Communications networks taken down in Hurricane Katrina didn’t succumb to wind and rain but floods and power outages, according to the FCC’s Hurricane Katrina Independent Panel. The body, poised to summarize its 5 months of work in a report due June 15, will tell the Commission a commonly heard analysis: That things really weren’t that bad -- until the levees broke.
Public broadcasters in the Gulf states have better disaster recovery plans as they brace for what’s predicted to be another destructive storm season, our inquiries show. “We are pretty well positioned, and we have a good plan in place,” said Beth Courtney, pres. of La. Public Bcstg. (LPB), a state network running 9 stations. But plans can go awry, Courtney warned. A lesson of Katrina is that stations should have fuel to run generators for days, PBS Senior Vp- Technology & Operations Edward Caleca said. Some PBS stations installed larger fuel tanks; others have “identified alternate fuel cells,” he added.
AT&T won victories in Conn. and Okla. in efforts to escape local franchising requirements for its IP-based video services. Conn. regulators and the Okla. Attorney General concluded AT&T doesn’t need to obtain video franchises to provide Internet-based video services over its phone lines in their states.
Public broadcasters lauded changes adopted last week by the CPB board to the corporation’s governance and operations (CD May 2 p3). “We applaud them for their continued steps to increase transparency and reform their operations,” said Assn. of Public TV Stations Pres. John Lawson: “It appears they are really committed to correcting some of the inappropriate actions of the past.” Commending board efforts to “ensure greater transparency and implement best practices,” PBS Vp Lea Sloan praised Pres. Pat Harrison’s “call for clarity and accountability in all aspects of the organization.”
The FCC fined WWCB(AM) Corry, Pa., $8,000 for violating emergency alert system rules by not having adequate gear for the service. Corry Communications has 20 days to pay the penalty or it may face court action, said the forfeiture order.
DirecTV Latin America (DTVLA) opposed a petition by SES Americom, Intelsat and PanAmSat for partial reconsideration of the FCC’s emergency alert system (EAS) overhaul. Fixed satellite services operators should “be ultimately answerable to the Commission for EAS compliance,” DTVLA said. The FCC has no direct jurisdiction over programmers it doesn’t license or those leasing satellite capacity from FSS carriers, DTVLA said. It would be easier to enforce EAS rules via direct regulation of FSS licensees, they said. “The FCC has more information about the ownership and activities of licensees than it does about non-licensee programmers, and it has a wider range of enforcement options over those it directly regulates to ensure compliance,” DTVLA said. FSS licensees should bear ultimate responsibility for complying with FCC requirements, it said.
The European Parliament likely will urge govts. and telcos to speed work on a pan-European system intended to deliver emergency services automatic alerts of vehicle accidents. The “eCall” proposal is part of a move by the European Commission to use data and communications tools to boost road safety. After a debate at today’s (Thurs.) plenary session, lawmakers are expected to approve a road map to put the technology in new vehicles beginning in Sept. 2009.
Sprint Nextel Thurs. debuted a child-locating wireless service, as part of an effort to expand its “family market” presence. Sprint Family Locator by WaveMarket is available for $9.99 per month on 17 cellphone models served by the wireless carrier. Several carriers have jumped into marketing their handsets for children -- or their parents -- as the market searches for new ways to keep additions coming.
Public TV’s digital emergency alert system (DEAS) is poised for a national rollout, with the “success” of the 2nd phase of a joint pilot by the Assn. of Public TV Stations and the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS), officials said. After first-phase testing of a national EAS, the pilot is testing how public TV stations can provide “support and enhancement to state and local activations of the alert and warning system,” APTS said. APTS has provided DHS with a national rollout plan that includes cost and schedule estimates and technical options for implementation, an APTS spokeswoman said.
Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) giants Intelsat, PanAmSat and SES Americom lobbied FCC officials from 3 bureaus last week in an effort to keep Emergency Alerts out of FSS hands and in their direct-to-home video customers’ domain. The fixed satellite services operators are questioning 2 of several new Emergency Alert System (EAS) requirements in last year’s FCC EAS expansion, saying: (1) The operators want the FCC to apply EAS obligations “directly” to programming distributors -- FSS’s customers -- rather than “indirectly” to satellite operators. (2) The operators want the FCC to exclude from EAS rules FSS services directed outside the U.S., so as to prevent foreign programming from being interrupted by U.S. warnings. Limiting EAS obligations directly to direct-to-home programming distributors in the U.S. would be the “most logical approach” to emergency alert dissemination, the operators argued. “Putting FSS operators in the role of ‘enforcer’ undermines EAS and harms FSS, with no upside benefit,” they claimed. Intelsat, PanAmSat and SES Americom said they have no way to force direct-to-home programmers like DirecTV and EchoStar to comply with the EAS rules. What’s more, the end result would be a “bizarre and confusing patchwork” of alerts, they said. FSS operators would be responsible for alerts on some DBS channels and DBS programmers would be responsible for others going to the same customer, the FSS firms said. If the Commission decides not to relieve FSS operators of EAS obligations, then the operators want the FCC at least to grandfather existing contracts.