Hearings next week on Corporation for Public Broadcasting Reauthorization
and Nielsen Local People Meter TV Rating System, a forum on the kids.us
Internet domain and a discussion of rethinking telecommunications policy
based on the "layers model." For these and other upcoming media policy
events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
TELECOM
Nextel Deal Done
FCC Adopts All-or-Nothing Rule
Telecom Rates Battle Heats Up
Spectrum-Based Services in Rural Areas
Critic pans IRS suggestion on VoIP
FCC LEADERSHIP
FCC's Powell Sits on Horns of Dilemma
Senators Back Adelstein
MEDIA
FTC Files Report on Hollywood
Mitchell Defends PBS Path
INTERNET
Internet as Unique News Source
Study: Broadband Market to Triple by 2008
TELECOM
NEXTEL DEAL DONE
The FCC adopted a plan Thursday to resolve the ongoing and growing problem
of interference to public safety radio systems operating in the 800 MHz
band. In recognition of the critical need for the Nation's first
responders to have robust and highly reliable communications systems, the
Commission based its decision on meeting three essential goals: first and
foremost, resolving the interference problem to public safety radio
systems; second, ensuring equitable treatment of all of the affected
spectrum licensees with minimal disruption to users and the public alike;
and third, as the Commission is the federal agency charged with
administering the spectrum for the public good, exercising sound principles
of spectrum management. The decision was unanimous.
The Commission adopted a new band plan for the 800 MHz band to address the
root cause of the interference problem by separating generally incompatible
technologies , with the costs of relocating 800 MHz incumbents to be paid
by Nextel Communications (Nextel). The Commission implemented objective
technical standards - "Enhanced Best Practices" -- for defining
"unacceptable interference" to public safety systems operating in the 800
MHz band and procedures detailing the responsibilities and expectations
regarding abatement of such interference.
To accomplish the reconfiguration, the Commission will require Nextel to
give up rights to certain of its licenses in the 800 MHz band and all of
its licenses in the 700 MHz band. In exchange, the Commission will modify
Nextel's licenses to provide the right to operate on two five-MHz blocks in
a different part of the spectrum -- specifically 1910-1915 MHz and
1990-1995 MHz -- conditioned on Nextel fulfilling certain obligations
specified in the Commission's decision. The Commission determined that the
overall value of the 1.9 GHz spectrum rights is $4.8 billion, less the cost
of relocating incumbent users. In addition, the Commission concluded that
it would credit to Nextel the value of the spectrum rights that Nextel will
relinquish and the actual costs Nextel incurs for to relocate all
incumbents in the 800 MHz band. To the extent that these combined credits
total less than the determined value of the 1.9 GHz spectrum rights, Nextel
will make an anti-windfall payment to the United States Department of the
Treasury at the conclusion of the relocation process equal to the difference.
Nextel released a statement saying it was reserving judgment on the plan.
"The information released today by the Commission contains few details
regarding the obligations its decision would impose on Nextel," the carrier
said. "Once the Commission's order is released, we have an obligation to
review all aspects of the decision to fully understand the implications to
Nextel's shareholders."
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-249414A1.doc
NEXTEL GETS 1.9 GHz SPECTRUM BUT MUST PAY BILLIONS
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Howard Buskirk]
(Not available online)
Here's links to coverage
* Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108930080395358561,00.html?mod=todays...
* Washington Post: FCC's Powell Stands Up to Verizon Threat
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38014-2004Jul8.html
Nextel Must Pay at Least $3.2 Billion for Airwaves
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37692-2004Jul8.html
* Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-fcc9jul09,1,4480902.s...
* USAToday
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040709/6353485s.htm
* New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/09/business/09spectrum.html
FCC ADOPTS ALL-OR-NOTHING RULE
The FCC adopted an all-or-nothing rule that requires a requesting
telecommunications carrier seeking to adopt terms in another carrier's
interconnection agreement to adopt the agreement in its entirety, taking
all rates, terms, and conditions from the adopted agreement. The
Commission based its decision on two key determinations. First, the Order
concludes that the current pick-and-choose rule is not compelled by the
language of section 252(i) of the Communications Act. Second, the Order
finds that the new all-or-nothing rule will promote more give and take in
negotiations, which will produce mutually beneficial agreements that will
be better tailored to meet carriers' individual needs. In addition, the
new rule is expected to reduce negotiation time, expenses, and possible
areas of dispute, while at the same time providing adequate protection
against potential discrimination. Based on these determinations, the Order
concludes that the benefits of adopting the all-or-nothing rule outweigh
the burdens, and therefore replaces the pick-and-choose rule.
