Welcome to the latest edition of Arent Fox’s This Week in Telecom, our weekly newsletter designed to keep you apprised of recent developments in telecommunications policy, legislation, and litigation. Follow our Telecom Group on Twitter! Click here.

Jump to a Topic:
FCC Announcements l The Mobile Market l FTC and Privacy Regulation l New Markets: Smart Grid and E-Health l Intercarrier Compensation l Compliance Notes l Broadband News l In the Courts l Legislative Outlook l Events

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Announcements

• The next FCC Open Meeting will be held on September 28, 2012, at 10:30 am Eastern. We will release the Tentative Agenda when it is released.
• On August 2, 2012, the FCC launched an online interface to which full-power television stations can upload public inspection documents. It was developed “to vastly improve the accessibility of stations’ public files and to minimize the burden on broadcasters in providing them.” For more information, click here.

Please contact Ross Buntrock, Jon Canis, Alan Fishel, Michael Hazzard, Jeffrey Rummel, or Stephanie Joyce (contact information below) for further information.

The Mobile Market

• The FCC last week released FCC 12-85, an order terminating 20 existing waivers to construct public safety broadband networks in the 700 Megahertz band. It provides a process for those whose waivers were terminated to seek special temporary authority (STA) to continue deployment of their networks. In the order, the FCC stated that it expects an STA to be granted “in very few instances, and only where deployment clearly serves the public interest and will not be detrimental to the Public Safety Spectrum Act’s goals or jeopardize the mandate to deploy a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network.” The order also dismisses pending waiver requests from more than three dozen state and local agencies. The order received the full support of the three Democratic Commissioners. Commissioner McDowell (Rep.) concurred in the vote and Commissioner Pai (Rep.) approved in part and concurred in part. FCC 12-85 is available here.
• Last week, the Mobility Division of the FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and the Policy and Licensing Division of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau granted the New York City Transit Authority’s request for a waiver of the FCC’s VHF/UHF January 2013 narrowbanding deadline until June 30, 2016. The waiver applies to equipment deployed by the authority’s subway system. “Based on the record before us, we conclude that NYCTA has presented sufficient facts to meet the high standard for grant of the requested waiver,” the Bureaus stated. “The record shows that NYCTA began an extensive program to upgrade its subway radio system in 2003. Strict application of the narrowbanding rules would require NYCTA to expedite its contracted work schedule and risk service interruptions for millions of daily customers.” The order is available here.

Please contact Ross Buntrock, Michael Hazzard, or G. David Carter (contact information below) for further information.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Privacy Regulation

• On August 1, 2012, the FTC announced that will publish a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Request for Comment regarding further modifications to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule in the Federal Register. The FTC, in response to comments filed in September 2011 regarding proposed changes to the COPPA Rule, now proposes to modify certain definitions in the Rule to clarify its scope and strengthen its protections for the online collection, use, or disclosure of children’s personal information. The proposed modifications are to the definitions “personal information,” “support for internal operations,” “website or online service directed to children,” and “operator.” Public comments on the Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking are due September 10, 2012. More information regarding the Supplemental Notice is available here. The text of the Federal Register Notice is available here.
• The FTC will host a “Robocall Summit” on October 18, 2012, in Washington, DC. The purpose of the summit will be to examine issues surrounding illegal pre-recorded robocalls. It will also highlight industry innovations that could potentially be used to trace robocalls and prevent illegal robocallers from faking caller ID data. The Robocall Summit will be open to the public, and will include members of law enforcement, the telemarketing and telecommunications industry, consumer groups, as well as other stakeholders. More information about the FTC’s recent efforts related to robocall issues and the Robocall Summit is available here.

Please contact Ross Buntrock, Alan Fishel, Stephanie Joyce, or Stephen Thompson (contact information below) for further information.

New Markets: Smart Grid and E-Health

• Comments on the FCC Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding medical body area networks (MBANs), and specifically the proposed procedures to pick an entity to coordinate MBAN use, are due September 10, 2012, and Reply Comments are due September 28, 2012. ET Dockets No. 08-59 and 12-54. The FNPRM, which was combined with a First Report and Order, is available here.
• Comments on the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) draft “Advanced Metering Infrastructure Smart Meter Upgradeability Test Framework” are due August 9, 2012. The Federal Register notice is available here. “Advanced Metering Infrastructure Smart Meter Upgradeability Test Framework” is available here.

Please contact Stephanie Joyce, Jeffrey Rummel, G. David Carter, or Stephen Thompson (contact information below) for further information.

Developments in Intercarrier Compensation

• On July 27, 2012, Staff of the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) filed a recommended decision urging the ICC to grant the relief requested by AT&T Illinois in its complaint against Halo Wireless, Inc. AT&T alleges that Halo violated the parties’ wireless interconnection agreement (ICA) by routing landline-originated traffic over AT&T’s facilities in an attempt to mask the origin of the traffic and avoid paying access charges. ICC Staff stated that they support AT&T’s arguments “across the board,” but recommended that the ICC should rule only on the intrastate traffic exchanged between the parties. The ICC Staff’s recommended decision follows similar rulings by the state commissions of Georgia and Wisconsin in favor of AT&T and against Halo. Docket No. 12-0182.

