1 taking ownership of the regulatory process (or how to make the gumbo) stephen e. coran rini coran,...
TRANSCRIPT
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Taking Ownership of the Regulatory Process
(or How to Make the Gumbo)Stephen E. Coran
Rini Coran, PC(202) 463-4310
FISPA Year End MeetingNew Orleans, Louisiana
October 7, 2010
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Recipe for Success Leadership
“Life does not consist in thinking, it consists in acting.” – Woodrow Wilson
“Our task now is not to fix the blame for the past, but to fix the course for the future.” – John F. Kennedy
Initiative “I never sit on the fence. I am either on one side or another.” – Harry S
Truman “Don’t expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong.” – Calvin
Coolidge Participation
“Politics should be the part-time profession of every citizen.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
Reasonableness “The hole and the patch should be commensurate.” – Thomas Jefferson
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Ingredients The Legislative Process
Where the gumbo is made
The Regulatory Process Where the gumbo is packaged
TV White Spaces Spicy enough?
Spectrum for Backhaul The next batch
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The Legislative Process Know your Sausage-makers
Federal – Senate and House representatives State – Elected representatives Local – Zoning officials
Help make the Sausage Understand the threat and the opportunity Develop a plan
Communicate what you do and how it benefits constituents Find allies to help develop, implement and communicate the
plan Determine best tactics
Know when to compromise, and when not to
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The Legislative Process
Sell the Sausage (or sell a better grade) Newspaper articles, letters to the editor Press releases Grass roots support Support from allies
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The Regulatory Process
Take the sausage, make the gumbo Notice of Proposed Rulemaking leads to new
rules Begins with petition for rulemaking or on FCC’s
initiative Comments and Reply Comments Oral and written ex parte presentations
Notice of Inquiry does not lead directly to new rules, but data collection efforts can be important
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Cas(ing) Study FCC established ability to regulate broadband Internet
services based on Title I “ancillary authority” of Communications Act
Early this year, FCC began proceeding to codify six “network neutrality” principles Non-discrimination Transparency Ensure consumers’ ability to receive all lawful content and run all
lawful applications, subject to reasonable network management practices
National Broadband Plan recommendation to extend universal service support to broadband
Net neutrality part of President Obama’s policy plan
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Cas(ing) Study
In Comcast case, FCC sought to prevent Comcast from secretly degrading its customers’ lawful Internet traffic On April 6, 2010, the D.C. Circuit ruled that
FCC had not adequately demonstrated that it had “ancillary authority” under Title I to regulate Internet network management
FCC can only assert authority if Congress grants it
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Cas(ing) Study On June 17, 2010, the FCC adopted a Notice of Inquiry on “The
Third Way” to reclassify FCC’s broadband authority to enable regulation
FCC seeks comment on the following approaches: The “first way” – should wired service offerings continue to be classified
as Title I “information services”? The “second way” – should Internet connectivity be classified as a
“telecommunications service” under Title II? “The Third Way:” Should the FCC reaffirm that Internet information
services should remain generally unregulated? Should the FCC classify only Internet connectivity service offered as part of
a wired broadband Internet service as a telecommunications service? Should the FCC forbear from applying all of the provisions of Title II other
than the small number needed to implement fundamental universal service, competition and small business opportunity, and consumer protection policies that have broad support?
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Cas(ing) Study
Comment/Reply Comment cycle ended August 17 Chairman Genachowski has encouraged industry to
get together on rules (e.g., Google-Verizon pact) On September 1, FCC released a Public Notice
seeking comment on two “under-developed” issues: Managed services Mobile wireless platforms
Comments due October 12 and Reply Comments due November 4 By pushing decision past election date, was Chairman
Genachowski signaling that he wants Congress to intervene?
