Pegasus Communications said U.S. Dist. Court, L.A., issued final order Feb. 1 denying DirecTV motion for partial summary judgment in its case against Pegasus and National Rural Telecommunications Assn. on right of first refusal on contract relating to distribution and programming. Final order confirmed ruling issued Jan. 29, Pegasus said. Jury trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 25.
New bill in Ill. legislature (SB-69) would rewrite state’s telecom law to drastically reduce regulatory oversight of Ameritech. Proposed Illinois Telecom Act of 2001 by state Sen. Steve Rauschenberger (R-Elgin) would deregulate business services immediately and cap basic residential rates for 2 years. Optional and discretionary residential service rates would be deregulated immediately. Bill would free Ameritech from most other current regulatory requirements for business service, but carrier still would have residential infrastructure, service quality and universal service obligations. Measure drew immediate attack from consumer interests who said Ameritech’s dismal service quality record last year showed company needed more regulation, not less. Rauschenberger said he doubted bill would pass in current form, but agreed to sponsor pro-Ameritech legislation to get phone issues on table. He said current state phone law, passed in 1985 and expiring this year, no longer works: “Fines don’t change a large company’s behavior. We need to give incentives to invest in our [telecom] infrastructure.” He called bill “starting point” for months of work before anything is passed. State Rep. Steve Davis (D-Benthalo) said he would introduce similar pro-Ameritech deregulation bill in House. He said Ameritech was only company willing to serve rural areas, but said “we're open to compromise and negotiation” on measure. Consumer groups vowed to fight any major deregulation of Ameritech. Ill. Citizens Utility Board called current bill “Ameritech’s wish list which, if passed, would choke off what little competition Ameritech now faces in the state.” CLEC-supported Ill. Coalition for Competitive Telecom called bill “outrageous.” Group said Ameritech had gall to ask for sweeping deregulation after putting state through “the worst utility service problem in our history.” But Connect Illinois, an Ameritech-backed business/industry coalition, said that unless Ameritech’s regulation were loosened further, state’s business users would continue to suffer from declines in telecom infrastructure.
FCC’s assertion that bankruptcy laws don’t apply to Commission’s decision to revoke spectrum licenses for wireless phone providers will come under scrutiny this year from House Judiciary Committee’s Commercial & Administrative Law Subcommittee, according to agenda circulated by Committee. Subcommittee this year is headed by Rep. Barr (R-Ga.) and ranking Democrat is Rep. Watt (N.C.). Full committee’s priorities include modernization of antitrust laws in “new economy,” review of Telecom Act, “including efforts to speed the delivery of broadband services to all Americans,” monitoring govt. surveillance of electronic communications and holding oversight hearings “regarding the relative dearth of prosecutions of Internet copyright infringers.” Copyright issues, including possible hearings on Digital Millennium Copyright Act, will come before burgeoning Courts-Internet-Intellectual Property Subcommittee, which this year added “Internet” to its name. Subcommittee now has 12 Republicans, up from 9 last year, and 10 Democrats, up from 6. No other subcommittee has more than 7 Republicans or 5 Democrats.
In cases where enforcement of ban on cross-ownership doesn’t promote goals of increasing competition in marketplace, waiver of rules will be entertained, FCC said in granting petition for waiver filed by Michael Sovern, member of AT&T board and trustee of Educational Bcstg. Corp. (EBC), licensee of noncommerical educational station WNET (Ch. 13) N.Y.-Newark. He said WNET’s predicted Grade B contour overlapped Cablevison systems (serving N.Y.C. metropolitan area) in which AT&T had 33% noncontrolling stock interest, with 8.9% voting interest. Sovern said he sought waiver of cross-ownership rules because of his attributable interest in both WNET and Cablevision. Neither he nor AT&T has authority to direct programming decisions of Cablevision, he said. Also, with AT&T’s acquisition of MediaOne, it acquired 25.5% noncontrolling interest in Time Warner Entertainment, whose cable systems also overlapped WNET contour. But since WNET is noncommercial, it wouldn’t compete with other broadcast stations carried on Cablevison or Time Warner cable systems, he said. Commission said it has determined that waiver of TV cable cross- ownership rule is particularly appropriate where TV stations involved are noncommercial.
