Howard Buskirk

The FCC’s International Bureau has begun a series of face-to-face meetings with Canadian and Mexican officials on cross-border issues that must be resolved as part of the 800 MHz rebanding initiative, Chief Don Abelson said Thurs. “We've sat down face to face and talked to them,” Abelson told reporters after the FCC meeting. “Formal means that we actually start a process through the State Dept. and that has not yet been initiated, but it will be.” Abelson said both countries are interested in further discussions. “They want to talk further with us, want to get a better sense of what the final rule is going to look like,” he said. Meanwhile, the FCC will soon launch a website that provides information on the ongoing 800 MHz rebanding. The address is www.800mhz.gov.

Most states seem “comfortable” with the Commission’s Nov. order preempting state regulation of VoIP services from Vonage and other providers, Chmn. Powell said as he left the FCC meeting Thurs. The National Assn. of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) and regulators in Cal., Ohio, Minn. and N.Y. have asked federal appeals courts to overturn the decision. “My impression is the vast majority of states… understand the rightness of that decision,” he said. “A majority of states will not fight that ruling.” The arguments of the states are flawed, he asserted. “They suggest their concern is not the jurisdictional nature of the economic regulation, but somehow the 911 issue,” Powell said. “But the Commission expressly has proceedings on each and every one of those things. They're not in any way being neglected.” Powell also indicated that the Commission appeared on track for a Feb. vote on an intercarrier compensation item, including a rulemaking that asks a battery of questions exploring the issue. If the FCC votes on the intercarrier compensation proposal in a few weeks, as expected, the Wireline Bureau probably will be able to craft a draft order by the end of the year, Wireline Bureau Chief Jeffrey Carlisle said. That’s assuming comments are made and the record is completed in the May-June timeframe, said Carlisle, speaking at a news conference after the FCC’s agenda meeting. Carlisle said the bureau also plans to have a draft order on IP-Enabled Services completed by April-May and on universal service contribution methodology around April.

Verizon Wireless and investor Mario Gabelli are among those signaling they plan to play a big role in PCS Auction 58, starting Jan. 26, based on information released by the FCC late Tues. Early indications, meanwhile, were that the FCC could see an active, competitive auction. As expected, 4 of the 5 national carriers will participate. Also, 2 formerly bankrupt carriers, Leap and MetroPCS, made major upfront bids. Altogether, 35 companies put in $325.3 million - less than 10% of what the auction is likely to fetch.

Education groups and fixed wireless providers asked the FCC to make some key changes to a June 2004 order providing revised rules for ITFS and MDS operators in the 2495-2690 MHz band -- designed to promote wireless broadband by revising the 40-year-old rules that governed how the spectrum was used. An agreement by the Catholic TV Network (CTN), the National ITFS Assn. (NIA) and the Wireless Communications Assn. (WCA) precipitated the order. But the 3 groups all raised objections, filing petitions for reconsideration and arguing that the order deviated from their proposal in critical ways.

Wireless phone use is running ahead of the ability of researchers to evaluate the potential health effects, the U.K. National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) warned in a new report. The paper cited other research, including a 10-year study from Sweden that found increased risk of acoustic neuromas among wireless users and a recent study that found 3G phones may affect brain function. In spite of those studies, NRPB noted that the number of mobile phone users in the U.K. has risen to 50 million, compared to 4.5 million 10 years ago. William Stewart, chmn. of the NRPB, called for further studies: “The fact is that the widespread use of mobile phones is a relatively recent phenomenon and it is possible that adverse health effects could emerge after years of prolonged use.” The NRPB also said standards should be developed for the testing of hands-free devices to determine the extent they protect users from radio frequency exposure.

The wireless industry has a big job ahead making an effective transition from the voice world to taking advantage of data and new services, wireless industry officials said late Fri. in a panel at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS -- Verizon Wireless announced Fri. plans to launch the first U.S. 3G multimedia network starting next month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a service that it is branding as Vcast. CEO Dennis Strigl said Verizon likely can take the service national with spectrum it now controls, and with a few additions the company will have enough spectrum to meet its needs beyond 2010.

LAS VEGAS -- The digital age is starting to live up to expectations, with phones, TVs and other devices linking up with PCs in new ways, Microsoft founder Bill Gates told a standing room only audience Wed. night at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) here.

NTIA sent an aggressive signal Thurs. that the govt. will move quickly to take the steps needed for a planned June 2006 auction of advanced wireless service (AWS) spectrum. The agency sent federal agencies formal notification of their new obligations under the spectrum transition fund bill (HR-5419) signed into law by President Bush on Dec. 23. NTIA asked each affected agency to submit its cost estimates and schedule for relocation by Sept. 15.

LAS VEGAS -- An almost apologetic SBC CEO Edward Whitacre Thurs. said in a speech to the Consumer Electronics Show it has taken his company too long to make a major appearance at the show. The CEO said SBC was correcting that with a series of announcements leading up to the unveiling of the new U-verse brand for its video platform.