Court Backs FCC on VoIP Regulation

Ted Hearn (3.21.07)
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6426491.html

The court backs FCC in keeping telecommunications laws from applying to VoIP providers.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Wednesday upheld Federal Communications Commission rules that banned states from applying their telecommunications laws to a class of voice-over-Internet-protocol providers, such as Vonage Holdings.

The court concluded that the FCC acted reasonably in pre-empting state regulation and that the agency could assert its jurisdiction without first having to determine whether VoIP is an information service or a telecommunications service as those terms are defined in federal law.

The FCC’s rules were adopted in late 2004 under former FCC chairman Michael Powell, who wanted to shield nascent VoIP providers from complex and inconsistent state regulation. Minnesota’s effort to regulate Vonage triggered Powell’s moves at the FCC.

There is still a question about whether IP video should be treated as a traditional cable service subject to local franchising authority or whether it’s not a service subject to Title VI in the same way that voice-over-IP isn’t traditional telecommunications subject to all of the [common-carrier] regulations,” Martin told a telecommunications forum.

“I think the decision [that] will come out of that [Vonage] case will be critical in trying to craft whether or not the commission’s authority to deal with all of these IP services will continue to be affirmed,” he added.

More reading:

Judges Back FCC Over Attempts To Regulate Internet Phones (Provides a nice history of the ruling)

FCC Asked To Keep Hands Off IP Video

John Eggerton (3.20.07)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6426258.html?display=Breaking+News

Network 2 has petitioned the FCC to stand down on IP Video regulation.

Whether or not IPTV is left unregulated will effect the direction of television broadcasts in the future.

Internet TV company Network2 has asked the FCC to declare the commission has no authority to regulate video over the Internet.

The company has asked for an FCC ruling that its IP Video service is free of Title III regulations--broadcast regulations rooted in the scarcity argument--and Title VI regulations--multichannel video regulations rooted in the "gatekeeper" argument. Neither apply to Internet video, the company argues.

Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, says such a ruling would be premature. "Multiplaform access rules will be needed for political speech on mobile and IPTV platforms," he says. "Rules protecting news and public affairs and advertising safeguards will be needed, including protecting children," he said.

FCC rules speed telco video

Carol Wilson (3.5.07)
http://telephonyonline.com/home/news/FCC_video_rules_030507/

FCC finalized rules to speed up the local franchising process to a 90-day cap with mixed reactions.

The Federal Communications Commission today issued new rules designed to speed up the local video franchising process. The rules set a 90-day limit on the local government’s decision and prohibit extraordinary requests for deployment of hardware or for tying in of unrelated requests.

Major telecoms are excited about the news stating it will provide choices and create competition. FFC chairman Martin claims this increased competition will fight rising cable costs. Democratic Commissioner Michael Copps said the rules failed to promote genuine broadband competition and said he favored a provision which would have retained local franchise authority rights to impose specific build-out requirements and public programming.

Republican Commissioner Robert McDowell said, however, that the new policy seeks to address both sides of the issue. “This order strikes a careful balance between establishing a de-regulatory national framework to clear unnecessary regulatory underbrush, while also preserving local control over local issues,” he said.

The new rules may also face a legal challenge, either from the cable industry or groups representing local governments.

The FCC has agreed to announce within six months whether the 90-day rule will apply to incumbent cable operators that are seeking to renew their local franchises.

Further reading:
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6421729.html?display=Breaking+News

FCC Clarifies VoIP-PSTN Interconnection Rules

Tom Tovar (3.7.07)
http://www.convergedigest.com/Bandwidth/newnetworksarticle.asp?ID=20786

The FCC has passed a petition that will allow CLECs to connect with ILECs.

Opens up choice and potential for broadband voice communications.

FCC granted a petition from Time Warner petition that clarifies rules of how voice traffic can be exchanged between broadband providers and the PSTN. By granting the petition, the FCC affirmed that competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) are entitled to interconnect with incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) pursuant to section 251 of the Telecommunications Act for the purpose of exchanging traffic on behalf of VoIP-based service providers.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin stated: "Our decision will enhance consumers' choice for phone service by making clear that cable and other VoIP providers must be able to use local phone numbers and be allowed to put calls through to other phone networks."

Other noteworthy aspects of the ruling:

• It doesn't apply directly to VoIP providers, therefore not giving them their own interconnection rights, but CLECs can provide them wholesale interconnection.
  

• CLECs must provide number portability to VoIP providers.
  

For further reading:
http://www.telecomlawblog.com/fcc-daily-fcc-order-clarifies-interconnection-rights-of-
carriers-serving-voip-providers.html

House Dems Eye Telecom Review

David Hatch (2.27.07)
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-MJSN1172609975538.html

House Democrats are planning a thorough re-examination of telecommunications and media policies that will feature multiple oversight hearings and fresh legislation.

These re-evaluations could change current broadband regulations for local franchising,

Fostering high-speed Internet deployment, ensuring an open and accessible Internet, and overhauling the federal universal service program that subsidizes telecom connections in rural and impoverished areas are among the key issues to be addressed. The competitiveness of the video, telephone and radio marketplaces also will be explored, along with protecting the privacy of phone records and promoting efficient use of spectrum.

A Feb. 15 FCC oversight hearing before the House telecom subcommittee was postponed. It has not yet been rescheduled. House Democrats plan to scrutinize several FCC policies, include the agency's review of media-ownership limits and its authority to investigate allegations that the National Security Agency conducted surveillance of phone records without warrants.

Also to be examined is a recent FCC decision relaxing local video-franchising guidelines. State regulators have complained that the new rules usurp their authority. Replacing local franchises with less cumbersome national agreements was the centerpiece of Republican deregulatory legislation last year, but it stalled after its Senate counterpart became mired in controversy.

