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Comment Sought on Petition to Amend OTARD Rule

Posted on May 9, 2012

The FCC’s Media Bureau has requested comment on a Petition for Rulemaking filed by the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association, DIRECTV, LLC, and DISH Network L.L.C. which seeks to amend the exclusive use provision of the Over-The-Air-Reception-Devices (OTARD) rule.  Specifically, the Petitioners want to amend the OTARD rule to apply only to restrictions on reception devices imposed by property owners or homeowners’ associations, and not to restrictions imposed by state or local governments.  The Petitioners argue that the FCC has never considered the scope of the OTARD statute as applied to state and local government restrictions, and the FCC should commence a rulemaking to consider the issue and clarify the interplay between governmental regulation and common areas.  Comments on the petition are due on or before June 7, 2012, and reply comments are due on or before June 22, 2012.

For additional information, please contact Tony Veach.

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Comment Sought on State PUC Petitions for Waiver of Lifeline Rules

Posted on May 7, 2012

The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) is seeking comment on four petitions filed by four state public utilities commissions seeking waiver of several rules which were adopted in the Lifeline Reform Order.  First, the Bureau is seeking comment on a petition filed by the California Public Utilities Commission which requests the following waivers: (1) a permanent waiver from section 54.410(e) certification form requirements; (2) a 12 month waiver to comply with section 54.410(f) re-certification requirements; (3) a seven month waiver to comply with section 54.410(d) data collection requirements; and (4) a seven month waiver to comply with section 54.410(d) and 54.410(g) temporary address requirements.  The Bureau is also seeking comment on three waiver petitions filed by the Montana Public Service Commission, the Public Utilities Commission of Oregon, and the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.  All three state commissions are seeking a temporary waiver of the new uniform Lifeline eligibility criteria until their respective state legislatures can enact legislation to harmonize existing state low income programs with the new eligibility rules.  The Bureau has adopted an expedited comment period for all four petitions.  Comments are due on or before May 15, 2012.

For additional information, please contact Tony Veach.

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FCC Proposed FY2012 Regulatory Fees, Announces Upcoming Fee Reform Proceedings

Posted on May 7, 2012

The FCC has released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to collect just under $340 million in regulatory fees for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012.  Regulatory fees are mandated by Congress and are collected to recover the regulatory costs associated with the FCC’s enforcement, policy and rulemaking, user information, and international activities.  For FY2012, the FCC generally proposes to retain the established procedures for collecting regulatory fees used in previous years.   Regulatory fees for FY 2012 will be collected during a September 2012 filing window.  Additionally, in anticipation of next year’s collection of regulatory fees for FY2013, the FCC indicates that it will undertake two separate rulemakings proceedings (Reform Proceedings) to address regulatory fee reform issues in two phases.  Phase I of the Reform Proceedings will consider the allocation percentages of core bureaus involved in regulatory fee activity and how the FCC calculates these percentages; Phase II will address other outstanding substantive and procedural issues.  Comments on the NPRM  are due by May 31, 2012 and reply comments  by June 7, 2012.

For additional information, please contact Bob Silverman.

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Comment Sought on USF Waiver Petition

Posted on May 7, 2012

Comment is sought on a Petition for Waiver filed by Accipiter Communications Inc. (Accipiter) relating to the FCC’s high-cost universal service fund (USF) rules.  First, Accipiter seeks a temporary waiver of Section 54.302 of the FCC’s rules that, beginning July 1, 2012, establishes a total limit on high-cost universal service support of $250 per line per month.  Accipiter seeks a waiver of this rule until December 31, 2014 or December 31, 2015.  Second, Accipiter seeks a temporary waiver of the limits on reimbursable high-cost loop support (HCLS) costs.  Accipiter asks that the limits not apply to Accipiter until six months after the date that the FCC implements the limits and makes the regression analysis publicly available.   Comments on Accipter’s petition are due to the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau by June 5, 2012 and reply comments by June 20, 2012.

