Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., handed decisive win to FCC Fri., upholding agency decision to remove carrier cost-recovery requirement as precondition to provision of Enhanced 911 service. To turn around slow rollout of E911 services, FCC had stripped away condition that wireless carriers didn’t have to meet E911 Phase 1 and Phase 2 requirements until guaranteed state or local govt. funding was in place. Action was driven by concern that cost-recovery requirement was slowing E911 deployment and that wireless carriers could recover such costs from subscribers because they weren’t rate-regulated. Rural carriers, including U.S. Cellular Corp., challenged FCC decision, based in part on concern that they had less dense subscriber base to pass on such costs to customers. In unanimous ruling written by Judge David Tatel, court concluded eliminating carrier cost recovery requirement “merely imposes the cost of E911 service on its beneficiaries.” Washington attorney Thomas Van Wazer, who argued case for U.S. Cellular, said carrier was “strongly” considering appeal to full 9-member D.C. Circuit.

BOSTON -- FCC Comr. Abernathy sent strong signal to Wireless Communications Assn. (WCA) Mon. that she was reluctant to have MMDS and Instructional TV Fixed Service licensees tapped for 3rd generation wireless. “I am unwilling to jeopardize the rollout of wireless broadband services you are offering to consumers,” she told annual conference in her first speech before an industry convention as commissioner. “There are other options.” While Abernathy didn’t elaborate on other spectrum alternatives, she stressed importance of FCC’s moving quickly on 3G. “We owe you a prompt decision to eliminate the cloud that hangs over your particular spectrum,” she said.

FCC electronic filing requirements and procedures once again are under attack by attorneys and engineers who are required to use Consolidated Database System (CDBS) for most of their filings on behalf of clients. Making matters worse, according one lawyer, is that “there’s a complete lack of communication” on electronic filings between bureaus. Such communication is “absolutely necessary” for system to work, lawyer said, because, for example, Wireless Bureau handles broadcast auxiliary applications while Mass Media handles all other TV-radio applications. Principal complaint of lawyers was that attachments to electronically filed documents weren’t properly put with applications they referred to until days, sometimes weeks, later. Electronic filing system was criticized year ago (CD July 5 p1/00), and recently was shut down for overhaul (CD June 15 p10).

CHICAGO -- Group representing small cable operators urged FCC to investigate retransmission consent practices of major broadcast networks and take steps to curb “tying” of retransmission-consent rights to carriage of networks’ cable channels. Picking up cause publicly embraced and then quickly abandoned by major MSOs and NCTA last spring, American Cable Assn. (ACA) charged that such media conglomerates as Disney/ABC, News Corp./Fox Network, GE/NBC and Hearst-Argyle had forced “costly tying arrangements on smaller cable companies,” making them carry unwanted cable networks. ACA, which represents 931 cable operators with total of 7.5 million subscribers, also charged that broadcaster-owned cable networks had taken control over retransmission consent rights from broadcasters’ own local stations. “By themselves, ACA and its members have not been successful in changing the behavior of media conglomerates like Disney, News Corp. and others,” group said in FCC filing purportedly on DTV must-carry rules earlier this week. “To the contrary, retransmission consent tying is getting worse.”

FCC Technology Advisory Council (TAC) will focus on wireless issues, especially spectrum management, under new 2-year charter. Formed by Office of Engineering & Technology (OET) under Federal Advisory Committee Act, TAC brought together diverse group of academicians, scientists and chief technology officers (CTOs) of technology companies representing telecom, data networking, software, consumer electronics and amateur radio interests. Role of TAC is to advise Commission on technical issues, OET Deputy Chief Julius Knapp said at meeting Wed. “The FCC couldn’t always anticipate technology, but we found people in the industry often could.” Mission of TAC is to help FCC anticipate how technology “might affect policy issues in the future,” he said. In 2nd 2- year charter, TAC will continue work of first council emphasizing software-defined radio and improved spectral management and continued noise floor study, he said. New areas of study requested by FCC include: (1) Better understanding of advances in optical technology, capacity of optical networks, availability of broadband services, interconnection of networks. (2) Network security and technology to ensure network integrity and “robustness.” (3) Plethora of consumer wireless devices and how pieces fit together. “The challenge of these consumer devices are all the different ‘languages’ spoken by different devices -- much of it on unlicensed spectrum,” Knapp said. In discussion, TAC raised concept of wireless “bill of rights” begun in first council. “Regulation has been much like the 10 Commandments -- there are too many ’thou shall nots’,” TAC Chmn. Robert Lucky said. Instead TAC began to think of wireless regulation in terms of rules of what wireless devices should be able to do, he said. In proposed bill of rights, first fundamental right of all wireless devices is “to transmit at any frequency at any power as long as it doesn’t interfere with any other wireless device.” The rest of admittedly unfinished bill of rights “deals with ‘how do you know you're not interfering?'” Lucky joked. Bill of rights concept could move licensing away from “ability to exclude others” to set of protocols to allow innovation by manufacturers within certain parameters, Motorola CTO Dennis Roberson. On goal of efficient spectrum sharing and management, industry must create “self-aware” devices that are aware of other wireless devices, he said. Several members warned FCC against too-rapid regulation of unlicensed spectrum used by wireless LANs and other devices. “These unlicensed radios, mostly low cost and short range, have a potential to become a pervasive part of communications… and will melt down because there isn’t enough spectrum,” Lucky said. Proxim CTO Kevin Negus said problems “aren’t fatal and new wireless products will thrive in the market based on their ability to work in crowded spectrum.”

