FCC Law Lawyer & Attorney : Sheppard Mullin Law Firm : FCC Law Blog

On August 28, 2009, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an opinion in Comcast Corporation v. FCC, which vacated the FCC's 30% limit on the number of subscribers to which a cable operator could offer service. 
 

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A broad coalition of telecommunications companies and organizations has called upon President-elect Barack Obama to prioritize broadband deployment and stimulate investment in broadband services.  This large coalition – which includes AT&T, Verizon, Google, Alcatel-Lucent, organizations representing the cable and wireless industries, organizations representing state and local governments, as well as consumer groups – emphasizes both infrastructure deployment and demand stimulation to foster broadband investment, adoption and utilization.  Specifically, the coalition advocates, among other things, expanding the coverage of broadband networks to areas where there are currently none, obtaining higher speed connections in areas where networks already exist, and providing subsidies to low-income individuals to purchase a computer or pay for a broadband connection.  To achieve these objectives, the group favors tax incentives, grants, low-cost loans and loan guarantees, and universal service subsidies.

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The Senate recently voted 69-28 in favor of a bill (H.R. 6304) that will provide retroactive legal immunity to telephone companies that participated in the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance program.  The bill’s passage ended more than a year of legislative debate over whether to immunize phone companies from lawsuits filed by subscribers alleging that the companies violated their civil rights by participating in the program.

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The FCC’s recent DTV enforcement actions made one thing clear – the Commission is being vigilant in the enforcement of its digital television (or “DTV”) regulations.  On April 9, 2008, the FCC adopted notices of apparent liability (“NALs”) against eleven companies for mislabeling analog-only television sets with no digital tuners, leaving full V-chip functionality out of DTV sets, and shipping analog-only sets with no digital tuners.  The proposed fines total $6.6 million.  The FCC also issued consent decrees against seven companies that collectively agreed to pay $3,445,000 for V-chip violations.

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The FCC recently announced the results of auctions for newly available 700 MHz radio spectrum.  Altogether, 1090 licenses were sold to 101 different bidders.  Over $19 billion was raised by the auction – an amount that far exceeds the sum raised in any single spectrum previously conducted and went beyond Congressional estimates by about $9 billion.

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I. Legislative Branch Activity

A. Senate Committee Passes Three Telecom Bills.

On July 19, the Senate Commerce Committee approved three telecommunications bills: a broadband data bill (S-1492), a number porting measure (S-1769), and an indecency bill (S-1780). The broadband data bill, as passed by the Committee, directs the Commission to use Form 477 data to determine broadband service tiers, creating a separate tier for advanced services. The requirements for Form 477 would be altered to identify actual numbers of broadband connections associated with subscribers. In addition, the FCC would be allowed to choose whether to utilize 5-digit or 9-digit zip codes, or census tract information.

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I. Legislative Branch Activity

A. Senate Committee Passes Caller ID Spoofing Bill.

On June 28, the Senate Commerce Committee, by a voice vote, passed an anti-spoofing bill (S-704). This bill orders the FCC to write rules within 6 months of enactment and would impose civil and criminal penalties up to $10,000 per violation, capped at $1 million. The House passed a similar bill on June 12 (HR-251), which was referred to the Senate Commerce Committee.  Little debate occurred and the effort maintains strong bipartisan support.

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I. Legislative Branch Activity

A. Inouye Introduces Broadband Deployment Bills.

On May 24, Sen. Inouye (D-HI) presented a bill (S.1492), which seeks to improve upon the quality of data collection used for FCC broadband status reports. Instead of the current standard use of 5 digit zip codes, the bill calls for expansion to 9 digit codes, thus highlighting underserved areas more precisely. Sen. Inouye's bill demands that the FCC reevaluate its 200 kbps definition of high-speed service, and it would create a "2^nd generation" level that has enough bandwidth for uses like streaming video.

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I. Legislative Branch Activity

A. Senate Commerce Committee Meets to Discuss Universal Service.

On March 1, the Senate Commerce Committee invited Commissioners Tate and Copps, as well as other regulatory officials, to discuss the Universal Service Fund (USF). Senators from rural areas demanded that broadband needs to play a part in the USF program. Commissioner Copps endorsed adding broadband, but added that he could probably not gather the two additional votes necessary. Commissioner Tate said, while she believes the FCC has the authority to make the change, that adding broadband to the USF requires further study. Other panelists insisted that Congressional action would be necessary to ensure that USF issues are addressed quickly, as changes by the FCC could take several years.

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