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Cas(ing) Study
Meanwhile, House Democrats circulated draft legislation to give FCC authority to regulate the first four net neutrality principles Legislation failed when Republicans did not support
the bill
“But will the Commission, having spent the entire summer avoiding action on net neutrality, now go ahead and do what its been saying it will do? Or will it punt on the entire issue?” – Rob Pegoraro, The Washington Post, October 3
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TV White Spaces
Rules adopted November 4, 2008 to govern fixed and personal/portable use of vacant TV spectrum on an unlicensed basis WISPA actively sought higher-power,
“licensed-lite” process with registration and geolocation
FCC also indicated it would initiate inquiry for higher-power services
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TV White Spaces
Fixed Devices Permitted on TV channels 2-51, except Channels 3, 4
and 37 Must incorporate geolocation capability that accesses
privately maintained database of protected services (e.g., incumbent broadcast stations)
Power maximum of 4 Watts EIRP Must use outdoor antennas with spectrum sensing
capability to identify wireless microphone signals not in database
Operation not permitted where digital TV stations operate on co-channel or adjacent-channel basis
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TV White Spaces Geolocation Database and Sensing
All devices that do not operate in client mode must access database of registered stations before operating
Database to be managed by qualified database administrator(s) selected by FCC, although FCC will retain interference resolution functions
Database registrants will include: full-power TV, Class A TV, low-power TV, TV translator/booster, PLMRS/CMRS operating on Channels 14-20, broadcast auxiliary and Offshore Radiotelephone Service stations
Database will be accurate to within 50 meters Devices also must be equipped with technology capable of
sensing intermittent wireless microphones at a -114 dBm minimum detection threshold
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TV White Spaces
17 parties, including WISPA, filed Petitions for Reconsideration WISPA, Motorola and Silicon Valley
companies asked for spectrum sensing requirements to be eliminated entirely Cost to employ sensing would spell disaster for
WISP deployment in white spaces Unnecessary to protect incumbent TV and other
services Less restrictive means to protect authorized
wireless microphones
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TV White Spaces WISPA Petition for Reconsideration
Asked for decrease in minimum receive antenna height and increase in maximum base station height, while maintaining existing protection to TV stations and headends Will decrease cost of rooftop installations Will decrease number of needed base stations and sites
Asked for increase in power to 20 watts transmitter power Will increase coverage area to facilitate more cost-effective
deployment for point-to-point and point-to-multipoint Asked for “licensed-lite” database search
requirements for fixed deployments
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TV White Spaces After heavy last-minute advocacy, on September
23, FCC adopted Order that: eliminated simultaneous sensing requirement eliminated 10-meter AGL CPE restriction reserved two channels near Channel 37 for
unlicensed wireless microphones, with additional spectrum available under specific circumstances upon application to the FCC
further restricted maximum base station height to better protect broadcast stations Retained 30-meter maximum for base stations above ground
level (AGL) Added restriction that tower site must not exceed 76 meters
above average terrain (HAAT)
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TV White Spaces FCC did not increase power, but indicated it may
consider this issue in a future proceeding FCC did not adopt FiberTower, et al., proposal to
license up to 36 megahertz for backhaul FCC staff required to provide report by end of year
FCC deferred decision on database administrators, though decision expected fairly soon
Questions: What will equipment cost and when will it be available? Will devices be standards-based? Will devices be dynamic enough to find other frequencies if
channels are foreclosed by future licensing or “re-packing” of spectrum to accommodate mobile wireless?
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Spectrum for Backhaul
On August 5, 2010, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry proposing to make 750 megahertz available for backhaul and other technical changes Comments due October 25 and Reply
Comments due November 22
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Spectrum for Backhaul
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Proposals: Allow Fixed Service operations to share spectrum
with BAS and CARS 6875-7125 MHz = 250 megahertz 12700-13200 MHz = 500 megahertz
Variety of channel bandwidths to promote flexibility Minimum payload requirements, with adaptive
modulation to address anomalous signal fading Use of spectrum for auxiliary stations
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Spectrum for Backhaul
Notice of Inquiry: Should FCC reduce relax efficiency standards
for “rural” areas? Should FCC change its antenna standards?
Smaller size? Effect on interference?
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Final Thoughts
“Washington is a city of southern efficiency and northern charm.” – John F. Kennedy
“Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for ‘tis better to be alone than in bad company.” – George Washington
“Get action, do things; be sane, don’t fritter away your time; create, act, take place wherever you are and be somebody; get action.” – Theodore Roosevelt
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“Be sincere; be brief; be seated.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
Questions?Stephen E. Coran
Rini Coran, PC(202) 463-4310