October 2015

ISPs: Title II Is FCC Internet Power Grab

Major cable and phone Internet service providers (ISPs) say the Federal Communications Commission's Open Internet order justification, far from being the expert agency interpretation of statute the FCC asserts, is an "unlawful attempt to assert broad public-utility regulatory authority over the Internet, from the end user all the way to a broadband provider’s connection to an edge provider." They made that argument in filing their latest salvo in the battle against the FCC's Title II reclassification of Internet access service as a common carrier in the FCC's effort to better justify network neutrality rules.

That came in a joint reply brief from USTelecom, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, the American Cable Association, CTIA: The Wireless Association, AT&T, CenturyLink and WISPA (Wireless Internet Service Providers Association). They say the FCC overturned years of decisions that companies relied on to make business decisions, abandoned 20 years worth of interpretations that provided ISPs additional immunity from common carrier regulations, ignored the court in reclassifying ISPs under Title II, and did not provide the proper notice for changes like applying Title II to interconnections or adding a broad Internet Conduct Standard.

How Race Influences Social-Media Sharing

According to the latest Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll, 60 percent of people on social media platforms have used them to share information about a local issue or event. This makes sense given one of the poll’s other findings: People actually spend more time engaging on social media with those live near them (64 percent) than with those who live farther away.

The frequency of sharing is pretty consistent across individuals of different racial backgrounds. However, the topics people discuss differs greatly when the data is broken down by race. White respondents were most likely to have posted about events or entertainment, with 60 percent having done so. Black respondents, on the other hand, were most likely to have shared information about education or schools, at 67 percent. Hispanic respondents were most likely to have shared a post on crime or public safety, with 62 percent posting on this topic. On both the subjects of education or schools and crime or public safety, white respondents were significantly less likely than their non-white counterparts to have shared any information related to the topic.

The Age of Satellites

On Oct 4 in 1957, humans sent their first satellite into space. Sputnik 1, named after the Russian word for “satellite,” was launched by the Soviet Union. It weighed 184 pounds and traveled at 18,000 miles per hour, circling Earth once every hour and 36 minutes and transmitting radio signals to the people on the ground. It fell out of its orbit three months later, and burned up in the atmosphere.

In 2015, there are about 1,350 operating satellites orbiting earth, according to the latest numbers from the Union of Concerned Scientists, a private organization that maintains a database of satellites. The machines are used in communication, navigation, military operations and spying, weather forecasting, and more. The smallest is the size of a microchip, the biggest is the International Space Station. About 2,600 other satellites have stopped working over the years, but continue to quietly circle the planet. The Russians, however, are no longer leading the way: Russia operates 131 satellites, while the US has 549.

FCC Chairman Wheeler at FCC-Mayo Clinic Broadband Health Summit

Today’s broadband networks – wired and wireless – have the potential to revolutionize healthcare like no technology before. Our collective challenge is how do we seize the opportunities of broadband communications to improve the quality of healthcare, save lives, and lower costs? It starts with making sure that we have fast, fair, and open broadband networks available to all Americans.

But an open Internet and faster networks are not sufficient to assure the development and widespread adoption of digital health solutions. We at the Federal Communications Commission must stay engaged with providers and the healthcare system but also consumers, caregivers, and other key stakeholders in the health space so that we can best understand all the challenges that must be overcome, the infrastructure needs that exist, and, most importantly, the opportunities that broadband might be able to support in the health space.

FCC General Counsel Jonathan Sallet Tapped for Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States

President Barack Obama will nominate Jonathan Sallet, the General Counsel at the Federal Communications Commission, to be a member of the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States. Previously, he was a partner at O’Melveny & Myers and was a partner at Jenner & Block and Miller, Cassidy, Larroca & Lewin. In 2008, he served on President Obama’s transition team for technology and economic development at the Department of Commerce. From 1993 to 1996, he served as Assistant to the Secretary and Director of the Office of Policy & Strategic Planning at the Department of Commerce. Sallet was a law clerk for United States Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell, Jr. from 1979 to 1980, and he was a law clerk for Judge Edward Tamm on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1978 to 1979. Sallet received an A.B. from Brown University and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.

The Administrative Conference of the United States is an independent federal agency dedicated to improving the administrative process through consensus-driven applied research, providing nonpartisan expert advice and recommendations for improvement of federal agency procedures. Its membership is composed of innovative federal officials and experts with diverse views and backgrounds from both the private sector and academia. The Council calls plenary sessions of the Conference, proposes bylaws and regulations for adoption by the Assembly, reviews budgetary proposals, and approves the appointment of public members and the conduct of research studies.

