The FCC announced Wednesday that it had deleted the following item from
today's open meeting: Consideration of an Order on Reconsideration
concerning requests from BellSouth and Sure West to reconsider and/or
clarify unbundling obligations relating to multiple dwelling units and the
network modification rules.
For this and other upcoming media policy events, see
http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
TELECOM
Bush Administration Won't Appeal Phone Decision
SBC Restrictions on DSL Are Illegal, Judge Rules
MEDIA
Digital Television: Sharpening the Focus on Children
McCain: Don't Forget Off-Air-Only Viewers
Kerry Comes Out Against Big Media . . . Sort Of
Clear Channel Settles for $1.75 Million
TELECOM
BUSH ADMINISTRATION WON'T APPEAL PHONE DECISION
U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson, who represents the federal
government in cases before the Supreme Court, on Wednesday let the FCC know
he will not ask the Supreme Court to reinstate Commission rules forcing
local phone carriers to share parts of their networks with rivals. Barring
any further court intervention, the regulations will no longer be in effect
on June 15. Baby Bells have promised no disruption in service for customers
of rival companies using Bell networks. But AT&T, MCI and other
long-distance providers say that left to their own devices, the Bells will
ultimately raise their rates to anticompetitive levels.
Additionally, Communications Daily reported that FCC Commissioner Kevin
Martin, a former aide to President Bush, announced late Wednesday that he
no longer supports appealing the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C. decision. He said
he made that decision because the U.S. Solicitor Gen. has decided not to
support an appeal. His decision means there no longer are enough votes at
the FCC to support an appeal.
U.S. Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce
Committee, and U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), chairman of the
Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee, issued the following
joint statement: "We are delighted that the Solicitor General has decided
not to appeal the D.C. Circuit's decision that struck down parts of the
FCC's Triennial Review Order, or to ask the Supreme Court to stay the
decision pending appeals from other parties. This is the right decision to
facilitate new investment in the telecommunications sector that can help
continue the economic growth that we have witnessed so far this year. We
again applaud the parties that have already reached commercial agreements
governing competitive carriers' access to incumbent local exchange
facilities, and encourage all parties to return to the negotiating table to
complete further agreements. And we strongly urge the FCC commissioners to
immediately promulgate interim access rules that will apply to carriers
that are not able to negotiate commercial agreements."
Communications Daily reported reaction from consumer advocate Mark Cooper
of the Consumer Federation of America. He said "the Bush Administration
turned its back on consumers." Without competitor access to Bell facilities
"at reasonable rates," these companies "will be driven out of the market
and the billions of dollars of savings linked to competition will be gone."
The White House "has shown just how far it would go in promoting the
interests of big corporations at the expense of consumers," he said.
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Ben Charny]
http://news.com.com/Bush+administration+won%27t+appeal+phone+decision/21...
WHITE HOUSE WON'T SEEK AN APPEAL OF THE UNE DECISION
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Edie Herman, Susan Polyakova, Terry
Lane]
(Not available online)
http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/News/06092004_1305.htm
Reactions:
NTIA http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/2004/mdgstatement_06092004.htm
Association for Local Telecommunications Services
http://206.161.82.210/NewsPress/060904%20PR%20on%20SG%20Decision.pdf
CompTel/ASCENT http://www.comptelascent.org/news/recent-news/060904.html
USTA http://www.usta.org/news_releases.php?urh=home.news.nr2004_0609
Progress & Freedom Foundation
http://www.pff.org/news/news/2004/060904fccstatement.html
Additional coverage in
WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108679651736332702,00.html?mod=todays...
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108682514131933352,00.html?mod=todays...
(Op-Ed)
WP: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28365-2004Jun9.html
LATimes
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-phones10jun10,1,26310...
USAToday http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040610/6274542s.htm
NYTimes http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/10/business/10PHON.html?hp
SBC RESTRICTIONS ON DSL ARE ILLEGAL, JUDGE RULES
A California Public Utilities Commission administrative law judge rules
that SBC's refusal to sell its DSL service to non-SBC local telephone
subscribers "is not just or reasonable" and that California's dominant
local phone company must cease the practice. Competitors have complained
that SBC has unfairly maintained its control over local phone service
partly by tying that to its DSL service. SBC counters that it has no
obligation to offer retail DSL service.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:James S. Granelli]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-sbc10jun10,1,4839600....
