Two former FCC officials differed strongly Fri. over how the FCC should be restructured in an age of competition among digital services. At a Capitol Hill forum sponsored by the Progress & Freedom Foundation, PFF Senior Fellow Randolph May -- a former assoc. gen. counsel at the FCC -- reiterated his call for a reduced body that would no longer be an independent agency but instead part of the executive branch (CD Aug 25 p5). But former Comr. Susan Ness said such a move would be “dangerous.” All panelists said the sunshine rules hinder the FCC’s performance, a point that’s also been made by FCC Chmn. Powell (CD Aug 25 p3).
LAS VEGAS -- Low-power TV (LPTV) broadcasters face “spectrum fights down the road” because they use “beach front property” spectrum coveted by wireless, fixed wireless and unlicensed spectrum industries, warned Keith Larson, FCC Media Bureau chief engineer, on Mon. Speaking at the Community Bcstrs. Assn. (CBA) convention here, Larson said at least some LPTV stations were disappointed that they won’t be able to “flash cut” to DTV soon.
At its agenda meeting Oct. 14, the FCC will act on a petition by BellSouth and Surewest seeking relief from unbundling requirements for fiber to the curb (FTTC). ALTS sent a last-minute letter to the FCC on Thurs. urging it “back up” its commitment to facilities-based competition by maintaining loop unbundling rules: “In recent weeks, the Commission has expanded the relief granted to the Bell companies for embedded fiber loops to multi-unit dwellings. Now, ALTS understands the Commission is preparing to grant additional Bell requests to expand fiber to the home relief to include [FTTC] loops that are nowhere near the home.” ALTS said approving the BellSouth petition “would add layers of confusion to loop unbundling and access rules, could derail the facilities- based competitive telecommunications industry and would allow the incumbent LECs to wield monopoly control over captive consumers, denying the benefits of competition.” BellSouth has told the FCC that more than 90% of buildings served by its FTTC architecture is to residential premises. The town of Davie, Fla., recently told the FCC that deregulation of FTTC would enable BellSouth to deploy FTTC technology to more single family homes, apartments and businesses in the town. BellSouth provides high-speed Internet access and video over these facilities, Davie officials said, in competition with a cable company. This gives the residents “a competitive alternative to cable TV, increased service quality and better prices.” Also on the FCC agenda: (1) A reconsideration order involving payphone compensation rules. (2) A notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) related to a petition by Mid-Rivers Telephone Cooperative asking that it be classified as an ILEC in Terry, Mont. The NPRM would involve interpretation by Sec. 251(h)(2) of the Telecom Act. (3) From the Office of Engineering & Technology, a report and order involving the relocation of federal govt. users from the 1710-1755 MHz band in order to make the band available for advanced wireless services. (4) A notice of inquiry concerning “the possible effects of foreign mobile termination rates on U.S. customers and competition in the U.S. telecommunications services market.” (5) A report and order on changes to its Part 15 rules to promote deployment of broadband over power lines (BPL). The order is expected to combine the information garnered from the responses to the FCC’s BPL NPRM and the NTIA recommendations.
The FEC ignored Congress’s will in exempting from regulation broadcast ads from nonprofit charitable organizations, ads aired without payment, and Internet communications, a judge ruled Sat. In Shays v. FEC, U.S. Dist. Judge, D.C., Colleen Kollar-Kotelly remanded 15 of 19 FEC rulemakings carrying out the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA). It was a significant victory for BCRA’s authors, Reps. Shays (R-Conn.) and Meehan (D- Mass.), who had filed the challenge.
FBI and Justice Dept. officials told the House Telecom Subcommittee Wed. that there have been difficulties establishing wiretaps through some VoIP carriers. While members emphasized the importance of law enforcement having access to VoIP communications, some had questions about DoJ’s and FBI’s problems with access and if updates to the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) were needed. While the DoJ and FBI said they were trying to “work with” VoIP providers, they also said many products were introduced without thought to CALEA, though they declined to provide any specifics.
Requiring cable systems to sell channels a la carte “could trigger a ‘death spiral'” among program distributors, Viacom said in comments on the FCC rulemaking (MB 04-207). Viacom said the rules would reduce viewership for most channels while requiring “a drastic escalation in programmer marketing costs.” Consumers would pay the cost, it said: For example, for the $40 the average consumer pays for basic service, equipment and 46 channels, Viacom said they would get only basic, one converter box and fewer than 5 single-channel offerings. “The only consumers who conceivably could benefit economically from mandated a la carte are those who subscribe to a mere handful of program services,” it said.
Comcast and NAB weighed in against DBS comments for the annual FCC assessment of competition in video programming delivery. Comcast said in reply comments “any fair-minded observer would have seen abundant additional evidence” of growing competition. It noted DirecTV and EchoStar reported 2nd quarter results that exceeded most analysts’ expectations. DirecTV said it added a record 944,000 gross operated subscribers and reduced its monthly churn to 1.4% to yield 455,000 net operated subscriber additions, Comcast said. EchoStar said it added about 340,000 net subscribers in the quarter.
The Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee warned the FCC that local incumbents continue to dominate the market for access services, rebutting Bell claims of robust competition throughout the U.S. telecom industry. In a white paper released Wed., the group, which represents some of the largest enterprise consumers of telecom services in the U.S., said the lack of alternatives to ILEC switched and special access services costs telecom enterprise customers $15 million a day in excess special access prices. It asked the Commission to promote competitive alternatives to the ILEC business services and constrain the incumbents’ monopoly power over special access.
ASPEN, Colo. -- The Telecom Act is a failed document in the broadband age and VoIP will be the “stalking horse” that forces change in Congress and at the FCC, Chmn. Powell said here. VoIP is “the killer app not only for the broadband economy but for legal policy change,” Powell said Mon., referring to how it rocks regulatory structures spelled out in the 1934 Act and the 1996 rewrite: “It’s going to shoot right into the core of the past.” Powell also vowed to press for final UNE-P rules by year-end. Asked by reporters after his speech whether he planned to be at the Commission when they were completed, whenever that might be, he replied: “You betcha.”
Digital content is a major driver of the Internet, several speakers here said, and one pointed to the double- digit rise in growth of content distribution on wireless devices. Europe is ahead of the U.S. on downloading files to wireless phones, VeriSign CEO Stratton Sclavos said, but next-generation phones that can download music and video are on the way to U.S. markets. Sclavos said that’s one of 4 growth areas that suggests Internet convergence is upon us. Of course, any copyrighted content distributed to a wireless device will be at risk of piracy. Perhaps CTIA Pres. Steve Largent’s choice Mon. night is not surprising, then: Of 5 working dinners available -- one dedicated to spectrum policy -- he spent the 2 hours at a dinner focused on P2P file- sharing and secondary copyright liability.