One of the biggest casualties from a pending spectrum crunch could be the loss of applications “that aren’t quite practical yet, but which may be if capacity grows,” said Richard Bennett, senior research fellow at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, in a blog post. “In the mobile space, the near horizon is occupied by apps such as Mobile Augmented Reality that allow mobile users to interact with cloud services through video streams, location, and social networks,” he said (http://xrl.us/bm4yjo). “MAR isn’t just spectrum-hungry, it’s also very resource-intensive on the processing and storage side, and revenue models need to be developed to pay for all those resources, of course.” Those trying to use advanced mobile apps have experienced the spectrum crunch since 2007, Bennett wrote. “The crunch was especially severe in San Francisco, where it’s hard for carriers to get zoning approval for new towers, and this has led to some high-profile breakups on the part of SF bloggers and their phones.” Bennett testified last week during a House Science Subcommittee on Technology hearing on the spectrum crunch (CD April 19 p3). “If the projections made in the National Broadband Plan are correct, by this time next year smartphone users will begin to experience annoying numbers of dropped calls, slow access to web sites and app services, and we can pretty well forget about augmented reality,” he said.
The FCC should not require carriers to implement SMS as an interim solution for texting to 911, except on a voluntary basis, CTIA and the major wireless carriers said in a meeting at the FCC with Public Safety Bureau officials. “While CTIA’s member companies explore whether the use of SMS as an emergency communications service is technically, economically and operationally feasible, meeting attendees reviewed significant technical and public policy complexities that must be addressed before SMS-to-911 services can be nationally deployed,” said a CTIA ex parte filing (http://xrl.us/bm4xwr). “Specifically, CTIA suggested that any voluntary approach must be standards-based to allow wireless service providers the flexibility to support SMS-to-911 consistent with each service provider’s existing and unique network architectures.” Attendees noted that the wireless industry is only part of the equation. “Meeting attendees discussed the Commission’s efforts to ensure that [public safety answering points] will simultaneously have the technical, operational and funding capabilities to accept, process and respond to text-based emergency communications from wireless consumers."
Comments filed on a Sprint Nextel petition asking the FCC to allow channels larger than 25 kHz in the enhanced specialized mobile radio (ESMR) portion of the 800 MHz band “demonstrate overwhelming support” for the proposal, SouthernLINC Wireless said in reply comments filed at the commission. “As the record shows, the Commission’s proposal will promote the availability of new, competitive advanced wireless services for consumers and encourage investment and innovation by enabling the efficient use of limited spectrum resources for the deployment of next-generation wideband technologies,” SouthernLINC said (http://xrl.us/bm4x2e). “At the same time, the Commission’s proposal ensures continued interference protection for public safety licensees. The Commission should therefore act as expeditiously as possible to formally adopt its proposal allowing wideband operations in the 800 MHz ESMR band.” Sprint said in its reply that no commenter questioned the “substantial competitive and consumer benefits” of allowing larger channel sizes. “These benefits provide a strong public interest basis for the Commission to provide ESMR licensees the greater technical flexibility proposed in the Notice,” Sprint said (http://xrl.us/bm4yiz). “The existing channel spacing and bandwidth limitations set forth in the Commission’s ESMR rules are outdated obstacles to investment and new technologies."
No matter how DBS subscriber figures are sliced for Hawaii’s Big Island, at least 15 percent of households there buy satellite services, Time Warner Cable said. It replied to the state’s opposition (CD March 27 p12) to the operator’s FCC petition for rate deregulation. “None of the arguments or alternative calculations put forth by the State rebut Time Warner Cable’s showing that DBS penetration in the East Hawaii franchise area is well in excess of the 15 percent statutory threshold,” the company said. “Even applying every conceivable downward adjustment to this figure, the state acknowledges that DBS provider penetration in the East Hawaii franchise area is at a bare minimum 15.86 percent.” For the West Hawaii franchise, “the State’s arguments and proffered adjustments turn a simple process into a complicated mess of factoring and estimating,” the company said in a filing posted Tuesday to docket 12-8 (http://xrl.us/bm4ybd). “Of the 26,257 occupied households in the Hawaii West franchise area, 4,558 (3,745 + 813) are confirmed DBS subscribers, indicating a penetration rate of 17.36 percent."
