The special access pricing flexibility system is “broken,” a BT executive told FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel Monday, according to an ex parte filing (http://xrl.us/bnc4pc). BT urged Rosenworcel to suspend the pricing flexibility triggers and deny pending petitions for pricing flexibility while the commission develops a new framework. The two pending petitions, by AT&T and Windstream, were “deemed granted” Monday when the FCC did not act on them (CD June 26 p4).
The Media Bureau’s Audio Division proposed a $3,000 fine against a winner of an FM license in Auction 91 for failing to submit a Form 301, long-form application in time. The applicant, Joseph Tesiero, had asked the commission to waive its deadline and accept his late application. In addition to proposing the fine, the bureau granted Tesiero’s waiver.
CTIA and USTelecom want the FCC to clarify certain broadband reporting obligations in the USF/intercarrier compensation rules. The commission previously denied a request by USTelecom to reconsider imposing new reporting requirements on eligible telecom carriers whose support is being eliminated, but “did not discuss considerations for ETCs whose legacy support is being eliminated,” the groups wrote in their petition for reconsideration (http://xrl.us/bnc4oh). The commission also needs to address reporting requirements for incumbent wireline ETCs whose support is subject to elimination, they said. The commission’s third order on reconsideration “leaves unsettled what reporting and related requirements actually apply to wireless and wireline ETCs,” they said. The groups asked the commission to eliminate obligations to collect and file broadband data, which was “potentially called for” in an “ambiguous” section of the order. They also asked the commission to limit the filing of five-year service quality improvement plans and progress reports to ETCs that receive Phase II support, and to eliminate a requirement that an ETC certify that “frozen” Interstate Access Support (IAS) was used for broadband deployment. “This certification is impossible to make because the Commission requires that IAS support be used for other purposes … and carriers cannot spend this funding twice,” they said.
A hearing in the Game Show Network’s carriage complaint against Cablevision is set for Jan. 30, 2013, a filing from Administrative Law Judge Richard Sippel released last week shows (http://xrl.us/bnc4nv). Discovery in the case is set to end Dec. 14, 2012, with trial briefs due a month later.
The SEC filed fraud charges Wednesday against Harbinger Capital Partners and its CEO Phil Falcone for illicit conduct. The conduct included misappropriation of client assets, market manipulation and betraying clients, the SEC said (http://xrl.us/bnc4pp). The agency also brought charges against chief operating officer Peter Jenson “for aiding and abetting the misappropriation scheme.” The agency alleged that Falcone “fraudulently obtained $113.2 million from a hedge fund that he advised and misappropriated the proceeds to pay his personal taxes,” and that Harbinger engaged in illegal trades around purchasing common stock in three public offerings “after having sold the same securities short during a restricted period.” Harbinger is the largest investor for LightSquared, whose plans to build a terrestrial satellite service have been stalled due to interference problems with the GPS market (CD Feb 15 p1).
Liberty Global is expanding its Puerto Rican operations through acquisition. The company said it and Searchlight Capital Partners agreed to buy San Juan Cable, which does business as OneLink Communications. Liberty Global already owns Liberty Cablevision of Puerto Rico and plans to merge the companies into the island’s largest cable operator, it said. The combined network will pass 700,000 homes serving about 480,000 revenue generating units, it said. The deal values OneLink at $585 million. Under its terms, Liberty will put its 100 percent stake in Liberty Cablevision Puerto Rico into the new entity while Searchlight will contribute cash. In turn, that entity will pay cash for the OneLink assets. Liberty will own 60 percent of the new entity, it said.
Dish Network debuted Luxe.TV, the first global TV channel dedicated to luxurious lifestyle. Based in Luxembourg, Luxe.TV made its U.S. debut Wednesday, it said. It’s available in English and French in Dish’s International Basic and French Bouquet packages, it said.
Broadcasters in Bosnia and Herzegovina plan to launch a satellite platform on the Eutelsat 16A satellite. It will launch Sept. 1, and will include seven TV channels and two radio stations, Eutelsat said. Four networks will use the platform to optimize their resources and “to reach into … homes in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as expatriate communities across Europe."
The U.S. Forest Service bought 6,000 GPS devices from Globalstar’s Spot. The devices are “rugged, pocket-sized satellite-based personal trackers that work in places where cell phones and two way radios fail,” Spot said. USFS will use the units for employee safety, it said. Spot messenger devices initiated more than 1,800 rescues since they were introduced in 2007, Spot said.
Verizon Wireless now offers the Viggle app to customers with Android devices, the carrier said. It said Viggle allows users to accumulate reward points by checking into TV shows and playing games and puzzles.