ASPEN, Colo. -- Parental control is the right mechanism to ensure minors don’t watch TV shows some deem inappropriate, studio executives said at the Progress & Freedom Foundation policy summit here Tues. Viewer outreach and technical tools for blocking and filtering beat more-stringent govt.-imposed regulations, they said.
Notable CROSS rulings
Tribune TV still seeks buyers for WTXX (Ch. 20, WB) Waterbury, Conn. The company is trying to sell WTXX because it has only a temporary waiver of FCC newspaper-TV cross ownership rules. Tribune wanted to keep both WTXX and the Hartford Courant. In a report to the FCC, Tribune said it has maintained contact with a broker. The broker has updated the offering for WTXX and begun more sales efforts, Tribune said.
The Lafayette (La.) Utilities System (LUS) faced off with its primary private-sector broadband competitors in comments to the La. PSC on regulations intended to prevent improper cross subsidies of LUS’ proposed municipal broadband service from other municipal revenue sources. The regulations are required by a 2004 state law that was intended to ensure a level playing field between municipal and private-sector telecom competitors, with their exact form left to the PSC. BellSouth called for a rule prohibiting LUS from making loans from its utilities division to the new broadband business unit, citing a statutory definition that improper subsidies include below-market-rate loans. But LUS said that section permits its utilities division to make loans to other municipal units as long as they're at market rates. BellSouth also wanted a rule prohibiting holders of LUS telecom bonds from collecting payments from the existing utilities division if the telecom bonds went into default. But LUS said such a rule would directly conflict with a provision in the 2004 anti-subsidy law that allows municipalities to “pledge the resources” of utilities in order to obtain financing for a new telecom venture. Cox wanted a rule limiting the LUS telecom venture only to service within city limits, but LUS said it and its subsidiaries already are authorized for statewide utility service and there’s no requirement in state law for restricting the geographic scope of a telecom venture. LUS wants the rules to specify that it would owe imputed local taxes only after the telecom business generates enough money to cover its operating and debt service costs and not on the first dollar of revenues collected, as suggested by a PSC consultant. The imputed taxes are intended to mirror taxes paid by private companies. BellSouth said LUS’ proposal would amount to a de facto tax subsidy to the utility. LUS also objected to a proposed rule from the consultant that would require it to allow private-sector competitors to access the LUS utility billing system on the same rates and terms as the LUS telecom venture. LUS said such a rule would be burdensome and would exceed PSC authority. Meanwhile, a LUS cable- laying contractor for the 2nd time in 2 weeks cut a BellSouth phone cable, cutting off service to about 1,900 BellSouth customers for several hours Wed. LUS said the line location wasn’t properly marked by BellSouth because it was 3 feet off from the marked location. Last week, a similar incident cut service to 3,200 BellSouth customers in another part of the city. BellSouth last week sued LUS in state court alleging negligence in a similar cable cut incident in the summer of 2004.
The FCC’s effort to improve intercarrier compensation (ICC) among phone companies continued to draw disagreement in the latest round of comments to the Commission. A consultant to rural telephone companies said small carriers would be badly hurt financially if the cross- industry proposal by the Intercarrier Compensation Forum (ICF) was adopted. The ICF said it represented a balance between “extremes” proposed by others. The Wis. PSC said lack of consensus makes NARUC’s efforts to offer an alternative more important than ever. Nearly 100 organizations filed reply comments, which were due late Wed.
Conn. regulators tentatively concluded that SBC’s transit-traffic service offering is subject to state wholesale service regulation. The Dept. of Public Utility Control (DPUC) rejected SBC’s argument that transiting traffic isn’t interconnection traffic and so doesn’t come under Telecom Act Sec. 252. The DPUC (02-01-23) said transiting traffic from an originating carrier that passes through SBC’s network on its way to a terminating carrier still must interconnect with SBC’s network to cross it, so transiting traffic comes under the same wholesale state jurisdiction as traffic between carriers that originates or terminates on SBC’s network. SBC also had argued to deregulate transit service rates because there are plenty of equivalent alternate providers, but the DPUC said the record doesn’t support SBC’s contention. The DPUC said deregulation of transit service “clearly would not foster competition nor protect the public interest.” Unless challenged, the draft ruling becomes final in 30 days.
Free Press asked the FCC to deny, or at least hold a hearing on a Media General application for license renewal of WJHL-TV (CBS) Johnson City, Tenn. Free Press said Media General violated newspaper-broadcast cross ownership rules by owning Bristol Herald Courier, the area’s sole daily paper. Last year, the 3rd U.S. Appeals Court, Philadelphia, remanded much of the FCC relaxed media ownership rules. Since the FCC decided not to take its case to the U.S. Supreme Court, the rules require that the newspaper or TV station be divested before its license is renewed. Media General “gambled” that the rules would be repealed or modified before license renewal, Free Press said.
The FCC wants further comment on media ownership rules to address a federal court ruling that thwarted the Commission’s relaxation of media limits, FCC sources said. At its July 14 meeting, the FCC is expected to issue a further notice of proposed rulemaking on media ownership rules remanded by the 3rd U.S. Appeals Court, Philadelphia, sources said.
The FCC will consider separate cable and media ownership rules now that several courts have told the Commission to rework those regulations, agency officials said. Cable caps remanded to the FCC in 2001 and media ownership rules sent back by another court in 2003 each deal with different industries, an official said. Officials spoke to us on the condition they not be named.
A Mich. PSC hearing officer recommended upholding SBC’s claim that CLEC Lucre Inc. owes it $1.3 million in unpaid access, SS7 and 911 charges. The administrative law judge’s recommendation (Case 14384) came on an SBC complaint alleging Lucre failed to pay lawful and proper tariffed charges. Lucre didn’t dispute the signaling and 911 charges but said traffic that crossed SBC’s network en route from Verizon’s network to Lucre’s switches was billed incorrectly. Lucre said Verizon should have been billed at the unbundled dedicated local transport rate for Lucre-bound traffic originating in its territory, and Lucre billed for its Verizon-bound originating traffic at the same rate. The ALJ disagreed, saying facilities and network configurations used by Lucre didn’t fit the definition of dedicated local transport in FCC rules or in the carriers’ local interconnection agreement. The ALJ said the PSC should find that Lucre owes SBC the claimed access charges, and Lucre should start paying access charges when billed.
No other carrier group has offered a solution better than the Intercarrier Compensation Forum’s (ICF’s) to unify the telecom industry’s outdated, confusing array of intercarrier compensation schemes, ICF told the FCC in comments filed late Mon. The cross-industry group -- which includes AT&T, Global Crossing, Level 3, General Communications, Iowa Telecom, MCI, SBC, Valor Telecom and Sprint -- is the most visible of several industry groups that have proposed plans to the FCC.