For the second time in four years, the FCC failed to convince the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that it had authority to impose net neutrality rules on broadband ISPs. The anti-discrimination and anti-blocking rules in the agency’s December 2010 net neutrality order were indistinguishable from prohibited common carrier restrictions, said the decision (http://1.usa.gov/1m0UQPi). Chairman Tom Wheeler’s FCC has already faced renewed calls to reclassify broadband Internet as a Title II service.
For the second time in four years, the FCC failed to convince the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that it had authority to impose net neutrality rules on broadband ISPs. The anti-discrimination and anti-blocking rules in the agency’s 2010 net neutrality order were indistinguishable from prohibited common carrier restrictions, said the decision (http://1.usa.gov/1m0UQPi). Chairman Tom Wheeler’s FCC has already faced renewed calls to reclassify broadband Internet as a Title II service.
LAS VEGAS -- All four FCC regular commissioners indicated they're likely to support the agency’s next moves on the IP transition, during a panel discussion late Wednesday at CES. The commissioners disagreed sharply on what should happen to the net neutrality order, now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Several industry officials said during CES they expected a decision soon, probably this month.
The FCC granted Dish Network the relief it sought to decide on the operations of its AWS-4 spectrum. The waiver, granted Friday, is conditioned on Dish’s bid of nearly $1.6 billion in the H-block auction next month. “Failure by Dish to comply with either of these conditions will automatically terminate the waivers granted in this order,” the Wireless Bureau said in its decision (http://fcc.us/1i8eU1M). Dish must elect no later than 30 months from the release of the order whether operations at 2000-2020 MHz will be uplink or downlink, the order said. The DBS company also was granted a one-year extension of the final buildout requirement, which gives it eight years to build a terrestrial network service, it said.
The FCC should try out important rule changes in small-scale “policy sandboxes” before issuing decisions, incentivize efficient use of spectrum, and take steps to attract up-and-coming engineers, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel told the IEEE at its Global Communications Conference Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1gt0OYa). “What if instead of always relying on the big reveal, we set up small-scale policy experiments?” asked Rosenworcel. “What if we examined the effects of new rules before unleashing them all at once?” The commissioner pointed to experimental spectrum licenses as an area where the FCC is already encouraging trial phases for new ideas and said the concept might also expedite the authorization process for new radio equipment. “Because the number of devices in this process is expanding, our systems deserve an update to meet this demand,” said Rosenworcel. “By moving new devices through our approval process more quickly we can move them from sandbox to market much faster.” Small-scale policy experiments could also “kick-start” the IP transition, Rosenworcel said. “After all, big issues are at stake -- how to foster deployment, how to spur investment, and how to best serve consumers,” she said. The FCC should work with carriers to come up with location-specific and service-specific IP trials, she said. “Trying them out on a small scale just makes sense.” To increase the efficiency of spectrum, the FCC should hold a contest, with a prize of 10 MHz of mobile broadband spectrum to be awarded to the first person to make spectrum use below 5 GHz 50 times more efficient over the next decade, Rosenworcel said. “Think of it as [White House education incentive program] Race to the Top, the Spectrum Edition,” she said. The prize is worthwhile, because “if the winner can truly use spectrum 50 times more efficiently, they can make their 10 MHz do the work of 500 MHz,” she said. Rosenworcel also said the FCC could benefit from an influx of engineering talent. The commission should establish an engineering analog to its honors attorney program, she said. “By mixing young men -- and women -- with experienced engineers already on staff, the FCC could be better prepared to face the challenges of next generation communications networks,” said Rosenworcel.
