Reduced USF support for small, rural carriers in Minnesota, as a result of the FCC’s USF overhaul, would mean higher rates for consumers, more difficulties for providers to obtain loans and the potential for providers to go out of business, said a report by the Minnesota Telecom Alliance. It cited Paul Bunyan Communications in the state, which had announced plans to lay 500 miles of fiber to expand services to 2,600 potential customers in underserved areas. Now the company plans to lay only 100 miles that would reach fewer than 400 potential customers and might not plan any additional expansion in 2012, the report said. Another local provider, Halstad Telephone, had planned to upgrade its DSL services. As a result of the changes, it now plans to raise rates to help offset the estimated $250,000 per year revenue loss, the report said. Companies in the state are pulling back from investment due to the FCC’s reform and uncertainty over what might come next, said Brent Christensen, the alliance CEO.
The Q4 inflation factor for cable operators using FCC Form 1240 is 0.89 percent, the commission said in a public notice (http://xrl.us/bm2qae).
The Digital Living Network Alliance told the FCC it has published new guidelines for delivering premium video between devices over an IP link (http://xrl.us/bm2p9q). The filing was made in the context of the FCC’s basic tier encryption proceeding. “DLNA is finalizing a certification program for these guidelines, which we expect will be available in 2012,” it said. “Additionally, DLNA continues to develop new guidelines to respond to marketplace trends and consumer demands and we will continue to inform the Commission when new guidelines are finalized."
Achieving interoperability among public safety communications systems is “an ongoing issue and problem” that “continues to evolve” with technology, said Amanda Hilliard, a branch chief at the Office of Emergency Communications (OEC) under the Homeland Security Department. “As soon as we declare it done and stop investing the resources, we potentially lose all the great work that’s been done so far,” she said Wednesday at the FOSE conference. OEC is working with the FCC and the Commerce and Justice departments to implement spectrum legislation, Hilliard said. OEC has a coordinating role on the interoperability board at the FCC, which aims to finish technical requirements by a May deadline, she said. NTIA plans by August to launch the First Responder Network Authority to govern the network, as well as a grant program for state and local implementation, she said. Another DHS group, the National Communications System, is also working on implementation of the spectrum legislation, said Michael Echolson, NCS chief of government-industry planning. A scoping group within the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee is “looking at recommendations to the president” to address areas not covered in the spectrum legislation, he said.
A recent string of deals in Asia underscores the trend of cooperative competition in partnerships between fixed satellite service operators, NSR analyst Patrick French said in a blog post. One of the issues driving increased cooperation is “that simple physics of frequency allocation is driving operators to reach deals together.” The crowding of the frequency bands “has made it very difficult for any single operator to develop a new clean slot,” he said. Cooperative agreements also will help the bottom line for small- to mid-sized operators “without the conundrum of how to grow large enough to benefit from deals normally reserved for the top four biggest operators.” These agreements can help partners have access to a slot and satellite availability, and create key client relationships, he said. Individually, “they may have lacked one or more of the critical pieces of the business plan.”
Verizon Wireless’s buy of spectrum from the cable companies (CD Dec 5 p1) is not a “run of the mill” purchase that “should be rubber-stamped by the FCC, said Steve Sharkey, director of government affairs at T-Mobile, on the company’s blog. “To justify its continued buying binge, Verizon claims that it is one of the most efficient carriers in the world, and that it is two-times more efficient than T-Mobile,” Sharkey wrote (http://xrl.us/bm2psg). “It doesn’t take long to find the flaws in Verizon’s claim. Here’s why: First, Verizon’s analysis divides the carriers’ nationwide total subscribers by a nationwide average amount of spectrum. But mixing an absolute number of subscribers against a broad average of spectrum produces a pointless number. Because spectrum holdings and market share vary dramatically on a market-by-market basis, any meaningful analysis must be done at that level.” Second, Verizon “includes spectrum in its calculation to which T-Mobile does not yet have access, making T-Mobile’s average appear lower,” Sharkey said. Also, “as Verizon acknowledges, not all wireless users place equal demands on the network and smartphones use approximately 35 times the data of feature phones.” T-Mobile has a higher percentage of smartphone users on its network than does Verizon, he said. Finally, Verizon doesn’t take into account that much of its spectrum is below 1 GHz, “which is considerably more efficient at providing coverage and capacity than spectrum above 1 GHz,” Sharkey said. “All of T-Mobile’s spectrum is in the higher bands above 1 GHz.” In the final analysis, T-Mobile uses spectrum more efficiently than Verizon, he contended. “Especially with the recent demise of our deal with AT&T, T-Mobile needs the right spectrum resources to remain a competitive force,” Sharkey wrote. “The spectrum Verizon is seeking to acquire from the cable companies is uniquely situated to facilitate and expand T-Mobile’s LTE deployment. T-Mobile has a history of buying spectrum and immediately using it -- not buying it to bank it. After the 2006 FCC AWS, auction, we actively cleared a dozen incumbent federal government agencies from the 1.7 GHz band in record time to make way for 3G and 4G services. T-Mobile’s record stands in stark contrast to Verizon’s approach of buying large quantities of spectrum and letting it sit idle -- in the case of AWS for five and a half years and counting.” A Verizon spokesman disagreed. “In its filings at the FCC, Verizon has made a strong case that it is in the public interest to get SpectrumCo’s previously unused spectrum into the hands of consumers,” the spokesman said. “We have also addressed and refuted the claims made by T-Mobile.”
Digitization is vital to reform government records management, said Archivist of the United States David Ferriero at the FOSE conference Wednesday. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is progressing on digitization efforts among government agencies by helping them improve their records management systems, he said: “Records management should be taken seriously, not as a minor afterthought, by all federal agencies.” The administration has encouraged federal agencies to complete an assessment of their records managements systems. Of the agencies who responded, 95 percent were at high risk of compromising the authenticity, integrity and reliability of their records, he said. Many records are facing the risk of being lost forever, and that is why agencies must act now, he said. NARA is gathering information and best practices that it can include in a records management directive, which will help other agencies reform the way they manage their records. Additionally, NARA has been digitizing its records, he said, citing a recent example of when NARA moved U.S. census information online for the first time on April 2. The site has already received 63 million hits since its launch, he said.
The FCC’s Wireless and Public Safety bureaus sought comment by May 17 on the uses and capabilities of Amateur Radio Service communications in emergencies and disaster relief. “Comment is sought on issues relating to the importance of emergency Amateur Radio Service communications and on impediments to enhanced Amateur Radio Service communications,” said a public notice (http://xrl.us/bm2pq3). “Stakeholder entities and organizations, including the Amateur Radio, emergency response, and disaster communications communities, are particularly encouraged to submit comments.”
SES’s ASTRA satellite system will help BSkyB broadcast more than 40 new channels dedicated to London 2012 Olympics coverage. Twenty-four high-definition channels and 24 standard definition channels in the U.K. will cover each of the Olympic games locations “and show the full range of different events during the games,” SES said. The live transmission will use ASTRA’s capacity at the 28.2 degrees east orbital position, SES said.
Verizon Wireless owes an outstanding balance of $496,300 for eight 700 MHz licenses on which Alltel had the provisionally winning bids, which it later withdrew, said an order by the FCC Wireless Bureau (http://xrl.us/bm2pqa). The amount reflects the differences between how much Alltel bid and how much the licenses sold for in a subsequent auction. Verizon Wireless wrapped up its buy of regional carrier Alltel in 2009.