For additional information, please contact Bob Silverman.

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Wireline Competition Bureau Announces Adjustment of Revenue Thresholds

Posted on May 7, 2012

The acting chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau’s Pricing Policy Division has released a notice announcing the inflation-adjusted 2011 revenue thresholds used for classifying carrier categories for accounting and reporting purposes.  The revenue thresholds distinguish Class A carriers from Class B carriers, and distinguish larger Class A carriers from mid-sized carriers.  The revenue threshold between Class A carriers and Class B carriers is increased to $148 million, while the revenue threshold between larger Class A carriers and mid-sized carriers is increased to $8.757 billion.

For additional information, please contact Tony Veach.

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FCC Sets Webinar Agenda for Broadband Lifeline Pilot Program

Posted on May 7, 2012

The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) has released the agenda for its webinar covering the Broadband Adoption Lifeline Pilot Program.  The webinar will consist of a panel discussion on designing pilot program projects and a general discussion covering application procedures.  Participants will include staff from the WCB, economists, and experts who specialize in project design of field experiments.  The webinar is scheduled for May 14, 2012, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST, and can be viewed online at www.fcc.gov/live.  Applications for the Broadband Adoption Lifeline Pilot Program are due July 2, 2012.

For additional information, please contact Tony Veach.

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Comment Sought on SI Wireless and T-Mobile ETC Petitions

Posted on May 7, 2012

The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Wireline Competition Bureau are seeking comment on petitions filed by SI Wireless, LLC and T-Mobile USA, Inc. for designation as eligible telecommunications carriers (ETC).  Both SI Wireless and T-Mobile are seeking ETC designation in order to participate in the Mobility Fund Phase I auction, which will be held on September 27, 2012.  SI Wireless is seeking ETC designation in Tennessee, while T-Mobile is seeking ETC designation for its operating subsidiaries in Alabama, Florida, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.  Comments are due on or before May 16, 2012, and reply comments are due on or before May 23, 2012.

For additional information, please contact Tony Veach.

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Comment Sought on Technical Requirements for Number Pooling Administrator

Posted on May 4, 2012

The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has requested comment on technical requirements that will be used to help hire a new thousands-block Pooling Administrator.  Neustar, Inc. currently serves as the pooling administrator, but its contract expires in August of 2012.  Thousands-block number pooling is an alternative method for allocating telephone numbers in which blocks of 1,000 sequential numbers within an NXX code are allocated, instead of all 10,000.  Comment is sought on proposed minor changes to the technical requirements for the Pooling Administrator which were proposed by the North American Numbering Council.  Comments are due on or before May 17, 2012, and reply comments are due on or before May 24, 2012.

For additional information, please contact Tony Veach.

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FCC Releases Tentative Schedule for May 24 Open Meeting

Posted on May 3, 2012

The FCC has released its tentative agenda for the agency’s next open meeting slated for Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 10:30 a.m. in Room TW-C305, at 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.  Agenda items include:

  • Deployable Arial Communications Architecture Notice of Inquiry.  The Commission will consider a NOI examining the role of deployable aerial communications architecture in facilitating an emergency response after a catastrophic event.
  • Medical Body Area Networks Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.  The Commission will consider a Report and Order establishing service rules for, and an allocation of, medical body area networks (MBAN) as well as a FNPRM seeking comment on the selection of a MBAN coordinator.
  • Removing Barriers to Broadband Deployment in the 800 MHz Band Report and Order.  The Commission will consider a Report and Order that will provide EA-based 800 MHz licensees with the flexibility to better utilize spectrum to transition networks from legacy 2G technologies to advanced wireless technologies.

The open meeting will be shown live at www.fcc.gov/live.

For additional information, please contact Daryl Zakov.

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Correction

Posted on May 3, 2012

The story entitled Mobility Fund Phase I Auction Details Released published earlier this afternoon contained an incorrect reference to auction default payments.  The correct amount of the auction default payment is 5%.

For additional information, please contact Bob Silverman.

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