FCC could hasten telecom facility deployment on tribal lands by heightening awareness of its Tribal Bidding Credits program, Space Data CEO Gerald Knoblach said. Program reduces costs for winners of wireless auction bids as long as those companies receive commitments from federally recognized tribes to allow deployment of wireless facilities on tribal lands. “Carriers’ carrier” Space Data, which is deploying national network of “balloon-borne wireless repeaters,” has had “generally” positive experience in acquiring such bidding credits, Knoblach said in written comments submitted for joint hearing by Senate Commerce and Indian Affairs committees: “The tribes we have contacted were not fully aware of the bidding credit process… In some cases we have been perceived somewhat skeptically as trying to get something for nothing… Space Data recommends that the FCC place increased emphasis on publicizing the bidding credit process and encouraging the tribes to support such efforts since they have the potential of improving communications to tribal lands on a nonexclusive basis.” FCC Consumer & Govt. Affairs Bureau Chief Dane Snowden said at May 14 hearing that Commission was launching outreach program next month to educate tribes on availability of telecom support programs (CD May 15 p1).
Consensus is building that Bush Administration needs to articulate national broadband strategy, but White House is getting varied signals on just what that policy should look like. Those contrasts were on display Tues. at forum sponsored by Computer & Communications Industry Assn. (CCIA). Twelve representatives of IT, content and telecom industries joined with FCC official at George Washington U. (GWU) Va. campus in Ashburn to debate broadband deployment and copyright protection, with many echoing IBM E-Commerce Program Dir. Greg Waddell: “By the end of ‘02, the Administration should have a clear 10-year vision for wired and wireless infrastructures [for broadband] and adopt them as part of an economic development strategy.” Progressive Policy Institute Vp Robert Atkinson agreed, although he told us after session that Bush Administration “doesn’t have the ideological ability” to craft broadband strategy that didn’t rely solely on free-market solutions. Several panelists said wireless would play critical role in broadband deployment, and with its management of spectrum, federal govt. would be key player in that rollout.
FCC Chmn. Powell praised Mich. political leaders for making Mich. “truly a visionary state” in removing barriers that have slowed broadband deployment. Powell, speaking at May 9 Mich. Information Technology Summit in Detroit, said slow pace of broadband deployment had been like cork holding back national economy. He urged lawmakers and regulators everywhere to “remove the cork imposed by outdated regulations and a host of other deployment problems.” Powell also said broadband couldn’t be regulated in same way as other communications services because technology was unique and still evolving. He said issue wasn’t more regulation or less, “it’s applying the right regulation.” Following Powell, Mich. Gov. John Engler (R) said his administration’s broadband and information technology policies were intended to put state “on the fast lane to the future.” He said broadband development was crucial to accomplishing major policy goals such as promoting state as good place for IT industry to locate and providing more govt. services to public via Internet. Engler said this year’s new laws to establish online cybercourt for settling business disputes and to remove local obstacles to broadband deployment were key steps for state. Ultimately, he said, broadband development “is about the future of your business and your ability to work and to provide for your family.”
Leap Wireless said it filed short-form application with FCC to participate in upper and lower 700 MHz auctions, but hadn’t decided whether it would make upfront payment to take part in bidding. Leap said its Form 175, which tells FCC on which licenses companies plan to bid and provides financial information, “preserve[d] its option” to participate in those auctions. “However, the company has not decided whether to place a deposit for, or to participate in, these auctions,” it said. “Failure to file the required Form 175 may have irrevocably eliminated Leap’s opportunity to participate in the auction, whenever it is held.” Leap acknowledged Tues. that it was “probable” that either FCC or Congress could delay auctions, now set for June 19. It said that if it participated, it would do so only with “defined funding plan” that wouldn’t materially change financing for its current 40- market plan or hamper its ability to meet debt obligations. Next major 700 MHz auction deadline for prospective bidders is May 28, when upfront payments are due at FCC. Short-form applications were due May 8. Commission usually takes 5 to 10 days to issue public notice announcing which applications have been accepted for filing.
