Howard Buskirk

An FCC-sponsored panel Mon. kicked off a 5-month probe of what failed and what to change in emergency communications and other networks based on lessons from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Comr. Copps urged the panel be fearless and press hard: “If you ruffle feathers, so be it.” Chmn. Martin expects a list of recommendations of changes the FCC can make on its own and changes it must undertake with other agencies, he said.

The major national wireless carriers clashed with smaller carriers in reply comments at the FCC over whether to revise rules to guarantee equitable roaming rates across the U.S.. With each side accusing the other of overcharging, comments on an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking are getting close scrutiny because the FCC is interested in rural issues, sources said. Commission Democrats, in particular, have raised concerns about roaming.

Sprint Nextel Fri. filed a lawsuit in Fla. against the parent company of 4 online data brokers it alleges use “illegal and deceptive practices” to obtain and sell customer call records. The lawsuit, the first by Sprint against a data broker, means all 4 major national carriers have filed such suits. Meanwhile, Senate Commerce Committee announced Fri. it will hold a hearing Feb. 8 in the consumer subcommittee chaired by Sen. Allen (R-Va.) to look more closely at the theft of consumer cellphone records. The House Commerce Committee plans a hearing Feb. 1.

The GSA delayed by 9 months, until early 2007, its target dates for picking winners of the Networx contracts to provide communications services to the federal govt. worth about $20 billion over 10 years. Sources in govt. contracting told us Thurs. they were surprised by the delay’s length, though not that the agency was unable to pick winners within its original timetables. GSA likely needs more time because the bids are so complex, not because there was an unexpectedly larger number of them, sources said. Under the revised schedule, the broad Universal contract will be awarded in March 2007; the more narrowly focused Enterprise contract, in May 2007. GSA is expected to award multiple contracts.

Wireless carriers cautioned the FCC against imposing a mandate that they be able to broadcast emergency alerts to subscribers, warning that the delivery of millions of alerts would choke networks, possibly during times of national emergency when subscribers need to place other calls. Carriers also advised the Commission that the costs for wireless carriers would be significant and shouldn’t be imposed without federal support.

Conservative Stephen Harper’s Mon. victory in Canada’s national elections, ending 13 years of Liberal Party rule, has carriers and analysts there alert for shifts in telecom and other communications policy. Since he didn’t win decisively, Harper will form a coalition govt. In one of Canada’s hottest regulatory fights, the Canadian Radio-TV & Telecom Commission (CRTC) voted last year to regulate VoIP offered by traditional telecom carriers but not by Vonage, cable companies or other nontraditional players. In 2005 the old administration set up the Telecom Policy Review Panel (TPRP), which took 2 rounds of comments and is preparing a report on possible ways to change telecom oversight. One of Harper’s key moves will be to name an Industry Minister replacing Liberal David Emerson, in that job since 2004. “Everyone will hang tight and low until a new minister is announced,” Brian Sharwood, analyst with Seaboard Group, told us. The next big phase will be the TPRP report’s emergency, which will spur the new minister to introduce a telecom reform bill, Sharwood said. Action could be speedy, he said: “New governments, even in this minority situation, like to try and accomplish something early. They could probably get broad support for change, or at least across the Liberals, which is really what they need.”

Lucent highlighted its IMS contract with Verizon and the buildout of UMTS-based 3G networks by Cingular and other carriers, as it reported a net loss in its first quarter and a 12% drop in revenue from last year in what CEO Patricia Russo repeatedly called a “disappointing” quarter.

The FCC’s focus in a probe into cellphone data sales remains on wireless carriers and their privacy procedures, sources said Mon. That’s despite disclosure Fri. the Commission subpoenaed owners of 2 websites that sell cellphone customer data and despite the FCC’s working with the FTC on the matter. Fri., the FCC brought together major wireless carriers to discuss how they protect customer records (CD Jan 23 p1). The issue heated up Mon., as T-Mobile filed suit in Wash. state under criminal profiteering laws, pursuing firms the carrier says traffic in cell records.

The IEEE 802.15.3a task group is abandoning its pursuit of a single ultra wideband standard after 3 years of trying. The group declined to endorse either of the rival standards promoted by the WiMedia Alliance and Motorola spinoff Freescale. The task group voted Wed. at a meeting in Hawaii not to accept one standard after neither appeared likely to achieve 75% support in the group.

The WiMAX Forum said it certified the first fixed- wireless products to be used in wireless substitution for DSL and cable broadband. Certification is an important step in the commercial rollout of products using WiMAX technology. The forum put its seal on products from Aperto, Redline Communications, Sequans Communications and Wavesat, and dozens of other certification announcements are expected in coming weeks. The forum, meanwhile, is developing standards for mobile WiMAX, a significantly larger prospective market.