August 2008

FCC Grants Qwest Forbearance

Qwest has won partial regulatory relief from the Federal Communications Commission from rules governing the commercial Internet market. On Tuesday, the FCC lifted pricing restrictions for some of Qwest's Internet services offered to large companies that move massive amounts of data through their networks. AT&T, Embarq, and Verizon all have been given similar pricing flexibility. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said the relief granted to Qwest bolsters the commission's goal of allowing market forces to drive the commercial Internet market. Fellow commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein countered that numerous "me-too" company-related requests "divert attention from the many other critical priorities before" the FCC. Qwest said the FCC's decision will allow it to tailor its Internet services more closely to businesses' needs. The FCC's order doesn't relieve Qwest from pricing restrictions on the most popular commercial Internet connections, such as T1 lines, offered by its smaller competitors.

Industry Coalition Urges FCC to Reform Intercarrier Compensation

A broad coalition of technology, telecommunications and wireless companies and trade associations is supporting the Federal Communications Commission's effort to enact comprehensive reform of the nation's intercarrier compensation system. In a letter filed with the FCC, the group urges commissioners to "focus on policies that will help spur the continued evolution to more advanced IP and broadband networks," and commended the agency for its plan to complete the task by November. The filing suggests that the first step in the reform process should be to "clarify the regulatory requirements associated with the fastest growing segment of the communications industry - Internet Protocol-based technologies and services." The coalition also urges the agency to issue two rulings to clarify that all IP-based voice services, if regulated at all, are subject to exclusive federal jurisdiction, and to establish uniform compensation rules applicable to all traffic exchanged with or on the public switched telephone network. The letter is signed by AT&T, CompTIA, CTIA, Global Crossing, the Information Technology Industry Council, National Association of Manufacturers, New Global Telecom, PointOne, Sprint Nextel Corp., the Telecommunications Industry Association, T-Mobile, Verizon and VON Coalition.

FCC's Martin on C-SPAN's The Communicators Saturday

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin will appear on C-SPAN's The Communicators on Saturday. He'll discuss the digital television transition (he doesn't expect any other markets to go all-digital early, as most of the television stations in Wilmington (NC) agreed to do September 8); indecency regulation (no decision yet on whether to appeal the reversal of the Janet Jackson fine); media ownership (don't expect any more FCC decisions this year); Network Neutrality; and where to find the best ice cream in Georgetown. Check local cable listings.

Dish Supports Retrans Quiet Period

Dish Network, which is in the midst of a retransmission-consent dispute that dropped four TV stations off its lineup, Tuesday asked the Federal Communications Commission to impose a so-called "quiet period" that would prevent broadcasters from pulling their signals during the transition to all-digital television broadcasting next February. In a letter to FCC chairman Kevin Martin, Dish Network said it supports the request for a "quiet period," which was first sought by small and mid-sized cable operators. Dish Network asked that the "quiet period" maintain existing retransmission-consent deals until May 31 next year. Dish also said that once that period is over, the FCC should proceed to reforming the "broken" retransmission-consent process. Dish wants the FCC to: 1) unbundle programming; 2) consider a standstill provision that would prevent stations from withdrawing their signals while the FCC was considering complaints that broadcasters had not bargained in good faith; 3) consider allowing smaller pay TV providers to "opt in" to the rate charged to larger operators, which generally have to pay less for the programming, Dish said; and 4) require broadcasters to provide "clear evidence and documentation that retransmission-consent fees are used to increase the amount of locally based content available to communities."

Clear Channel Selling 60 More Radio Stations

Clear Channel Radio is selling 60 more stations in markets around the country. The company is selling the stations to comply with one of the conditions set by the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice for approving the sale of Clear Channel Communications to two private equity firms. With the sale to private equity recently completed, Clear Channel is placing the FCC-mandated stations in the recently formed Aloha Station Trust, where a third-party company, Media Ventures, will have responsibility for marketing them. When it first acquired some of these stations, Clear Channel received special FCC permissions to avoid violating ownership rules, but the FCC said it would not renew the permissions, necessitating the current sale. The 60 FCC- and DOJ-mandated stations for sale are different from the 448 stations that Clear Channel put up for sale last year, of which 173 were withdrawn from the market in the first quarter. At the end of the first quarter, 52 of the 275 stations remaining in this group were still unsold.

FCC discloses logic behind its approval of XM-Sirius merger

The recently-released Federal Communications Commission order which allowed Sirius and XM satellite radio to merge reveals the Commission's reasoning. Essentially, the Commission defends the union on the grounds that voluntary commitments promised by the combined company override any potential anticompetitive harm. The FCC does not agree that the merger will harm to terrestrial radio: 1) it doubts studies which argued that satellite and free radio compete with each other, 2) it couldn't divine from the data the extent to which free radio listeners won't listen to AM and FM because of a merged Sirius/XM, 3) it rejected warnings that a united Sirius/XM will be better able to "steal" talent away from terrestrial radio. Many parties will probably be disappointed that the FCC has added no specific enforcement mechanism to this Order. Instead, there is this promise: "We will rigorously monitor Applicants' compliance with the conditions of the Consent Decrees and the conditions specified herein and believe that the mechanisms put in place in those Decrees will fully serve to ensure compliance on an ongoing basis. Moreover, we will not hesitate to take prompt and effective enforcement action if these conditions are not satisfied."

Dates for Reimbursement Under the LPTV Digital-to-Analog Grant Program Revised

On Monday, President Bush signed into law a bill adjusting the reimbursement dates of the Low Power Television grant program by which LPTV and TV translator stations can seek a $1,000 grant in order to ensure that they are able to continue to receive and rebroadcast the signals of primary full-power television stations once the full-power stations complete the transition to digital television. As a result of the recent change, funds granted through the LPTV Digital-to-Analog grant program will available beginning in fiscal year 2009 (Oct. 1, 2008 - Sept. 30, 2009), rather than in fiscal year 2011. In addition, the recent bill also extends the availability of funding through fiscal year 2012.

Sprint, Clearwire Ask FCC To Reject Proposed Merger Provisos

Sprint Nextel and Clearwire intend to go head to head against the country's largest wireless Internet networks if their merger is approved, but that ability could be hampered if regulators call for new conditions, the companies told the Federal Communications Commission. AT&T, Vonage and the Rural Cellular Association were the only organizations that protested to the FCC about the proposed merger. In contrast, Sprint and Clearwire noted that about 100 other parties filed comments supporting the deal.

Oklahoma City Wi-Fi Showcases City-Services Model

Oklahoma may be without a statewide broadband strategy, but earlier this summer Oklahoma City re-launched what is being billed as the largest city-owned and operated municipal Wi-Fi network. Although the Wi-Fi mesh network went live in September 2006, it was re-launched in an expanded mode on June 3, 2008. It is devoted exclusively to public safety and municipal use, and is not available to the public. The city joined Corpus Christi, Texas, in launching a municipal wireless broadband network for municipal use only. Minneapolis and Riverside, Calif., are among the cities that offered mixed-use networks, allowing the public to access the system for Internet connections, as well as for city function. By concentrating on public safety needs first, some experts say, Oklahoma City's wireless network may be more likely to succeed where others have failed.

TV Watch Fires Back at PTC

Tim Dyke, the Executive Director of broadcast network TV-backed TV Watch said, "The Parents Television Council won't be satisfied with television content until they convince the government to enforce their personal, selective judgments. Over the years, the Parents Television Council has released numerous studies aimed at influencing lawmakers and regulators to believe that parents aren't competent enough to make television-viewing decisions for their own families."

Benton

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