FCC is set to vote at agenda meeting Thurs. on order that would update Part 15 rules for spread spectrum systems in fields such as power limits. Commission approved further notice of proposed rulemaking last year (CD May 11/2001 p3) that would reduce amount of spectrum that must be used for frequency-hopping spread spectrum systems (FHSS) at 2.4 GHz. That proposal would eliminate processing gain requirement for direct sequence spread spectrum systems and would accommodate new digital transmission technologies with characteristics similar to spread spectrum systems. Proposal marked effort to streamline Part 15 rules for spread spectrum systems to usher in newer technologies that haven’t met past spread spectrum definitions. Proposed changes aim to address coexistence of increased applications in 2.4 GHz, including FHSS systems such as Bluetooth, direct sequence spread spectrum systems such as 802.11b and new types of digital transmission systems. Wireless LAN developer Agere Systems urged FCC last week to adopt final order that would require smart hopping, or so-called adaptive frequency hopping techniques, in exchange for system’s using fewer frequency hopping channels. Just reducing transmitter’s power limit under those circumstances wouldn’t be sufficient to reduce interference in band, Agere argued.
Group of business users urged FCC to take hard look at BellSouth tariff proposing to raise business PICC (presubscribed interexchange carrier charge) rates 15% to help recover costs of implementing 1,000-block number pooling. FCC on Fri. suspended tariff and set it for investigation (CD May 13 p6) in response to petitions by AT&T and WorldCom. In ex parte filing Tues., American Petroleum Institute, eCommerce & Telecommunications Users Group and National Retail Federation said BellSouth hadn’t proved its costs were justified and allowed under FCC rules. User groups told agency that AT&T and WorldCom “raised a number of compelling concerns that warrant Commission action to prevent BellSouth from padding its books with higher PICC revenues at the expense of the rest of American business.”
Ten-year Pax TV Network affiliation agreement with WPXS Mt. Vernon, Ill. (for St. Louis market), filed with FCC May 8, contains “new technology” clause requiring affiliate to make its digital spectrum available to Pax “on an exclusive basis… to provide additional 24-hours-a-day network(s) programming in a multichannel format.” Official of Network Affiliated Stations Alliance (NASA) said clause was violation of FCC option time rule and that affiliation contracts of ABC, CBS and NBC didn’t include similar requirement. However, Fox contracts require that when network begins multichannel digital transmissions, affiliate must carry such signals on its digital spectrum, official said -- one of charges made against network that NASA wants FCC to investigate (CD May 8 p5).
Tenn. Regulatory Authority (TRA) set June 21 deadline for comments on whether it should require BellSouth to continue providing CLECs with unrestricted unbundled local switching at cost-based rates. TRA opened rulemaking (Case 02-00207) after affirming hearing examiner’s finding that it had jurisdiction to grant CLEC requests to add local switching to FCC’s national list of mandatory unbundled network elements (UNE) that must be offered at cost-based rates. BellSouth unsuccessfully argued that state didn’t have authority to override FCC exemption that allowed incumbents to withdraw cost-based switching UNE for service to CLEC business customers over 3 lines if they offered alternative of enhanced extended links (EEL) that combine transport and switching functions.
Competitive telecom companies, joined by some consumer advocates and regulators, predicted dire results if FCC modifies or eliminates equal access and nondiscrimination requirements written at AT&T divestiture 20 years ago and continued in Telecom Act’s Sec. 251(g). Telecom Act specified continuation of rules unless supplanted by other regulatory action. FCC asked for comment on whether there should be revision now that there was more competition. Equal access requirements approved by U.S. Dist. Court, D.C., which oversaw divestiture, instituted process of presubscription, still used today, in which customers’ home and business phones automatically connect to long distance companies of their choice. Equal access also assured dialing parity, directory services, network control signaling billing information and other access needs of long distance and information companies. In comments filed late Fri., Bell companies said those requirements, aimed at making sure they didn’t discriminate in favor of former parent AT&T, were outdated. However, long distance companies and CLECs warned that Bells still had monopoly and reason for putting rules in place remained -- companies providing long distance and information services were dependent on Bells for access to customers.
USTA told Sen. Breaux (D-La.) and Senate Minority Whip Nickles (R-Okla.) that lawmakers’ regulatory parity bill (S- 2430) would benefit rural areas since it would preserve rural exemption from 1996 Telecom Act and would enable companies to file tariffs. In letter May 13 signed by 64 small telcos, USTA said those provisions “respond to the unique circumstances of rural communities.” National Telecom Co-op Assn. (NTCA) also wrote to Breaux and Nickles but expressed opposite concerns (CD May 14 p6). NTCA said Breaux-Nickles would jeopardize rural exemption by leaving reclassification of broadband services in hands of FCC alone.