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-249406A1.doc
TELECOM RATES BATTLE HEATS UP
A study by University of California-Berkeley Professor Yale Braunstein
found that current phone network lease rates have saved SBC's California
customers at least $300 million a year. Customers who switched carriers
saved up to 34%, while competition drove SBC customers' bills down as much
as 22%, the study found. But the rules that set those rates were overturned
by a court and have now expired. California phone regulators postponed a
decision Thursday on rival proposals that would increase the rates
competitors pay SBC for use of its infrastructure by more than 20%.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR:John Woolfolk]
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/9114576.htm
SPECTRUM-BASED SERVICES IN RURAL AREAS
To help ensure that wireless service offerings are available in rural
areas, the FCC on Thursday 1) adopted a default definition of "rural" as a
county with a population density of 100 persons or fewer per square mile;
2) determined that smaller licensing areas may be appropriate in some
spectrum blocks to encourage deployment in rural areas, and that licensing
areas will continue to be established on a service-by-service (or
band-by-band) basis, as appropriate; 3) eliminated the cellular
cross-interest rule, which currently applies only in Rural Service Areas
(RSA) and transitioned to case-by-case competitive review for all
applications involved in transactions involving cellular licenses; 4)
allowed licensees, at their option, to grant a security interest in certain
wireless licenses to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities
Service (RUS), subject to the Commission's prior approval of any transfer
of control; 5) increased permissible power levels for base stations in
certain wireless services that are located in rural areas or that provide
coverage to otherwise unserved areas, 6) amended its rules to permit
certain geographic-area licensees to comply with construction build-out
requirements by demonstrating that they provide "substantial service" and
7) concluded that re-licensing and market-based mechanisms aren't
necessarily mutually exclusive and that the two approaches can be
complimentary in certain circumstances.
Commissioner Copps issued a strong partial dissent concerning 1)
eliminating the rule that prohibits cellular carriers from merging, 2)
maintaining the rule that allows companies to meet their build out
requirements by serving only urban markets and ignoring rural customers,
and 3) allowing corporations to mortgage their spectrum licenses,
essentially allowing them to use a public asset as collateral when seeking
loans.
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-249405A1.doc
Statement by Commissioner Copps
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-249405A3.doc
CRITIC PANS IRS SUGGESTION ON VOIP
Rep Chris Cox (R-CA) sent a letter Wednesday to President Bush asking him
to "direct the IRS immediately to affirm that [the] 100-year-old tax does
not apply to the Internet, but only to traditional analog voice services."
"If IRS analysis suggests that (affirming) this will prevent Washington
from raising new revenue from this tax, that would be very good news for
American consumers--and more than 100 years overdue," wrote Rep Cox, the
fourth-most-senior Republican in the House. "When it comes to consumer
excise taxes, only alcohol and tobacco are taxed more heavily at the
federal level than phone service," Rep Cox wrote in his letter to President
Bush. "Telephone customers are then hit with state and local tax rates that
can run up to three times the rates paid on other goods. That is why the
House has voted to liberate consumers from this regressive tax."
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh]
http://news.com.com/Critic+pans+IRS+suggestion+on+VoIP/2100-1036_3-52612...
FCC LEADERSHIP
FCC'S POWELL SITS ON HORNS OF DILEMMA
A look at the tenure of FCC Chairman Michael Powell. His proponents say his
tenure, despite its highly publicized problems, will be lauded. "It's been
a struggle, but he has turned the ship in a deregulatory way," says Scott
Cleland, head of the Precursor Group. "Did he get everyone to go there
immediately and on his terms? No. But they are going to follow him."
Critics say Chairman Powell has focused too much on a sweeping free-market
agenda while not maintaining strong political alliances and neglecting the
short-term consequences for influential interest groups. Jeffrey Bray,
managing director of Babson Capital Management, says he has shifted most of
his company's telecom investments outside the U.S. "The inability of the
FCC to execute on major decisions has driven investors away" and makes it
impossible for companies to make "capital and customer decisions" with any
competitive certainty, he says. Mr. Bray and others say they expected more
from Chairman Powell, a Republican who was appointed as a commissioner by
President Clinton and chairman by President Bush. His penchant for
cutting-edge technology made him acutely capable of mapping out a strategy.
Plus, he knew how Washington worked; the 41-year-old former Army officer is
the son of Colin Powell, now the secretary of state.
