The Senate Commerce Committee approved legislation that would roll back several of the media ownership rules loosened by the FCC earlier this month. The bill (S-1046), which began as a restoration of the 35% broadcast ownership cap, was amended several times to include reinstatement of the cross-ownership bans and forced divestiture in some radio markets. With 5 amendments being tacked on the bill, and several others going down in defeat, passage itself was almost an afterthought as Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. McCain (R-Ariz.) nearly forgot to call for a vote on the amended final bill. It passed on voice vote and no senators asked the roll to be called.
Country of origin cases
At the request of Senate Appropriations Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska), the Senate Commerce Committee postponed a markup on spectrum trust fund legislation (S-865). The markup was originally scheduled for Thurs., but will now be during the Committee’s June 26 meeting, which will also include a markup of the FCC Reauthorization Act (S-1264). There was some speculation that Stevens would introduce an amendment that would delay the Nov. 24 local number portability (LNP) deadline, but Stevens didn’t introduce the amendment.
The FCC denied Sirius’ petition requesting a waiver of the application fee it paid for the modification of its space station license, saying its arguments “do not justify a fee waiver.” The Commission said Sirius asked to modify its 2- satellite geostationary (GSO) system to a 3-satellite non-GSO (NGSO) system. The request was granted in March 2001 but the fee submitted by Sirius, $22,010, was insufficient, the Commission said. The Office of Managing Director (OMD) billed Sirius $286,095 which Sirius paid under protest, filing a petition for waiver or reconsideration of the fee. Sirius argued that it shouldn’t pay an initial launch and operation fee because it was only asking to modify a license, the Commission said. When the OMD denied the request, Sirius filed an application for review. The Commission said the application was correctly denied by the OMD and that it had concluded correctly that Sirius was arguing issues that were previously resolved. Additionally, the request for modification was the first mention of an NGSO system, so calling it a modification was incorrect, the Commission said: “In this case, Sirius could have avoided the additional fees associated with NGSO systems by continuing to pursue its originally proposed GSO system configuration… Absent such treatment, licensees would have every incentive to apply for the system with the smallest fees and then ‘modify’ for another small fee in order to avoid the expense of applying for the more expensive system in the first instance.”
The Mo. PSC directed its staff to file by July 15 its plan for a permanent solution to the issues raised in its investigation of the switched access rates of CLECs in the state. Comments on the proposal are due Aug. 15. The docket (Case TR-2001-65) was opened in mid-2000 after CLECs raised concerns that the PSC’s rules were too harsh. The PSC originally required CLECs to cap switched access at the lowest rate charged by any incumbent telco in their local service areas. At the end of the first phase of the case, the PSC decided the rule was anticompetitive and amended it to cap CLEC access charges at the level of the incumbent in each exchange they served. In this new 2nd phase, the PSC directed staff to determine whether capping CLEC access at incumbents’ rate produced just and reasonable access charges.
The Pa. PUC adopted a code of conduct for incumbent telcos that requires them to provide nondiscriminatory wholesale access to their networks, as defined by state law and PUC regulations. Another major provision bans cross- subsidies to competitive services from the noncompetitive ones. The PUC (Case L-00990141) backed off from an original proposal to require all large incumbents to maintain a separate wholesale division for processing CLEC service orders after telcos objected. The PUC did reject a plea by the Pa. Telephone Assn. asking for further hearings on whether a conduct code was needed at all.
In yet another run at the FCC’s wireless local number portability (LNP) requirements, CTIA, Cingular Wireless, AT&T Wireless and Alltel filed an “expedited petition” at the Commission urging the Commission to rescind the rule. The petition came a week after the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., turned down an industry challenge to an FCC decision to not exercise forbearance on the wireless LNP requirements, which carry a Nov. 24 deadline for implementation in the top 100 metro areas. In the latest petition, filed late Mon., the 3 carriers and CTIA contended the rule should be rescinded “because the FCC lacks statutory authority to impose the obligation.” The petition said that while the court had affirmed the FCC decision to not exercise forbearance, it “did not rule on the merits of the statutory authority argument, observing that this matter could only be raised, given the lapse of time since the original rulemaking, in connection with a petition to rescind the rule in connection with an enforcement action.” The petition said the latest request for FCC action was sought so that “petitioners can have their day in court before the fast-approaching Nov. 24, 2003, deadline, and because carriers already have numerous mandates (i.e., E911) and limited resources.” The petition said the root of the FCC’s statutory authority to impose LNP, Sec. 251(b) of the Communications Act, applied only to LECs, and the statutory definition of LECs specifically excluded wireless carriers. “Thus, it is clear from the statutory scheme that Congress intentionally limited the FCC’s authority to impose LNP and specifically exempted CMRS,” the filing said.
