|
|
Headlines
/ Updates:
October 10,
2009 /
laTimes
•• •
The FCC
sent an inquiry
to Google Inc.
on Friday
seeking
information
about the
software's
functionality,
the number of
users and the
identity of its
partners.
•• •Google
Voice allows
users to
consolidate
their home,
office and
cellphone
numbers by
routing the
calls through a
central Google
number. It
records voice
mail and sends
written
transcripts of
the messages to
users.
|
•• •(continued)
- The service
also provides
free calls
within the
U.S.
But AT&T
alleges that
Google Voice
refuses to
connect calls
to rural
communities
where local
telephone
companies
charge higher
fees. AT&T
did not
immediately
respond to
e-mails seeking
comment.
Daily
Digest
|
Daily
Releases
|
///
•
102.09FCCworkout'netneutrality'rules
/ Oct23,
2009.
•••
During
the NBS WiTEL press
conferance held at
Hollywood Digital confab
on October 23, 2009,
FCC
Chairman Julius
Genachowski won a
victory on his first
major policy issue at
the agency.
The
Federal
Communications
Commission
announced they would
begin a data-gathering
process. Commissioners
may consider whether
regulations should apply
to not just Internet
access providers but
also those that feed
content to the
Web.
•••
The
LA Times reported that,
With
a unanimous vote to move
forward on a rule-making
process for how the
government would police
access to the
Internet.
•••
The chairman, picked by
President Obama, said,
"The heart of the
problem is that, taken
together, we face a
dangerous combination of
an uncertain legal
framework with ongoing
as well as emerging
challenges to a free and
open
Internet."
•••
"Today we do disagree on
substance. I do not
agree with the
majority's view that the
Internet is showing
breaks and cracks and
that the government . .
. needs to fix it,"
McDowell said.
"Nonetheless, it is
important to remember
that the commission is
starting a process, not
ending
one."
•••
Republican Commissioners
Robert M. McDowell and
Meredith Attwell Baker
voted in favor of the
proposal but said they
dissented on "facts" of
the proposal. They said
their votes were for the
beginning of a
data-gathering process,
which should last at
least 120 days. They did
not say whether they
would vote in favor of
ultimate rules and have
disagreed that the
Internet appears to need
more
regulation.
•••
He also said that in
considering such rules,
the FCC needed to weigh
whether the policy
should apply to a
broader array of
companies that feed into
the Web, instead of just
access providers such as
AT&T Inc., Verizon
Communications Inc.,
Comcast Corp. and Sprint
Nextel Corp.
•••
The FCC doesn't have
jurisdiction over the
Internet but is the
watchdog agency over
communications companies
that enable consumers
and businesses to access
the Web -- the so-called
onramps to the
Internet.
•••
When asked about his
views on expanding
regulation to include
Web content firms such
as Google Inc.,
Amazon.com Inc. and
Skype Ltd., Genachowski
said the agency should
be
cautious.
•••
"This whole proceeding
has always been about
Internet access
providers," Genachowski
said after the meeting.
"We should be cautious
before tackling issues
of onramp providers to
the Internet
itself."
•••
"The government's role
in preserving openness
is important but also
modest," Genachowski
said at the meeting. "I
have to be clear that
government should not be
in the business of
running or regulating
the
Internet."
•••
The most contentious
details will be on
precise definitions for
how (the TELco)
carriers, and
(providers) can
reasonably manage
traffic on their
networks (Pipelined into
the homes and offices on
their local landlines).
There will also be much
debate on what managed
services, such as
telemedicine and some
video applications,
should fall under final
rules.
•••
Genachowski said that
the rules would apply
across all platforms of
broadband access,
including mobile
Internet, (NBS
WiTEL®™©),
and that the agency
would consider technical
questions and take into
account the concerns of
wireless
providers.
///
•
113.09iiNetNeutralityRule
/ September 21, 2009
/ FCC Ensuring Net
neutrality. Julius
Genachowski, the new FCC
chairman is right to
want new rules that
would keep service
providers from limiting
selected data traveling
through their
networks.
