ATLANTA -- Examining interference temperature in limited satellite spectrum wouldn’t necessarily mean the Commission would follow suit in other bands, top FCC officials stressed at the CTIA 2004 show here Tues. Wireless Bureau Chief John Muleta and Office of Engineering & Technology Chief Edmond Thomas stressed the FCC is examining how the idea works in satellite uplink spectrum before making decisions on where to take the concept of interference temperature next. Thomas specified no thought was being given to introducing interference temperature-based spectrum sharing in public safety bands: “Nothing could be further away from our thinking.”
ATLANTA -- Top FCC officials at the CTIA Wireless 2004 show here Mon. held up the agency’s relatively hands-off wireless regulatory regime as an example that could be followed in the VoIP arena. Citing the benefits of a “light regulatory touch” on VoIP, Chmn. Powell also told a standing- room-only opening session: “This industry has to wake up to the fact that it [VoIP] can be an incredible innovation to the wireless side.” He noted that by some estimates there’s more VoIP running over wireless networks than on wireline.
The FCC issued a rulemaking that would revise rules governing the Emergency Alert System (EAS) to allow wireless cable TV systems to provide EAS alerts to their subscribers in a “more efficient and less burdensome manner.” The proposal, which came in a petition from the Wireless Cable Assn., would change the rules to allow wireless cable operators to “force tune” subscriber equipment to a system channel dedicated to EAS alerts and messages instead of providing an EAS decoder for every channel. The rules currently say wireless cable providers with more than 5,000 subscribers must install special equipment to display the audio and video EAS message on every channel. Systems with fewer than 5,000 must display the audio and video EAS message only on one channel, but must provide a video interrupt and an audio alert on every channel. Under the proposal, the operator would install EAS equipment for one channel only at the headend of the system. If there were an alert, the system would automatically force each subscriber’s set-top box to tune to the channel carrying the EAS alert. Comments are due 30 days after the notice is published in the Federal Register and replies 45 days later.
SAN FRANCISCO -- The growing support among regulators and companies, including ILECs, to subject all voice traffic connecting to the PSTN to access charges is misguided and doomed, Cal. PUC Comr. Susan Kennedy said Fri. “This is certainly the simplest path… because it largely maintains the status quo, keeps funding for social programs intact and leaves pure Internet telephony alone.”
Parties read what they liked into the FCC’s VoIP notice released late Wed. (CD March 11 p1). SBC officials said they were cheered by the section on carrier compensation in which the FCC said: “As a policy matter, we believe that any service provider that sends traffic to the PSTN [public switched telecom network] should be subject to similar compensation obligations, irrespective of whether the traffic originates on the PSTN, on an IP network or on a cable network.” SBC read the language as saying any carrier that interconnects with the PSTN must pay access charges, which appeared to include carriers such as AT&T that have IP backbones but connect to the circuit-switched PSTN. SBC said it “wholeheartedly agreed with the FCC that all communications providers should be subject to similar and equitable compensation obligations when they send traffic to local telephone networks.” AT&T, on the other hand, said it was pleased that “even the FCC has recognized that the record being developed in the broader VoIP proceeding could influence the outcome of any of the pending VoIP petitions.” AT&T said “this presents strong evidence for not setting the AT&T petition apart with a premature ruling that may be nullified in the broader proceeding.” There’s been debate about whether action on the AT&T petition should be held until the end of the VoIP rulemaking or whether the FCC should act on it now because the rulemaking could take as long as a year. AT&T’s petition seeks a ruling that it doesn’t have to pay access charges for calls that use the company’s VoIP backbone. In the meantime, AT&T hasn’t been paying traditional access charges, according to the Bells who want action on the petition as soon as possible. The FCC said “the cost of the PSTN should be borne equitably among those that use it in similar ways.” The agency asked for comment on what authority it could use to require payment for access, whether charges “should be the same as the access charges assessed on providers of telecommunications services or should the charges be computed and assessed differently?” The agency emphasized that by asking these questions, it’s “not addressing whether charges apply or do not apply under existing law.” The FCC added in a footnote that: “We expressly preserve the Commission’s flexibility to address one or all of the petitions discussed above by issuing a declaratory ruling or rulings before the culmination of [this] proceeding.”
SAN FRANCISCO -- The FCC’s VoIP rulemaking probably will go on a fast track, an FCC Wireline Bureau official said here Thurs. “I suspect that we will try to get more clarity out there faster than not,” Senior Deputy Bureau Chief Jeffrey Carlisle told Law Seminars International’s Voice over IP conference.
Despite the FCC green light for broadband over power line (BPL) services, industry leaders don’t see electric utilities rushing to the market with high-speed and voice offerings. Some attribute the hesitation to a brand new business gauging the market. Others ascribe it to a “let the other guy do it first” mentality. In any case, there is near agreement that any sizeable deployment will come only next year.
The House Wed. approved by voice vote a bill (HR-1417) to reform copyright royalty arbitration, an issue important to webcasters, broadcasters, cable and satellite operators. The bill by House Judiciary Courts, Internet & Intellectual Property Subcommittee Chmn. Smith (R-Tex.) would replace the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel (CARP) created in 1993 for compulsory licenses with a panel of 3 administrative law judges chosen by the Librarian of Congress. The bill was approved 406-0.
TV shows encrypted as “copy-once” under the FCC’s proposed broadcast flag ruling could be recorded securely on DVDs and other media under a copy protection system announced by Hewlett Packard (HP) and Philips Tues. The system -- code-named Vidi in the partners’ first-round filings with the Commission -- would permit authorized digital recordings of the broadcast and cable content, but prevent Internet retransmission of the dubs, the companies said. The broadcast flag, still in a comment period at the FCC, if adopted would allow content owners to embed copy controls in broadcast and cable DTV transmissions, such as “Copy-Once” or “Copy-Freely” or “Copy-Never.” HP and Philips said the security elements are designed to be renewable, to ensure long-term effectiveness and robustness. The Vidi technology has support from industry leaders, the partners said. The technology already is available to Alliance members, the partners said. “Its robust cryptographic protection and competitive license conditions offer unique benefits to both the electronics and content industries,” they said. “With this technology we help protect the rights of the content owners and help provide the consumer with a safe choice,” said Cesar Vohringer, Philips Consumer Electronics CTO. “HP is working with both consumers and our industry partners to provide avenues for consumers to lawfully record and interact with digital content,” said Vikki Pachera, HP vp-alliances & business development. There’s no ETA for the system -- it depends on the FCC rulemaking. “We are now filing the technology for approval by the FCC. We do not expect product announcements before the FCC has approved this technology,” the spokeswoman said.
The FCC’s emphasis on VoIP is fine but the FCC should first make sure the underlying broadband infrastructure is deployed throughout the country, FCC Comr. Copps said Wed. at a symposium sponsored by Mich. State U.’s Quello Center. “No matter how enthusiastic the rhetoric [about VoIP], IP technologies will only reach their potential if the infrastructure is there,” he said. “We should be thinking larger thoughts,” Copps said: “If we ever needed a national conference on how to deal with disruptive technology it’s now.”