NTIA released rules Mon. for how private sector would carry out mandatory reimbursement obligations for govt. agencies that relocated to make spectrum available for private sector use. Rules call for federal agencies to prepare estimate of relocation costs and provide that amount to potential bidders at future auctions. Payment details then would be negotiated directly between federal incumbent and new licensee. Notice of proposed rulemaking issued by NTIA last year had sought comment on whether federal entities should be required to relocate in cases when spectrum sharing was possible. Final rule acknowledged that sharing “appears to be an option that private sector parties favor.” But agency said legislation such as Balanced Budget Act of 1997 required that federal users not otherwise exempt must be relocated from bands reallocated to nongovt. users “in order to exercise their rights to reimbursement.” Rule also said NTIA shortly would release further notice addressing cost- sharing mechanism, such as spectrum clearinghouse, to ensure that federal agencies were reimbursed when multiple licensees shared that responsibility.
FCC asked for comments by July 11, replies by July 26, on whether it should attempt to devise method for allocating telecom relay service (TRS) calls as intrastate or interstate (98-67). Issue follows decision (CD April 19 p5) that IP- based TRS providers are eligible for reimbursement from Interstate TRS fund.
Qwest announced Mon. that its CEO Joseph Nacchio had “voluntarily resigned” and Richard Notebaert, CEO of Ameritech before its merger with SBC in 1999, had replaced him. “We believe it’s in the best interest of Qwest to bring in an experienced leader with strong RBOC skills,” Qwest board member Frank Popoff said in audio conference. Popoff said Nacchio brought company far but it now was good to bring in someone like Notebaert with more than 30 years at Bell company. Ameritech was leader in sales and profit among Bells under Notebaert’s guidance, Popoff said. That doesn’t signify any change in priorities and, for example, company’s Sec. 271 applications remain on track, he said. Notebaert had been CEO of Tellabs since 2000.
U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear must-carry appeal filed by Satellite Bcstg. & Communications Assn. (SBCA) on behalf of EchoStar and DirecTV. Decision, without comment or dissent, means DBS subscribers must continue to receive all local channels in markets where they're offered. Justices rejected DBS argument it had constitutional right to select programming. FCC originally issued carriage regulations to protect independent broadcasters and to keep DBS companies from dropping less popular stations and adding new channels, industry sources told us. “There is no evidence” must-carry rules “will preserve even a single broadcast station that otherwise would go dark,” SBCA attorney Charles Cooper had told court.
AT&T took another swing at Verizon’s long distance entry plans Mon. with new ex parte filing at FCC accusing Verizon of trying to sell long distance service to Va. Beach, Va., business customer without permission. AT&T said Commission should suspend pending Sec. 271 applications for both Me. (due for FCC action by Wed.) and N.J. (with June 24 deadline). AT&T attached “very explicit” letter it said was sent to Va. business customer offering “state-to-state long distance” service for 7 cents per min. AT&T Vp Robert Quinn said that didn’t appear similar to mistaken mass mailings in N.J. “This was a customized approach to an existing Verizon customer,” he said. AT&T also gave FCC copies of e-mail between Michael Lamb, one of AT&T’s attorneys, and Verizon in which attorney on Mon. asked for long distance service at his Bernardsville, N.J., home and apparently was provided it by Verizon. Lamb said in affidavit he placed online order for long distance service on www.Verizon.com, gave his phone number as well as his state and was able to sign up without difficulty. Lamb said he learned later that had he scrolled down to bottom of Web page he would have seen small print on bottom listing states legally offering long distance but he said he didn’t see that fine print when he placed order.
As expected, broad array of companies petitioned FCC for reconsideration of controversial ultra-wideband order that Commission approved in March. Challenges filed by our deadline included petitions from Sprint, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) manufacturers and users and UWB developer Multi- Spectral Solutions Inc. (MSSI). Petition for reconsideration that would be limited to radar vision-related portions of order was expected to be filed by UWB developer Time Domain, but hadn’t been by our deadline. In 45-page filing, Sprint raised 10 issues, in part challenging: (1) Conclusion in order that PCS licensees didn’t hold exclusive licenses. (2) Alleged failure of order to address “the most serious harmful interference to Sprint,” which company said constituted legal error. Most significant harm that Sprint is likely to sustain as result of order is “a material loss of network coverage and capacity,” petition said. “Sprint demonstrates that certain UWB developers misled the Commission concerning the operating parameters of CDMA technology and that as a result, most of the Commission’s conclusions concerning CDMA are factually erroneous.” (3) “Arbitrary and capricious” indoor UWB emissions level set for PCS band. (4) Extent to which order conflicted with FCC’s E911 rules and policies. (5) Failure of order to adjust UWB emissions levels in PCS band to account for “cumulative effect” of UWB interference. Separate petition for reconsideration was filed by National Utility Contractors Assn., which represents underground utility construction contractors. That petition also centered on GPR issues, saying order’s limitations on UWB as applied to GPR “will have negative consequences in collective efforts to prevent utility damages.” MSSI argued that: (1) Adopted rule significantly changed existing FCC policy, “but this change in policy was not proposed by or was not acknowledged in the original notice of proposed rulemaking. (2) Rule contradicted other established FCC rules and was in “material error.” It said FCC “unnecessarily restricts” frequency of operation for lower power UWB applications, such as vehicular radar. GPR Service Providers Coalition filed petition for partial reconsideration, asking FCC to expand category of eligible users to include existing service providers and govt. entities “while preventing use by mere hobbyists.” That petition also sought modification or clarification of coordination procedures to eliminate unnecessary paperwork and limit precoordination to sites or conditions where precoordination is truly warranted.” Group asked FCC, “in the absence of any evidence that GPRs have or will create interference to relax power emission constraints to level that is on par with unintentional radiators.”