•• •The
new chairman of the
Federal Communications
Commission picked his
first official fight
Monday, and it's a
doozy. Four decades
after engineers at UCLA
demonstrated a
rudimentary version of
the Internet, FCC
Chairman Julius
Genachowski wants to
develop new rules
limiting what Internet
service providers can do
to the data traveling
through their networks.
His proposal drew polite
but firm opposition from
the phone and cable TV
companies that are the
dominant providers of
broadband connections,
which warned that such
rules could chill
innovation online. We
agree that the
commission will need to
proceed carefully, but
we also believe that the
right set of so-called
Net neutrality rules
would promote even more
growth and
innovation.
•• •At
the heart of the issue
is how broadband ISPs
deal with congestion
caused by the increasing
amount of online video
and other
bandwidth-heavy
applications. Advocates
of Net neutrality worry
that ISPs will offer
selected websites and
services a route around
congestion for a fee --
and in the process, pick
winners and sap the
creative energy that has
made the Net a breeding
ground for new
businesses.
•• •The
FCC took a tentative
stab at the issue in
2004, when then-Chairman
Michael Powell announced
four crucial
(4 Freebies)
"Internet
Freedoms": the ability
of Internet users to
access any legal
content, software or
services online, and to
connect to the Net
through any compatible
device. Genachowski laid
out two more: Broadband
providers
should
not
discriminate against
particular websites or
applications, nor
conceal how they manage
data. He also said that
the commission should
translate these
principles into formal
rules rather than
leaving them in legal
limbo.
•• •Lobbyists
for phone and cable TV
companies argue that
there's little evidence
of ISPs playing unfairly
or violating Powell's
four freedoms. Yet when
the FCC moved to stop
Comcast from
surreptitiously
interfering with a legal
file-sharing application
last year, Comcast sued,
claiming the commission
had no power to enforce
the principles. It's
paradoxical that the
government should have
to regulate the Internet
to preserve its
unregulated essence.
But with so little
competition in broadband
service, the major phone
and cable companies have
the power and the
incentive to stop worthy
but disruptive
innovations in the name
of "managing
congestion." The FCC
should set clear rules
that enable ISPs to keep
data flowing from all
legal services and
applications, not just
favored ones.
///
•
102.09iiiFCCRulesInternetNeutrality
(210)
September 21, 2009 /
MONDAY FREEBIES -
Google, Yahoo WiTEL vs
AT&T, etc. Internet
'net neutrality' is
endorsed by FCC Chairman
Julius Genachowski
proposes formalizing
rules and adding
mandates that he says
would keep online
traffic moving freely.
The proposals would also
cover wireless Internet
service.
•• •Federal
Communications
Commission Chairman
Julius Genachowski has
proposed new rules to
ensure unfettered access
to the Internet.
Wireless carriers have
given his proposal a
cool reception.
•• ••AT&T,
the nation's largest
land-line and wireless
carrier, complained that
changing government
rules a year after
wireless companies spent
billions of dollars in
an FCC auction to lease
what they thought were
unencumbered public
airwaves "creates the
impression of a 'bait
and switch.' "
•• •"We
are concerned . . . that
the FCC appears ready to
extend the entire array
of net neutrality
requirements to what is
perhaps the most
competitive consumer
market in America:
wireless services," said
Jim Cicconi, an AT&T
senior executive vice
president.
•• •Cicconi
and others suggested
that consumers could see
prices for service rise
and choices of new
phones and other devices
limited as companies
hesitate to invest in a
more regulated
market.
•• •Charles
Golvin, principal
analyst with Forrester
Research, described
Genachowski's proposal
as "a very scary
proposition" for
wireless companies.
Wireless companies
typically have exercised
great control over their
networks, restricting
access to generate
revenue by charging for
certain services
available free on the
Internet, such as the
Skype Internet phone
service.
•• •The
companies fear becoming
just a "dumb pipe" for
people to access the
Internet, with no way to
make money on additional
services, Golvin
said.