Please contact Ross Buntrock, Jon Canis, Michael Hazzard, Stephanie Joyce, or Adam Bowser (contact information below) for further information regarding intercarrier compensation matters.

Compliance Notes

• The FCC has released a Report and Order stating that it is maintaining the fiscal year 2012 Interstate Telecommunications Service Provider (ITSP) Annual Regulatory Fee rate at the 2011 level. That rate is $0.00375 per assessable dollar, as reported on a company’s FCC Form 499A. Similarly, the FCC is holding the rate it assesses Commercial Mobile Radio Service providers to $0.08 per subscriber. The Report and Order can be found here.
  
  The FCC has not announced the due date for payment of the Annual Regulatory Fees, but indicates in its Report and Order that they would be due in September. More information regarding payment of the fee can be found here. (FCC 12-76)
• The Universal Service contribution factor for the third quarter of 2012 is 15.7%. A copy of the Public Notice announcing the rate can be found here. (DA-12-917)

Please contact Ross Buntrock, Jon Canis, Michael Hazzard, or Katherine Barker Marshall (contact information below) for further information regarding compliance matters.

Broadband News

• On July 31, 2012, the FCC announced that Verizon Wireless entered into a consent decree to resolve a complaint that it had unlawfully blocked third-party tethering applications on Android phones in violation of the FCC’s Open Internet rules. Verizon agreed to pay a $1.25 million “voluntary contribution” to the U.S. Treasury and to implement a detailed Compliance Plan that will terminate in 24 months. The FCC launched an investigation into the matter after it learned that Verizon had convinced Google to remove several tethering applications for the Android in order to block Verizon customers from using them to circumvent Verizon’s tethering charge. According to a statement issued by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, the consent decree shows that compliance with FCC rules is “not optional,” and that “[t]he open device and application obligations were core conditions when Verizon purchased the C-block spectrum. The steps taken today will not only protect consumer choice, but defend certainty for innovators to continue to deliver new services and apps without fear of being blocked.” The press release regarding the consent decree is available here. To read the Consent Decree, click here.

Please contact Ross Buntrock, Alan Fishel, Michael Hazzard, Jeffrey Rummel, or Jason Koslofsky (contact information below) for further information.

In the Courts

• On August 1, 2012, Comcast filed an appeal with the D.C. Circuit challenging the recent FCC ruling that Comcast improperly refused to carry the Tennis Channel on the same package that Comcast offers on its own affiliated sports network. Comcast argues in its appellate petition that the FCC’s ruling is arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of the agency’s discretion. It further claims that the FCC’s action is “contrary to [Comcast’s] constitutional rights under the First and Fifth amendments of the U.S. Constitution [and] violates the Communications Act of 1934” and related FCC regulations. Comcast seeks to reverse both the ALJ’s fine of $375,000 (payable to the U.S. Treasury), and also “what may amount to hundreds of millions of additional dollars to [The] Tennis Channel.” Commissions McDowell and Pai both dissented from the FCC order. Comcast Commc’ns LLC v. FCC, D.C.  Cir. No. 12-1337.

Please contact Ross Buntrock, Jon Canis, Michael Hazzard, Stephanie Joyce, or Joseph Bowser (contact information below) for further information.

Legislative Outlook

• On August 1, 2012, Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., Chair of the House Communications Subcommittee, and Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Cal., Chair of the House Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee, spoke on the House floor to urge members to support H. Con. Res. 127, which states that the Department of Commerce “should continue working to implement the position of the United States on Internet governance that clearly articulates the consistent and unequivocal policy of the United States to promote a global Internet free from government control.” To watch their statements, click here. To read H. Cons. R. 127, click here.
• Also on August 1, the House passed H.R. 6063, the Child Protection Act of 2012, by voice vote. The bill increases sentences to 20 years for offenses involving children under the age of 12, and extends the authorization of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces for five years. It also provides increased protection for child witnesses and victims. Of the bill, House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Tex., stated “The Child Protection Act ensures that paperwork does not stand in the way of the apprehension of dangerous criminals.” The press release regarding H.R. 6063 is available here. The text of H.R. 6063 is available here.

Please contact Stephanie Joyce (contact information below) for further information.

Upcoming Events

• Arent Fox is hosting an event featuring women in the wireless industry on August 13, 2012, at 5:00 pm Eastern, at its Washington, DC office. Telecom Group Partner Stephanie Joyce will moderate the event.

Please contact Ross Buntrock, Jonathan Canis, or Stephanie Joyce (contact information below) for further information.

For further information, please contact any of our attorneys in the Arent Fox Telecommunications Group.