Insiders suggest that Chairman Powell will step away from the FCC after the
presidential election.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Anne Marie Squeo at
annemarie.squeo( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108932376100259068,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
SENATORS BACK ADELSTEIN
Sens John McCain (R-AZ), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Ernest Hollings (D-SC),
Conrad Burns (R-MT), and Daniel Inouye (D-HI) have written President Bush
asking him to renominate Jonathan Adelstein to a second term on the FCC. "A
significant number of issues critical to American consumers are pending
before the Commission. We need someone with his knowledge and experience on
the job at the FCC," they wrote, asking for word on the status of the
nomination. Senate Minority Leader and Commissioner Adelstein's former
boss, Tom Daschle (D-SD), submitted his name for renomination a year ago,
but the White House has not yet sent it to the Senate. If the White House
fails to act, Commissioner Adelstein would have to leave at the end of the
current legislative session, which could be as soon as October.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA434763?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
MEDIA
FTC FILES REPORT ON HOLLYWOOD
The Federal Trade Commission issued its fourth report since 2000 on
entertainment violence; the results are mixed. The FTC credited studios,
music labels and video game makers for better following self-imposed
guidelines, including clamping down on the sale of R-rated movie tickets to
underage teens and providing better rating information to parents. But the
commission also faulted them for continuing to "advertise violent and
explicit movies, games and music in media widely watched by teens." It also
chided the online music business for being lax in keeping children from
downloading songs with explicit lyrics
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:Richard Verrier]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-ftc9jul09,1,5393822.s...
(requires registration)
MITCHELL DEFENDS PBS PATH
The Motion Picture Association of America and Public Broadcasting Service
President Pat Mitchell flirted, but did not wed. Now Ms. Mitchell is trying
to convince PBS stations that she is "thrilled, excited, passionate and
committed to be here." PBS faces a budget crisis, increased competition
from cable and pressure from a Republican-controlled Congress. Ms. Mitchell
said to solve the crisis, PBS plans will rely less on affiliate station
dues and more on self-financing independent producers and on donations made
through its new NPR-style foundation. Recently, stations nearly revolted
after PBS attempted to raise dues by 7.5 percent. Critics say the
traditionally progressive-minded institution is trying to appease
Republican congressional critics by launching a show hosted by conservative
commentator Tucker Carlson. Ms. Mitchell countered that PBS is simply
trying to broaden its audience.
[SOURCE: TelevisionWeek]
http://www.tvweek.com/news/web070804.html#mitchell
INTERNET
INTERNET AS UNIQUE NEWS SOURCE
New research by the Pew Internet Project shows that during some of the most
turbulent weeks of the Iraq war nearly one quarter of Internet users (24%)
went online to view some of most graphic war images that were deemed too
gruesome or horrific for newspapers and television to display. Further, of
those who have seen the images, 28% actively sought them out. Overall,
however, Americans are conflicted about the idea of these disturbing images
being available online. By a 49%-40% margin, Americans disapprove of the
posting of such images. A strong cultural divide emerges between Internet
users and non-users: Internet users approve of the images being online by a
small margin of 47% - 44%, while non-users disapprove by an overwhelming
58% - 29% margin. The horrific nature of many of the war-related images
that have appeared online have left Internet users with a range of
feelings. "Millions of Internet users want to be able to view the graphic
war images and they see the Internet as an alternative source of news and
information from traditional media," said Deborah Fallows, Senior Research
Fellow at the Project, and co-author of the report. "But many who do
venture outside the traditional and familiar standards of the mainstream
news organizations to look at the images online end up feeling very
uncomfortable."
[SOURCE: Pew Internet & American Life Project]
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/87/press_release.asp
STUDY: BROADBAND MARKET TO TRIPLE BY 2008
The Yankee Group is estimating that by 2008 there will be 325 million
broadband subscribers worldwide. About 200 million subscribers will be
using DSL service, up significantly from the 85 million people expected to
be using that technology by the end of 2004. DSL is expected to add between
25 million and 30 million subscribers per year, while rival cable modem
technology will account for around 8 million new subscribers annually. In
North America, though, cable service will maintain its lead, growing from
34 million at the end of last year to about 75 million in 2008. Satellite
is expected to experience strong growth, also. By 2008, it's expected to
have more than 12 million subscribers, or 4 percent of the market.
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Dinesh Sharma]
http://news.com.com/Study%3A+Broadband+market+to+triple+by+2008/2100-103...
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Have a great weekend. We'll see you again Monday.
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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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