The FCC Fri. sent a letter to Verizon asking why it hit customers with a new DSL fee just as a federal fee of about the same amount lapsed. However, the agency decided not to question BellSouth, which said Fri. afternoon it was killing plans for such a fee. FCC Martin reportedly was upset by the companies plans for replacement fees. “We generally prefer regulation be done by the marketplace but we will act to insure consumers’ interests are protected,” an FCC official said.

The FCC Fri. sent a letter to Verizon asking why it hit customers with a new DSL fee just as a federal fee of about the same amount lapsed. However, the agency decided not to question BellSouth, which said Fri. afternoon it was killing plans for such a fee. FCC Martin reportedly was upset by the companies plans for replacement fees. “We generally prefer regulation be done by the marketplace but we will act to insure consumers’ interests are protected,” an FCC official said.

FCC Chmn. Martin faces a challenge getting a unanimous vote on a digital radio order (CD July 31 p9) because of 8th floor discord over public interest rules, said a Commission source. A 3-2 vote, Comrs. Adelstein and Copps dissenting, is possible if the order isn’t revised to obligate broadcasters to take steps such as reporting how much locally produced content they carry, we're told. Martin and the Democrats still could come to terms. A final tally hovering late yesterday (Thurs.) was postponed, said a source. Instead, the 2 sides will negotiate, we're told. An FCC spokesman declined to comment. Activists want radio stations to have to tell the FCC which programs they carry on multicast signals, said Georgetown U. Law Prof. Angela Campbell: “Because it is nascent, you need to know how it’s developing, what are broadcasters using it for, how are they serving the public.” The NAB hopes to see digital radio rules adopted quickly, a spokesman said: “It makes no sense to saddle this emerging technology with program mandates that could stifle consumer choice and format diversity.” A split FCC vote could signal agency Republicans’ lack of enthusiasm for public interest rules, said Media Access Project Pres. Andrew Schwartzman: Requiring a payback to the public in the form of public service does not seem to be a high priority for the Commission majority.” - JM

FCC Chmn. Martin faces a challenge getting a unanimous vote on a digital radio order (CED July 31 p4) because of 8th floor discord over public interest rules, said a Commission source. A 3-2 vote, Comrs. Adelstein and Copps dissenting, is possible if the order isn’t revised to obligate broadcasters to take steps such as reporting how much locally produced content they carry, we're told. An FCC spokesman declined to comment. Activists want radio stations to have to tell the FCC which programs they carry on multicast signals, said Georgetown U. Law Prof. Angela Campbell: “Because it is nascent, you need to know how it’s developing, what are broadcasters using it for, how are they serving the public.” The NAB hopes to see digital radio rules adopted quickly, a spokesman said: “It makes no sense to saddle this emerging technology with program mandates that could stifle consumer choice and format diversity.” A split FCC vote could signal agency Republicans’ lack of enthusiasm for public interest rules, said Media Access Project Pres. Andrew Schwartzman: “Requiring a payback to the public in the form of public service does not seem to be a high priority for the Commission majority.”

FCC Comr. McDowell may be excluded from voting on the AT&T-BellSouth merger because his former employer, CLEC association CompTel, has a stake in the proceeding, he told reporters Tues. McDowell said the FCC gen. counsel will decide if he should be recused, but until then he’s operating as if he’s barred from voting. He’s not reading the docket, and interested parties aren’t visiting him to pitch their positions -- although at this point “I'm not sure they are coming to see anyone” because the issue isn’t very active right now, he said.

A federal appeals court ordered the FCC and Dept. of Justice to respond to a rehearing petition filed in the CALEA case by a group including the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), American Library Assn., American Civil Liberties Union and others. Voting 2-1, the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., ruled June 12 that an FCC order applying CALEA to VoIP and broadband access providers was legal (CD June 12 p1). The petitioning group, representing most of the entities that brought the case, asked the court July 28 for an en banc hearing. The court Aug. 2 signaled interest in the petition by asking the U.S. to answer it in 15 days. The court turns down at least 75% of such petitions, so that request is worth noting, Media Access Project (MAP) Pres. Andrew Schwartzman, representing CDT in the case, said: “It’s indicative that the court is treating this petition as nonfrivolous,” Schwartzman said. The American Council on Education and Educause, lead challengers of the FCC order, didn’t join in the rehearing petition. “The education entities were comfortable that the FCC brief and the court opinion together clarified the private network exemption” from CALEA application, said the education groups’ attorney, Matthew Brill. The petition said CALEA excludes information services such as the Internet. “In 1994, Congress flatly exempted Internet access and software applications from the reach” of CALEA, the petition said. “By extending CALEA to reach both Internet access and software applications like [VoIP], the FCC -- and a 2-1 panel majority -- overrode the clear statutory language of CALEA.”

A federal appeals court ordered the FCC and Dept. of Justice to respond to a rehearing petition filed in the CALEA case by a group including the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), American Library Assn., ACLU and others. Voting 2-1, the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., ruled June 12 that an FCC order applying CALEA to VoIP and broadband access providers was legal (WID June 12 p3). The petitioning group, representing most of the entities that brought the case, asked the court July 28 for an en banc hearing. The court Aug. 2 signaled interest in the petition by asking the U.S. to answer it in 15 days. The court turns down at least 75% of such petitions, so that request is worth noting, Media Access Project (MAP) Pres. Andrew Schwartzman, representing CDT in the case, said: “It’s indicative that the court is treating this petition as nonfrivolous.” The American Council on Education and Educause, lead challengers of the FCC order, didn’t join in the rehearing petition. “The education entities were comfortable that the FCC brief and the court opinion together clarified the private network exemption” from CALEA application, said the education groups’ attorney, Matthew Brill. The petition said CALEA excludes information services such as the Internet. “In 1994, Congress flatly exempted Internet access and software applications from the reach” of CALEA, the petition said. “By extending CALEA to reach both Internet access and software applications like [VoIP], the FCC -- and a 2-1 panel majority -- overrode the clear statutory language of CALEA.”

An amateur radio operator convicted of child molestation was ordered to appear before an FCC administrative law judge to show why his license shouldn’t be revoked. Robert Landis, operator of N6FRV, is living in a Cal. mental hospital, said an order to show cause from Enforcement Bureau Chief Kris Monteith. His license expires Nov. 1. FCC “broadcast character” policy lets the agency weigh the personal background of license holders, Media Access Project Pres. Andrew Schwartzman said. He wants the Commission to be more proactive in revoking licenses when owners are indicted. “The Commission blinds itself to indictments and other indicia of questionable character and waits to be notified of convictions until after licenses are granted,” he told us: “They have to do a difficult and onerous revocation proceeding.”

The FCC approved the $17 billion Adelphia deal in a rare split vote under Chmn. Martin. The order avoided net neutrality rules while agreeing to a leased access rulemaking backed by Comr. Adelstein. Adelstein issued a partial dissent to the order approving the deal. He raised concern that it lacked a net neutrality condition, on which sources had expected the FCC to punt (CD June 28 p2). Comr. Copps voted against approval. The Commission set broad mandates on sports programming arbitration in cases involving networks owned by buyers Comcast and Time Warner and channels seeking carriage on their systems.

The FCC is teeing up a notice of apparent liability (NAL) against a data broker for violating customer proprietary network information (CPNI) rules. It’s to be voted on at the FCC’s July 13 agenda meeting. The data broker item is expected to be the highlight of the meeting, which also will include a notice of proposed rulemaking on telecom relay services (TRS) and an order and NPRM addressing rules for wireless medical devices, sources said Fri.