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Patton Boggs TechComm Industry Update - Week of May 14, 2009
May 14, 2009
Senate Schedules Confirmation Hearing for NTIA Administrator, Delays Hearing for FCC Chairman
The Senate Commerce Committee scheduled a May 19th confirmation hearing for Lawrence Strickling, the President’s nominee for Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. The Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information manages the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and is the President’s principal advisor on telecommunications policy. NTIA also is the agency responsible for distributing the majority of the broadband stimulus funding provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Strickling served as a policy coordinator for President Obama during his campaign and was responsible for technology and telecommunications issues. Prior to joining the campaign, Strickling was chief regulatory and chief compliance officer at Broadwing Communications. He also served at the FCC during the Clinton Administration.
At the same confirmation hearing, the Committee will consider the President’s nomination of Aneesh Choprah to serve as Chief Technology Officer for the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President, a newly created position. Chopra currently serves as Secretary of Technology for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Meanwhile, the Committee last Thursday postponed a May 12th confirmation hearing for Julius Genachowski as FCC Chairman. “It has been agreed on a bipartisan basis to postpone the hearing until just after the Memorial Day recess,” said a statement issued by Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). A source said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell personally appealed to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to slow the process down and give Republicans more time to reach a decision on the Republican nomination for the FCC, Congress Daily reported.
Senate Republicans appear united on a candidate to fill a Republican opening on the Commission, former Commerce Department official Meredith Baker. Baker ran the NTIA during the Bush administration. A Democratic vacancy on the Commission is expected to be filled by Mignon Clyburn, a state regulator in South Carolina and daughter of House Majority Whip Clyburn. There was talk late Thursday that both sides are striving to put together a package of four FCC candidates -- two Democrats (Genachowski and Clyburn) and two Republicans (Baker and McDowell) -- and that McConnell needs more time to finalize his choices. In addition to considering Baker, Republicans are considering whether to re-nominate GOP commissioner Robert McDowell, whose term expires June 30th.
President’s Budget Highlights Broadband Priorities
The President unveiled a detailed budget plan last week, highlighting the importance of deploying broadband infrastructure. The Fiscal Year 2010 budget proposes $20 million for the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), $1.3 billion for broadband and telecommunications grants and loans administered by the Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and $335.8 million for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
- RUS. The $1.3 billion for RUS broadband and telecommunications programs is in keeping with the President’s pledge to “increase broadband capacity and improve telecommunication service and education and health opportunities in rural America.” The budget includes $690 million for rural telecommunication, which provides direct loans for construction, expansion and operation of telecommunications lines and facilities or systems. The RUS budget also proposes $531 million for the principal amount of broadband telecommunications loans, $38.5 million for the cost of broadband loans authorized under the Rural Electrification Act, $29.8 million for telemedicine and distance learning services grants, and $13.4 million for grants to finance broadband transmission in rural areas eligible for Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program benefits.
- NTIA. The $20 million for NTIA operations is in line with the 2009 estimated budget and the 2010 actual budget for “necessary expenses.” The budget eliminates funding for administering Public Telecommunications Facilities, Planning, and Construction grants, since the grant program itself is proposed for termination in 2010. The budget proposes $11.5 million for administering the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Fund created by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, as amended by the DTV Delay Act passed earlier this year.
- FCC. The $335.8 million for FCC salaries and authorized expenses does not include auction revenues, universal service contributions, and other offsetting collections from sources other than regulatory fees. All but $1 million of the agency’s budget is funded from regulatory fees. The budget would allow $25.5 million to be transferred from the Universal Service Fund (USF) to pay for monitoring the fund for waste, fraud and abuse, and to conduct audits and investigations by the Office of Inspector General. The budget also proposes to authorize through legislation the auctioning of domestic satellite spectrum, indefinitely extending the FCC’s spectrum auction authority (currently set to expire on Sept. 30, 2012), and setting user fees on un-auctioned spectrum licenses - all of which were part of recent White House budget proposals but were not included. The budget overview also proposes to re-impose the Anti-deficiency Act requirements on USF and eliminate a restriction on the use of funds for single connection or primary line support to implement 2004 recommendations of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service.