•• •Wireless
networks also are
constrained by a limited
number of airwaves and
might have a greater
need than conventional
phone and cable
companies to restrict
access to some
applications and users,
such as those consuming
huge amounts of
bandwidth, he said.
•• •Genachowski
tried to allay some of
those concerns. He said
the rules would be
enforced case by case.
When networks are
congested, for example,
telecommunications
companies might be
allowed to limit use by
"very heavy users" so
other customers would
still have access to the
Internet.
•• •Obama
was a strong supporter
of network neutrality
during the presidential
campaign, helping to
draw online
support.
•• ••The
FCC's four guiding
Internet principles
since 2005 assure that
Internet users can
access any legal
content, application or
service and allow them
to attach any device to
the Internet as long as
it doesn't harm the
network.
///
September 21, 2009 /
/(210) Reporting from
Washington - New rules
proposed by the nation's
chief communications
regulator to ensure
unfettered access to the
Internet would level the
online playing field as
more people surf the Web
on mobile devices, but
the plan has wireless
carriers in an
uproar.
•• •Monday's
(September 21st)
proposal by Federal
Communications
Commission Chairman
Julius Genachowski would
ensure that consumers
would be able to get
whatever content they
want on the Internet and
to use any service they
want.
AT&T
and Cable Telcos Rejects
project
•• •But
the telecommunications
and the cable companies
that control both
land-line and wireless
access to the Internet
argue that some
customers who download
large amounts of data,
such as a continuous
flow of movies, can jam
their networks.
Regulations that prevent
the companies from
restricting such
bandwidth hogs, they
contend, would hamper
their networks, harm
innovation and delay
upgrades.
•• •The
debate centers on
so-called network
neutrality principles
that the FCC has been
using for four years to
prevent telecom
companies, such as
AT&T Inc. and Time
Warner Cable Inc., from
restricting access to
websites and other
online services.
•• •Genachowski's
proposal would turn
those principles into
permanent rules and
expand them to prevent
discrimination against
the type of data flowing
through the networks,
such as free Internet
phone services or
file-sharing technology
for movies.
•• •And
for the first time, the
regulations would apply
to wireless carriers.
Genachowski said there
was no reason to
continue to exempt
wireless services from
rules designed to
preserve the Internet's
traditional open
access.
•• •"Even
though each form of
Internet access has
unique technical
characteristics, they
are all different roads
to the same place," he
said. "It is essential
that the Internet itself
remain open, however
users reach it."
•• •Network
neutrality has become a
major cause in recent
years for public
interest groups,
Internet activists,
Democratic lawmakers and
online companies such as
Google Inc. They worry
that telecom companies
will squeeze out
competitors offering
video and other services
or charge websites fees
to have their pages
delivered faster to
users.
•• •Last
year, the FCC ordered
Comcast Corp. to stop
blocking some customers
from using the
BitTorrent file-sharing
technology. The FCC
found that Comcast was
trying to cripple video
sites that competed with
its on-demand service
and failed to tell
customers it was
blocking their access.
Comcast said those
customers were using far
too much bandwidth in
sharing movies and other
video, dramatically
slowing the network. It
is challenging the FCC's
findings in court.
•• •Supporters,
including President
Obama, have long called
for a nondiscrimination
rule that would force
all Internet content to
be treated equally,
ensuring that consumers
don't face limits on
what they can access --
and don't pay higher
prices to download it
quickly.
•• •Monday's
proposal didn't sit well
with wireless providers,
which are becoming
increasingly important
players as smart devices
such as the iPhone allow
mobile access to video
and other Internet
content. They have been
lightly regulated, and
proudly point to that
fact as a key reason for
more competition in the
fast-growing wireless
arena.
•• •The
leading wireless trade
organization warned that
network neutrality rules
might force mobile
devices such as the
iPhone and Amazon's
Kindle electronic book
reader to allow any
developer to offer their
own applications on
them.
