BloostonLaw
Telecom Update
Published
by the Law Offices of Blooston, Mordkofsky,
Dickens, Duffy & Prendergast, LLP
[Selected
portions reproduced here with the firm's
permission.]
www.bloostonlaw.com
Vol.
12, No. 5 |
February
4, 2009 |
Gomez
Appointed Deputy NTIA Administrator
Anna
Gomez has been appointed Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Communications and Information
for the U.S. Department of Commerce and
Deputy Administrator of the National Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA). One
of her chief priorities will be to help
ensure that the transition to digital TV
goes smoothly.
NTIA
has been criticized by the Democratic Congress
for mismanaging the converter box coupon
program. Gomez will be charged with making
sure consumers get coupons and the information
they need to switch to digital programming.
The House today passed legislation extending
the DTV transition deadline from February
17 until June 12.
Most
recently, Gomez served as vice president
for state, regulatory and government affairs
at Sprint Nextel. Before that, Gomez worked
for several years at the FCC in various
management positions in the Wireless Competition
Bureau and the International Bureau, where
she assisted in developing policy on international
telecommunications and satellite airwaves.
She also served as a senior legal adviser
to former FCC Chairman William Kennard during
the Clinton Administration. She is also
an adviser to President Obama’s transition
team.
Prior
to her work at the FCC, Gomez was deputy
chief of staff in the National Economic
Council during the Clinton administration
specializing in the development of U.S.
telecommunications policy and issues related
to Hispanic education. She was also staff
counsel in the Senate Commerce Committee's
subcommittee on communication.
BloostonLaw
contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, Ben Dickens, Gerry
Duffy, and John Prendergast.
Senate
Adds $3 Billion To Broadband Stimulus
Grants
The
U.S. Senate last week increased from $6
billion to $9 billion the amount of broadband
funding in the economic stimulus package.
Introduced by Senate Appropriations Committee
Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), S 336
allocates $9 billion for the National Telecommunications
and Information Administration’s (NTIA’s) “Broadband
Technology Opportunities Program” to
remain available until September 30, 2010.
Fifty percent of the funds are to be used
for projects in rural areas.
Up
to $200 million is to be available for competitive
grants for expanding public computer center
capacity, including at community colleges
and public libraries; not less than $250
million will be available for competitive
grants for innovative programs to encourage
sustainable adoption of broadband service;
and $10 million will be transferred to Department
of Commerce, Office of Inspector General
for the purposes of audits and oversight.
As
noted above, 50 percent of the funds are
to be used to support projects in rural
communities, which in part may be transferred
to the Department of Agriculture for administration
through the Rural Utilities Service (RUS)
if deemed necessary and appropriate by the
Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with
the Secretary of Agriculture, and only if
the Committees on Appropriations of the
House and the Senate are notified not less
than 15 days in advance of the transfer
of such funds.
Additionally,
up to $350 million may be expended for the
purposes of developing and maintaining a
broadband inventory map. Further, funds
deemed necessary and appropriate by the
Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with
the FCC, may be transferred to the FCC for
the purposes of developing a national broadband
plan or for carrying out any other FCC responsibilities,
and only if the Committees on Appropriations
of the House and the Senate are notified
not less than 15 days in advance of the
transfer of such funds. Not more than 3
percent of funds may be used for administrative
costs, and this limitation is to apply to
funds which may be transferred to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture and the FCC.
Although
the House version of the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act (HR 1) passed that
chamber last week, it did so without a single
Republican vote. And 11 Democrats voted
against it. Debate began early this week
in the Senate, where the measure is expected
to have a difficult time.
BloostonLaw
contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, Ben Dickens, Gerry
Duffy, and John Prendergast.
House
Votes To Delay DTV Date On Second
Attempt
The
House today passed The DTV Delay Act
(S. 352), 264-158, thereby delaying
the date for transitioning to digital TV
from February 17 to June 12. The action
was made possible after the Senate last
week approved, for a second time, the same
bill. The Senate did so in order to allow
the House to bring its version of the legislation
back to the floor today for its second attempt.
The initial House bill was rejected because
it was voted on under suspension of the
rules and required a two-thirds majority.
This time around, the bill required only
a simple majority to pass. President Obama
is expected to sign the legislation as early
as today.
In
voting a second time on DTV delay legislation
requested by the Obama administration, Senate
Republicans signaled they could have a much
different agenda than their House counterparts.
Senate
Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller
(D-W.Va.) said that Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison’s
(R-Texas) leadership was critical to getting
this bill passed.
“We addressed the concerns of our colleagues,
public safety, broadcasters and most importantly,
consumers. The House will have a second chance
[today] to implement this delay, I am hopeful
they will pass this bill so we can send it to
President Obama.”
The
White House has criticized the Bush administration’s
handling of the DTV delay and urged prompt
action again by the House.
