Speculation about replacement for FCC Chmn. Kennard continues. Among latest rumors: (1) One telecom source speculated Thurs. that Bush might name Republican Comr. Powell interim FCC chairman while also appointing Texas PUC Chmn. Pat Wood to Commission. Under this scenario, Powell would eventually move to high antitrust enforcement post in administration, allowing Wood to take over as FCC chairman. Besides role in Dept. of Justice, source said, Powell could become new FTC chairman, replacing Clinton appointee Robert Pitofsky. Source also speculated that Republican Comr. Furchtgott-Roth would leave Commission soon, opening another seat for Bush nominee. (2) Another source said one of FCC’s Democratic seats may be filled by Ivan Schlager, former Democrat staff dir. on Senate Commerce Committee and now at Skadden, Arps, at request of Sen. Hollings (D-S.C.), ranking minority member of Committee.
PBS won’t be affected by threatened strike on production of programming this spring (CD Jan 17 p6) because it has its guild agreements in place, Pres. Pat Mitchell told recent PBS executive session in Pasadena. Answering question, she said she didn’t want PBS or “anyone else to benefit from a strike, which is going to be a hardship for everyone.” PBS Vp-Programming (West) Coby Atlas said many independent producers worked through PBS individual stations, which have union agreements, “and so they can write for us. People have expressed gratitude, actually, that they can work for us during the strike, but we certainly don’t want to benefit from somebody else’s hardship.”
FCC didn’t meet regulatory flexibility requirements with rulemaking on DTV children’s TV obligations (MM 00-167), Small Business Administration (SBA) said in letter to FCC Chmn. Kennard. SBA said it didn’t question regulatory goal of improving children’s TV, but said Commission “did not describe a vast majority of the compliance requirements… and their impact on small firms. Nor did it discuss significant alternatives.” FCC should submit supplemental Regulatory Flexibility Analysis required by Regulatory Flexibility Act, SBA said. Although FCC listed rulemaking proposals, SBA said it didn’t provide adequate information about costs and alternatives of such proposals as requiring broadcasters to devote 3% of their air time to children’s programming. It said that proposal would require broadcasters to add programming whenever they added channels, and FCC didn’t provide information about cost of additional programming. SBA raised same questions about other proposals, including technical format rules, menu approach, daily core programming obligation, datacasting, providing content information to publishers and others, preemption rescheduling, commercial tie- in limits. FCC should consider alternatives such as delaying enforcement of rules because of cost to small broadcasters of DTV transition itself, SBA said, as well as setting reduced requirements for small broadcasters that have access to fewer resources. Meanwhile, in comments on rulemaking, state broadcast associations said it was too early to impose “burdensome” children’s TV rules on DTV because they “would hamper innovative uses of the digital spectrum.” State groups also said FCC didn’t have legal right to impose quantitative requirements for programming, and rules would raise First Amendment concerns. Center for Media Education immediately rejected constitutionality argument. “The public owns the airwaves, not the broadcasters,” CME Pres. Kathryn Montgomery said.
Pacific Bell and Verizon are warning Cal. customers that they need to ensure state’s rolling electric blackouts don’t knock out home and office telephone systems. Although network switching and transmission systems have backup power sources, companies are cautioning that most cordless phones, answering machines and multiline phone systems in homes and offices won’t work without utility power. Companies urged customers to get at least one basic telephone that doesn’t require external power, or make sure they have backup power source for their phones and an extra charged-up battery for their mobile phones.
Don’t hold your breath for FCC release of reciprocal compensation order because there’s nothing circulating right now, Comr. Furchtgott-Roth told reporters Thurs. at his monthly breakfast meeting. He said “outside parties” usually knew more than he did but this was exception: “I've never seen an item where the outside is more out of touch than reciprocal compensation. There isn’t an item being circulated. It was pulled back ages ago. It ain’t happening this week.” Furchtgott- Roth also said he was “cautiously optimistic” that “change in Administration will lead to improvements at the Commission,” such as toning down FCC’s merger review role. FCC chairman is “very powerful position relative to other agencies” because of its “CEO function,” Furchtgott-Roth said. In that role, chairman can “initiate new programs or stop discretionary programs.” Merger review is one of those discretionary programs because FCC doesn’t have statutory requirement to review mergers, other than acting on license transfers, he said. He said he didn’t anticipate deadlocks if agency ended up with 4 commissioners, split 2-2 on party lines. FCC rarely divides on party lines to begin with, he said. “A lot is made about partisan divisions but I don’t see it.” He again criticized FCC for “collusion with the FTC” because staff of 2 agencies worked together on some aspects of review of AOL takeover of Time Warner. Each agency has its own mandate in reviewing such transfers and it’s “very improper” to coordinate those reviews, he said.
FCC Enforcement Bureau fined SBC $94,500 for violating requirement that it post notices on its Internet site identifying central offices that have run out of physical colocation space. Notice requirement is one of conditions placed by FCC when it approved SBC-Ameritech merger. SBC spokesman said company didn’t dispute that it made “a few clerical errors.” However, “we think it was unfortunate that the Enforcement Bureau feels it necessary to propose a penalty for a few errors of this nature,” he said. Posting is necessary so CLECs don’t waste their time waiting for space in central office that can’t be provided instead of finding other ways to serve their customers. Violation occurred in audit period of Oct 8, 1999-June 8, 2000.
By 4-1 vote, FCC adopted notice of inquiry (NOI) on interactive TV (ITV) services Thurs., starting formal proceeding that it promised when it approved AOL’s takeover of Time Warner (TW) with additional regulatory conditions late last week. But Commission backed away from weightier, more urgent proposed rulemaking on ITV issue that its Cable Bureau staff had recommended, bowing to strong lobbying from cable, to disappointment of consumer advocates and other cable critics. Move follows regulatory conditions imposed on AOL-TW deal last month by FTC that prohibited merged company from interfering with content supplied by other ISPs and ITV providers or discriminating against such competitors (CD Dec 15 p1).
AOL and Nokia reached multiyear agreement to market enhanced microbrowser technology and to promote wireless standards such as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), terms not disclosed. “WAP is the most widely adopted wireless standard in the world among carriers and handset manufacturers and it makes sense for us to work to support that standard,” AOL Wireless Pres. Dennis Patrick said. Companies said agreement marked first extension of Netscape brand to microbrowser market.
Northern Communications agreed to buy broadcast group owner Shockley Communications for undisclosed price, companies said. Northern also said it would spin off KXLT-TV (Ch. 47, Fox) Rochester, Minn., to Shockley family. Northern will sell 5 former Shockley-owned ABC affiliates in Wis., plus 2 postproduction facilities, to Quincy Newspapers. Northern is private investment group that buys privately owned properties and “maximizes assets” by spinning off components, it said. In separate transaction, Lee Enterprises said it would sell KMAZ (Ch. 48, TBN) Las Cruces, N.M., to Council Tree Hispanic Bcstrs. for undisclosed price. Sale will complete Lee’s exit from commercial broadcasting.
Bidding in FCC’s C- and F-block PCS auction reached $16.7 billion after 67 rounds Thurs., with Verizon Wireless maintaining wide lead of $8.6 billion in total bids. Alaska Native Wireless, which is designated entity with AT&T Wireless investment, followed with $2.9 billion, Cingular Wireless-backed Salmon PCS with $2.5 billion. After top 3, bidding has remained at much more modest levels, with Cook Inlet/VoiceStream GSM having $505.1 million in net high bids, VoiceStream PCS with $475.1 million, DCC PCS with $418.3 million and Leap Wireless International with $341.2 million. Auction of 422 PCS licenses began Dec. 12 and is expected to end shortly.