•• •AT&T,
the nation's largest
land-line and wireless
carrier, complained that
changing government
rules a year after
wireless companies spent
billions of dollars in
an FCC auction to lease
what they thought were
unencumbered public
airwaves "creates the
impression of a 'bait
and switch.' "
•• •"We
are concerned . . . that
the FCC appears ready to
extend the entire array
of net neutrality
requirements to what is
perhaps the most
competitive consumer
market in America:
wireless services," said
Jim Cicconi, an AT&T
senior executive vice
president.
•• •Cicconi
and others suggested
that consumers could see
prices for service rise
and choices of new
phones and other devices
limited as companies
hesitate to invest in a
more regulated
market.
•• •Charles
Golvin, principal
analyst with Forrester
Research, described
Genachowski's proposal
as "a very scary
proposition" for
wireless companies.
Wireless companies
typically have exercised
great control over their
networks, restricting
access to generate
revenue by charging for
certain services
available free on the
Internet, such as the
Skype Internet phone
service.
•• •The
companies fear becoming
just a "dumb pipe" for
people to access the
Internet, with no way to
make money on additional
services, Golvin
said.
•• •Wireless
networks also are
constrained by a limited
number of airwaves and
might have a greater
need than conventional
phone and cable
companies to restrict
access to some
applications and users,
such as those consuming
huge amounts of
bandwidth, he said.
•• •Genachowski
tried to allay some of
those concerns. He said
the rules would be
enforced case by case.
When networks are
congested, for example,
telecommunications
companies might be
allowed to limit use by
"very heavy users" so
other customers would
still have access to the
Internet.
•• •Restrictions
also might be applied
differently to wireless
than to cable or
fiber-optic lines. He
promised that the FCC
would fully analyze the
implications for
wireless networks as it
drafts detailed
rules.
•• •"This
is not about government
regulation of the
Internet," Genachowski
said. "It's about fair
rules of the road for
companies that control
access to the
Internet.
•• •"The
rise of serious
challenges to the free
and open Internet puts
us at a crossroads. We
could see the Internet's
doors shut to
entrepreneurs, the
spirit of innovation
stifled, a full and free
flow of information
compromised."
•• •Obama
was a strong supporter
of network neutrality
during the presidential
campaign, helping to
draw online
support.
•• •He
praised the announcement
Monday by Genachowski, a
former Internet
executive he appointed
this year to head the
FCC, as an important
step "to preserve an
open Internet in which
all Americans can
participate and
benefit."
•• •The
FCC's four guiding
Internet principles
since 2005 assure that
Internet users can
access any legal
content, application or
service and allow them
to attach any device to
the Internet as long as
it doesn't harm the
network.
•• •In
addition to
strengthening those
principles,
Genachowski's proposal
would mandate that
operators clearly state
their policies.
•• •Telecom
trade groups said they
were willing to work
with the FCC on updating
rules but cautioned
about the risks of
over-regulation.
•• •Genachowski's
proposals would have to
be approved by the FCC.
The five-member
commission's other two
Democrats, Michael J.
Copps and Mignon
Clyburn, said Monday
they supported the plan,
guaranteeing enough
votes to pass it.
•• •But
the FCC's two Republican
commissioners, Robert M.
McDowell and Meredith A.
Baker, said they were
worried about the
proposed new rules. In a
joint statement, they
called it "a dramatic
proposal to grow
government's involvement
in Internet governance
and management."
•• •And
some Senate Republicans
backed an amendment to
prohibit the FCC from
enacting new rules.
•• •"The
Internet has flourished
in large part because of
a lack of government
interference," Sen. John
Ensign (R-Nev.) said. "I
see no need to change
that now."
///
7/1/09
Remarks of FCC Chairman
Genachowski at Broadband
Event, Erie,
Pennsylvania.
Word
| Acrobat
6/30/09
Remarks of Chairman
Julius Genachowski to
the Staff of the Federal
Communications
Commission.
Word
| Acrobat
6/30/09
Revised Sunshine Notice
for Thursday, July 2,
2009 FCC Open Commission
Meeting.
Public Notice: Word
| Acrobat
6/29/09
FCC Chairman Julius
Genachowski Announces
Staff.
Word
| Acrobat
6/29/09
Statement of Chairman
Genachowski on Jonathan
Adelstein.
