The FCC Media Security & Reliability Council (MSRC), formed in the wake of Sept. 11, Tues. released a final report under its current 2-year charter. It recommended “best practices” intended to ensure dissemination of news and information in a crisis. The recommendations included such things as advance emergency plans, physical security in some cases, and backup power and communications systems.
The FCC’s emphasis on VoIP is fine but the FCC should first make sure the underlying broadband infrastructure is deployed throughout the country, FCC Comr. Copps said Wed. at a symposium sponsored by Mich. State U.’s Quello Center. “No matter how enthusiastic the rhetoric [about VoIP], IP technologies will only reach their potential if the infrastructure is there,” he said. “We should be thinking larger thoughts,” Copps said: “If we ever needed a national conference on how to deal with disruptive technology it’s now.”
The NAB urged the FCC to require Alert Devices International Corp. to immediately cease manufacturing and selling an unlicensed emergency vehicle signally service over the Internet and conclude that the transmitter service is flawed.
The first large-scale use of a “reverse 911” system in Port Clinton, O., generated a “totally unacceptable” number of complaints about calls that went astray, officials said. Reverse 911 systems use autodialing/announcing devices to notify people by phone of emergencies and give instructions. In Port Clinton, potential water contamination arising from a major water main break led Ottawa County public safety officials to use their 2-year-old reverse 911 system, administered by the N.Y.-based Community Alert Network (CAN), to advise people in certain sections of the city to boil tap water before drinking it. Many people in the danger zone complained they never received the calls, while others far outside that zone said they did. The system had been used once before, in Nov. 2002, to alert a couple of hundred residents about tornado danger, but this was the first use of reverse 911 to notify thousands of a danger. All told, 2,121 calls were placed, but only 1,753 got through. Several dozen calls went to locations outside the danger areas. The CAN said it had believed the seller of the phone number database it used was reliable. To prevent a recurrence, Ottawa County said it would get from Verizon a CD containing the same database used by the regular E911 system and would forward that to CAN. Officials said they hoped the corrected listings would be in place within 3 weeks.
The FCC granted temporary extensions of 12-month waivers on Emergency Alert Systems (EAS) for Vista III Media, which owns small cable systems in Miss. Based on financial data and other information, the agency granted a 9-month waiver for the Holly Springs system and 6-month waivers for the systems in Aberdeen and Nettleton. FCC rules require cable systems serving fewer than 5,000 subscribers from a headend to either provide national level EAS messages on all programmed channels or install EAS equipment and provide a video interrupt and audio alert on all programmed channels and EAS audio and video messages on at least one programmed channel by Oct. 1, 2002. Vista has had waivers since then.
Many World Trade Organization (WTO) members still don’t comply with telecom trade agreements, comments filed with the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) this week revealed. The comments were filed as part of USTR’s annual review of the operation and effectiveness of all U.S. trade agreements on telecom products and services. The USTR is expected to conclude its review by March 31.
The FCC upheld an $8,000 fine against Radio One for failing to have Emergency Alert System (EAS) equipment, keep a station log, maintain a local or toll-free number or have a system in place for monitoring operating power procedures at WBOT(FM), Brockton, Mass. Radio One appealed the fine, saying the FCC had fined other stations less for failing to maintain EAS equipment. Specifically, Radio One said the FCC had fined the American Family Assn. (AFA) only $4,000 for failing to have operational EAS equipment at a station it owns. The FCC, however, said AFA had EAS equipment, but it was simply turned off for repairs when inspectors were there. The FCC said WBOT(FM) didn’t have EAS equipment at all. Moreover, the FCC said, only $5,200 of the total fine was for the EAS violation, with the rest for the other violations.
The FCC Thurs. expanded the scope of some Enhanced 911 requirements, including a mandate that certain mobile satellite service (MSS) providers create call centers for routing emergency calls. In an order and further notice adopted unanimously at its agenda meeting, the Commission also concluded that, for now, state and local govts. were better positioned to set rules for E911 deployment by multiline telephone systems (MLTS). It expanded E911 mandates to certain telematics services and resellers of mobile wireless services, including prepaid calling cards.
A group founded by Ralph Nader is asking the FCC to deny the renewal of broadcast licenses for 63 radio stations owned by Clear Channel. Essential Information, a public interest group, urged in a complaint to the FCC that Clear Channel be denied license renewals for stations in D.C., Md., Va. and W.Va. The licenses will be renewed automatically Oct. 1 unless the FCC denies renewal. “The FCC is required by statute to deny applications for license renewal if a licensee exhibits poor character,” said Jim Donahue, project dir.: “In the 3 years since Clear Channel became the largest holder of station licenses in the nation, it has demonstrated that it lacks the requisite character to hold broadcast licenses.” He said the company had compiled a record of “repeated law-breaking.” He said Clear Channel and its subsidiaries had violated the law 36 times over the last 3 years, citing deceptive advertising, broadcasting conversations without obtaining permission of the 2nd party in the conversation, airing obscene and indecent material during times when children were likely to listen, violating rules on the testing of the emergency alert system, animal cruelty for the purpose of promoting an on-air personality and falsely causing a public emergency to be reported to promote an on-air personality, among others. Clear Channel Senior Vp-Govt. Relations Andrew Levin called the complaints “specious claims and an abuse of the regulatory process. One has to question Ralph Nader’s motives -- is he really concerned about our local radio stations or by his own national political aspirations? Sounds like another Washington fund-raising stunt to me. Can a campaign launch be far behind?”
As Hurricane Isabel bore down on the East Coast, telecom carriers said they were prepared for the worst. BellSouth and Verizon officials said their technicians were checking backup power systems so they could continue providing phone service if commercial power was lost and making sure their fuel tanks were full.