- Interoperability Programs. The President’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budget proposes $50 million for the Interoperable Emergency Communications Grant Program. The proposed funding level is the same as FY2009. The Department of Justice, meanwhile, is asking for $205.1 million for interoperable communications to continue development of the Integrated Wireless Network. A contract was awarded to launch the network in 2007 as a nationwide collaboration among the Justice, Homeland Security, and the Treasury departments.
- Smart Grid. Although stimulus funding in the Recovery Act lays the groundwork for modernizing the electric grid with $4.5 billion, the President requests $208 million in the Energy Department budget for such programs, a 52% increase from FY2009. Of that amount, $67 million will go to research “smart grid” initiatives to transmit power more efficiently.
Local Governments Seek Ability to Construct Public Safety Networks Using 700 MHz
Due to the FCC’s delay in allocating 10 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum for public safety communications, a number of cities and counties have filed waiver requests to the FCC, including the City and County of San Francisco, the City of Oakland, the City of San Jose, the City of Boston, and the Department of Transportation of King County, Washington (collectively, the “Petitioners”) seeking to utilize the Upper 700 MHz D Block to build and operate a Shared Wireless Broadband Network. The Petitioners all hold licenses to operate on 700 MHz narrowband channels, but must receive a waiver of the Commission’s rules to allow them to use the public safety broadband spectrum in the 700 MHz band to deploy regional, mobile, interoperable public safety broadband networks. The Petitioners state that they are ready to design and construct an interoperable public safety voice and broadband data network in their respective areas. According to the Petitioners, the granted waiver would result in significant cost savings, efficiency benefits, and the accelerated availability of an integrated voice and broadband public safety network serving the residents of their respective areas.
Another State USF Win for VoIP Providers
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an FCC decision that federal law can preempt state VoIP regulations because it is impossible to separate the service’s interstate and intrastate components. A lower court preempted and enjoined Nebraska’s enforcement of the Nebraska Universal Service Fund (USF) because the FCC, in an order resolving a dispute between Vonage and the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, ruled that nomadic interconnected VoIP services were only subject to regulation by the FCC. The FCC established a USF safe harbor of 64.9% as the percentage of interconnected VoIP communications that are presumed to be interstate, and to which Federal USF surcharges apply. Nebraska attempted to assess state USF charges on the remaining 35.1%. While intrastate VoIP services could be subject to USF charges, the Eighth Circuit held that only the FCC can determine if and how intrastate USF are imposed. This federal preemption decision is positive for multi-state VoIP service providers that would clearly have a difficult time complying with 50 different sets of state regulations.
House Holds Hearing on Competition in the Wireless Industry
The House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet held a hearing to address several issues impacting competition in the wireless industry. Congressman Rick Boucher (D-VA), chairman of the Subcommittee, said that he would be considering legislation to preempt state regulation of wireless services and explore the need for new spectrum. Congressman Boucher said he plans to examine the need for the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to identify new (unused) spectrum for commercial wireless services. “As more people use wireless devices and as advanced applications require higher data rates over time, additional spectrum will be needed to accommodate growth,” Boucher said. “Our legislation should direct NTIA to undertake a survey of possible new spectrum that can be auctioned for this purpose.”
Similar legislation, S. 649, has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and has five co-sponsors: Sens. Bill Nelson (D-FL), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Mark Warner (D-VA). Kerry’s Radio Spectrum Inventory Act would require NTIA and the FCC to biennially inventory each radio spectrum band from 300 MHz to 3.5 GHz, including information on the licenses or government user assigned in the band, the total spectrum allocation of each licensee or government user, the number of deployed radiators, and other information. The data would be available to the public online, but would allow a licensee or government user to petition for a partial or total exemption from publication if disclosure is harmful to national security.
