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 FCC has released the Final Agenda for its next Open Meeting to be held October 17, 2012, at 10:30 am Eastern. It contains the same three items previously noticed: 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 Final 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

• According to a new study released earlier this month by CTIA-The Wireless Association and the Application Developers Alliance, the “app economy” created 519,000 jobs nationwide as of April of this year. The report, titled “The Geography of the App Economy,” also explores the number of app economy jobs in each state, the “app intensity,” which is the share of app economy jobs relative to overall jobs, and the economic impact for states. The research was conducted by Dr. Michael Mandel and Judith Scherer of South Mountain Economics, LLC. According to the study, California and Washington lead the country in overall economic impact and in the “app intensity” metrics. The study 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

• 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.
  
  UPDATE: The FTC has released the agenda for its Robocall Summit. It 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 IEEE Power & Energy Society has announced its fourth Conference on Innovative Smart Grid Technologies (ISGT) to be held February 24-27, 2012, in Washington, DC. The ISGT Conference will provide a forum for participants to discuss state-of-the-art innovations in smart grid technologies. According to the announcement, it will feature “plenary sessions, panels, technical papers, and tutorials by international experts on smart grid applications.” Researchers and practitioners from around the world are also invited to submit papers for review and possible presentation at the ISGT Conference. More information about the ISGT Conference 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 October 10, 2012, the Missouri Public Service Commission (MPSC) approved YMax Communications Corp.’s proposed revisions to its intrastate switched access tariff after having granted the motion of AT&T Communications of the Southwest, Inc. and Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, d/b/a AT&T Missouri to suspend and investigate. AT&T filed comparable motions to suspend YMax’s proposed tariff revisions in other states, including New Mexico, Kentucky, Alabama, West Virginia, Maryland and Ohio. AT&T argues that the proposed tariff revisions would allow YMax to charge interexchange carriers for access functions that it does not provide. In its motion at the MPSC, AT&T stated that despite “unambiguous guidance from the FCC, YMax’s tariff contains numerous provisions that make clear that YMax will be seeking to collect the full array of access charges, including end office charges, even though neither YMax nor Magic Jack provide the services and functions that justify those access charges.” YMax submitted a revised tariff following the MPSC’s suspension order, and on September 9, 2012 AT&T withdrew its opposition to the tariff as revised. The new tariff carries an effective date of October 23, 2012. Docket No. TO-2013-0042.

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 October 10, 2012, Chairman Genachowski spoke at the Futurecom conference in Rio de Janeiro about the upcoming December 2012 World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai, calling it “a crossroads for the Internet.” Emphasizing the work the FCC has undertaken to increase broadband adoption and Internet openness, Chairman Genachowski stated “[b]roadband is an engine for innovation, fueling sustainable economic development.” But, echoing the concerns of many, including Commissioner McDowell, Chairman Genachowski stated that “[s]ome proposals put forward for the WCIT fundamentally threaten the Internet as we know it.” He criticized outdated regulatory proposals like “sender pays” and rules “that would involve [the] International Telecommunication Union in regulating cybersecurity, or could be used by countries to support monitoring and restrictions on online communications.” He urged openness and Internet freedom, and the rejection of proposals that would allow content monitoring by governments. These proposals, he stated, would stifle economic development and depress broadband deployment.
  
  Chairman Genachowski’s speech is available here.
  
  A press release about Chairman Genachowski’s 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 October 5, 2012, Google Inc. and Slide Inc., together with the class that sued them for violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), filed a motion with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking approval of a $6 million settlement. The putative class representatives alleged that they received unsolicited text messages on their mobile phones through Slide’s “Disco” group text messaging service, including messages after they attempted to follow the opt-out instructions. Those messages, they alleged, violate TCPA. For $6 million, $2 million of which would go to plaintiffs’ counsel, Google and Slide would resolve all claims against the class, which is defined in the settlement agreement to include “all persons who received the Disco Mobile App Text or other text messages sent by or through the Disco Messaging Service informing such persons about the Disco Messaging Service.” The settlement follows the court’s denial of the defendants’ motion to dismiss the case. Pimental v. Google Inc., No. 4:11-cv-02585 (N.D. Cal.).

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

Legislative Outlook

• On October 9, 2012, Republican members of the House Commerce Committee sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requesting information about its new Office of Energy Infrastructure Security (OEIS). The members ask 16 questions, including what is the scope of OEIS jurisdiction, whether OEIS will perform functions not presently performed by FERC, and what is the anticipated budget for OEIS. The response is due November 1, 2012. To read the letter and list of questions, click here.
• On October 10, 2012, Sen. John “Jay” Rockefeller, D-W.Va., Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, sent letters to nine data brokers, including Equifax and Acxiom, about the consumer data that they compile and sell. Sen. Rockefeller posed 12 questions, among which are the type of consumer data products sold since January 1, 1999, and whether the entities inform consumers that their data will be sold. Responses are due November 2, 2012. The letter to Acxiom can be found here.

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

Upcoming Events

• Twilio, a client of the Telecom Group, is convening TwilioCon 2012 on October 16-18, 2012, in San Francisco. The conference will bring software developers, system integrators, and entrepreneurs together to explore next-generation communications solutions. To learn more about TwilioCon, click here.
• 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.