July 2008

Congress pushes for national emergency communications plan

Congress criticized the Homeland Security Department on Tuesday for delaying the coordination of a national emergency communications plan for first responders, emphasizing that states have little time to take action when formulating applications for grant money. The Office of Emergency Communications, established in October 2006 in accordance with recommendations of the 9/11 commission to improve communication among emergency responders and government officials during natural disasters and acts of terrorism, was supposed to have submitted a National Emergency Communications Plan to Congress in April. The plan was developed in cooperation with state, local and tribal governments, federal agencies, emergency response providers, and the private sector. It will provide recommendations for interoperable communication during disasters by using standard technologies, such as handheld radios and broadband networks. But OEC is months late in submitting the plan. States and territories have only a few days to meet a July 21 deadline to submit applications for federal grants to help them pay for upgrades.

McCain Names More Top Fund-Raisers, Including Telecom Lobbyists

Senator John McCain released an updated list of his top money collectors on Tuesday, revealing that nearly a fifth of those who have brought in the largest amounts for him, more than $500,000 each, are lobbyists or work for firms that engage in lobbying. At least one fund-raiser who was originally on the McCain campaign's bundler list was taken off. That was James Courter, chief executive of the telecommunications company I.D.T., who resigned Monday as one of more than 20 national finance committee co-chairmen for the campaign, after I.D.T. was fined $1.3 million by the Federal Communications Commission for failing to disclose contracts it had in Haiti. Courter was listed in April as raising $100,000 or more for Mr. McCain, but campaign officials said he had been taken off because he was no longer raising money. Of the more than 60 McCain bundlers who have raised $500,000 or more, at least a dozen are lobbyists or work for lobbying firms. They include Wayne L. Berman, of Ogilvy Government Relations, whose clients include Fannie Mae, the National Rifle Association and Verizon.

Martin be damned, cable ISPs want network management freedom

[Commentary] "In the absence of network management, the usage of P2P services by a very small number of a cable system's high-speed Internet customers can cause substantial (and sometimes complete) congestion of the system's upload capacity," cable industry reps told Federal Communications Commissioners earlier this month. It's going to be Very Bad, Schooler and Willner warned, if "network management" is denied its unobstructed due. E-mail, Web browsing, online commerce, video and music will be degraded, they promised. And don't look to network upgrades to solve the problem. They'll only make the situation worse, "because P2P users around the world seek to retrieve files from computers on systems with the fastest upload speeds." Protecting the Internet from said vampires requires not only network management, but network management unsupervised by governments. "Regulatory efforts to restrict or predetermine the tools and technology to be used for network management would thwart investment in network upgrades," the duo insisted, "slow the rate of growth of high-speed Internet customers, and seriously disrupt and degrade the value of the Internet for all users." The Commission must stick to its "successful policy" of "vigilant restraint," and "not embark on such a misguided regulatory path." The President and a Vice President of Cox Communications and Cox Enterprises also met with Commissioner Adelstein to review the network management docket. They stressed "the important issue of Internet safety and Cox's efforts to provide customers and parents with the appropriate tools to enjoy a rewarding and safe Internet experience." Anybody who thinks these guys will roll over and play dead because Kevin Martin and the agency's two Democrats enforce its principles against Comcast is in for a letdown. A Commission Order won't finish this.

The Online Candidate Confronts Critical Netroots

It was barely five years ago when the word "Netroots" first surfaced as a description of grassroots activists who push their political agendas on the Internet, especially through blogs. Now the word is becoming a bona fide entry in the new edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, and the Netroots themselves are preparing for their third annual convention, starting Thursday in Austin (TX). The convention, formerly YearlyKos and now Netroots Nation, or NN08, bills itself as "the most concentrated gathering of progressive bloggers to date." About 2,000 bloggers, activists, office-holders, vendors and others are expected to attend, with 200 members of the mainstream media tracking them. The convention comes just as some in the Netroots are questioning Senator Barack Obama's commitment to their values and whether their faith in him as a different kind of politician was misplaced. Most of the discontent stems from his vote to give legal immunity to the telecommunications companies that participated in the Bush administration's warrant-less wiretaps, after he had said he would filibuster it. Daily Kos is also planning to launch its own site focused on Congress this September. "We're looking to democratize congressional oversight," said Markos Moulitsas, Daily Kos's founder. The site, which hasn't been named, will draw on the resources of its editors and its thousands of readers, who write their own blogs that appear on Daily Kos, Moulitsas said.

