Telecom Notes
The schedule for implementing the National Broadband Plan recommendations “is no surprise, either in timing or scope,” Dow Lohnes said in a memo. The most important wireless proceeding this year likely will be that addressing the shifting of some TV…
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spectrum to use for wireless broadband. With more than 20 items, the Universal Service Fund items are the most ambitious parts of the agenda, they said. The entire agenda “is noteworthy for the way the FCC distinguishes between decisions it intends to make and proceedings it intends to open,” it said. The spectrum timetable is the most ambitious and committed, Stifel Nicolaus said in research note. Auctions will begin in 2011, and broadcast spectrum is targeted for auction in 2013. After the Comcast court ruling “challenging the FCC’s broadband jurisdiction, it’s good to push ahead with action where it has clear authority,” the firm said. The commission plans to complete USF rulemakings in 2011, but there is no timetable for orders, “which may reflect some increased uncertainty after the broadband court ruling,” they said. A special access rulemaking this fall could create some risks for the Bells and “opportunities for competitive local exchange carriers and wireless,” Stifel Nicolaus said.