholders and open access to all related documents. While the Swedish proposal is supported by the U.S., European countries, Brazil, Japan and other ITU member states, the Arab states, China, Russia and some African countries favor online consultations with stakeholders only. ITU Secretary General Hamadoun Touré had asked member nations during their first half week of deliberations to work against a growing perception that ITU’s membership was becoming somewhat “polarized on a number of key issues.” He was very keen, he said, “to see us avoid entering into some kind of new cold war, which would be absolutely unnecessary.” A proposal by Indonesia (CD June 28 p11) on a potential new convention on cybersecurity was noted at the meeting, with many countries asking for clarification before concrete steps could be taken.
Google officials said the FCC should develop a “balanced spectrum policy that makes space for both unlicensed and licensed uses,” in a meeting last week with Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel and staff, according to an ex parte filing. Former New York Republican Rep. Susan Molinari, head of Google’s Washington office, was among those representing the company. “In particular, we emphasized Google’s interest in adopting innovative approaches that allow users to share spectrum and its interest in preserving unlicensed use in the TV bands,” Google said in a filing (http://xrl.us/bnfrag). Also discussed was “Google’s impact on the economy and its efforts to bring small businesses online,” the filing said.
The FCC officially terminated its Technical Advisory Board for First Responder Interoperability, established as part of the February Spectrum Act, to provide advice to the still-to-be-named FirstNet board. The technical board had one job, to develop proposed technical standards for the new nationwide network for first responders. The board submitted a report to the FCC May 22, which was transmitted by the agency to the First Responder Network Authority June 21, the commission said in a public notice (http://xrl.us/bnfq7b). It said the agency also terminated docket 12-74, “established to enable the Interoperability Board to collect and exchange information during the process of developing its recommendations."
Comments on five requests to escape FCC TV captioning rules are due in 30 days, said a Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau public notice. Petitions citing an “undue economic burden” were made by Calvary Baptist Church in Tupelo, Miss., three other religious groups and the Norm Prouty Real Estate Show in Hampden, Maine, it said (http://xrl.us/bnfq7u). Docket 06-181 (http://xrl.us/bnfq74), where those comments are due, has updates of previously filed waivers and supplements to them after the bureau sought more data on some long-pending requests. Gospel Broadcasting Network, a satellite-TV network that made a request in 2008, has had a “continuing decrease in income” in recent years, a filing said (http://xrl.us/bnfq8i).
Sandvine received more than $2 million in network policy control orders from one of the U.S.’s top 10 telecom service providers, the network management provider said (http://xrl.us/bnfq3q). The purchaser bought Sandvine’s policy traffic switch, Fairshare traffic management and usage management products, Sandvine said. Globally, 110 service provider networks use Sandvine’s Fairshare traffic management, it said.
The FCC Media Bureau allowed some pleadings from broadcast licensees to be filed electronically in the Consolidated Database System. Oppositions, review applications, replies and other pleadings will be made “promptly available to licensees, interested parties and the general public, thereby increasing the transparency of the broadcast licensing processes,” the bureau said in a public notice (http://xrl.us/bnfq8v). The bureau already permits applicants and licensees to submit certain non-form filings electronically, it said.
Dish is offering a summer movie special with free previews of seven Encore channels and the Movieplex and Indieplex premium movie channels. The previews will be available to Dish subscribers through July 24, Dish said. The channel lineup includes Encore Westerns, Encore Suspense and Encore Action, it said.
The Wisconsin Public Service Commission is creating a “playbook” to encourage investment in the state’s broadband expansion, PSC officials told us. The playbook’s goal will be to make the state “more attractive” to potential investors, and it establishes broad strategies for doing so, said a spokesman. The PSC has tentative drafts of the playbook now and expects to pass it on to the Legislature by late August, said the spokesman and Brian Rybarik, administrator of the PSC’s Telecom Division. An April 27 presentation from the PSC and state-wide broadband initiative LinkWISCONSIN describes the playbook’s intended audience as legislators, the governor’s office, providers, business leaders, trade associations, consumer interests, state agencies, regional teams and municipal leadership, and says the purpose of the proposed playbook is to “define state initiatives that increase or enhance availability, adoption, application of broadband” (http://xrl.us/bnfquz). The playbook’s goal is to start conversations and provide a “menu of options” to jumpstart investment, said the officials.