Word
| Acrobat
6/29/09
Statement of
Commissioner Copps on
the Arrival of Chairman
Julius Genachowski and
the Departure of
Commissioner Jonathan
Adelstein.
Word
| Acrobat
6/29/09
Deletion of Agenda Items
from July 2, 2009, Open
Meeting and Revised
Sunshine Notice.
Public Notice: Word
| Acrobat
6/29/09
Amendment of Part 101 of
the Commission's Rules
to Accommodate 30
Megahertz Channels in
the 6 GHz Band and
Provide Conditional
Authorization on
Additional Channels in
the 23 GHz Band.
NPRM: Word
| Acrobat
6/29/09
Amendment of Service and
Eligibility Rules for FM
Broadcast Translator
Stations.
R&O: Word
| Acrobat
McDowell Statement:
Word
| Acrobat
6/29/09
FCC Seeks Comment on
Providing Spectrum for
Medical Body Area
Networks.
News Release: Word
| Acrobat
NPRM: Word
| Acrobat
McDowell Statement:
Word
| Acrobat
6/29/09
FCC Adopts Procedural
Rules Governing
Petitions for
Forbearance.
R&O: Word
| Acrobat
Copps Statement:
Word
| Acrobat
Adelstein Statement:
Word
| Acrobat
McDowell Statement:
Word
| Acrobat
6/29/09
FCC Commences
First-Come, First-Served
Digital Licensing for
Rural LPTV and TV
Translators Beginning
August 25, 2009 and for
Nationwide LPTV and TV
Translator Services
Beginning January 25,
2010.
Public Notice: Word
| Acrobat
6/29/09
Public Safety and
Homeland Security Bureau
Extends 800 MHz
Rebanding Negotiation
Period for Wave 4
Licensees Along the
U.S.-Mexico Border.
Public Notice: Word
| Acrobat
6/26/09
Commission Vacates
Enforcement Orders
Relating to Time Warner
Cable and Cox Cable’s
Implementation of
Switched Digital Video
and Affirms Forfeiture
Order Requiring Notice
to Local Franchise
Authorities.
Order on Review:
Word
| Acrobat
McDowell Statement:
Word
| Acrobat
6/26/09
Media Bureau Releases
Updated Form 388 for
Broadcasters That
Completed Their
Transition After March
31, 2009 to Report DTV
Consumer Education
Activities.
Public Notice: Word
| Acrobat
6/25/09
Acting Chairman Copps
Congratulates Julius
Genachowski on His
Senate Confirmation.
Word
| Acrobat
6/25/09
Commissioner Adelstein
Congratulates Julius
Genachowski on His
Senate Confirmation.
Word
| Acrobat
6/25/09
Commissioner McDowell
Congratulates Julius
Genachowski on His
Confirmation as Chairman
of the FCC.
Word
| Acrobat
6/25/09
Acting Chairman Copps
Congratulates Robert
McDowell on His Senate
Confirmation.
Word
| Acrobat
6/25/09
Commissioner Adelstein
Congratulates Robert
McDowell on his Senate
Confirmation.
Word
| Acrobat
6/25/09
FCC to Hold Open
Commission Meeting,
Thursday, July 2,
2009.
Public Notice: Word
| Acrobat
6/25/09
Acting Chairman Copps
Congratulates Meredith
Attwell Baker and Mignon
L. Clyburn on Their
Nominations to the
Commission.
Word
| Acrobat
6/25/09
Commissioner Adelstein
Praises the Nominations
of Mignon L. Clyburn and
Meredith Attwell
Baker.
Word
| Acrobat
6/25/09
Commissioner McDowell
Congratulates Meredith
Attwell Baker on
President Obama's Intent
to Nominate her to the
FCC.
Word
| Acrobat
6/25/09
Reply Comment Deadline
for National Broadband
Plan NOI Extended to
July 21, 2009.
Order: Word
| Acrobat
6/25/09
FCC Approves
Embarq-CenturyTel Merger
with Conditions.