Markey urges more conditions on XM-Sirius deal

Rep Edward Markey (D-MA), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, said the Federal Communications Commission should go beyond requirements that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has already proposed the agency impose on the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio. In as letter to Chairman Martin, Chairman Markey said the FCC should require that all new satellite radio receivers be built with technology enabling them to also receive high-definition terrestrial radio signals. Chairman Markey also said the FCC should extend the price caps to six years and increase the number of channel set-asides.

MMTC to FCC: Name Compliance Officer

The Minority Media & Telecommunications Council asked the Federal Communications Commission to name an official to act as a compliance officer for its new rule banning discrimination in the placement of broadcast advertising. In a letter to FCC chairman Kevin Martin July 15, when the new rule took effect, MMTC executive director David Honig said the compliance officer would make sure that broadcasters were aware of their new obligations. The rule is meant to prevent advertisers from avoiding buying time on Hispanic- or African-American-targeted stations by requiring broadcasters renewing their licenses to "certify that their advertising-sales contracts contain nondiscrimination clauses that prohibit all forms of discrimination." Apparently, the American Association of Advertising Agencies supports the MMTC request.

MAP Files Complaint Over Microphones Sharing TV Band

Consumer groups have filed a complaint at the FCC against Shure and other wireless microphone manufacturers, saying they have induced individuals, churches and even Broadway producers to buy microphones they are not authorized to use at a potential risk for emergency communications. Shure vigorously denies the characterization but says it is already working to clear up any potential problems with emergency communications. The complaint was filed by Media Access Project on behalf of the Public Interest Spectrum Coalition, which is pushing the government to get more bang out of its spectrum buck. An FCC source concedes that the majority of wireless microphones, including those used by churches and Broadway producers, are technically in violation of the FCC rules, but says that there have been few if any complaints from broadcasters or anyone else about interference. The microphones operate in the UHF band, including channels 52-69, which are being reclaimed after the transition to digital for use by, among others, first responders. One of the goals of the complaint, and an accompanying proposal for how to resolve it, is to clear away an obstacle to the use of so-called "white spaces" between TV channels by unlicensed mobile devices, which computer companies are pushing for. One of the arguments against those is that they interfere with wireless mikes at church services and Broadway shows. While the MAP plan for resolving the issue includes granting amnesty to all those unlicensed wireless mike users and giving them licensed, secondary status in the lower TV band 2-52, it also said that failure to resolve that issue should not stand in the way of making use of the White Spaces. In addition to launching an investigation into microphone maker Shure, and the amnesty/relocation proposal, the plan also includes preventing the further sale of microphones that operate in channels 52-69 and changing to second-class status all licensed users of wireless mikes operating in that band after the transition to digital.

Programmers, Distributors Muster Appeal to Latest A La Carte Ruling

Attorneys for programming providers and distributors will appeal a US District Court decision that will let consumers challenge, on antitrust grounds, the practice of selling video programming in bundles rather than on a channel-by-channel basis. The companies have filed an appeal to ruling made July 7 in Los Angeles by Judge Christina Snyder. The December 2007 suit was filed on behalf of consumers in four states and aspires to be a class action on behalf of all cable and direct-broadcast satellite subscribers. The suit alleges that consumers overpay for entertainment programming because the programmers and distributors "conspire" to sell programming in bundles, forcing consumers to pay for channels they don't want. The suit also asserts that independent programmers are foreclosed from carriage.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin has circulated the following items for consideration by his fellow FCC Commissioners as part of the tentative agenda for next month's open meeting scheduled for Friday, August 1, 2008:

1) Comcast Network Neutrality finding: A Memorandum Opinion & Order that addresses Comcast's network management practices.

2) Verizon Wireless/RCC merger decision: A Memorandum Opinion & Order and Declaratory Ruling considering the transfer of control of licenses and authorizations from Rural Cellular Corporation to Verizon Wireless.

3) Regulatory Fees: A Report & Order concerning regulatory fees for Fiscal Year 2008 and a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on regulatory fee issues.

Topics selected for open meeting agendas are made public and posted on the Commission's website approximately three weeks prior to the Commission's next monthly meeting. The Commission will continue to issue a public notice of the "Commission Meeting Agenda" one week before the meeting and announce at that time the items that are scheduled for the agenda.

Read more about FCC Open Meeting (August)

FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for August 1 Open Meeting