A new proposal by LightSquared seeking federal spectrum and offering to give up the upper 10 MHz of the L-band is a tall order, some satellite experts said. The company filed the proposal with the FCC International Bureau Friday, including a petition for a rulemaking to develop operating parameters for terrestrial use of the 1526-1536 MHz portion of the L-band (CD Oct 1 p20). The proposal is an effort to proceed with building a 4G terrestrial broadband network, which reached an impasse when interference issues were raised by the GPS community.
Questions arose Monday over a U.S. position on the use of fixed satellite service earth stations in the 3.4-4.2 GHz band for aeronautical communications. The issues were raised at a meeting of the FCC’s World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) Advisory Committee (WAC) to discuss items handled so far by the four Informal Working Groups (IWGs).
The Justice Department needs more cooperation from attorneys concerned about cyberattacks, said Peter Roman, trial attorney in the agency’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, at a Thursday panel on hacking and cyberattacks hosted by the FCBA. “I worry about the tendency to fortify yourself thinking that this solves all your problems,” he said, saying he was speaking for himself, not the department. Rather than focusing on self-reliance, Roman encouraged attorneys to work with Justice to “get the bad guys.” Instead of thinking about cybersecurity strategies as protecting one’s home, he said, “you need to think of the Internet like your neighborhood,” where one well-guarded house is unsafe if it’s surrounded by houses with little or no security.
Small and mid-sized cable operators are watching how the FCC develops Connect America Fund Phase II before deciding whether to bid for federal funds to expand broadband networks to unserved rural areas, industry officials told us. They said the Phase II CAF cost model, on which the FCC held a workshop earlier this month (CD Sept 14 p3), is one element that could prompt cable operators to compete for the funding. But plans haven’t been firmed up, and none may come to fruition on the part of cable operators, industry officials said.
Panelists offered starkly different visions on how to regulate the broadband market to ensure competition and economic growth, at a New America Foundation event Friday (http://xrl.us/bnpsjw). Former FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, lamenting that the competitive market he envisioned in 2001 has not come to fruition, pushed for a “major national commitment” to increase broadband performance, and a renewed emphasis on promoting competition. Special access and the transition to Internet Protocol networks were also hotly debated, with economist Joseph Gillan calling AT&T’s proposal to “sunset” the public switched telephone network (PSTN) the “largest regulatory ask” in his lifetime.
T-Mobile and tower operator Crown Castle International reached a deal for CCI to operate 7,200 T-Mobile towers. CCI will pay $2.4 billion for control of the 7,200 towers for the next 28 years and will have the option to buy the towers for an additional $2.4 billion at the end of that period. The accord is expected to close in Q4, T-Mobile said. The carrier sought a deal on the towers to help fund its plan to upgrade to 4G LTE, T-Mobile CEO John Legere said in a joint news release with CCI (http://xrl.us/bnrtmp). “T-Mobile USA is working aggressively to make our 4G network stronger, faster and more dependable for consumers, and this transaction will support our ongoing $4 billion network modernization initiative that is the cornerstone of this effort,” he said.
The FCC on Friday approved a notice of proposed rulemaking that will establish rules for an incentive auction of broadcast spectrum for wireless broadband, to take place as early as 2014. The NPRM moves the FCC a step closer to what is already the most anticipated auction since the 700 MHz auction four years ago. Commissioner Ajit Pai concurred only on parts of the NPRM, saying the commission leaves too many critical questions unasked.
NEW ORLEANS -- The Internet community has been “under attack on an international scale” in the last year, said Google Chief Internet Evangelist and Vice President Vinton Cerf Friday in his keynote at the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors annual meeting. Cerf thinks 2012 has been the “most tumultuous year” for the Internet since its beginnings, he said, referring to growing international concern about regulating the Internet and bringing a new form of governance to the network, set for further international discussions later this year. Such potential changes would be devastating and counter to the Internet’s original mission and driving force, he said.
The FCC approved a notice of proposed rulemaking on measuring spectrum aggregation over concerns raised by Commissioners Ajit Pai and Robert McDowell. But FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said a review was overdue, especially as the FCC prepares for an incentive auction of broadcast spectrum. Pai had considered a dissent, but instead concurred (CD Sept 20 p1).
FCC members approved a notice of proposed rulemaking aimed at streamlining and eliminating requirements for earth and space station licensing under Part 25 of the agency’s rules. The commission expects the changes to lead to faster deployment of satellite services to customers and easing regulatory burdens on licensees and the commission, staff said Friday at its monthly meeting. The NPRM proposed changes to more than 100 rule sections and subsections to give licensees the flexibility to provide innovative services “while ensuring an operating environment free from harmful interference,” an agency news release said.