TiVo reported much wider net loss for 4th quarter and year ending Dec. 31 despite rising revenue and growing customer base. TiVo said it had net loss expanded to $89.2 million in quarter from $63.6 million in 3rd quarter on 40% increase in revenue to $1.4 million. For year, TiVo said loss deepened to $206.4 million from $66.6 million on revenue of $3.6 million. TiVo said it sold more than 80,000 PVRs in 4th quarter and activated 63,000 subscribers, nearly doubling its customer base to 136,000. It forecast adding 180,000-220,000 new subscribers this year and said it expected to generate $20-$24 million revenue.
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In latest round in U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., involving cancelled NextWave C-block licenses, company filed reply brief this week reiterating arguments that FCC’s cancellation of licenses for missed payment wasn’t allowed under law “and is outrageous on the facts of this case.” Oral argument in Appeals Court is set for March 15. Last year, 2nd U.S. Appeals Court, N.Y., granted FCC petition in NextWave case, concluding agency had acted as regulator and not creditor when cancelling company’s licenses. NextWave has argued that 2nd Circuit’s ruling didn’t decide merits of case, which it said was left to D.C. Circuit. “In abruptly and retroactively cancelling NextWave’s licenses, the FCC disregarded its own regulations; ignored controlling provisions of the Bankruptcy Code; and repudiated more than 18 months of its own conduct, including numerous explicit statements and in-court representations that the licenses remained in NextWave’s possession,” NextWave brief said. “The FCC’s litigation position is directly inconsistent with its past statements and conduct, which repeatedly assured NextWave, its investors and creditors that NextWave was protected by the same legal rules that Congress created for everyone,” said Theodore Olson, who will argue for NextWave in oral argument. Opponents, including CTIA, AT&T Wireless, BellSouth, CTIA, Dobson Communications, Sprint PCS, Verizon Wireless and VoiceStream, filed brief Jan. 24 weighing in on side of FCC. They argued that court lacked jurisdiction “because NextWave failed to preserve any challenge at the Commission to the automatic cancellation of its licenses.” They also contended that 2nd Circuit already had concluded that U.S. Bankruptcy Code couldn’t “trump” regulatory purview of FCC to condition licenses on timely payment. “This case is about an entity that entered an FCC auction knowing full well it would have to pay the price if it won and then simply did not pay -- hiding instead behind the bankruptcy laws,” opponents said. Meanwhile, speaking at Comnet Conference & Expo in Washington Thurs., Verizon Wireless CEO Dennis Strigl, said one reason carrier praised FCC decision Wed. to postpone 700 MHz auction until Sept. was that by then court was expected to have ruled on NextWave case. By time Aug. filing date comes around for auction, “we should know the answer to that litigation,” he said. Verizon Wireless was by far largest winner of licenses in just- completed PCS auction, for which most of spectrum up for bid came from cancelled NextWave licenses. Results of auction are conditioned on outcome of litigation, so if NextWave ultimately prevails in court, it would win back licenses that were up for auction.
Classic Communications said it retained Waller Capital Corp. to explore potential sale or exchange of its smaller cable systems and possibly limited number of other systems. In brief statement, Classic stressed that it might not sell or trade any systems.
Signaling his intent to propose quick legislative fixes to remove regulatory barriers to rollout of high-speed Internet access, Mich. Gov. John Engler (R) called for end to “stoplights and expensive tollbooths” erected by local govts. on information highway. Delivering State of State address Wed., he said: “Whether it is copper or fiber, cable or wire… the mode of transmission does not matter,” and what matters is that Internet services be “low cost and high speed. We need an express lane to the future.” Engler directed state PSC, Mich. Economic Development Corp. and e-Mich. Office to recommend “immediate reforms” that would result in elimination of “excessive” access fees, curbing lengthy litigations and curtailing costly delays. “The public interest demands that we break the grip of these broadband bandits,” he said. Saying protection of intellectual property rights was of critical concern to inventors, entrepreneurs and information technology firms, Engler proposed creation of Cybercourt that, among other things, would: (1) Feature e-filings, Web-based conferencing and virtual courtrooms. (2) Use mediators and judges who have skills and knowledge to issue prompt, competent decisions.