At the hearing, Boucher said he is contemplating legislative action on an array of other issues, such as easing restrictions on adding additional transmitters to preexisting tower sites, ensuring automatic rights that allow wireless data to “roam” over the networks of competing carriers, ensuring an adequate availability of backhaul facilities and whether wider use of the “open access” requirements the FCC imposed last year on the auction of the 700 MHz C-block would be helpful to address handset availability.
Boucher also said his Subcommittee will undertake a measure to establish a national framework for consumer protection, a step the wireless industry supports because state laws vary, creating a complex web of requirements. But a possible flashpoint is the level of authority states would retain over consumer-related matters. Despite his plan to task the FCC with this responsibility, Boucher noted that states "should have a role in dispute resolution and enforcement," a structure that wireless carriers do not support. Senator Jay Rockefeller, (D-WV), is expected to reintroduce a wireless consumer protection bill he offered last Congress.
The issue of the high price of backhaul and the fact that Verizon Wireless and AT&T control more than 90 percent of the backhaul service in the country was a key bone of contention, with all industry witnesses –Sprint, Leap, Cellular South and FiberTower -- saying it was a potential impediment to communications deployments.
Frank Introduces Bill to License Internet Gambling, Impose Consumer Protections Online
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) this week introduced a bill, H.R. 2267, to license Internet gambling, provide consumer protections on the Internet, and enforce the tax code. The legislation is a companion to a bill introduced on the same date by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) to regulate and tax Internet gambling. The bill has been referred to the House Committees on Financial Services, Energy and Commerce, and the Judiciary.
INDUSTRY CALENDAR
Meetings and Events
May 11-15, 2009
- 2009 Technology and Standards Spring Forum, St. Louis, MO
May 15, 2009
- Pursuant to OMB Guidelines, detailed agency financial reports to become available for purposes of stimulus funding
May 17, 2009
- FCC Working Group: Digital TV Closed Captioning and Video Description
May 20, 2009
- Pursuant to OMB Guidelines, federal agencies to begin reporting stimulus competitive grants and contracts
June 3, 2009
- FCC Monthly Public Meeting
June 7-10, 2009
- 23rd International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) World Conference on Open Learning and Distance Education, Maastricht, The Netherlands
June 21, 2009
- LeadAmerica Youth Leadership Conference, Washington, D.C.
June 23, 2009
- WRC-11 Advisory Committee - Informal Working Group 4: Regulatory Issues
July 2, 2009
- FCC Monthly Public Meeting
July 15, 2009
- Pursuant to OMB Guidelines, recipients of federal funding to begin reporting on use of their stimulus funds
- WRC-11 Advisory Committee - Informal Working Group 2: Terrestrial Services
- WRC-11 Advisory Committee - Informal Working Group 3: Space Services
July 19-22, 2009
- NARUC Summer Committee Meetings, Seattle, WA
July 21, 2009
- WRC-11 Advisory Committee - Informal Working Group 1: Maritime, Aeronautical and Radar Services
August 5-8, 2009
- Radio & Records: Triple A 2009 Summit, Boulder, CO
September 15, 2009
- WCAI International Symposium at 4G World, Chicago, IL
September 15-17, 2009
- WiMAX World 2009, Chicago, IL
September 23-25, 2009
- The NAB Radio Show, Philadelphia, PA
October 7-9, 2009
- International CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment, San Diego, CA
October 18-21, 2009
- 2009 Technology and Standards Fall Forum, Phoenix, AZ
- CEA Industry Forum, Phoenix, AZ
October 25-30, 2009
- Cable Connection, Denver, CO
November 3-5, 2009
- WiMAX World Emerging Markets, Prague, Czech Republic
