AT&T again urged FCC to not allow CLECs to impose additional access charges on IXCs when they “insert themselves” between wireless carrier and ILEC tandem switch without providing new access service. As part of intercarrier compensation proceeding at FCC involving wireless traffic, US LEC sought declaratory ruling that LECs were entitled to recover access charges from IXCs for providing access service on interexchange calls originating from or terminating on wireless networks. Company argued that industry practice was for IXCs to pay access charges to LECs for such traffic but that one long distance carrier had refused to pay. In latest filing, AT&T called US LEC petition “purposefully vague… The real question presented is whether a CLEC, by inserting itself between a CMRS carrier and the ILEC tandem switch, can impose an additional access charge on IXCs when that CLEC provides no new access service or functionality.” AT&T urged Commission to turn down US LEC petition. Company contended some wireless carriers, to avoid FCC mandate that commercial mobile radio service providers not “unilaterally impose” access charges on IXCs, have joined some CLECs to recover access charges indirectly from long distance carrier via competitive carrier. AT&T said that in such cases, CLEC sought to collect “duplicative access charge” from long distance carrier at full benchmark rate for “this excess routing” as if wireless provider were actually end user. “The sole effects of this arrangement are to generate significant additional and duplicative charges” on long distance carrier, AT&T said. Practice results in $50 million in access overcharges for AT&T, filing said. For certain CLECs, which AT&T didn’t name, that practice has led to up to 95% increase in min. of use in last 2 years, company said.
Country of origin cases
Preliminary ultra-wideband (UWB) test results from FAA indicated ground-penetrating radar device caused “very, very severe” interference to aircraft at certain distances, officials said Wed. In tests on airborne helicopter at distance of 100 feet from GPR device, “it totally blocks the communications,” FAA Program Mgr. George Sakai told us. He stressed test results were preliminary and that there would be follow-up round before formal report was given to NTIA in May.
Attorneys for San Francisco city govt. asked state court for temporary injunction to bar SBC from pulling any payphones out of San Francisco International Airport until pending litigation over payphone contract was decided. SBC has been trying to renegotiate contract for payphones, prepaid calling cards, fax and Internet services at airport, saying falloff in air travel had turned contract into major money-loser under present terms. After previous renegotiation attempts broke down, both SBC and city in Dec. filed cross breach-of-contract suits in Cal. Superior Court, San Francisco. Court has given both sides until May 23 to agree on pretrial settlement. Under contract signed in 1999 that runs out early in 2004, SBC must pay city $2.5 million in annual rent plus annual fee based on passenger traffic volume. City said it feared SBC might start shutting down some of its airport payphones without injunction to prevent that. SBC said airport passenger traffic had declined more than 10% in last 2 years and enhanced security since 9/11 terror attacks had further cut phone income because people other than ticketed passengers were being kept out of gate areas where most payphones were located. SBC wants annual rent cut at least 66% but city, facing $350 million budget shortfall, has been unwilling to budge on rental. City said SBC was behind on its rental payments for 2002 and wanted carrier held to contract terms, but SBC said city shouldn’t try to hold it to original terms when market assumptions underlying those provisions had changed radically.
Buckling under continued disagreements over UNE proceeding, FCC late Mon. night rescheduled Feb. 13 agenda meeting until Feb. 20 and lifted agency’s “sunshine” restrictions on lobbyists’ meeting with commissioners on agenda items. UNE decision could slip beyond Feb. 20, although that’s effective date of remand by U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., at which time UNE rules theoretically could be vacated. Sunshine requirements will be resumed late Thurs., week before new meeting date.
Rumors were spreading throughout telecom policy community Mon. that FCC Chmn. Powell might pull UNE proceeding from agenda for Thurs. open meeting because of inability of commissioners to agree on plan. FCC spokesman strongly denied Powell was planning to delay vote, saying it was too soon to make that decision. Nonetheless, parties representing several different camps said they had gotten signals Powell was contemplating delay.
New Skies Satellites said NSS-8 would replace NSS-703 in 2005. NSS-8 originally was planned to cover Americas at 105 degrees W, but demand throughout India, Asia, Middle East and Africa requires expanded capacity, company said. NSS-8 has 56 C-band and 36 Ku-band transponders and will be deployed to orbital slot at 57 degrees E. NSS-703 will be used at another orbital location to provide commercial service.
FCC’s long-awaited and much-lobbied Triennial UNE Review is on agenda for Commission’s open meeting Feb. 13. Most observers said it was doubtful agency would be ready to issue order after Commission voted at meeting and instead would provide news release outlining Commission’s action in broad terms. That approach isn’t unusual and was taken by FCC several times while it was implementing 1996 Telecom Act under tight statutory deadlines. One lobbyist speculated that order probably wouldn’t be issued for another month because it would take staff that long to put substance on decisions and compromises of commissioners at last min.
Telecom bills advancing around country address municipal broadband, deceptive spam, telemarketing, carphone safety, 911, telecom taxation, other topics.
As FCC struggles to come to agreement on new UNE rules, analysts and others are predicting long, complicated process before there’s clarity that industry and Wall St. have long sought. New regulatory model “may not happen as quickly as some expect as the process plays out in the states and courts,” Legg Mason said in report Wed. Until UNE rules make their way through states and courts, “there is not certainty as to the new architecture of telecom competition,” report said: “Details and process do matter, particularly in this proceeding.”
Launch of Boeing Delta IV carrying U.S. Air Force (USAF) satellite was postponed out of respect for victims of space shuttle Columbia disaster, they said Wed. Launch originally was scheduled for Fri. from Cape Canaveral. Decision was joint one, but USAF spokeswoman said Brig. Gen. Greg Pavlovich had last word: “He has the authority to say whether that airspace will be used. He opted to postpone the launch.”