As expected, FCC Common Carrier Bureau set up procedures Thurs. for its arbitration of disputed interconnection agreements between Verizon and AT&T, Cox and WorldCom (CC Docs. 00-218, 00- 249, 00-251). Among requirements: (1) Parties must schedule prefiling conference with Bureau before filing petitions for arbitration. (2) Petitions then can be filed within 30 days after conference and must include long list of information such as description of efforts to resolve differences, list of every unresolved issue, list of issues that have been resolved. FCC agreed to arbitrate after Va. State Corp. Commission declined to do so because of legal questions (CD Jan 29 p6).
Wash. Utilities & Transportation Commission (WUTC) set uniform $4 monthly rate for use of unbundled high-frequency portion of local loops for DSL services. In order settling several important interconnection pricing issues (Doc. UT-003013, 13th Supplemental Order), WUTC also rejected Qwest’s figures for costs it said it was incurring for adapting its operation support system (OSS) to provide CLECs with unbundled OSS access. WUTC said Qwest’s claimed costs were up to tenfold greater than those of Verizon for similar functions. Agency said Qwest’s costs were so high solely because it outsourced its OSS management rather than doing job in-house, and CLECs shouldn’t bear burden of Qwest’s business decision. WUTC said Qwest could impose same cost recovery charge per line as Verizon. Order also settled 19 pricing issues associated with CLEC colocation in Qwest and Verizon central offices, including freeing Qwest from requirement that it must offer CLECs DSL loop splitters. Qwest now has option of offering splitters if it so chooses.
Next meeting of North American Number Council (NANC) is Feb. 20-21 at FCC hq -- Cheryl Callahan, 202-418-2320 or ccallaha@fcc.gov.
Republican members were named Wed. to House Commerce Committee’s subcommittees, including Telecom and Consumer Protection panels, and chairmen of House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittees. Democrats still haven’t appointed their members to those committees in hope that they can convince Republicans to allot them extra seat or 2 on panels. Commerce Committee also named Rep. Burr (R-N.C.) vice chmn. of full committee, behind Chmn. Tauzin (R-La.). New to Telecom panel are Republican Reps. Bilirakis (Fla.), Barton (Tex.), Shadegg (Ariz.), Davis (Va.). No Republicans still on the Commerce Committee left. Rep. Stearns (Fla.), who was beaten by Rep. Upton (Pa.) to chair subcommittee, was named vice chmn. Appointed to Consumer Protection panel, which is new creation this year, were Republican Reps. Deal (Ga.), who will be vice chmn. behind Chmn. Stearns, plus Upton, Whitfield (Ky.), Cubin (Wyo.), Shimkus (Ill.), Shadegg, Bryant (Tenn.), Buyer (Ind.), Radanovich (Cal.), Pitts (Pa.), Bono (Cal.), Walden (Ore.) and Terry (Neb.). The panel still has one vacancy. On Judiciary Committee, Rep. Coble (R-N.C.) will remain chmn. of Intellectual Property Subcommittee, which has been conspicuously renamed Courts, Internet and Intellectual Property Subcommittee. Rep. Smith (R-Tex.) will chair Crime Subcommittee, while Rep. Chabot (R-O.) gets Constitution Subcommittee and Rep. Barr (R-Ga.) Commercial & Administrative Law Subcommittee.
France Telecom is testing TV interactivity in partnership with French TV stations Arte France and Telerama, they said. Companies created demonstration platform merging broadcast TV content with Internet, using DVB-MHP technology.
USTA and NARUC squared off again in reply comments on streamlining FCC’s accounting rules (CC 00-199). USTA told Commission in Oct. 30 comments that “concerns expressed by state regulators that data will no longer be available if USTA’s streamlining proposals are adopted are unfounded.” Existing accounting and reporting rules no longer are necessary and don’t fit into more competitive telecom world, USTA said. NARUC argued that USTA’s proposals went too far: “The ILECs make dubious claims about the costs of compliance with the FCC’s proposed accounting and reporting requirements… and fail to completely address the public benefit loss that will undoubtedly ensure if the USTA’s proposals are implemented.”