Citing impossibility of continued enforcement in Internet age, Senate Finance Committee Chmn. Grassley (R-Ia.) introduced latest effort (S-234) to repeal 3% phone excise tax. Similar bill cleared House easily last year and then was rolled into appropriations bill that was vetoed by President Clinton. President Bush has stated his desire to repeal excise tax, so measure is seen to have a good chance of passage this year. Biggest hurdle, which was cited by Clinton in his veto message last year, is finding budget offsets for estimated $5-$6 billion Treasury would lose. Grassley said excise tax already was causing controversy because it was hard to classify technologies such as DSL lines, which are phone lines but provide data (traditionally not taxed) as well as voice connections. “Should the whole line be tax free?” Grassley asked. “And what will we do when cable, wireless and satellite companies provide voice and data communications over the same system? The burdensome complexity of today will only become more difficult.” He titled his bill Help Eliminate the Levy on Locution (HELLO) Act. Grassley introduced bill with 19 co-sponsors, including 5 of 10 Republicans on Finance Committee.
ACTV signed deal with Aerocast designed to provide “entertainment-quality streaming video-on-demand (VoD)” to broadband users in U.S. Aerocast, upstart backed by Motorola and Liberty Media, plans to use Internet and cable modems, DSL or high-speed wireless connections to deliver streaming video services to PCs at lower cost. Under deal, ACTV will supply its interactive TV and enhanced media content technologies and services to alliance.
FCC denied separate petitions for reconsideration filed by American Mobile Telecommunications Assn. (AMTA) and Petroleum Communications on order that implemented new licensing system for 800 MHz specialized mobile radio (SMR) service. For upper 200 channels of band, agency replaced site-specific and frequency- specific licensing with geographic-based system. FCC granted licenses awarded through competitive bidding in upper 200 channels right to relocate incumbents to comparable spectrum elsewhere in band. Economic areas were created as licensing areas for lower band channels. AMTA had asked FCC to reconsider decision on timing of Economic Area (EA) licensee payments to incumbents who were relocated involuntarily. Group wanted EA licensees to have to make progress payments to incumbents if they requested this during relocation process. Agency had denied previous request by AMTA and PCIA, deciding payment of relocation costs shouldn’t be due until incumbent was fully relocated and frequencies were clear. “However, because we anticipate that EA licensees will bear most relocation costs directly we believe that it is equitable for the incumbent to be repaid for any remaining costs that it has incurred after relocation has occurred,” FCC said in order released Fri.
Cable modem subscribers will account for largest portion of global residential broadband market by 2008, with DSL and broadband wireless customers also accounting for significant shares, C.A. Ingley & Co. said in new study. Study predicted that total worldwide Internet access market would reach 179.5 million homes over next 8 years, with broadband multimedia connections in 126 million households. Of latter total, study said, 43% would have cable modems, 31% DSL and 26% either satellite or terrestrial wireless. Study also predicted that strong Internet TV market would begin to emerge in 2003, starting first in Europe, then spreading worldwide.
Stewart Verdery, ex-office of Senate Majority Whip Nickles (R-Okla.), named staff dir., Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force… Preston Lewis, ex-HBO, named dir.-mktg. and retail, MTV… Changes at A&E: Barbara Rubin, ex-Rysher TV, appointed vp- legal and business affairs, new West Coast office; Sal Petruzzi, ex-Dan Klores Assoc., named dir.-public affairs… Gary Levine, ex-Icebox, named exec. vp-original programming, Showtime Networks, replacing Mark Zakarin, who remains consultant and will write pilot scripts… Reelected on Universal Service Administrative Co. board: Frank Gumper, Verizon, chmn.; Allan Thomas, Ia. Utilities Board, vice chmn.; Cheryl Parrino, CEO; Edwin Eichler, Pigeon Telephone, secy.; Anne Bryant, National School Boards Assn., treas.; Scott Barash, gen. counsel, asst. secy.; Robert Haga, vp-operations, asst. treas… Named partners of Tongour Simpson: James Green, ex-Patton, Boggs and FCC; Brad Holdsclaw… Promotions at Lifetime: Kelly Abugov to senior vp-programming, Marian Effinger vp-reality programming, Paul Noble to vp-film acquisitions and scheduling… Changes at American Assn. of Ad Agencies board: Brendan Ryan, FCB Worldwide, named chmn.; Kenneth Kaess, DDB Worldwide, vice chmn; Marsha Lindsay, Lindsay, Stone & Briggs Advertising, secy.-treas. Named dir. at large: Susan Gianinno, Transatlantic and D'Arcy; Anthony Hopp, Campbell- Ewald; William Whitehead, Bates Advertising.
N.Y. 315 area code began mandatory number pooling trial Fri. NeuStar administers number pooling trials for 5 N.Y. area codes, with plans to begin trials for 7 more later this year. Pooling allows numbers to be assigned in 1,000 number blocks, instead of 10,000. Switch is to conserve dwindling number resources.