Metromedia Fiber Network Services (MFN) asked Mich. PSC to impose daily fines on City of Dearborn for failing to provide company permit within 90-day window stipulated by Mich. Telecom Act (MTA). Dearborn is 3rd city to be cited by telecom providers for failing to grant or denying permit within stipulated time. Commission had found cities of Birmingham and Rochester in violation of MTA on similar counts and fined them $10,000 and $20,000, respectively, on complaint by Coast to Coast Telecommunications. MFN said it had sought permit from city March 30 as part of its plan to build 165 mile, $56 million fiber network to enable it to provide telecom services in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties. City made no “serious attempt” to issue permit within statutory 90 days, company said, but required it to enter into franchise agreement and pay, at minimum, percentage of gross revenues as precondition for use of its rights-of-way. Many provisions of city’s telecom ordinance and franchise agreement requirement are beyond its “proper authority, usurp PSC’s authority, violate MTA and are adverse to the public,” company said. MFN sought daily fines of $2,000 to $40,000 effective June 28 when statutory deadline for issuing permit expired. It also requested award of damages including any increase in fiber, construction and financing costs resulting from delay, lost revenue and attorney fees. In warning to cities last Dec., PSC said it would impose daily fines on local govts. if they failed to act on applications for construction permits for fiber networks within time limit set by statute.
FCC gave regulators in 4 states conditional approval to institute 1,000-number pooling trials and rationing to ease telephone number shortages. Common Carrier Bureau said La. PSC, Md. PSC, Mass. Dept. of Telecom & Energy and N.J. Board of Public Utilities could implement such trials but, at first, N.J. could do so only in 201 (Jersey City) area. FCC gave N.J. authority to institute pooling in 732 (Freehold) and 973 (Newark) areas only after it implemented new area codes to relieve them. FCC said 732 and 973 didn’t have enough numbers to last even one year and, even with pooling, there wouldn’t be enough NXX codes to fulfill needs of some carriers. NXX is what traditionally is considered first 3 digits of local phone number -- in other words, 3 digits that come after area code.
N.D. telephone and rural electric cooperatives joined forces to oppose N.D. Senate bill (SB-2410) that would require state PSC to reregulate rates and services of utility cooperatives having more than 2,500 customers. N.D. deregulated utility co-ops in 1993, but current bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Ben Tollefson (D- Minot), said that while co-ops needed no regulation when they were small, some had grown too large to respond effectively to customer needs and problems. He said he was served by phone co-op but had no recourse other than lawsuit if company didn’t resolve service problem. Co-op representatives at hearings Tues. before Senate Industry, Business & Labor Committee said their customers had protection from boards of directors that closely reviewed actions of co-op management, and since co-ops were small, customers generally knew whom to call to get satisfaction. Co-ops said PSC wouldn’t represent their customers better than existing boards, while costs associated with PSC regulation were likely to result in higher rates for phone and electric service.
Number of DTV broadcast stations has grown to 182, NAB said, with addition of Morgan Murphy-owned WISC-DT Madison, Wis., and Viacom-owned WKBD-DT Detroit. DTV is available now in 62 TV markets, NAB said.
Command Audio announced partnership with 2 U.K. companies to obtain spectrum for delivery of local news, sports and traffic along with travel and business bulletins to digital listeners in U.K. Capital Radio and UBC Media. Command Audio U.K. has signed deal with digital radio multiplex operator MXR and Capital Radio to provide spectrum for service.
NetSat Express signed $5.7 million contract with Al Harbi of Saudi Arabia. Contract calls for Al Harbi to use NetSat Express’s leased transponder space on Telstar 12 satellite for 20 Mbps of return capacity. Increased capacity will allow Al Harbi to expand its Internet service offerings throughout Middle East.
Despite increasing competition from DBS providers and cable overbuilders, cable operators boosted their average monthly rates 5.8% in year ending July 1, 2000, according to latest annual price survey by FCC. That increase, which was identical for both monopoly cable operators and ones facing effective competition in their markets, exceeds respective 4.5% and 5.2% boosts by 2 groups of cable systems in Commission’s 1999 price report. It also exceeds nation’s general inflation rate of 3.7% for that period by wide margin, as well as 4.7% cable inflation rate calculated by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for same period. But latest increase still is less than that in agency’s 1997 and 1998 price reports.
Center for Public Integrity has raised questions about FCC Chmn. Powell’s having possible conflict of interest. In article running on its Web site, CPI says Powell worked on GTE interconnection issues as attorney for O'Melveny & Myers but didn’t seek ethics review upon joining agency. Code of Federal Regulations requires new employees to seek guidance from agency ethics officers if there has been questionable contact within past year. FCC spokesman said Powell became commissioner in late 1997, 11 months after having worked on GTE case, and during that one- month overlap there were no issues before FCC that raised possible conflict with GTE. Powell was chief of staff at Dept. of Justice’s Antitrust Div. in 11 months before joining FCC. At law firm, Powell’s work for GTE consisted of being on team that worked on company’s interconnection arbitrations.
Tight market conditions and industry consolidation leave no room for new companies in satellite business, said Marshall Kaplan, chmn., Satellite On Demand, at Washington Space Business Roundtable panel Wed. “I really don’t see any room for additional companies, given the varieties of launches,” he said, and he expected “some consolidation.” Kaplan dismissed notion of companies’ shutting down, but said they would “consolidate or merge in the next 2, 3 or 4 years.” Other industry officials have made similar predictions (CD Feb 14 p2).
Uniform poll-closing time legislation seemed to be only bill (HR-50) contemplated in wake of networks’ errors in election coverage last Nov., based on lawmaker comments at Wed. House Commerce Committee hearing on subject. There was much criticism of mistakes but no entertainment of new requirements on networks, which generally admitted errors and promised to work on reform of their common Voter News Service (VNS), which they blamed for mistakes. Committee Chmn. Tauzin (R-La.) thanked networks for “self-examination,” particularly CBS and CNN, which used independent investigators. “We'll defend your right to get it wrong,” said Tauzin in answer to those who feared he would tread on First Amendment, but “how can we assist in getting new agreements to get it right?” Ranking Democrat Dingell (Mich.) and other Democrats suggested Republicans were continuing to kick subject around to divert attention from balloting irregularities in Fla. that they said cost former Vice President Gore election. Both Republicans and Democrats blamed network errors for costing their side votes. “The eyes of America are on this committee,” said Rep. Bilirakis (R-Fla.). “They expect us to do something.” Most aggressive Democratic comments came from Rep. Brown (Ohio), who said “conservative, corporate-owned media” had failed to tell America true story of “Republican suppression of the minority vote.” Least conciliatory comments from panel members came from AP Pres. Louis Boccardi, who said he had “serious doubts” that Committee could avoid “inappropriate government involvement” with press. He said fixing VNS’s problems “is a job for the nation’s editors and news directors, not its legislators.”