The FCC is back to Square One on certain applications for license transfers and amendments for commercial TV stations. It announced Thurs. that it was going back to its old forms -- those reflecting the old media ownership rules - - while the efficacy of the new rules was being decided in the courts. The FCC put a freeze on the filing of applications Sept. 5 after the 3rd U.S. Appeals Court, Philadelphia, stayed the agency’s new ownership rules (CD Sept 8 p9). Involved are Forms 301, 314 and 315. The old versions of the forms will be effective and available for use upon publication of the FCC’s public notice in the Federal Register. The temporary freeze will end when it’s published. The Media Bureau staff has resumed processing applications filed on the June 2002 versions of the forms. Applications filed on the July 2003 versions will have to be resubmitted on the old forms and requesters encouraged to do so expeditiously after the Federal Register publication.

XtremeSpectrum opposed an ultra-wideband (UWB) challenge at the FCC filed by Cingular, which urged the agency to reconsider its decision to allow unlicensed UWB operation under Part 15. Cingular had argued that the Commission’s UWB decision ran counter to Sec. 301 of the Communications Act, which bars wireless transmissions without a license and requires a license for all low-power transmission. Cingular said that meant the FCC couldn’t authorize UWB operations on an unlicensed basis. XtremeSpectrum contended Cingular’s petition for reconsideration should be rejected as repetitious because the Commission already had dismissed an earlier petition raising similar issues from Cingular and other challengers. Because a subsequent UWB order didn’t adopt the modifications Cingular sought in its initial challenge, XtremeSpectrum said the latest petition also should be dismissed: “Cingular cannot support a second reconsideration by criticizing the Commission’s denial of its first one.” XtremeSpectrum countered Cingular arguments that the FCC had ignored recommendations of its Technological Advisory Council and a legal argument that unlicensed operation such as UWB was beyond the agency’s statutory authority. Those points could have been raised earlier in the proceeding, XtremeSpectrum said. “The Commission should not allow Cingular to extend this proceeding by doling out its arguments through multiple reconsideration cycles,” it said. XtremeSpectrum sought dismissal of a Satellite Industry Assn. petition on similar grounds.

As expected, the FCC Fri. established a new freeze on the filing of applications for license transfers for commercial TV stations (CD Sept 5 p1). The freeze was effective immediately and will last until further notice. The freeze also applies to amendments that require the use of the forms in question -- Forms 301, 314 and 315. The FCC Media Bureau said it would issue a public notice “in the near future” providing further information on the filing of new applications as well as guidance on the processing of applications currently pending. It said applications proposing “pro forma” assignments and transfers (Form 316) for commercial, noncommercial and educational stations would continue to be processed normally.

Some mobile operators warned the FCC to take caution when considering additional spectrum for unlicensed technology as an underlay to licensed services. In comments on an FCC staff working paper on unlicensed spectrum, Cingular Wireless said the report and related proceedings “demonstrate a continuing focus on unlicensed devices, despite questionable authority to condone unlicensed operations and the significant risk of harm such devices pose as an underlay to licensed services.”

The FCC rejected a challenge by ARRL, the National Assn. for Amateur Radio, which sought review of a Commission order that allowed operation of unlicensed fixed, point-to-point transmitters at 24 GHz. The ARRL petition filed last year had sparked protests by Apple Computer, Cisco, Microsoft and T-Mobile USA, which argued the proposal would create a “bureaucratic nightmare” for the FCC by significantly altering the regulatory regime that had given rise to cordless phones and broadband wireless networks. ARRL contended that unlicensed point-to-point operation in that band at certain permissible power levels would create substantial interference potential to licensed amateur services. The agency disagreed and said it found the rest of the group’s petition “to be without merit.” The Commission affirmed its core technical finding that devices with field strengths up to the level outlined in the rules that met directional antenna requirements could operate under Part 15 rules at 24 GHz. “Devices operating within these requirements will not increase the interference potential to licensed amateur services in the band,” the FCC said. The use of a directional antenna would change the shape of the radiated field, but wouldn’t increase the total geographic area covered by the signals, it said. The order cited other proceedings that “find that a directional antenna requirement would ensure that the area over which harmful interference can occur is equivalent to what would be caused by a transmitter using an omnidirectional antenna operating at a lower output level.” The FCC said ARRL hadn’t offered new information on the interference potential. “Bare disagreement, absent new facts and arguments, is insufficient grounds for granting reconsideration,” the agency said. Because it didn’t agree with ARRL’s arguments on significant interference potential, the Commission said it didn’t have to address the statutory argument raised by ARRL on Sec. 301 of the Communications Act. The group had contended that Sec. 302(a) gave the FCC jurisdiction to limit the interference potential of radio frequency devices of all types at the manufacturing stage. If the agency can’t ascertain that unlicensed Part 15 devices that seek to operate in bands allocated to licensed radio services won’t cause harmful interference, those devices have to be licensed under Sec. 301, ARRL said. “The technical operating parameters adopted in the report and order are designed to ensure that the interference risk will not be increased to licensed amateur services and we affirm that the rules adopted in the report and order are reasonable for regulating the unlicensed operation that was authorized under Part 15 in this proceeding,” the order said.

Audiovox Senior Vp Patrick Lavelle told analysts in conference call Mon. that “we expect to close” on $40 million purchase of Recoton’s audio business today (Tues.). He said “things are moving along according to plan.” Audiovox agreed to buy Recoton’s audio business, which includes Acoustic Research, Advent and Jensen brands, out of bankruptcy, assuming $5 million in debt (CED June 4 p1). Acquisition was part of breakup of Recoton, which filed for bankruptcy in April (CED April 10 p1). It also sold its accessories business to Thomson, for $60 million.

