Sorenson was alone seeking one compensation rate for all video relay service providers under the interstate Telecom Relay Service fund, in comments at the FCC last week. Sorenson is the biggest VRS provider and is paid the least under the current system. Responding to a notice of inquiry about taking a “fresh look” at the VRS program and reducing fraud, Sorenson’s rivals and consumer groups representing the deaf urged the FCC to maintain the current tiered approach, with some minor changes.

The burgeoning market in online video is “highly unlikely” to become a full-fledged pay-TV competitor anytime in the “foreseeable future,” Comcast, NBC Universal and NBCU parent General Electric told the FCC. Consumers and programmers alike see Web video as a complement to and not substitute for service from multichannel video programming distributors (MVPD), they said in the last round of comments on commission review of Comcast’s planned purchase of control in NBC Universal. Union and telecom foes of the deal represented by ex-FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and companies including EarthLink disagreed with Comcast and NBC Universal in filings posted Friday to docket 10-56. They and direct broadcast satellite companies contend the rapid growth of online video, in some instances including over-the-top Web programming seen on TVs, is making it more of a competitor to cable.

The restart of discussions on a net neutrality agreement seems to have at least the tacit approval of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, industry officials said. Commission officials have made it clear that the agency probably won’t hold another round of discussion, after negotiations brokered by Chief of Staff Eddie Lazarus collapsed two weeks ago. By keeping discussions going, Genachowski will at least be able to show Congress that the commission isn’t moving rashly to reclassify broadband transmission as a Title II service, executives said. They said the talks don’t give him an escape hatch for the conundrum he faces in which public-interest groups are unlikely to join the talks and so he may still need to decide whether to promulgate rules or wait for Congress to do so.

Some college dorms have ditched landlines or are considering doing so as wireless devices become the popular platform for daily and emergency communications, school officials said in interviews. Some schools remain reluctant to do so on wireless capacity and other concerns.

The FCC Public Safety Bureau sought comment on the state of competition in the market for public safety equipment and devices. The bureau put out a notice Thursday after House Commerce Committee leaders sent commission Chairman Julius Genachowski a letter asking about competition in the sector and the use of proprietary standards by makers of public safety equipment. Comments are due Sept. 20, replies Oct. 18.

Few companies or groups are pushing the government to mandate a la carte for cable, although some of the conditions proposed for Comcast’s planned purchase of control of NBC Universal echo elements of dormant channel-unbundling proposals. The American Cable Association asked the FCC Thursday to require Comcast to negotiate separately from deals for other programming distribution agreements for its regional sports networks (RSNs) and for the NBC TV stations it will control after the deal closes. Talks on RSNs and stations should also be separate, ACA said.

Hughes Network Systems, WildBlue, EchoStar and Spacenet won some of at least $100 million in federal stimulus money that the Rural Utilities Service is giving to satellite projects to expand broadband’s reach. The funding came in the second round of the Broadband Initiatives Program (CD August 19 p1). Satellite projects may get additional money, said a RUS spokesman. Many winners learned of the awards Wednesday, but many of them said they're still waiting for details, including which of their applications was approved by RUS, executives said. The stimulus money can cover upfront equipment and installation charges and must reduce service fees to $50 a month or less.

In what could be a messy November election for Democrats, telecom industry lobbyists are closely watching the re-elections of several members active on their issues. Those races include House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., and subcommittee members Zack Space, D-Ohio, and Lee Terry, R-Neb. They also include Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and Senate Commerce Committee member Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. Boucher has a large financial advantage over his Republican opponent and political analysts and others give him the edge.

Only a handful of public safety agencies seeking Broadband Technology Opportunities Program funds got money to build early 700 MHz networks, as the White House unveiled $1.8 billion in awards Wednesday -- the biggest set of announcements in the history of the stimulus program. Many of the 21 governments and government groups that got waivers from the FCC to launch systems in 700 MHz spectrum had applied for BTOP funding. It’s unclear how many more public safety grants will be awarded and how many systems won’t get built without federal funding. New York City, Washington, and Boston were among grant applicants that did not get awards in Wednesday’s round.

More than 150 attorneys, economists, professors, assistants and analysts have sought access to confidential or highly confidential data provided to the FCC in its review of the Comcast-NBC Universal merger, FCC documents show. That’s more than double the number of people who sought access to such data during the FCC’s review of the News Corp.-DirecTV transaction that concluded in 2003, FCC filings show. Comcast alone had more than 50 people sign the acknowledgements of confidentiality to gain access to confidential data submitted by critics of the deal. They range from partners, associates and legal assistants at a handful of law firms to economic consultants and law professors who are reviewing the information. NBCU has 23 attorneys, assistants and analysts authorized to review the data, and GE has four partners, an associate and two assistants at Lawler Metzger working on the documents.