New FCC Comr. Michael Copps brings to agency strong interest in international trade issues, fascination with challenges raised by changing technology and belief that one shouldn’t join FCC “with a controlling ideology.” In interview Wed. with Communications Daily, Copps appeared to walk line between market- oriented approach to many business issues and govt. activism on others such as mergers and broadcast content issues. He also revealed apparent fondness for phrasemaking. “Here I am at the FCC, the Future of the Country Commission,” he said at start of interview. Asked at end to categorize his special bent at agency, Copps, former history professor, said he thought there was room for lawyers, engineers and perhaps “a wayfaring historian” like himself.

With FCC target deadline fast approaching for making 3rd generation (3G) wireless spectrum allocation decision, Dept. of Defense continues to take hard public line on risks of sharing or vacating military-occupied bands for commercial users. Rear Adm. Robert Nutwell said on TechNet International 2001 panel Tues. that although relocating incumbent military users might be feasible -- given enough time and money -- strategy still would carry risks for Pentagon. Timing and finding comparable spectrum remain 2 large impediments, he said, calling 3G “number one” spectrum issue for DoD right now. He said DoD estimates of up to $4.3 billion in relocation costs were bit low. “I guess given enough time and money you could do almost anything,” Nutwell said of relocation option, saying main impediment was where comparable spectrum could be found. On timing, he didn’t budge from earlier DoD estimates it would take until 2010 to move nonspace systems from spectrum now occupied mostly by military, with satellite systems taking until at least 2017. “These are probably a little bit optimistic in terms of the actual time because typically satellites last longer than they were predicted to, so it could be even a little bit worse than this,” he told Washington conference.

Reflecting her background as FCC staffer and corporate lobbyist, new FCC Comr. Abernathy said one of her top priorities is to speed Commission’s decisionmaking and make its processes more “transparent” so public can better track issues. In interview with Communications Daily Fri., Abernathy said Commission’s delay in ruling on News Corp.’s proposed purchase of Chris-Craft Industries TV stations was one example of why she believed that changes ought to be made. “That’s [the delay is] unfortunate,” she said, noting that Chris-Craft license transfers have lingered at agency for 8 months. “I'd like it to move faster,” she said, while declining to say how Commission should rule on issue of local station concentration.

In bid to give national scope to historically local controversies, environmental groups are mounting campaign at FCC to compel more detailed environmental reviews of wireless towers. Friends of the Earth (FOE) and Forest Conservation Council have filed petitions to deny on near-weekly basis at Commission since late March, holding up final approval on 31 sites. Groups also want FCC to not approve future wireless towers until it conducts environmental assessment of its own antenna licensing program. Sudden influx of petitions -- on towers proposed by American Tower, Crown Castle, SBC and others -- appears to be new tactic by groups, which haven’t engaged in such national effort before, sources said. One FCC official said that in last 4 years, only handful of such petitions had been filed, with most centering on historic preservation issues. But recent petitions run much broader gamut, criticizing lack of detail from tower constructors on impacts ranging from migratory bird traffic to potential human health effects from radiofrequency (RF) emissions.

It’s “too simplistic” to question whether FCC Chmn. Powell supports telecom competition just because he also advocates deregulation where appropriate, he said in interview with Communications Daily. “Of course we favor competition,” he said. “The policy of the entire country is to favor competition.” What has been misunderstood is more “subtle” question of when intervention is right and when it isn’t, he said. Powell said he didn’t believe in jumping too quickly into new regulations or keeping old ones that no longer are necessary. Telecom Act requires FCC to review regulations periodically and determine whether they still are appropriate, so this isn’t new concept, he said: “There are appropriate places for regulation, but they should be carefully scrutinized and one should be hesitant to interfere with those operations without clear and demonstrable reasons for doing so.”