(requires registration)
MEDIA
DIGITAL TELEVISION: SHARPENING THE FOCUS ON CHILDREN
Speaking at Children's Now conference on the transition to digital
television and children, FCC Commissioners Abernathy, Copps and Adelstein
said the Commission must do a better job of defining broadcasters
obligations to serve children. Today, in the analog arena, broadcasters are
required to air at least 3 hours of children's programming per week and
must limit the amount of advertising aimed at children. When broadcasters
can multicast several channels, it's not clear whether they will be
required to air 3 hours on each stream, or just on a designated primary
stream of programming, or whether the obligation could be fulfilled some
other way, such as a separate children's programming channel. Commissioner
Adelstein compared the current TV environment for children with a parent
allowing a youngster to wander through an unsafe neighborhood. "It turns
out these neighborhoods are filled with slick storekeepers trying to lure
kids in to buy candy, junk food and violent games. Not every street is
Sesame Street. Clearly, some people in the neighborhood don't have your
kids' best interests in mind," Commissioner Adelstein said. Joined by
Commissioner Copps, Adelstein said the FCC has failed to police the
situation. "Parents, be warned: the cops on the beat aren't on top of the
new developments in the neighborhood."
Children Now's Patti Miller outlined proposal to better serve children in
the digital TV era: 1) Forbid TV companies from embedding Internet links in
online interactive content that could lead children to commercial
advertising, 2) Ensure that parents get more information about programming
and associated online content in the digital age, and 3) Ensure that the
privacy of children is preserved online.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Brigitte Greenberg]
(Not available online)
MCCAIN: DON'T FORGET OFF-THE-AIR VIEWERS
At the Senate Commerce Committee hearing on speeding the transition to
digital television, Sen John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the committee, said
that a federal plan to end the digital-TV transition should not abandon
consumers who don't subscribe to cable or satellite. "We must not leave
these consumers out in the digital cold," Sen McCain said. "Let me be clear
that any proposal to accelerate the digital-television transition is
incomplete unless it ensures that consumers may continue to use their
existing television sets to view over-the-air broadcast signals." "We can't
just turn off these people's analog sets," agreed Association of Public
Television Stations President John Lawson. "We must give the consumer a
simple and inexpensive pathway to go digital. Some subsidies may be necessary."
Mr. Lawson discussed the status of public television stations' digital
conversion and the promise it holds - particularly emphasizing how digital
television enables public television stations to provide a new generation
of telecommunications services to the American people, including: HDTV;
multicasting to provide expanded educational content; and high-speed
wireless datacasting for homeland security and other public services.
Lawson also addressed some of the challenges public television stations
face in completing the digital transition, including the goal of ensuring
that there's "no viewer left behind" - which addresses public television
stations' unique universal service mandate.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA425167?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
http://www.apts.org/
http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=1220
See coverage in
B&C http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA425183?display=Breaking+News
KERRY COMES OUT AGAINST BIG MEDIA....SORT OF
Senator John Kerry (D-MA) finally has ventured forth -- during an interview
broadcast last weekend on C-SPAN -- to make a statement against media
consolidation. But does this mean that Kerry's campaign will make the fight
against big media a platform issue in 2004?
[SOURCE: MediaChannel.org, AUTHOR: Timothy Karr]
http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/affalert212.shtml
CLEAR CHANNEL SETTLES FOR $1.75 MILLION
Today, the FCC entered into a $1.75 million Consent Decree with Clear
Channel Communications, Inc., and its subsidiaries (Clear Channel) to
resolve investigations into whether Clear Channel stations had broadcast
obscene, indecent, or profane material in violation of the Communications
Act and Commission rules. As part of the agreement, Clear Channel admits
that some of the material it broadcast was indecent. In addition to the
$1.75 million payment to the U.S. Treasury, Clear Channel has also
committed to implementing a company-wide Compliance Plan aimed at
preventing future violations. The Consent Decree resolves all pending
Notices of Apparent Liability, Enforcement Bureau investigations, and
third-party complaints against Clear Channel for possible violations.
Commissioner Copps dissented from the ruling saying the FCC had entered
into the settlement without first investigating some of the alleged
allegations. "[M]y dissent is about process," he wrote, "and the process
here is inadequate. What message do we send to citizens when we fail even
to investigate their complaints before making a sweeping settlement?"
[SOURCE: FCC]
Press Release
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-248237A1.doc
Order http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-128A1.doc
Statements from Commissioners
Powell http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-128A2.doc
Adelstein http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-128A4.doc
Copps http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-128A3.doc
See coverage in:
B&C http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA425190?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
USAToday http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040610/6274538s.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
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