FCC could “avert a potential crisis in the broadband industry” by asking U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., to stay May 24 decision that remanded FCC orders on line-sharing and unbundled network elements (UNEs), Covad and Earthlink said in June 12 ex parte filing with FCC. In alternative, FCC could get commitment from ILECs that they would continue providing line-shared loops while Commission acted on court’s ruling, 2 companies said. Letter expressed fear that “some or all of the incumbent LECs may interpret the court’s decision as immediately relieving them of any line-sharing requirements.” That would disrupt DSL services to hundreds of people served by competitive companies, letter said. Representatives of several CLECs say they feared FCC wouldn’t appeal D.C. Circuit’s decision to U.S. Supreme Court because Commission liked what court ordered. Court’s decision is somewhat compatible with what FCC Commission has proposed doing in its Triennial Review of unbundled network so some CLECs say privately they think Commission will choose not to appeal to give their proposal more authority. Among other things, FCC’s Triennial Review proposal suggests determining on geographic area basis whether ILECs can be relieved of providing some UNEs, methodology also suggested by Appeals Court and known in industry as “granular” approach. There’s now national list that requires ILECs to provide all UNEs needed by CLECs and granular approach could lead to eliminating some UNEs in some parts of country but not in others. Washington representative of another CLEC said court’s ruling gave FCC ability to say it had no choice but to take granular approach they favored. “Now they can say ’the devil made me do it,'” he said.
Senate efforts to delay 700 MHz auction stalled Mon. despite observers’ anticipation that chamber would take action when it returned at 2 p.m. (CD June 16 p1). Spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Daschle (D-S.D.) said efforts to have bill passed by unanimous consent failed because Republicans couldn’t clear bill on their side. Sources said at least 2 Democratic Senators placed hold on bill. Agreement had been reached to delay FCC auction scheduled for June 19, several Senate spokesmen told us. Compromise would have been included as substitute amendment to House bill to delay auction, Senate Commerce Committee spokesman told us. Draft copy of bill obtained by Communications Daily said June 19 auction would be delayed, but C- and D-blocks would go forward between Aug. 19 and Sept. 19. Draft bill also said up-front payments for A-,B- and E-block auctions being delayed would be paid back to prospective bidders within one month after bill’s passage. Draft bill also would direct FCC to reschedule upper 700 MHz band auction and rest of lower band before agency’s auction authority expired in 2007. FCC last month decided to delay upper band auction of Ch. 60-69, but proceed with lower band Ch. 52-59.
Rural LECs would receive $400 million more in universal service over 5 years under FCC decision to adjust amount of high-cost loop support rural carriers would receive under Commission’s 2001 Rural Task Force (RTF) order, National Telecom Coop Assn. (NTCA) said. In order released late Thurs., FCC granted NTCA petition to amend its rules to account for mid-2001 implementation of RTF order that originally was intended to take effect Jan. 1. Midyear implementation would have resulted in less support for carriers in 2002 than FCC had intended, NTCA said. “By amending the rules, rural carriers will receive an additional $72 million in high-cost support in 2002 and cumulative additional support of more than $400 million over the next 5 years,” NTCA said. NTCA CEO Michael Brunner said decision “ensures that rural consumers will continue to receive telecommunications services and rates comparable to consumers living in urban areas.” FCC Comr. Copps said that corrects “inadvertent error that resulted in a reduced amount of universal service support for rural America.” He said he would have liked action on another issue not addressed in order, involving rural companies that purchased exchanges from other telcos. Those carriers aren’t eligible to receive additional support for investment in first year they operate those exchanges, he said. That means they must “wait a year to upgrade what is often poor equipment and consumers wait a year for new and improved services.”
Comcast asked FCC to dismiss complaint by WideOpenWest (WOW) that criticized predatory pricing schemes that WOW said were designed to put it out of business. WOW had said Comcast was offering 2 different rates, one for regular customers and another lower one for consumers seeking to disconnect service and sign up for WOW service. Comcast said in response that price competition for competitive, deregulated services “is a good thing, not a cause for concern and it is certainly not a violation of ‘customer service’ rules.” Comcast said WOW had no standing to bring action on customer service rules since it was not customer, but competitor. “The allegations found in the complaint, to the extent they are comprehensible, are not cognizable under the Communications Act and the Commission’s rules,” Comcast said. Enforcement of customer service standards is matter for local franchising authorities, not FCC, Comcast said.