As expected, the FCC proposed to require broadcast licensees to report on its Form 323 a Social Security-based FCC Registration Number (FRN) for all attributable owners (CD Oct 24 p2). In a further notice of proposed rulemaking issued Thursday, the commission asked for comments on a plan to eliminate a “Special Use” FRN alternative to its standard FRN. The special-use FRN does not require attributable owners to submit a Social Security number in order to obtain one. It also asked for comment on keeping the special use FRN “solely in instances where the filer is unable to obtain” a standard FRN from attributable owners, the notice said (http://xrl.us/bn83sg).
The Communications Workers of America slammed Cablevision in a report released Thursday, which coincided with a gathering of union leaders and New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and New York City Council Member Letitia James, each of whom offered statements questioning the service of the company. The report accused Cablevision of, as its title says, “leaving Brooklyn behind” in terms of the Internet speeds provided, the facilities and the way the cable company treats the workers who chose to unionize early last year. Cablevision dismissed the report as “phony” and has strongly disputed the union’s claims before, suing the union for defamation in late December.
ATSC 2.0 will emerge as a new candidate broadcast standard early this year with a goal of deploying it in CE products by year-end, Richard Chernock, chairman of the ATSC technology and standards group, told us. The candidate standard designation is a precursor to formal implementation of ATSC 2.0, he said.
Montgomery County, Md., is hoping to change some of the rules governing how the FCC frees cable operators from local rate regulation. It recently asked the Media Bureau not to grant a special relief request from Comcast that would free the cable operator from local rate regulation in some Montgomery County towns. Opposition from local franchise authorities to such requests by cable operators is not new. But Montgomery County argued the bureau should stop making findings of “effective competition,” based solely on competition from Dish and DirecTV (CD Dec 13 p23). That argument, if it holds up, could affect how other operators in areas where no wireline competition exists are able to seek similar local rate regulation relief.
The Senate Commerce Committee will have one fewer Republican member in the 113th Congress, committee aides confirmed Thursday. The committee will now have a 13-11 split between Democrats and Republicans as the panel prepares to address telecom reform in the 113th Congress. Telecom lobbyists said Thursday that the new member ratio was unlikely to have a significant effect on the committee’s oversight of telecom and tech issues.
State telecommunications associations in New York and Maine oppose Time Warner Cable’s Nov. 13 FCC petition seeking limited ETC classification and Lifeline participation, they told the FCC in filings posted this week. Time Warner Cable (TWC) wants to be categorized as an eligible telecom carrier for limited purposes of receiving Lifeline funds but hopes to avoid any redefinition of its service areas and doesn’t want other USF support. “Forbearance [of certain FCC rules associated with ETCs] would enable TWC to introduce a competitive alternative that better responds to the particular needs of low-income consumers,” it said in its petition (http://xrl.us/bn8w5e). The Wireline Bureau opened the petition for comment in a Nov. 30 notice (http://xrl.us/bn8wzg), with comments due Monday and reply comments due Jan. 14.
Congress voted Tuesday to delay for two months the 10-year, $1.2 trillion sequester as a part of the legislation to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff (HR-8). The legislation directs the president to on March 1 order the automatic, across-the-board spending cuts which were originally scheduled to kick in on Wednesday. The FY2013 spending reductions will then be “evaluated and implemented” on March 27, the legislation said. The new deadline provides Congress with less than three months to permanently end or further delay the sharp cuts which threaten federal budgets.
Starting in 2014, CTIA will no longer hold its spring show, the largest of the year for the association, consolidating that show with MobileCON, its fall show, into a single “super mobility week” Sept. 9-11 in Las Vegas, it said Wednesday. That scheduling decision puts the CTIA show in direct conflict with the schedule of one of its biggest rivals, the Competitive Carriers Association, which is slated to meet the same week in Las Vegas.
Satellite companies are expanding their Ka-band services to the government and to the public, satellite industry executives said. Ka band provides the opportunity to provide more capacity for consumers, but it will not replace services in Ku, C and other bands, they said.
As the industry’s share of the North American business services market continues to grow by double-digit percentages, large U.S. and Canadian cable operators are increasing their emphasis on midsize and larger firms with 20 to 500 employees, by introducing more advanced Metro Ethernet, cellular backhaul, hosted voice and other cloud-based telecom products.