The FCC should try out important rule changes in small-scale “policy sandboxes” before issuing decisions, incentivize efficient use of spectrum, and take steps to attract up-and-coming engineers, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel told the IEEE at its Global Communications Conference Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1gt0OYa). “What if instead of always relying on the big reveal, we set up small-scale policy experiments?” asked Rosenworcel. “What if we examined the effects of new rules before unleashing them all at once?” The commissioner pointed to experimental spectrum licenses as an area where the FCC is already encouraging trial phases for new ideas and said the concept might also expedite the authorization process for new radio equipment. “Because the number of devices in this process is expanding, our systems deserve an update to meet this demand,” said Rosenworcel. “By moving new devices through our approval process more quickly we can move them from sandbox to market much faster.” Small-scale policy experiments could also “kick-start” the IP transition, Rosenworcel said. “After all, big issues are at stake -- how to foster deployment, how to spur investment, and how to best serve consumers,” she said. The FCC should work with carriers to come up with location-specific and service-specific IP trials, she said. “Trying them out on a small scale just makes sense.” To increase the efficiency of spectrum, the FCC should hold a contest, with a prize of 10 MHz of mobile broadband spectrum to be awarded to the first person to make spectrum use below 5 GHz 50 times more efficient over the next decade, Rosenworcel said. “Think of it as [White House education incentive program] Race to the Top, the Spectrum Edition,” she said. The prize is worthwhile, because “if the winner can truly use spectrum 50 times more efficiently, they can make their 10 MHz do the work of 500 MHz,” she said. Rosenworcel also said the FCC could benefit from an influx of engineering talent. The commission should establish an engineering analog to its honors attorney program, she said. “By mixing young men -- and women -- with experienced engineers already on staff, the FCC could be better prepared to face the challenges of next generation communications networks,” said Rosenworcel.
Hill pressure on the idea of cellphone conversation on airplanes while in-flight escalated Thursday as all five FCC commissioners faced the House Communications Subcommittee, hours before the agency took up an item to propose allowing such conversation from a technical perspective (see separate report in this issue). At the hearing, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler defended the proposal and said he’s talked with others in government about what will happen next. Members of both houses of Congress have raised the controversial issue, and the U.S. Department of Transportation is kicking off a process that may ban voice calls on planes, officials said.
AT&T filed tariff changes that would limit future special access contracts to no longer than 36 months. The prospect worries competitive providers and other purchasers of special access services. They say eliminating longer contracts also eliminates discounts, and is effectively a rate increase. AT&T needs FCC approval for the change to go into effect, an AT&T spokesman said. That approval will happen automatically in 15 days unless the commission suspends the tariff. Petitions to reject the tariff are due by Dec. 2, an FCC spokesman said.
The FCC is seeking comment on procedural updates to the way the CALM Act calculates the loudness of commercials, the commission said in an order and FNPRM Friday (http://bit.ly/1b7wISy). The move is prompted by changes in March to the Advanced Television Systems Committee’s (ATSC) recommended practices, which updated the algorithm -- called BS.1770-3 -- used to calculate loudness, said the order. Because the old standard is referenced in the CALM Act legislation, the commission is proposing to update the language with the new standard. The change is “designed to prevent advertisers from using silent passages to offset excessively loud passages when calculating the average loudness of program material,” said the order. Once the new standard is implemented, “consumers may notice a modest decrease in the perceived loudness of certain commercials,” said the order. The FNPRM specifically seeks comment on the possible costs that would go along with the technical update, and proposes a one-year deadline to make the change. The order also waives the current CALM Act rules to allow stations to make the switch to the new standard early. In a statement attached to the order, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said the enforcement of the CALM Act should be stepped up. She said the FCC has received nearly 20,000 complaints involving excessively loud commercials. Rosenworcel endorsed a proposal from Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I,, to issue quarterly reports on CALM Act noncompliance. “I believe this will not only facilitate enforcement of our rules -- it could help us put this irritating, persistent problem to rest,” she said.
The FCC approved by a 3-0 vote Monday technical rules for the 700 MHz broadband spectrum licensed to FirstNet, with an eye on prompting equipment makers to start seeking certification for devices first responders will use on the network. The FCC also approved an industry agreement on 700 MHz interoperability through an electronic vote Friday, taking the item off the agenda for the commission’s October meeting Monday.