FCC Grants Tower Lighting Monitoring Waiver
Posted by Steve Fravel on Friday, May 4, 2012 · 
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The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) of the FCC granted a waiver from the quarterly inspection requirement for antenna structure lighting monitoring on April 26 to Crown Castle USA Inc. and AT&T Services Inc.
Crown leases 1564 towers from AT&T that fall under the quarterly inspection requirement. Crown employs remote automatic monitoring systems on some of the leased towers. These monitoring systems are equipped with tracking mechanisms that evaluate the remote monitoring technology, essentially building a log that verifies testing parameters. Crown and AT&T have complied with the quarterly monitoring reporting and have demonstrated the overall reliability and safety the systems provide to the equipped towers.
The WTB noted in its order that it had granted similar waivers to antenna structure owners who were able to provide similar reliability and safety reporting. The waiver moves the reporting requirement under FCC Rule 17.47(b) from quarterly to annual reporting for Crown specifically covering the specially equipped AT&T-owned towers.
The WTB issued the orders after input from the Airspace and Rules Group of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicated no opposition, as long as the applicant demonstrated a reliable monitoring technology.
The Crown-AT&T waiver adheres to findings in an earlier ruling favoring Crown. The company had proven the required reliability in earlier filings and had received waivers for towers owned by Crown and equipped with the same monitoring systems.
NetAmerica Unveils Program for 700 MHz Licensees
Posted by Steve Fravel on Friday, May 4, 2012 · ·
NetAmerica Alliance LLC announced in an April 27 press statement the launch of a new program designed to assist those companies that purchased 700 MHz spectrum in Auction 73 to fulfill build-out requirements.
The License Saver Program is an initiative intended to assist in the development of new, immediate revenue generation though the acquisition of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) services. The program also address three key elements for licensees. It (1) preserves the license, (2) minimizes and conserves both capital and operating expenditures, and (3) minimizes waste while assuring compatibility with future deployment. Read more
Sen. Grassley Lifts Hold on FCC Nominees
Posted by Steve Fravel on Monday, April 30, 2012 · ·
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) on April 27 released a hold he placed on two nominees for vacant commissioner seats at the FCC. Releasing the hold will allow the senate to proceed with its review and potential confirmation of the two applicants.
Sen. Grassley placed the holds on Ajit Pai (R) and Jessica Rosenworcel (De) four months ago after his request for information from the commission was rebuffed primarily due to Sen. Grassley not holding a leadership position on a committee with jurisdiction over the commission.
In a statement released by his office, Sen. Grassley said that he intends to pursue his inquiry into LightSquared. “The documents I’ve seen so far raise more questions than I had before,” he said. Read more
EchoStar Halts U.S. Set Top Production, Aria Platform
Posted by Steve Fravel on Monday, April 30, 2012 · ·
EchoStar Technologies has announced its intention to cease manufacturing set-top boxes (STBs) for the U.S. market, according to an April 23 article in MultiChannel News. EchoStar indicated lack of market penetration with its line of products. EchoStar also plans to shutter the year-old Aria distribution platform.
EchoStar indicates that it will re-focus its U.S. resources on its owned intellectual properties and advanced content delivery technologies. EchoStar will continue to manufacture a small number of STBs for international markets. Read more
Diller Explains Aereo to the Senate Committee
Posted by Steve Fravel on Monday, April 30, 2012 · ·
Barry Diller, chairman and senior executive of IAC/InteractiveCorp., and formerly associated with Fox Broadcasting Network and USA Network, testified on April 24 at a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation investigating the future of television and the growing migration of video from traditional outlets to the Internet.
Diller recently invested in a new service called Aereo. Aereo claims to make local broadcast television available to subscribers using Internet streaming from individual antennas and by-passing local cable or satellite providers. Read more
NY Attorney General Sues Sprint Nextel for $300 Million
Posted by Steve Fravel on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 · ·
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is suing Sprint Nextel alleging that Sprint under collected and underpaid $100 million in sales tax to keep its prices competitively low.
Online legal publication InsideCounsel reports that the lawsuit is the first filed under a 2010 New York state law that makes way for the government to sue contractors for tax losses resulting from fraud. The law allows the state to collect up to three times the amount of underpaid taxes. Schneiderman alleges that Sprint underpaid approximately 25% of sales tax since 2005 and the suit seeks $300 million in damages. Read more
TV Everywhere Startup
Posted by Steve Fravel on Tuesday, April 24, 2012 · ·
An April 22 New York Times article details a new company with plans to begin testing its version of ”TV Everywhere,” an Internet streamed addition to conventional pay-TV on Monday, April 23.
With funding from venture capital firms Tribeca Venture Partners and Greycroft Partners, and financial support from the Tribune Company, NimbleTV intends to provide an “everywhere” streaming video product. Read more