MO&O: Word
| Acrobat
Copps Statement:
Word
| Acrobat
Adelstein Statement:
Word
| Acrobat
McDowell Statement:
Word
| Acrobat
6/24/09
FCC Seeks Comment
Regarding Possible
Revision or Elimination
of Rules Under the
Regulatory Flexibility
Act, U.S.C. 610.
Public Notice: Word
| Acrobat
6/24/09
Public Safety and
Homeland Security Bureau
Postpones the 800 MHz
Rebanding Financial
Reconciliation "True-Up"
Date from July 1, 2009,
to December 31,
2009.
Order: Word
| Acrobat
6/18/09
Remarks of FCC Acting
Chairman Copps at the
Pike & Fischer
Broadband Policy Summit
V.
Word
| Acrobat
6/18/09
FCC to Hold Eighth
Indian
Telecommunications
Initiative’s
Regional Workshop and
Roundtable Discussion
Rapid City and Pine
Ridge, South Dakota July
27-29, 2009.
News Release: Word
| Acrobat
6/15/09
"Double Rescan" and
Antenna Adjustments Can
Help DTV Reception.
Consumer Alert:
Word
| Acrobat
6/15/09
FCC Continues DTV
Outreach Across the
Nation: Call Center
Receives Over 900,000
Calls In Days
Surrounding
Transition.
News Release: Word
| Acrobat
6/15/09
Granted the Petition
Filed by News
Corporation to Remove
the Remaining Conditions
Adopted in the News
Corp.-Hughes Order.
MO&O: Word
| Acrobat
More
Headlines...
///
The North
American Numbering
Council conducts most of
its business through
four working groups,
which are listed below.
|
Billing
&
Collection
Oversight
|
Mission
Statement: The
NANC’s Billing and
Collection Agent
Oversight Working Group
(B&C WG) is
responsible for
overseeing the
performance of the
functional requirements
provided by the NANP
Billing and Collection
Agent (B&C Agent).
The B&C WG will
investigate/review the
performance of B&C
Agent and submit reports
at each NANC meeting to
fully inform NANC of the
B&C Agent’s
performance with respect
to the functional
requirements. At the
request of the FCC
and/or NANC, the B&C
WG will identify and
determine the financial
impact, feasibility
and/or the
appropriateness of
initiatives/activities
that may need to be
included in the budget
or use these Funds.
Currently, the NANP B
& C Agent is Welch
& Company, LLP.
Mission
Statement: The
mission of the Future of
Numbering (FON) working
group is to explore
changes to the numbering
environment, including
new and future
technologies, the impact
of market place and/or
regulatory changes and
innovations on telephone
numbering.
Scope: The
Working Group will
investigate new
telephone numbering
assignement approaches
and future telephone
number assignment
requirements. The
Working Group will
identify trends and
assess their impact upon
numbering resources. The
Working Group, if
necessary, will analyze
potential changes to
numbering adminstration
and use common criteria
to determine the
feasibility and benefit
of each. The Working
Group will report its
findings to the NANC.
The Working Group will
also analyze various
topics that may be given
to it from time to time
by the NANC and/or
FCC.
|
Local
Number
Portability
Administration
|
Mission
Statement: The
Local Number Portability
Administration Working
Group (LNPA WG) was
given the charter by the
North American Numbering
Council (NANC) for
implementing Local
Number Portability (LNP)
on a national level. It
is the body that makes
recommendations that
assist in the formation
of the regulatory orders
issued by the FCC
pertaining to LNP. The
LNPA WG is also
responsible for the
business functionality
of the national NLP
system and how Service
Providers inter-operate
with it.
Mission
Statement: The
Numbering Oversight
Working Group (NOWG)
oversees the activities
and reviews the
performances of the
North American Numbering
Plan Administrator
(NANPA) and the Pooling
Administrator (PA).
Specifically, the NOWG
oversees the development
of change orders, number
administrator
complaints, internal
performance metrics, and
performance improvement
plans. In addition, the
NOWG holds separate
monthly meetings with
the the NANPA and the PA
and carries out any
other requests or
responsibilities
directed to the NOWG by
the NANC.
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