Speaking
to the Consumer Advisory Committee on the
issue late last month, Acting FCC Chairman
Michael Copps said: “Unfortunately,
things don’t look any better now that
I’ve had a chance to look under the
hood since becoming Acting Chairman. If
anything, they look worse. At this point,
we will not have—we cannot have—a
seamless DTV transition. There is no way
to do in the 26 days new leadership has
had here what we should have been laser-focused
on for 26 months. That time is lost—
and it’s lost at a cost. We cannot make
it up. There is consumer disruption down the
road we’ve been on. We need to realize
this. We need to plan for it. And we need to
do whatever we can to minimize it and then to
repair it. This has been the focus of my one
week and one day running this place. I wish we
had more time and additional resources to prepare,
and maybe we will get them yet. Right now we’ve
got a February 17 date and we need to deploy
the resources to deal with that. All I can promise
is that we will do everything we can in the next
18 days to make things work at least a little
better for consumers, and then to deploy what
resources are left to clean up after whatever
dislocation occurs.”
Now
that the February 17 deadline has been extended
until June 12, new 700 MHz licensees from
Auction No. 73, who are required to file
quarterly reports on their DTV consumer
education efforts; and all eligible telecommunications
carriers (ETCs), who are required to send
monthly DTV transition notices to their
Lifeline/Link-Up customers, may find that
the current March 31, 2009, deadline for
such obligations likely will be extended
as well, requiring them to continue their
outreach/reporting efforts longer. At this
time, it is not known whether the FCC will
extend the license expiration date and construction
schedules, which are tied to the old February
17 DTV deadline, now that this deadline
has been extended to June 12, as a result
of today’s House vote.
BloostonLaw
contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, Ben Dickens, Gerry
Duffy, and John Prendergast.
FCC
ACTIVATES DISASTER INFORMATION REPORTING
SYSTEM FOR KENTUCKY ICE STORMS: The
FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland
Security Bureau (PSHSB) has announced
the activation of the Disaster Information
Reporting System (DIRS) in response
to the recent ice storms in Kentucky.
DIRS is a voluntary, efficient, web-based
system that communications providers,
including wireless, wireline, broadcast,
and cable providers, can use to report
communications infrastructure status
and situational awareness information
during times of crises. The Commission
requests that communications providers
expeditiously submit and update information
through DIRS regarding the status of
their communications equipment, restoration
efforts, power (i.e., whether they
are using commercial power, generator
or battery), and access to fuel, if
they provide service in any of the
following counties in Kentucky: Ballard,
Barren, Breckinridge, Bullitt, Butler,
Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian,
Crittenden, Daviess, Edmonson, Fulton,
Graves, Grayson, Hancock, Hardin, Hart,
Henderson, Hickman, Hopkins, Jefferson,
Livingston, Logan, Lyon, McCracken,
McLean, Marshall, Meade, Muhlenberg,
Ohio, Simpson, Todd, Trigg, Union,
Warren, or Webster. Communications
providers can accomplish this by accessing
DIRS at https://www.fcc.gov/nors/disaster/
or under e-filing on the Commission’s
main webpage or PSHSB webpage. Providers
that have not previously done so will
be asked to first provide contact information
and obtain a User ID when they access
DIRS. Communications providers that
serve areas in any of the Kentucky
counties listed above and that have
already provided contact information
in DIRS will be sent an e-mail requesting
that they provide the above-referenced
status information through DIRS. The
FCC encourages all communications providers
that have not already logged onto DIRS
to input their contact information,
do so as soon as possible.
NTCA’s
Web site has issued the following alert
for Kentucky telcos: The storm has
knocked out power in most of West Kentucky
Telephone Cooperative’s service
area. The co-op is in dire need of
generators larger than 8 kilowatt (kW)—ideally
those in the 25 kW size. West Kentucky
Telephone is also in need of installers
and construction crews with bucket
trucks to help restore service. Additionally,
the state of Kentucky has requested
generators as large as 100 KW to power
hospitals and nursing homes in the
affected area. Levoy Knowles, CEO of
Ben Lomand Telephone Cooperative has
offered to co-ordinate relief efforts
for West Kentucky Telephone, as the
coop is unable to make or receive calls
at this time. Please contact Levoy
at 931-473-2517 if you have the requested
resources and are able to provide assistance.
BloostonLaw
contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, Ben Dickens, Gerry
Duffy, and John Prendergast.
FCC
TO HOST SUMMIT ON NEXT GENERATION IP-ENABLED
911, E911 SERVICES: The FCC’s
Public Safety and Homeland Security
Bureau (PSHSB) has announced that it
will host a Summit on Deployment and
Operational Guidelines for Next Generation
IP-Enabled 911 and Enhanced 911 (E911)
Services, to be held on Wednesday,
February 25, 2009, from 9:00 a.m. – 12:15
p.m. in the Commission Meeting Room
(TW-C305). The New and Emerging Technologies
911 Improvement Act of 2008 (NET 911
Act) requires that the Commission work
with public safety organizations, industry
participants, and others to promote
consistency in the deployment and operation
of IP-enabled 911 and E911 services
through development of standards concerning
geographic coverage areas for Public
Safety Answering Points (PSAPs); PSAP
certification and testing requirements;
network diversity requirements for
delivery of IP-enabled 911 and enhanced
911 calls; call-handling in the event
of call overflow or network outages;
validation procedures for processing
location information; and the format
for delivering address information
to PSAPs. The Summit will bring together
public safety organizations, industry
representatives, and others to address
these matters, and will serve to build
upon the Bureau’s February 2008
summit entitled “911 Call Center
Operations and Next Generation Technologies.” Additional
details and a full agenda will be made
public in the near future. The Summit
will be open to the public; admittance
however will be limited to the seating
available. Those individuals who are
interested in attending the summit
may pre-register on-line at: http://www.fcc.gov/pshs/summitregistration.
