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.

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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 Open Internet Advisory Committee (OIAC) meeting will take place October 9, 2012, from 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. in Milstein West A at the Wasserstein Hall/Caspersen Student Center, Harvard Law School, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138. The meeting will focus on issues related to the four working groups established within the OIAC: Mobile Broadband, Economic Impacts of Open Internet Frameworks, Specialized Services, and Transparency. There will be time for public comments at the meeting, and comments also may be submitted beforehand in writing. More information is available here.
• The FCC has released the Tentative Agenda for its next Open Meeting to be held October 17, 2012, at 10:30 am Eastern. It contains three items: a Second Report and Order on streamlined reporting requirements for international services; a Report and Order on protecting Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) from “robocalls”; and an Order permitting use of 30 megahertz of spectrum for wireless services while protecting Digital Audio Radio Satellite (DARS) service. To read the Tentative Agenda, 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

• T-Mobile USA is urging the FCC to “defer all the issues,” rather than adopt a mandate that would require wireless carriers to begin offering text-to-911 services. T-Mobile believes that the Commission may be considering adopting a requirement for the future provision of text-to-911 services before finalizing the rules that would govern the service offering. T-Mobile argues that there is no basis in the record to enable the Commission to determine what time frame would be appropriate for carriers to implement this new service, and therefore urges the Commission to defer consideration entirely until after releasing a further notice of proposed rulemaking. T-Mobile’s comments, filed in PS Dockets No. 11-153 and 10-255, are 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

• 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

• The Maryland Public Service Commission seeks comment on the risks of electrical overheating and malfunction posed by smart meters by today, October 1, 2012. The MPSC Notice of Opportunity to Comment 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 September 21, 2012, Texas Public Utility Commission (TPUC) Staff issued a recommended decision supporting the petition of GTE Southwest, Inc. d/b/a Verizon Southwest for deregulation in an additional 27 Texas markets pursuant to PURA § 65.052(b). That statute requires the TPUC to deregulate a market with a population of at least 100,000, or a market with fewer than 100,000 residents, if there are at least two unaffiliated competitors in addition to the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) that provide voice communications in all or part of the market, without regard to the technology employed. Based on Verizon’s affidavits and its own research, TPUC staff concluded that AT&T and Sprint provide service in each of the 27 markets, which include the towns of Arcola, Argyle, Ballinger, Bartonville, Caldwell, Dripping Springs, Falfurrias, Ferris, Floresville, Fredericksburg, Hawkins, Howe, Justin, Kyle, Lyford, Myrtle Springs, New Waverly, Palacios, Palmer, Pilot Point, Reno, Springtown, Tawakoni, Van, Van Alstyne, Whitesboro, and Wimberley. On July 27, 2012, the TPUC granted Verizon’s previous request for deregulation in 57 other Texas markets. Docket No. 40646.

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

• Form 499-Q is due November 1, 2012, for all filers that are not considered de minimis for Universal Service filing purposes. This filing encompasses historical revenues from the third quarter of 2012 and projected revenues for the first quarter of 2013. A copy of the current FCC Form 499-Q can be found here.
  
  Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers and Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) providers who rely on traffic studies to report interstate revenues on FCC Form 499-Q must submit these studies by November 1, 2012, to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) and the Chief, Industry Analysis and Technology Division of the FCC.
• The Universal Service contribution factor for the fourth quarter of 2012 is 17.4%. A copy of the Public Notice announcing the rate can be found here. (DA 12-1484)

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

Broadband News

• On September 24, 2012, Chairman Genachowski spoke at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies regarding Comcast’s Internet Essentials program which provides $9.95 a month broadband, computers for $150, and digital literacy training. Chairman Genachowski praised Comcast for expanding the program to more persons and offering faster speeds and for partnering with Connect2Compete for device distribution. According to the Chairman, although broadband adoption was up in many underserved communities, there are still challenges that must be met, but Internet Essentials and others are making a “real impact.” The text of Chairman Genachowski’s speech is available here.
• On September 25, 2012, Chairman Genachowski spoke at VOX Media headquarters in Washington, D.C. about the importance of broadband to the U.S. and global economy. He began by praising VOX as an important company that creates value online. He then discussed the success that the U.S. has achieved in broadband, having 69% of the world’s LTE subscribers, 80% of global smartphones running U.S. companies’ software, and with more homes connected at faster speeds. The Chairman also spoke of the FCC’s efforts on broadband, including intercarrier compensation reform, freeing up new spectrum, and promoting competition. He stated that the U.S. can maintain a strategic broadband advantage by focusing on “broadband speed, capacity, and ubiquity.” These goals could be achieved by “innovation hubs” served by “ultra-highspeed” broadband, by ensuring that affordable high-speed broadband is the norm, and by maintaining our lead in mobile development. Chairman Genachowski ended his speech by encouraging competition and open platforms to ensure future success. The text of the speech is available here.

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

In the Courts

• On September 26, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit vacated a Georgia district court’s grant of a preliminary injunction requiring Comcast to provide its directory assistance (DA) listing data to LSSi Data Corporation. LSSi had claimed that Comcast was discriminating against it in favor of Comcast’s agent, Targus. Specifically, LSSi now must access Comcast’s DA database through Targus rather than directly from Comcast as it had done previously. The court of appeals held that the LSSi failed to meet its burden of showing substantial likelihood of success on the merits as is required for injunctive relief. It concluded that at “this stage of the litigation, LSSi has not pointed to any other evidence [beyond the fact that Targus is Comcast’s agent] that suggests that Comcast’s directory publishing affiliate receives information from Targus on a preferred basis.” The court vacated the injunction and remanded the case to the trial court. LSSi Data Corp. v. Comcast Phone, LLC, No. 11-12221 (11th Cir.).

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

Legislative Outlook

• On September 26, 2012, Sen. John “Jay” Rockefeller IV, D-W.Va., Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, sent letters to Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo regarding the search results they deliver for Internet-based moving companies. The letters stem from a hearing held by that Committee on September 20 titled “Taking Consumers for a Ride: Business Practices in the Household Goods Moving Industry”. Sen. Rockefeller urged the search companies to look into how moving companies pay for search terms in order to “inflate their popularity”. All three letters and a press release are available here.

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

Upcoming Events

• The Federal Communications Bar Association will hold a event to meet the FCC Bureau and Office Chiefs on October 18, 2012, from 6:00-8:00 pm Eastern at Capital Hilton Hotel, 1001 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC. For more information or to register, click here.

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.