WASHINGTON-BellSouth Corp. told the Federal Communications Commission last week that since a majority of personal communications services customers in Louisiana said they use their PCS phone to make or receive calls at home, the company should be allowed to offer long distance in Louisiana.The...
WASHINGTON-The Personal Communications Industry Association has asked the Federal Communications Commission not to enforce newly enacted rules on customer information.In February, the FCC enacted rules that the telecommunications industry-especially the wireless sector-says are anti-competitive. The FCC, however, says the rules are necessary to protect...
WASHINGTON-When the Galaxy IV satellite went berserk in May and left most paging carriers and their customers holding the bag, the Federal Communications Commission said the Network Reliability and Interoperability Council would look into the outage.Some people say that reaction was knee-jerk because: 1) NRIC...
WASHINGTON-The wireless industry last week urged the FBI to revise its definition of key words in rules implementing the digital wiretap act.The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association asked the FBI to reconsider its definition of the word "deployed" and to better define the word "impede."...
More than one person in the wireless industry has referred to the government's auction of C-block personal communications services licenses as a bad dream. Now, it seems, the Federal Communications Commission agrees.And, like with all nightmares, the commission is trying to shake it off...
WASHINGTON-A much ballyhooed victory by the telecommunications industry to get the dates for compliance with the digital wiretap act extended is less certain as both sides in the continuing debate argue over the significance of last week's House vote.The problem is the legislation containing...
WASHINGTON-Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) will oppose a universal-service proposal endorsed by the Personal Communications Industry Association last week that would earmark half of the 3-percent telephone service excise tax for discounted school and library Internet connections.Pia Pialorsi, a committee spokeswoman, said...
They say a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, a lesson paging carriers learned in a painful way last Tuesday evening when an estimated 90 percent of all paging subscribers in the country found themselves without service due to a faulty...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission late Thursday announced it would hold off until June 8 an anticipated decision on a request by the Personal Communications Industry Association that certain rules, including resale obligations, not be enforced because they are no longer necessary in a competitive...
WASHINGTON-The Automobile Association of America said last week it should be given "quasi public-safety" status by the Federal Communications Commission. This status would allow it the right of first refusal when others want to use spectrum formerly in the Automobile Emergency Radio Service (AERS)...
MetawaveMetawave Communications Corp. appointed Scot B. Jarvis to its board of directors. Jarvis helped build McCaw Cellular Communications cellular business through aggressive acquisitions of cellular licenses. During his nine years with McCaw, Jarvis held many positions including vice president of McCaw Development Group, vice...
WASHINGTON-A federal appeals court here Friday told the Federal Communications Commission to re-evaluate its decision on pay-phone compensation but left in place rules that require pay-phone operators to be paid 28.4 cents for each toll-free call placed from a pay phone.Many paging companies offer...
WASHINGTON-As the compliance deadline for the digital wiretap law looms ever closer, policy makers last week again attempted to gain advantage on the legislative, regulatory and standards fronts.On the legislative side, the fallout from an aborted attempt by a low-ranking minority member, Rep. Zoe...
Are Judge Judy, Judge Koch and Judge Wapner behind this move in the wireless industry to settle disputes in court?Remember, it was Doug Llewelyn of People's Court fame, who spouted the wisdom that if you find yourself at loggerheads with someone else, "don't take...
ALEXANDRIA, Va.-The 1998 Eugene C. Bowler award was presented to David Siddall, legal adviser to Federal Communications Commissioner Susan Ness at the Personal Communications Industry Association's Eighth Annual Eugene C. Bowler Dinner & Awards Presentation last week.House Commerce Committee Chairman Thomas Bliley Jr. (R-Va.)...
Here's something to ponder: Is the FBI to blame for the current CALEA fiasco, as the wireless industry has long claimed? Or does this rather serious controversy reflect the wireless industry's failure to negotiate a better deal when the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act...
WASHINGTON-The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association and the Personal Communications Industry Association, unable to get wireline carriers and manufacturers on board, moved forward on their own last week with a lawsuit against the Justice Department and the FBI over the implementation of the 1994 digital...
NEW YORK-As wireless carriers have closed off easier avenues for theft of services, subscriber fraud, including outright theft of identity, has emerged as the next generation of dirty dealing that carriers confront.The chemistry for this volatile situation results from an industry in the throes...
ALEXANDRIA, Va.-The Personal Communications Industry Association last week challenged unexplained regulatory fee increases, claiming the fees will hinder competition between wireless and wireline services.PCIA argued the Federal Communications Commission has denied wireless, local exchange and interexchange carriers; and television stations and private radio services...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission, in a long-awaited and far-reaching policy call, is expected to rule within weeks on wireless resale policy for the future.The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau is about to make a recommendation to the five commissioners on wireless resale policies that have been...
Nextel CommunicationsKevin Gleason was hired at Nextel Communications Inc. as Indiana General Manager and Sherri Cobb joined the company as market branch manager for Knoxville, Tenn. Prior to joining Nextel, Gleason served as vice president and general manager of PageNet of Indiana and also...
To the Editor: Before the advent of the brave new wireless world, I used to regularly read and identify with the opinion offered by Jeff Silva on numerous topics surrounding wireless regulation and the politics that control many of our futures. I quit paying attention...
WASHINGTON-The Personal Communications Industry Association filed comments last week at the Federal Communications Commission seeking to halt any merger of SBC Communications Inc. and Southern New England Telecommunications Corp. until SBC stops charging paging carriers for SBC-originated traffic."When it comes to interconnection, SBC has...
The wireless industry, having been defeated on Capitol Hill and Bunker Hill by environmentalists, organized labor and soccer moms, has turned to John Q. Public, Marcus Welby, M.D. and Ivan to makes its case. And what a wonderful strategy shift it is. Better late...