html. Those who pre-register will
be asked to provide their name, title,
organization affiliation, and contact
information. Individuals may also contact
Stephanie Caccomo at 202-418-1812 regarding
pre-registration. The deadline for
pre-registration is Monday, February
23, 2009. Audio/Video coverage of the
meeting will be broadcast live with
open captioning over the Internet from
the FCC's web page at www.fcc.gov/realaudio
. The FCC’s web cast is free
to the public and does not require
pre-registration.
BloostonLaw
contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, John Prendergast,
Cary Mitchell, and Bob Jackson.
NORTEL
EXITS MOBILE WiMAX BUSINESS: Nortel
has announced that it has decided to
discontinue its mobile WiMAX business
and end its joint agreement with Alvarion
Ltd. Nortel said this decision, which
will have no impact on Nortel's other
solutions, will allow Nortel to narrow
its focus, better manage its investments
and strengthen its broader carrier
business to better position itself
for long-term competitiveness. Nortel
said it will work closely with Alvarion
to transition its mobile WiMAX customers
to help ensure that ongoing support
commitments are met without interruption.
"We
are taking rapid action to narrow our strategic
focus to areas where we can drive maximum
return on investment. We will work closely
with Alvarion to transition our mobile WiMAX
customers to them and assure customers that
they will continue to benefit from leading-edge
technology and high-quality service," said
Richard Lowe, president of carrier networks,
Nortel. "Our continued success in the
wireless business requires us to focus our
energy on opportunities with long-standing
customers. This will position Nortel more
effectively to capitalize on future resurgence
of carrier spend levels and drive value
to the business."
The
agreement, announced in June 2008, outlined
the integration of Alvarion's advanced radio
access network technology with Nortel's
core network solutions, backhaul solutions,
and global services. It also covered the
resale by Nortel of the Alvarion platform
of WiMAX access products. "Our priority
is to minimize the effect on customers," said
Tzvika Friedman, president and CEO, Alvarion.
"We will work closely with Nortel to ensure
that the transition will be as smooth as possible."
Nortel missed out on a crucial WiMAX contract
when it was not chosen by Sprint Nextel Corp.
for its WiMAX rollout. Nortel also has dropped
its W-CDMA business line but is continuing with
its LTE roadmap and is in trials to test LTE
with Verizon Wireless, according to RCR Wireless.
Nortel filed for bankruptcy protection at the
beginning of this year.
FCC
Meetings and Deadlines
Feb.
5 – FCC open
meeting.
Feb.
17 – DTV Transition
has been delayed until June 12.
Feb.
17 – Deadline
for comments on NECA’s proposed
modification of average schedule
formulas for interstate settlements
(WC Docket No. 08-248.)
Feb.
20 – Deadline
for reply comments on Rural Cellular
Association petition regarding
exclusivity arrangements between
commercial wireless carriers and
handset manufacturers (RM-11497).
Extended from Dec. 22.
Feb.
23 – Deadline
for comments on CTIA proposal
to transition cellular licensing
to CMA geographic market areas
(RM- 11510).
Feb.
25 – FCC Summit
on Next Generation IP-Enabled
911 and E911 Services.
Feb.
27 – Deadline
for reply comments on NECA’s
proposed modification of average
schedule formulas for interstate
settlements (WC Docket No. 08-248.)
Mar.
2 – CPNI Annual
Certification is due.
Mar.
2 – FCC FORM
477, Local Competition and Broadband
Reporting Form, is due.
Mar.
2 – Deadline
for comments regarding possible
changes to rules under Regulatory
Flexibility Act (CB Docket No.
08- 21).
Mar.
5 – FCC open
meeting.
Mar.
9 – Deadline
for reply comments on CTIA proposal
to transition cellular licensing
to CMA geographic market areas
(RM-11510).
Mar.
31 – FCC Form
507, Universal Service Quarterly
Line Count Update, is due.
Mar.
31 – FCC Form
525, Competitive Carrier Line
Count Quarterly Report, is due.
Mar.
31 – FCC Form
508, Projected Annual Common Line
Revenue Requirement Form, is due.
Mar.
31 – Annual
International Circuit Status Report
is due.
Apr.
1 – FCC Form
499-A, Telecommunications Reporting
Worksheet, is due.
Apr.
10 – Auction
73 winners must file quarterly
report covering DTV consumer education
outreach efforts for period Jan.-Mar.
2009.
Apr.
11 – Deadline
for FCC to act on Embarq forbearance
petition regarding IP-to-PSTN
voice traffic, or have it deemed
granted (WC Docket No. 08-8).
Apr.
20 – FCC Form
497, Low Income Quarterly Report,
is due. |