LightSquared’s recent discussion with the FCC about a technical working group is raising real concerns for the co-chair of the group, the U.S. GPS Industry Council. USGIC Executive Director Michael Swiek voiced worries that the LightSquared meeting, which was only between LightSquared representatives and FCC staff (CD May 10 p14), could “mislead or cause confusions with respect to the status of Working Group activities,” it said in an FCC filing. LightSquared and the USGIC are heading an FCC-required working group that’s investigating potential interference issues between LightSquared’s planned terrestrial service and GPS service operating in neighboring spectrum. A final report is due to the FCC by June 15.
Microsoft would be drawn further into the telecom/Internet regulatory world with its $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype, experts said. But they divided over the deal’s potential implications on VoIP treatment going forward. The deal, the largest in Microsoft’s history, is expected to get regulatory approvals. Meanwhile, Media Access Project urged Microsoft to support network neutrality and other open Internet policies.
Opposition to AT&T’s buy of T-Mobile is continuing to build and the lines will be seen more clearly Wednesday during a hearing by the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, merger opponents said Tuesday during a media briefing. With three weeks to go before initial comments are due at the FCC, opponents launched a website, www.mergerthreat.com.
Federal policy makers can help accelerate broadband adoption by the elderly -- but the hardest work has to be done by health officials, not the FCC, health IT consultant Jim Bialick said Tuesday. Medicare and Medicaid will receive $27 billion in federal funds this year, but “you're looking at a population that is not using technology for its healthcare,” Bialick said on a panel at a conference in Washington. One of the things preventing better use of technology in medicine for instance, is Medicare’s refusal to reimburse the expense of video conferencing in big cities, Bialick said. “That’s a monster barrier there. You're looking at people who are essentially not going to interact with the way the system is evolving,” he said. He also urged Washington policy makers to focus on “usable” technology, like Skype or Facebook. “There are significant policy barriers to implementing that,” Bialick said.
The FCC and the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Tuesday they're working with major carriers on an early version of a system that will send emergency alerts to wireless devices. The Personal Localized Alerting Network (PLAN) will premier in New York and Washington by the end of the year, with deployment to follow elsewhere in mid-2012.
At age 50, the “vast wasteland” speech is seen as having much to say about current issues in media and telecom by some current and former FCC members, while others said celebrating it should be out of style. An event Monday night marked the 50th anniversary of the speech given by then-Chairman Newton Minow to the NAB. (See coverage from May 15, 1961, in this issue.) Minow and his current successor, Julius Genachowski, told an audience at the National Press Club that the fears expressed in the speech still can guide policymaking, albeit on different issues. Other former FCC members said in interviews that they disagreed, citing the specter of government interference with free speech and other reasons.
Senate Privacy Subcommittee Chairman Al Franken, D-Minn., said he still has “serious doubts” that Google and Apple are respecting the privacy rights of consumers, during a mobile privacy hearing held by the subcommittee Tuesday. The companies both said they would consider adjusting their privacy policies after lawmakers closely scrutinized the way each company tracks and uses consumer location data. This was the subcommittee’s first-ever hearing but Franken said it would not be the last to examine mobile privacy issues.
As TiVo and Comcast prepare to deploy Comcast’s Xfinity on Demand service on TiVo’s Premiere DVRs, they halted expansion of a test that downloaded DVR software to cable set-top boxes, a Comcast spokeswoman confirmed.
Companies are beefing up lobbying efforts in Maine: One bill now before the legislature would put ILECs like FairPoint under the same regulatory structure as CLECs, while another bill seeks to deregulate VoIP. The latter proposal would interfere with ongoing litigation, now before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, consumer advocates said.
Small carriers, wireline and wireless, opposed to reverse auctions as part of Universal Service Fund overhaul could be fighting a losing battle in an effort to reverse a move in that direction by the commission. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski appears to have at least three votes in favor of a controversial reverse auction plan, FCC and industry officials said.