The FCC should reverse course on a change to its auction rules for the upcoming advanced wireless services auction, said rural wireless carriers in a petition for reconsideration. The shift would make it harder for smaller players to bid as part of a consortium, they said.
The IEEE 802.11 Working Group voted Fri. to establish the 1.0 draft of the 802.11n specification as the official standard. Bill McFarland, CTO for equipment maker Atheros, told us the group’s tentative acceptance of the draft was an important step toward certification for 802.11n, the next generation of the Wi-Fi standard, which is capable of throughput rates well above 100 Mbps, allowing such advanced applications as multimedia networking. McFarland said he expects the first products based on the draft standard to hit store shelves midyear. “There were not any significant technical changes,” McFarland said. “There were editorial changes. There was the addition of explanatory text and there were the addition of a number of appendices… What the vote really represents is the belief that the draft is now complete -- both consistent and technically accurate. And it has all of the necessary things in it that are required to become an IEEE standard.” The draft needed 75% approval to move forward and won approval from 87% of industry representatives at the meeting, McFarland said. Over the next 40 days members will review the draft; proceeding toward IEEE ratification, expected next year, would require another favorable vote at a May meeting. McFarland said small changes to the draft are likely, but it seems “very stable and complete at this point.”
The universal service fund (USF) has hidden costs well beyond what subscribers pay into the program, since taxes usually reduce use of services, Jerry Ellig, senior research fellow at George Mason U.’s Mercatus Center, said Thurs. during a USF discussion at the Digital Age Communications Act conference. A new study puts those hidden costs at $2 billion a year, about 1/2 what the program brings in, Ellig said.
A NARUC task force presented its proposed agreement on intercarrier compensation (ICC) reform in a closed door meeting at the FCC. Sources familiar with the presentation Wed. said the proposal would “harmonize” access charges significantly, dividing carriers into 3 groups and providing different compensation rates for large, medium and small carriers.
FCC attorney Nandan Joshi accused AT&T of overreaching during oral arguments on a case before the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., over whether the FCC erred in rejecting an SBC petition asking the Commission to “forbear” from regulating all IP platform services.
Conventional wisdom on the AT&T-BellSouth merger is that it faces a smooth regulatory path, especially in light of recent mega-mergers led by SBC’s takeover of AT&T late last year. But questions remain about how the arrival of Comr. Robert McDowell could affect FCC handling of the merger.
FCC Chmn. Martin reassured Gulf Coast residents Mon. the FCC remains committed to improving public safety communications in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the region in a storm that hit last Aug. Martin opened a meeting of the Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks in Jackson, Miss. Martin, along with Comr. Tate, was also scheduled to tour the Jackson Police Dept.’s PSAP. The hearing continues today (Tues.)
The federal govt. is unlikely to force federal agencies to “pay” for the spectrum they use, a major topic of last week’s conference by NTIA investigating govt. spectrum use, experts agree. Instead, the likely next step is a more complete inventory of govt. controlled spectrum, listing which frequencies are used and whether they're used efficiently.
Broadband providers are growing increasingly concerned that FCC attention to protecting customer proprietary network information (CPNI) means a pending rulemaking probably will produce a requirement that they protect such data. Cramming, slamming and truth in billing also were raised in a notice of proposed rulemaking the FCC released in Sept.
Identities of high bidders in June’s advanced wireless services (AWS) auction would be secret until the sale ends, under rules apparently headed for FCC approval. Sources said despite wireless carriers’ opposition, the Wireless Bureau seems inclined for the first time to embrace nondisclosure provisions. The proposal got backing this week from the FTC’s Bureau of Economics.