October 2014

FCC Seeks Nominations by November 7, 2014 for Membership on New Task Force on Optimal Public Safety Answering Point Architecture

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking nominations and expressions of interest for membership on the Task Force on Optimal Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) Architecture (Task Force or TFOPA). The FCC intends to establish the task force for a period of two years, tentatively planned to commence in November 2014, through November 2016. Nominations and expressions of interest for membership must be submitted to the FCC no later than November 7, 2014. The Task Force will present its initial findings and recommendations to the FCC no later than April 30, 2015.

FCC To Hold Open Commission Meeting Friday, October 17, 2014

The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on Friday, October 17, 2014. Here’s the agenda. The FCC will consider:

a Report and Order that takes critical steps to promote the deployment of wireless infrastructure necessary to provide the public with ubiquitous, advanced wireless broadband services.
a Notice of Inquiry to explore innovative developments in the use of spectrum above 24 GHz for mobile wireless services, and how the Commission can facilitate the development and deployment of those technologies.
a Second Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to address aggregate broadcaster-to-broadcaster interference and the methodology for predicting interference between broadcast and wireless operations in the same or adjacent channels in nearby markets during and following the Incentive Auction.
a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to comprehensively reform interstate and intrastate inmate calling services (ICS) to ensure just, reasonable and fair rates and charges for consumers as well as providers.

The FCC will also hear a presentation regarding an inquiry into a major 911 service outage that affected seven states in April 2014. The presentation will include findings from a report on the causes and effects of the outage as well as recommendations on actions the industry, the Commission and state governments can take to strengthen the reliability and resiliency of 911 services as the nation transitions to Next Generation 911.

FCC Seeks Comment on Issues Related to Digital LPTV Stations

In this Third Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Federal Communications Commission seeks comment on a number of issues involving low power television and TV translator stations.

These stations are a source of diverse and local programming for viewers, especially in rural and remote locations. Through this proceeding, the FCC seeks comment on measures to facilitate the final conversion of LPTV and TV translator stations to digital service and consider additional means to mitigate the potential impact of the incentive auction and the repacking process on LPTV and TV translator stations to help preserve the important services they provide.

FCC Suspends Expiration Dates For LPTV Stations

Effective immediately, the expiration dates and construction deadlines for all outstanding unexpired construction permits for new digital low power television and TV translator stations are hereby suspended pending final action in the rulemaking proceeding in MB Docket No. 03-185 initiated Oct 10 by the Federal Communications Commission.

FCC Roundtable Roundup

Over the past month, the Federal Communication Commission has hosted panels to publicly discuss the various elements of network neutrality.

The Chairman and Commissioners did not take them lightly; the FCC held over six different panels on four different days, totaling more than 24 hours of straight net neutrality talk. Chairman Tom Wheeler actively participated in all, either in person or through Twitter questions. While the panels remained inside DC, allowing very few to participate in person, all panels were streamed live and the public was asked to submit question either by email or Twitter. For those of you not able to enjoy 24 hours of discussion on policy approaches, enforcement ideas, economic aspects, and the legality of an open internet, here is a roundtable roundup of what I see as the two most important discussions.

Rep Eshoo: Don’t let Internet be ‘hijacked’

Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA) said the Obama Administration should be sure that no other country is able to assert undue control over the back end of the Internet when the US hands over the keys.

Information You Need to Make Up Your Own Mind

[Commentary] Want to know who is attempting to influence your vote? As things stand now, the burden is on you to figure out who is funding the ads inundating your television and attempting to influence your vote, despite long-standing laws and regulations that clearly state that broadcasters have an obligation to ascertain the "true sponsor" of the ads they run on those airwaves.

Just recently the Media Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission gave them a pass. They ruled that the burden of accurately determining who is sponsoring a political advertisement rests on the viewing public, not the broadcasters, and that viewers must present "credible, unrefuted evidence" to the broadcasters that the entity identified on air as responsible for an ad is not in fact the "true sponsor." That is why the Campaign Legal Center joined with the Sunlight Foundation and Common Cause to urge the FCC Commissioners to overrule their own bureau and instead to pursue our complaints against two broadcast stations.

[McGehee is the Policy Director at the Campaign Legal Center]

Time Warner Cable Trades Reflect Concern in Comcast Deal

Trading in Time Warner Cable stock reflects concern that regulatory approval of Comcast’s acquisition won’t be as quick or clean as anticipated.

The difference between Time Warner Cable’s stock price and what Comcast promises to pay shareholders when the deal closes has more than doubled since April, reaching its widest point of 7.75 percent on Sept. 30. A decision by regulators to extend a review of the deal and opposition by large companies such as Netflix and Discovery Communications have fueled the pullback. What traders are on alert for is how far the US government will push in seeking concessions in return for allowing a merger. There was a sense early on that Comcast’s lobbying and ties to the Obama Administration meant serene passage, said Christopher Pultz, head of merger arbitrage for Kellner Capital. “This was just going to get waved through,” Pultz said. “All of a sudden people realize maybe there’s a little more risk in this than people thought.”

CPB funds will go toward helping public TV execs make spectrum decisions

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will spend $3 million to give public television executives access to expert advice on the upcoming broadcast spectrum auction.

The extremely high value of spectrum as appraised by an Oct. 1 Federal Communications Commission report, “Incentive Auction Opportunities for Broadcasters,” created a “considerable amount of confusion” among managers, said CPB’s Michael Levy. Previous estimates had been much lower. CPB now believes, based on conversations with general managers after the report was released, that “perhaps as many as 50 to 60” of those executives now feel compelled to “revisit their thinking” about whether to participate in the auction, Levy said. Stations may need additional time with attorneys, or expert assistance to determine “the realistic value of spectrum in the market they serve,” Levy said. They may need help developing strategies for auction bids or channel sharing, or technical assistance with a UHF/VHF swap. CPB is still working out details of how the $3 million will be allocated, Levy said. The corporation is talking to stations to better understand specific needs, and it’s speaking with “a number of firms to get their suggestions for how they best can help,” he said.

Google Suffers New Privacy Setback in Japan

Google has suffered another setback on privacy issues, this time in Japan.

The Tokyo District Court issued an injunction, ordering Google to remove some Internet search results about a Japanese man that are considered to be violating his privacy, representatives from both sides said. Though the Tokyo court order has far less sweeping implications than the precedent-setting ruling by the European Court of Justice, it touches on similar issues. The court ordered Google to delete about 120 of 230 search results that lead to articles hinting that the man was involved in criminal activity in the past, the lawyer’s office said. The plaintiff requested an injunction in June from the Tokyo court as he felt his life was endangered by the results that came up when his name was entered in a Google search, it said.

Benton

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