The FCC granted Sprint PCS a partial waiver and extension of an upcoming Enhanced 911 Phase 2 deadline, saying the company had met the agency’s “strict standards” for evaluating such requests. The Commission, in an order adopted June 12 and released Mon., granted a 6-month extension of its Dec. 31, 2002, deadline for Sprint to ensure that 100% of all new wireless handsets activated were location-capable. Sprint would have had to meet that requirement for all new digital handsets by June 30. On Dec. 20, Sprint requested 6 more months beyond the Dec. 31 deadline “because of a sudden and unexpected drop in the sales of new handsets,” the FCC said. That meant Sprint and its distributors hadn’t cleared their stock of non-GPS enabled handsets as quickly as forecast and still held significant inventory at the end of 2002. Sprint told the FCC that as of Dec., it wasn’t buying any new phones that weren’t outfitted with GPS capabilities and that it and its distributors needed to sell remaining non-GPS phones to reach the 100% activation requirement. The carrier projected it would sell its remaining inventory by March 31 and its distributors would sell remaining stockpiles July 1. It told the FCC its requested extension to June 30 still was less than the same deadline extension the FCC already had granted to rival carriers, which had more time to meet the requirement in the first place. The FCC said Sprint’s original Dec. 31 deadline wasn’t the result of a previous waiver. “We also conclude that Sprint has adequately demonstrated that it took concrete steps necessary to come as close as reasonably possible to meeting the deadline,” it said. It said Sprint had met other E911 benchmarks, particularly those related to handsets. It also said Sprint took steps to increase sales of GPS-enabled handsets, including subsidizing their cost and “actively” promoting their sale in order to make them competitive with the non-GPS handsets that rivals still were selling. By the end of March, the FCC said Sprint had 15 million compliant handsets for sale and had sold more than 8.8 million.
The Minority Media & Telecom Council (MMTC) filed a motion for a stay and a petition for reconsideration in a bid to block the FCC from instituting its new media ownership rules. MMTC objects to the auction rules, saying they “will lead to substantial gamesmanship and fraud, imperiling fatally the Commission’s only significant policy aimed at fostering minority broadcast ownership -- auction bidding credits.” MMTC said the auction rules contained a major flaw that it said allowed an auction bidder to conceal from opponents that it actually wasn’t entitled to bidding credits for a new entrant. The flaw allows companies that aren’t new entrants to create a “shell” new-entrant structure, then later revert back to what it had planned originally. “Genuine new entrants, including many minorities, will be unable to raise financing to participate in an easily corruptible auction system; or if they do participate, their chances of prevailing against well-financed fraud artists will be minimal,” MMTC said in its motion for a stay. Only a stay can prevent the “disaster” of the FCC’s proceeding with Auction #37, in which the Commission is offering “probably the last new FM facilities in medium-sized and small communities” across the country, the Council said: “Once these approximately 350 construction permits are issued, they cannot be realistically be recalled.” MMTC said it was a “national scandal” that only 1.3% of the asset value of the radio industry was controlled by minorities. It suggested a remedy would be to post on the auction Web site the loss of any attributes that entitled applicants to bidding credits. Auctions would feature next-day status reports on bidding, allowing for post-auction payment adjustments. “Thus, the burden on the Commission and on bidders of preventing auction gamesmanship is virtually zero,” MMTC said. An FCC spokeswoman said the filings wouldn’t affect the timing of the release of the media ownership order, which is expected this week. The agency isn’t required to act on MMTC’s motion or petition within a certain time frame, she said.
FCC’s new Electronic Document Management System (EDOCS) query page has been reorganized and redesigned to make searching for Commission documents easier, the agency said. There now are 2 search options on the page: Quick and advanced. The quick search is best if the user already knows the FCC, delegated authority or docket number, while the advanced search has a detailed list of data elements that can be searched individually or in combination. A new feature linking errata to original documents also has been added -- www.fcc.gov.
Telecom bills passed in Okla., La., Fla. Okla. Gov. Brad Henry (D) signed SB-708 that authorized the state to tax mobile services in a customer’s place of primary use, typically home or workplace, regardless of where the call actually was placed. The new law also clarified that state telecom taxes could be applied to any telecom service that originated and terminated within Okla., regardless of where the service was billed, and to any nonrecurring service charges for installations, construction and other one-time services taking place within Okla. La. Gov. Mike Foster (R) signed a bill (HB-1207) that bars municipalities from regulating wireless phone usage in motor vehicles. The legislature also adopted a resolution (SCR-63) asking Foster to create a special 15-member task force to study all types of driver distractions related to in-vehicle electronics technology and make recommendations to next year’s legislature. The Fla. legislature passed HB-1307 that sets timetables and guidelines for municipalities to follow when considering wireless tower siting applications. The bill sent to Gov. Jeb Bush (R) would require a decision within 45 business days on applications to colocate new wireless antennas on existing wireless towers, and within 90 days on applications to construct new wireless towers. Failure to act by the deadlines would constitute automatic approval. The bill also would authorize assessments on wireless carriers to pay for wireless E-911 services, with carriers allowed to pass those costs on to their customers.