The FCC should use TV channel sharing and spectrum repurposing to “induce ... opportunities for minorities and women to operate” stations, said five nonprofit groups seeking such options. “If channel sharing is technically feasible, the Commission should not limit channel sharing to existing television licensees,” Prof. Angela Campbell of Georgetown University’s Institute for Public Representation reported telling an aide to Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. The agency should let new entrants share spectrum with broadcasters, as the FCC Diversity Committee has proposed, Campbell said for the National Hispanic Media Coalition, National Organization for Women Foundation, Media Alliance and others. “Stations owned by minorities and/or women typically operate with less capital and advertising dollars,” and “would have unequal bargaining power in negotiating spectrum sharing arrangements,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 10-235 (http://xrl.us/bm4yap). Commissioners are scheduled to vote Friday on a channel-sharing order (CD April 24 p13).
Time Warner Cable countered allegations by a TV station owner with which it’s engaged in a retransmission consent blackout in Texas that the cable operator’s comments on media ownership violated FCC ex parte rules. Cordillera Communications said (http://xrl.us/bm4x9h) last week that Time Warner Cable’s recounting of the retrans dispute that’s subject to a complaint from the broadcaster (CD Feb 6 p10) “is a blatant violation of the Commission’s ex parte rules.” Not so, Time Warner Cable replied Monday, also in docket 09-182 (http://xrl.us/bm4x9o). “TWC’s media ownership comments were not ‘directed to the merits or outcome of’ the Complaint proceeding and therefore did not constitute an ex parte ‘presentation.'” Cordillera’s complaint that Time Warner Cable didn’t negotiate retrans in good faith is a restricted proceeding where ex parte communication is “generally prohibited,” the broadcaster said.
The FCC needs to give rural telcos time to understand the impact of the USF/intercarrier compensation order before implementing changes proposed in its further notice of proposed rulemaking, the Eastern Rural Telecom Association said in a letter posted Tuesday (http://xrl.us/bm4x6k). The association of rural LECs and “support companies” said changes in support levels will make it difficult for rural customers to afford to pay for telecom services. Moreover, LECs “have placed new jobs on hold and will have to consider layoffs,” the association said.
Some TV stations “couldn’t agree more” with ex-FCC Commissioner Michael Copps’ remarks during a C-SPAN interview (http://xrl.us/bm4x6z) shown last weekend that there may be a lot of fallow spectrum which would be turned up by an inventory. The Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance “has favored broadcasters working together with wireless companies to effectively use portions of the broadcast spectrum,” the group said Monday night (http://xrl.us/bm4ywb). Formerly called the Coalition for Free TV and Broadband, the group of many low-power and some full-power TV stations has said the commission should allow flexible uses of TV spectrum, including stations acting essentially as one-way wireless backhaul to send videos and other Internet Protocol traffic to mobile devices, rather than auctioning channels to reallocate frequencies for wireless broadband (CD Nov 17 p11).
The FCC proposed fining two Florida FM stations $10,000 apiece for not keeping all required information in their public-inspection files, said Media Bureau notices of apparent liability Tuesday to WHLG Port St. Lucie (http://xrl.us/bm4x34) and WSBH Satellite Beach (http://xrl.us/bm4x45). The record-keeping issues came up during license renewals.
Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., and Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., encouraged the FCC to adopt the proposal in a rulemaking notice to do away with ancillary terrestrial component rules for the S-band. This is the type of action the FCC can and should take “when Congress allows an expert agency to use its best judgment on highly technical matters,” they wrote Chairman Julius Genachowski. “We have endeavored in Congress to ensure that the FCC would not be restricted in its ability to put satellite spectrum to use as a means of delivering wireless broadband.” Having more wireless spectrum available will lead to more infrastructure investment and high quality jobs, the two lawmakers said. They said approving the NPRM could foster investment at Maryland-based Hughes, which is working with EchoStar “to develop satellite/terrestrial hybrid wireless broadband platforms.”