November 15-18, 2009
- NARUC Annual Convention, Chicago, UL
December 2, 2009
- Radio Ink: Forecast, New York, NY
- FCC Rulemakings / Deadlines
May 15, 2009
- Deadline: Action on Verizon New England’s Request for Forbearance from Unbundling and Dominant Carrier Regulation in Rhode Island
- Comment Deadline: Auction Scheme for 78 Broadband Radio Service (BRS) Licenses; Auction Begins October 27, 2009
May 18, 2009
- Reply Comment Deadline: Steps to Implement the Child Safe Viewing Act of 2007
- Reply Comment Deadline: 17 Petitions for Reconsideration of Rules to Allow Wireless Devices to Operate in Vacant TV Spectrum
May 20, 2009
- Reply Comment Deadline: Starkey Laboratories Seeks Amendment of Unlicensed Spectrum Rules to Operate Low-Power RF Devices
- Comment Deadline: 2008 and 2009 Data Sought for Fourteenth Annual Report on Competition for the Delivery of Video Programming
- Comment Deadline: 2007 Data for Fourteenth Inquiry on Competition for the Delivery of Video Programming
May 22, 2009
- Reply Comments: CenturyTel to Acquire Subsidiaries' Licenses in Acquisition of Embarq
May 25, 2009
- Reply Comment Deadline: Petition for Rulemaking: Video Relay Service (VRS) Equipment Porting Requirement
May 26, 2009
- Comment Deadline: Petition for Rulemaking: Amend Rules for Travelers' Information Station (TIS) Operations
May 29, 2009
- Reply Comment Deadline: Auction Scheme for 78 Broadband Radio Service (BRS) Licenses; Auction Begins October 27, 2009
- Comment Deadline: Petition for Expedited Rulemaking on Migratory Bird Collisions with Communications Towers
June 1, 2009
- Comment Deadline on OMB Stimulus Buy American Guidance
June 3, 2009
- Comment Deadline: Petition for Rulemaking to Increase Tier 4 Lifeline Funding from $25 to $30 per Month
June 8, 2009
- Comment Deadline: Development of a National Broadband Plan
- Reply Comment Deadline: FCC to Refresh the Record on High-Cost Universal Service Support for Non-Rural Carriers
- Reply Comment Deadline: Petition for Rulemaking: Amend Rules for Travelers' Information Station (TIS) Operations
June 15, 2009
- Reply Comment Deadline: Petition for Expedited Rulemaking on Migratory Bird Collisions with Communications Towers
June 18, 2009
- Reply Comment Deadline: Petition for Rulemaking to Increase Tier 4 Lifeline Funding from $25 to $30 per Month
June 19 , 2009
- RUS Community Connect Grant Application Deadline
June 20, 2009
- Reply Comment Deadline: 2008 and 2009 Data Sought for Fourteenth Annual Report on Competition for the Delivery of Video Programming
- Reply Comment Deadline: 2007 Data for Fourteenth Inquiry on Competition for the Delivery of Video Programming
June 22, 2009
- Comment Deadline on OMB Further Guidance on Stimulus Buy American Provisions
June 29, 2009
- Deadline: Action on Verizon’s Request for Forbearance from Unbundling and Dominant Carrier Regulation in Virginia Beach
July 7, 2009
- Reply Comment Deadline: Development of a National Broadband Plan
July 15, 2009
- Deadline: Wireless Manufacturers: Hearing Aid Compliance Reports Due
July 23, 2009
- Deadline: FCC Report to Congress Due on 911 and E911 Fees Collected by States under the NET 911 Act
Public Safety
May 20, 2009
- Regional Public Safety Planning Committee Meeting for Region 7 in Centennial, Colorado regarding 700 MHz
- Regional Public Safety Planning Committee Meeting for Region 12 in Sandpoint, Idaho regarding 700 MHz
May 21, 2009
- Regional Public Safety Planning Committee Meeting for Region 5 in San Marcos, California regarding 700 MHz
- Regional Public Safety Planning Committee Meeting for Region 45 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin regarding 700 MHz and 800 MHz
June 9, 2009
- Regional Public Safety Planning Committee Meeting for Region 19 in Cranston, Rhode Island regarding 700 MHz
July 22, 2009
- Regional Public Safety Planning Committee Meeting for Region 7 in Centennial, Colorado regarding 700 MHz
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