FCC Opens Program-Access Rulemaking

Ted Hearn (2.21.07)

1992 Law, Extended in 2002, Set to Expire Oct. 5

Key features of federal program-access rules are scheduled to expire Oct. 5 unless extended by the FCC. The rules were extended for five years in 2002 in a ruling narrowly supported by FCC chairman Kevin Martin, who was a regular FCC member at the time. In recent weeks, Martin has indicated his support for a second extension.

Under a 1992 law, the FCC has required cable companies to sell satellite-delivered programming in which they have an ownership interest to competing multichannel-video-programming distributors. Thus, Time Warner has been forced to sell CNN and HBO to such competitors as DirecTV, EchoStar Communications’ Dish Network and Verizon Communications’ FiOS TV service.

Democrats Press F.C.C. Chief on Enforcement

By Stepehn Labaton 2.1.07
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/01/business/media/01cnd-fcc.html?_r=
2&hp&ex=1170392400&en=1c489a102dd0e2da&ei=5094&partner=homepage&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

FCC Chairman Martin has recently undergone tough questioning and harsh criticism by the newly appointed Democratic Senate.

In their first appearance before a Senate Commerce Committee under Democratic leadership, Kevin J. Martin, the commission’s chairman, and the other commissioners faced sharp criticism from some of the committee’s senior Democrats on their handling of the recent acquisition of BellSouth by AT&T.

The lawmakers also questioned the agency’s recent practice of not thoroughly reviewing applications by radio and television stations to renew their broadcast licenses.

Mr. Martin yielded no policy ground, saying, for example, that the conditions that the Democratic members of the commission managed to impose on AT&T’s acquisition of BellSouth would not be applied to the rest of the industry.

And the lawmakers’ questions indicated that there is no broad political consensus on a range of recent legislative proposals.

But the aggressive questioning by the panel’s senior Democrats suggested that the lawmakers would be exerting significant pressure on the commission’s policymaking apparatus.

That could, at the very least, temper any deregulatory action that Mr. Martin and his fellow Republican commissioners have been contemplating, particularly as they prepare to consider measures that would make it easier for media conglomerates to own newspapers and television stations in the same cities.

FCC ruling changed phone industry in 1968; it could happen again today

Kevin Maney (1.30.07)
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/maney/2007-01-30-carterfone_x.htm

FCC chairman to enforce a provision in the 1996 Telecommunications Act that will force cable carriers to provide descrambling codes to competitors. This may also have effect on similar cellphone-carrier links in the future.

Cable companies will have to unbundle the cable system by sharing the descrambling code with other device makers. The cable industry has gotten deadline extensions ever since 1996, but the current extension runs out on July 1, and Martin says he doesn't want to allow another one.

One certain outcome: A TiVo or Microsoft will be able to sell a box that connects to the cable line and the Internet. It will pull in cable channels, Web-based video and downloadable movies, mix them all together and present them on screen in a single menu. (Cable companies despise that because they lose control of the viewing experience.)

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin believes this deregulation will inspire innovation in the cable industry. It is also known that he has is looking next to the similar monopolies network providers have over cellphones. Though no action has been taken to allow cellphones to work across all networks, both consumers and manufacturers have expressed this desire.

AT& T-BellSouth deal called 'breakthrough' for consumers

Leslie Cauley (1.2.07)
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20070102/fcc02.art.htm

FCC's ability to get net neutrality sets precedent

The FCC's approval of the merger between AT&T and BellSouth on Friday allowed the deal to close immediately. To secure the FCC's blessing, AT&T agreed to a list of consumer-friendly concessions. Among them: For the next 30 months, AT&T agreed to sell "naked" DSL — meaning consumers don't have to buy any other service from AT&T to get the DSL service — for just $19.95 a month. That's less than half the $44.95 that AT&T now charges.

AT&T also agreed to a "net neutrality" provision that will require the company to treat all broadband services, its own as well as rivals', equally for the next two years. That means AT&T can't favor its own traffic, in terms of transmission speed and quality.

In addition, AT&T agreed to sell some unused wireless spectrum. That could enable a new rival to enter the market, creating more options for consumers.

Adelstein called the settlement a "breakthrough" for consumers in that it establishes a new standard of behavior for the USA's communications giants. Big companies such as AT&T and Comcast "have told the FCC that they can't live with a net neutrality provision in place," Adelstein said. "They can."

FCC ruling helps AT&T; upsets towns

By Anna Marie Kukec (12.28.06)
http://www.dailyherald.com/search/searchstory.asp?id=264177

The National League of Cities and the Illinois Municipal League are upset with recent FCC rulings and are likely to sue the federal agency for overstepping its boundaries.

The National League of Cities and the Illinois Municipal League said the FCC’s decision blocks local governments from exercising their franchising process, earning revenues, offering services to all residents and protecting public rights of way.

“We believe the FCC has overstepped its authority,” said Ken Alderson, executive director of the Illinois Municipal League.

The FCC last week ruled municipalities cannot unreasonably refuse companies from competing with cable operators. This includes unreasonable requests for “in-kind” payments that attempt to subvert the 5 percent cap on franchise fees, drawn-out local negotiations with no time limits and other situations.

The towns contend AT&T is required, just like Comcast, to follow the same franchising process, pay the same fees for public rights of way, allow for services to all residents regardless of ability to pay and provide local access channels.

AT&T has argued it’s not a cable company and shouldn’t be treated like one.

Peter Collins, information technology manager for Geneva, and Gary White, media manager for Wheaton, said their towns still need to review the FCC order, expected in about a month, before determining what it means to their franchising process and to the AT&T lawsuits.