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.
The FCC in a report to Congress released late Wed. agreed with the Spectrum Coalition for Public Safety, representing law enforcement groups across the U.S., that the 24 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum set to go to public safety after the DTV transition should be adjusted to allow more ambitious broadband uses. But the Commission refused to support demands that public safety get an additional 6 MHz of spectrum.
NTIA Dir. Michael Gallagher will leave the agency early next year, as expected. He had led the agency since shortly after the departure of Nancy Victory in Aug. 2003, though he wasn’t confirmed by the Senate until Nov. 2004. Gallagher is expected to be replaced, at least in an acting capacity, by his deputy John Kneuer, industry sources said.
The National Capital Region Interoperability Program -- which has been testing public safety communications on 700 MHz through an experimental FCC license in D.C. (CD Aug. 28 2004 p1) -- told the Commission public safety officials see widespread use for the spectrum in their operations. All the public safety officials in the region said they see at least some use in their departments. for equipment operating on the spectrum, said an NCR report filed with the Commission. The report came on the eve of a weekend House vote setting a hard date for the DTV transition, which will provide public safety 24 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum -- less than the 30 MHz some public safety officials have sought.
Major wireless carriers face an uphill battle persuading the FCC to suspend a Dec. 31 deadline for 95% of handsets be location capable, at least based on limited waivers granted so far for smaller Tier 3 carriers, said industry and public safety sources.
The Wireless Communications Assn. and a group of its members warned the FCC in comments filed this week that unless proposed rules governing the relocation of BRS licensees from the 2150-2162 megahertz band to the 2.5 gigahertz band are modified the business plans of BRS operators would be harmed, as would their ability to continue to add customers as this transition gets under way. The BRS docket had pitted WCA and its members against CTIA and wireless carriers, particularly Verizon Wireless, which has been the most aggressive in its arguments. Verizon Wireless said the transition rules should “not be an avenue for incumbent licensees to use the band-clearing process to gain a windfall profit or to fund their entry into new business ventures.” CTIA called for a 15-year sunset date for BRS relocation. Sioux Valley Wireless, a BRS operator in S.D. with 2,300 wireless broadband customers, told the FCC if the Commission doesn’t get relocation rules right it would harm Sioux Valley’s ability to continue to serve its customers. Comr. Adelstein is from S.D. Sioux Valley charged that mobile operators are lobbying for a competitive advantage through “outdated relocation procedures that serve their own needs exclusively, with no regard for their impact on the broadband service” the company already offers. But the WCA relocation plan would “ensure that we will not be forced to bear the substantial cost of our own involuntary relocation, and that the relocation process will not otherwise cause irreversible damage to our services.”
The National Emergency Number Assn. (NENA) raised red flags about a request from wireless reseller TracFone that the FCC potentially lighten the regulatory load placed on it if it’s designated as the first wireless reseller with eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) status under the USF lifeline program. Public safety sources said Tues. while TracFone is relatively small compared to a few of its peers, the issues raised aren’t, especially if other resellers also apply for ETC status.
The 8th U.S. Appeals Court, St. Louis, handed wireless carriers what CTIA characterized as a “major victory,” overturning a Minn. law that prohibits the companies from changing the terms and conditions of subscriber contracts that “could result” in higher rates or an extended contract term, without consent from the subscriber. The case pitted Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T- Mobile and other carriers against the state of Minn. “We have always maintained that state regulation, like that in Minn., imposes unnecessary costs upon the delivery of service and limits choice, thus not benefitting the wireless consumer,” said CTIA Pres. Steve Largent. “The court’s ruling that Minnesota’s statute is ‘impermissible rate regulation preempted by federal law’ is proof that consumers risk higher costs when states attempt this type of command-and-control regulation.” A spokeswoman for Minn. Attorney Gen. Mike Hatch said: “We have reviewed the decision. We have not decided what the next step is.”