Posted by
cycators on Tuesday, November 04, 2008 3:21:00 PM
The head of the Federal Communications Commission has
canceled a controversial Election Day vote on a proposed overhaul of
telecommunications regulations that many consumer advocates feared
would lead to higher phone bills.
Abandoning
the vote is a setback for FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, one of three
Republicans on the five-member commission, who had hoped to pass his
proposal before power changes hands in Washington. Martin pulled the
item from the agenda for Tuesday's FCC meeting amid mounting opposition
from many corners of the telecommunications industry, consumer groups,
Congress - and even his fellow FCC
commissioners.
Martin had been seeking to reform the
multibillion-dollar "intercarrier compensation" system, the byzantine
menu of charges that telecom carriers pay to access each other's
networks and connect calls. Martin wanted to move toward uniform, lower
rates.
His plan also included major changes to the $7
billion Universal Service Fund, the federal program that subsidizes
telecom service in rural and poor communities through a surcharge on
long-distance bills. Among other things, Martin would have required
carriers to use Universal Service money to invest in broadband networks
in parts of the country that lack high-speed Internet
connections.
The proposed overhaul of telecom access
fees had the support of the biggest phone companies, including Verizon
Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc., which argue that the existing
rules are outdated. In a statement Monday, AT&T said that without
changing the system, "our regulatory regime will remain broken and
stuck with a 20th-century economic model designed for the black rotary
phone."
But a coalition of competing carriers and
rural
phone companies feared Martin's plan would diminish the money they get
for completing phone calls to their subscribers. Consumer advocates
also warned that the proposal could lead to higher phone bills -
particularly for rural customers - as phone companies sought to recover
lost access revenue from other sources.
And Martin's
four fellow FCC commissioners objected to addressing his proposal
before seeking public comments on the issues that it
raises.
In a joint statement Monday, the four
commissioners - Democrats Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein and
Republicans Robert McDowell and Deborah Tate - said Martin could have
waited for public comment and still scheduled a vote on his plan at the
FCC's Dec. 18 meeting. They said public review was especially important
"in light of the difficult economic circumstances currently facing our
nation."
Now, Martin said, he does not expect to be
able to move forward with his plan this year. In an interview, he
lamented being unable to vote on his proposal Tuesday, saying the ideas
it raises already have been debated in Washington for years. He said
the canceled vote represented "a real missed opportunity" to reform
outdated regulations and extend broadband services throughout the
country.
In order to comply with a Wednesday deadline
set by a federal court, the FCC still has to address a narrow slice of
the intercarrier compensation rules related to dial-up Internet
traffic. Martin had used that court deadline to push for his broader
proposal.
The FCC is also still set to vote Tuesday
on whether to open up unused portions of the television airwaves known
as "white spaces" to deliver wireless broadband
service.
That proposal is a high priority for public
interest groups and big technology companies, including Google Inc. and
Microsoft Corp. They say white spaces could spur widespread, affordable
broadband services because the vacant spaces between TV channels can be
used for wireless signals that penetrate walls, carry a great deal of
data and reach wide geographic areas.
But the plan is
fiercely opposed by the nation's big TV broadcasters, which argue that
using the fallow spectrum to deliver Internet connections could disrupt
their over-the-air signals. Manufacturers and users of wireless
microphones - including sports leagues, church leaders and performers
of all stripes - have also raised concerns about
interference.
Still, many analysts predict unanimous
FCC support for the white spaces proposal. Last month FCC engineers
concluded that potential interference could be eliminated with wireless
transmission technologies that can detect and avoid nearby broadcast
signals.
In addition, the FCC is due to consider two
major wireless deals.
Verizon Wireless, a joint
venture between Verizon and Vodafone Group PLC, is seeking approval to
buy Alltel Corp. for $5.9 billion plus the assumption of $22.2 billion
in debt.
The acquisition, which would make Verizon
Wireless the nation's largest wireless carrier, won Justice Department
approval last week after Verizon agreed to sell assets in 22 states to
address government concerns about reduced
competition.
The FCC might require Verizon Wireless
to sell additional assets in other markets. It might also include
conditions to protect Alltel's roaming agreements with other regional
and small wireless carriers. Public interest groups are also hoping the
FCC will attach some sort of "open access" rules to force Verizon to
open its networks to all devices and
applications.
Sprint Nextel Corp., meanwhile, is
seeking FCC approval to spin off and merge its new WiMax wireless
broadband network with that of Clearwire Corp., which already has a
WiMax-like network in parts of the country. Google, Intel Corp. and a
group of cable companies are investing billions into the $14.6 billion
venture, which will carry Clearwire's name.