Audiovox expects to close this month on $40 million purchase of Recoton’s audio business that includes Acoustic Research and Jensen brands, it said in quarterly report filed with SEC. Audiovox, which purchased Recoton’s audio business out of bankruptcy, also assumed $5 million in debt. Audiovox’s acquisition was part of break up of Recoton, which filed for bankruptcy in April. Recoton sold its accessories business to Thomson for about $60 million. Meanwhile, Audiovox reported 2nd- quarter net income fell to $2.1 million from $3.6 million year- ago despite gain in revenue to $301 million from $297.2 million. Gain in sales was spurred by mobile electronics, sales of which increased to $74.1 million from $57.8 million. Audiovox’s CE business posted increase in sales to $27.7 million from $19.1 million, while those from car sound systems fell to $9.9 million from $13.6 million. Wireless products, which includes cellular phones, posted decline in revenues to $185.1 million from $199.4 million year ago despite increase in average selling price to $161 from $135. Increase in selling price was driven by influx of color LCD-based cellular phones, Audiovox said. Unit sales dropped to 1.1 million from 1.4 million year-earlier. Overall, wireless products accounted for 61.6% of sales, down from 67.1% year-ago and were followed by mobile at 24.6%, up from 19.5%.

Cingular Wireless and the Satellite Industry Assn. (SIA) asked the FCC, in separate petitions, to reconsider its decision to allow unlicensed operation of ultra-wideband (UWB) devices under Part 15 of the Commission’s rules. Cingular argued that the decision violated Sec. 301 of the Communications Act, which bars wireless transmissions without a license and “unquestionably requires a license for all low- power transmissions.” As a result, Cingular said, the Commission can’t authorize UWB operations on an unlicensed basis. It told the agency that Congress had identified 4 services in which spectrum use could be permitted without a license and that UWB didn’t fall into any of them. “The Commission’s authority to permit unlicensed UWB operations is therefore nonexistent,” Cingular said: “Once these devices proliferate, there will be no way to cure the interference they cause. This was a problem Sec. 301 was intended to prevent.” Cingular and other wireless companies have contended that the FCC erred in allowing UWB devices to operate under Part 15, in part because there hasn’t been extensive enough testing of the impact on commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) operations and Enhanced 911. Some commenters said the FCC should have conducted tests using actual UWB devices before granting authorization. Cingular said in its May 22 petition that the FCC’s UWB decisions were arbitrary and capricious: “The Commission recognized that any changes to Part 15 must continue to insulate FCC licensees from harmful interference and that, given the importance of this noninterference condition, it ’should be cautious until it has gained further experience with this technology.’ Yet the Commission rejected every conservative measure proposed by the CMRS industry to protect their operations from harmful interference and to ensure that UWB devices do not interfere with E911 calls.” It said the FCC moved forward without “an adequate test record,” even though its Technical Advisory Committee had suggested testing would be critical in any UWB decision. In a separate petition and engineering analysis, SIA said the FCC should revamp its UWB rules because they exposed fixed satellite service (FSS) operations in 4 GHz downlink bands to harmful interference. Rollout of “ubiquitous” UWB devices will interfere with C- band downlinks, creating concern for satellite operators because FSS systems make wide use of that band, SIA said. Those frequencies are used for program distribution to cable headends and radio/TV broadcast stations, broadband communications to Navy vessels, commercial weather data distribution to airlines and position location for truck fleets. “UWB interference could jeopardize the billions of dollars that FSS operators, customers and distributors have invested in FSS systems for commercial and national security purposes and could interrupt vital FSS services,” said SIA, which is seeking reconsideration of an earlier FCC rejection of a previous challenge by the group. SIA said the earlier denial was based on criticisms of the association’s findings “that do not withstand scrutiny,” the petition said. SIA argued that the interference-to-noise ratio adopted by the Commission, unlike that used by SIA, would expose FSS earth station receivers to harmful interference.

Circuit City, saddled with $14.2 million in costs for shift to noncommissioned sales force and severance payments, said its 4th-quarter net income plunged to $75.3 million from $159.3 million.

Cingular Wireless told FCC last week, before it adopted order on ultra-wideband (UWB), that it couldn’t authorize those operations on unlicensed basis. Commission (CD Feb 14 p4) largely left intact existing UWB technical rules, tweaking them in areas such as changes to facilitate operation of through-wall imaging systems by rescue personnel in emergencies. Cingular argued that adoption of Part 15 rules hinged on idea that Sec. 301 of Communications Act applied only to interstate transmissions and that low-power operations could be allowed on unlicensed basis because such transmissions generally lacked interstate component. Sec. 301 sets out licensing provisions for communications systems. “Although Section 301 did not expressly provide the Commission with jurisdiction over intrastate radio emissions at the time Part 15 was created, Congress always intended Section 301 to apply to intrastate emissions,” Cingular said. In 1982, carrier said, Congress amended Sec. 301 to clarify that FCC jurisdiction over radio communications extended to intrastate, as well as interstate, transmissions. Congress at that time spelled out that Sec. 301 should be in line with court opinions finding that all radio signals inherently were interstate, company said. “Thus, low-power, intrastate transmission requires a license under Section 301,” it said. “Accordingly, the Commission cannot authorize UWB operations on an unlicensed basis.”