D.C.-based independent telecom analyst firm Precursor is getting out of the research brokerage business after 6 years, CEO Scott Cleland confirmed Thurs. Cleland said Precursor, which has gotten high marks in Institutional Investor rankings as an independent analysis firm, is downsizing and will concentrate in the future on advising a smaller group of customers in targeted areas.
Wireless tower operator Crown Castle said Wed. it will offer mobile TV to cellphones in the top 30 U.S. markets. The $500 million investment will use a national license for 1.670 GHz spectrum it bought during a 2003 FCC auction. Crown Castle also said it will rename its Mobile Media unit Modeo. The first markets, N.Y.C. and Pittsburgh, are slated to come online this year.
Industry sources expressed concern last week that the lack of a proceeding yet on the relationship between designated entities (DEs) and large spectrum holders could slow the long anticipated advanced wireless services auction (AWS), which is expected to occur as early as June. Chmn. Martin has yet to begin circulating an item on DE ties with large wireless carriers. A front page story in the Wall Street Journal last week focused additional attention on the DE issue.
The FCC indicated in an order released Fri. that even claims of damage from natural disasters don’t negate requirements that wireless carriers meet E-911 requirements. The FCC gave small wireless carrier Cellular South an additional 15 months to comply with requirements that 95% of its subscribers use location-capable handsets, with extra time added specifically tied to damage its network sustained in Hurricane Katrina. The Tier 3 carrier, in part citing Katrina damage, had asked for an 18 month extension. But the FCC took a tough line, raising concerns that the carrier hasn’t shown a clear path to compliance. The FCC warned that Cellular South shouldn’t assume it will get more time. “Although Cellular South has offered generalities concerning the impact of Hurricane Katrina on its operations, it has not disclosed what specific areas were affected and the extent of damage to its facilities, or presented an anticipated timetable for restoration of services and resumption of the marketing efforts necessary to achieve higher location-capable handset penetration levels,” the Commission said. “It also has failed to explain why it apparently cannot proceed with efforts to increase penetration levels in those areas of its service territory unaffected by Hurricane Katrina.” The FCC said that if the carrier wants more time, it must document “the particularized nature and extent of the impact of Hurricane Katrina” on its systems.
The full FCC has yet to start considering an order addressing the concerns raised by CTIA and the Rural Cellular Assn. last summer that wireless carriers won’t meet a Dec. 31 deadline that 95% of the handsets on their networks be location-capable, sources said. As a result, the FCC is expected to let the deadline pass without action. Carriers told the FCC in a July filing that due to the wireless market’s evolution and lack of consumer “churn” they could not meet the deadline. Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, U.S. Cellular and Alltel -- carriers that have embraced a handset-based E-911 solution -- are affected. David Nace, counsel to RCA, said the lack of Commission action creates uncertainty for RCA members. “We're disappointed that the Commission has not viewed [action on the carriers’ joint petition] as a reasonable way to deal with the deadline that could not be met by carriers for various reasons,” Nace said: “The Commission has chosen instead to act on individual requests. We thought that they could have dealt with a large number of common problems by acting in the way we suggested. It would have given carriers the time needed to meet the performance threshold.”
Devices operating on 5 GHz using dynamic frequency selection (DFS) technology passed NTIA field tests recently in Tex., easing concerns about whether they can peacefully coexist with military radars, according to sources familiar with the tests. However, one manufacturer had some problems in an earlier lab test conducted by NTIA in Boulder, Colo.
Wireless carriers Verizon Wireless, Cingular, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile are asking the FCC not to intervene in a fight involving the Cal. PUC over a relief plan for Southern Cal.’s 310 exchange. The South Bay Cities Council of Govts. and CLEC Telephone Connection of L.A. had asked the FCC to stay the 11-digit dialing plan, which is to start Dec. 31. But wireless carriers said unless the plan is carried out, competitors soon will be unable to enter the market in the areas covered by the 310 area code.
With the MCI-Verizon merger expected to close soon, law firm Lawler, Metzger, Milkman & Keeney told the FCC ex parte it is withdrawing as MCI counsel. The firm represented the company on a host of issues in filings in various dockets at the FCC. MCI has been among the mainstay clients at Lawler Metzger, which had no comment Tues. An MCI spokeswoman said: “Lawler Metzger has provided MCI legal representation over the years and we wish them all the best.” Lawler Metzger, one of a dwindling number of boutique telecom law firms, numbers among its ranks Richard Metzger, former Wireline Bureau chief, Regina Keeney, former chief of the International Bureau and Ruth Milkman, senior legal advisor to ex-FCC Chmn. Hundt and other top attorneys. “The firm has some highly respected lawyers and I'm sure they'll find other clients, though I understand MCI was a major client,” said one telecom attorney. “With all the consolidation, for a lot of firms life isn’t getting any easier.”
The Assn. of Home Appliance Mfrs. (AHAM) fired back Fri. at proponents of FCC-imposed restrictions on power levels of ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) devices, including microwave ovens, saying any pro- regulatory claims are based on “discredited” information and built on an NTIA study that tested old gear. AHAM alleged that equipment maker Motorola, which has supported claims that ISM equipment poses a risk, largely restated old arguments and did no noteworthy new research. The FCC is scoping the issue and a decision could be made as early as Jan.
In an issue drawing considerable attention on the FCC 8th floor, firms wanting to lease educational broadband service (EBS) spectrum from schools and churches are squaring off with the National ITFS Assn. (NIA) and Catholic TV Network (CTN) over how long the leases should run. The adversaries had been allies in the search for the best way to lease the 2.5 GHz spectrum, to be used for wireless broadband networks. But neither is yielding as lobbying on the issue intensifies.