FirstNet OKs key RFP elements

The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) board approved key elements of its Request for Proposal(s) (RFP) that it expects to deliver before the end of 2015, including a national acquisition approach that incorporates rural telecommunication providers in the nationwide public safety broadband network (NPSBN). Naturally, that gesture pleased NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, which has been eager for the chance to participate in the FirstNet effort. "NTCA's small business members look forward to playing a meaningful role in furthering the success of FirstNet, especially in rural areas where the networks of these small providers will be essential to achieving that success for the benefit of all Americans," said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield.

The FirstNet board also approved a resolution that authorizes FirstNet management to release its final interpretations of 64 statutory provisions that will have an impact on the final RFP and contribute to FirstNet's operations and network policies. That includes, for example, a final definition for the term "rural," and confirms that any states or territories that assume the responsibility to deploy their own radio access networks must reinvest all resulting revenues into the nationwide network. The board also approved a resolution for a nationwide solution for deploying the nation's first broadband network dedicated to public safety, thereby removing the possibility that a bidder could be selected to build out the network for a single state or region.

Verizon faces call to expand FiOS from 14 East Coast mayors

Verizon is facing a call from 14 city mayors on the East Coast to expand its FiOS fiber to the home (FTTH) network into more areas that have limited access to high speed services. This group asked Verizon's CEO Lowell McAdam in a letter to talk about ways the company can more effectively serve its wireline customers and resolve disputes with the Verizon workers represented by the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers who are in the midst of negotiating a new labor contract.

The mayors said in their joint letter that "our consumers have complained that FiOS service is not available to them" and that "there are millions of residents in communities throughout the Northeast who have been left without service, and with no plan or promise for future resolution." In addition to FiOS, the mayors addressed growing complaints that traditional wireline consumers are facing downtime due to claims that the company has not been conducting necessary maintenance on its copper network.

AT&T lowers 1 Gig prices in markets where it faces Google Fiber

AT&T continues to lower the prices of its 1 Gbps GigaPower service, particularly in markets where Google Fiber has established a presence. AT&T prices its 1 Gbps service differently in these areas and the lower rates appear wherever Google Fiber offers its $70 a month service.

In some markets like Nashville (TN) and Atlanta (GA) where Google Fiber is present, AT&T's 1 Gbps pricing begins at $70, while in Chicago (IL) and Miami (FL) eligible users have to pay $110 for the same service. Customers in these markets can purchase a lower speed 300 Mbps speed tier for $80. A similar phenomenon has taken place in Charlotte (NC) and Raleigh-Durham (NC) where users play $70 per month for GigaPower.

Study: Wi-Fi calling a 'must have' for global networks

Wi-Fi calling is now a "must have" service for wireless carriers, according to a new report released by Strategy Analytics. The report predicts rapid growth in the technology in the fourth quarter of 2015. While "the United Kingdom and Hong Kong have gotten to a point where [Wi-Fi calling] is the standard table stakes," the technology is still being implemented in the United States, notes the report's author, Susan Welsh de Grimaldo, director of wireless operator strategies.

Competition in a market usually drives operators to embrace technology like Wi-Fi calling, Welsh de Grimaldo said, meaning that, while the service is poised to become standard practice, the variance in markets leaves an exact date unpredictable. The report found that T-Mobile US has been the "leading global operator" pushing for Wi-Fi calling, but the service (along with Sprint, which offers its own native Wi-Fi calling) was slammed by AT&T in a recent Federal Communications Commission filing. AT&T has held off on implementing Wi-Fi calling pending a waiver from the FCC regarding rules that require calling options for deaf and hard of hearing users. Welsh de Grimaldo said she hopes the FCC acts quickly, as the waiver is one of the few obstacles in the way of widespread Wi-Fi calling in the country. According to the analyst, there is an existing base in the United States that's capable of Wi-Fi calling but has not yet been enabled.

Draft Bill Seeks FCC Framework for Federal Spectrum Auction

Congress was already looking at incentivizing government spectrum users to share, now it is adding a framework for Federal Communications Commission auction of that reclaimed spectrum for wireless broadband. A draft bill, the "Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2015" is being circulated for discussion in the House Communications Subcommittee that would ask the FCC to come up with a plan to auction federal spectrum for use by wireless broadband.

The bill does not identify the spectrum that would be auctioned, but asks the FCC to get together with the head of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration to come up with a framework for rules and procedures for relocating federal users or sharing of bands with non-federal users, plus a timeline for competitive bidding. It would require the FCC to produce a series of reports to the House and Senate Commerce committees outlining preparations for such and auction process, including draft rules and timelines and specific frequencies. The report also needs to talk about balancing licensed and unlicensed spectrum, a hot-button issue given that any spectrum reserved for unlicensed reduces the auction take to the treasury but also fuels wireless access, including through Wi-Fi hot spots.

Benton

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