Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Law enforcement agencies asked the FCC to add in- flight satellite broadband to the technologies covered by federal wiretap law, in comments filed last week with the Commission. The Dept. of Justice, FBI and Dept. of Homeland Security said the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) “is a technology-neutral statute that applies to all ’telecommunications carriers,'” regardless of whether the platform is wireline, wireless, cable, satellite or others. The comments were in response to the Commission’s rulemaking (05-20) on creating a regulatory framework for aeronautical mobile satellite service (AMSS), which includes broadband service on aircraft.

A N.Y. Public Service Commission staff report said the $8.44 billion Verizon-MCI merger would lead to a significant increase in market power in the state. N.Y. presents the pending merger a key clearance hurdle. The PSC didn’t find similar concerns with the SBC-AT&T merger, at least in N.Y. Wall Street is watching N.Y. and other key states as big tests for the merger.

Cingular or Verizon Wireless likely would face the toughest fight if they emerged as the purchasers of T- Mobile, regulatory sources said Tues. Other potential players, including rumored suitor Vodafone, or less conventional wireless players like Comcast or even Microsoft, would likely have an easier time winning approval, they said.

FCC Comr. Adelstein urged industry-govt. cooperation in developing security standards for software defined radio (SDR) and cognitive radio (CR) without hampering the advancements of those nascent technologies. The FCC has largely left the implementation of appropriate SDR security measures to industry, which, Adelstein said, is “in a good position to determine what kinds of security measures are best.” Adelstein’s remarks came at the Global Regulatory Summit on SDR and Cognitive Radio (CR) sponsored by the SDR Forum in Washington Mon.

The FCC would operate more like the FTC, tackling individual instances of alleged market power abuse rather then exerting proactive economic regulatory control, under model legislation from academic and think tank scholars led by the Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF). The proposal released Fri. is the first from PFF’s Digital Age Communications Act (DACA) project on Telecom Act reform (CD Feb 2 p5).

Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.) blamed broadcasters for “thwarting” congressional efforts to pass legislation to set a date for return of analog spectrum -- as he introduced a bill Tues. setting Dec. 31, 2008, as the deadline. McCain’s bill, akin to legislation he introduced last year, would let public safety organizations to begin using 24 MHz of the spectrum Jan. 1, 2009, and require the FCC to auction recovered spectrum after Dec. 16, 2006, and before April 2, 2008.

The wireless and satellite industries asked the FCC to reconsider rules on non-federal govt. wireless operations in the 3650-3700 MHz band. The contention- based protocol the Commission required licensees to use to prevent interference drew criticism in all petitions for reconsideration. Petitioners included the Wireless Communications Assn. (WCA), WiMax Forum, Intel, Redline Communications, Alvarion, BRN Phoenix, as well as Motorola and the Enterprise Wireless Alliance (CD June 13 p8).

Contrary to what many believe, the FCC does have “an enforcement plan in place” for compliance with the DTV tuner mandate, Alan Stillwell, assoc. chief of the Commission’s Office of Engineering & Technology, told our associated publication Consumer Electronics Daily. With Commission rejection of a CE industry petition to scrap the 50% compliance deadline on 25-36” sets, “we're going to continue that same plan -- probably a little more aggressively,” Stillwell said.

With universal service fund (USF) charges soaring for wireline and wireless carriers alike, the Bells, long- distance providers, rural phone companies, mobile carriers and cable TV operators are pressing for changes in the funding formula. But that’s where agreement ends.

The FCC released its E-911 order Fri., giving more details about its decision to require VoIP providers to give customers full emergency calling capabilities within 120 days (CD May 20 p1). The agency told VoIP providers and ILECs it will “closely monitor” industry efforts to bring full E-911 capability to VoIP customers. It also called for comments on ways to bring E-911 capability to portable VoIP customers.