1/30. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its Memorandum Opinion and Order [39 pages in PDF] in its proceeding on ACS's petition for unbundling forbearance in the Anchorage market.

This MO&O grants forbearance from certain unbundling obligations imposed by 47 U.S.C. § 251(c)(3), and the related pricing standard contained in 47 U.S.C. § 252(d)(1), for much of the Anchorage area.

The FCC granted a similar petition for forbearance submitted by Qwest for the Omaha, Nebraska, area. The present MO&O relies on the Omaha order. In both cases, the incumbent phone company obtained forbearance in those areas where a cable operator provided facilities based competition.

The just released MO&O contains the following summary: "we grant ACS relief from section 251(c)(3) unbundling obligations and section 252(d)(1) pricing obligations in 5 of the 11 wire centers in the Anchorage study area, where the level of facilities-based competition by the local cable operator, General Communication Inc. (GCI), ensures that market forces will protect the interests of consumers and that such regulation, therefore, is unnecessary. Second, as a condition of today’s Order, we require ACS to make loops and certain subloops available in those wire centers where we grant relief, by no later than the end of the transition period, at the same rates, terms and conditions as those negotiated between GCI and ACS in Fairbanks, Alaska until commercially negotiated rates are reached. Third, similar to the Qwest Omaha decision, we create a one-year transition period before the forbearance grant takes effect." (Footnote and fonts omitted.)

This MO&O is FCC 06-188 in WC Docket No. 05-281. The FCC issued a short release [PDF] regarding this MO&O on Friday, December 29, 2006, but did not release the MO&O until January 30, 2007.

Alaska Communications Systems (ACS) is the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) in Anchorage, the state of Alaska's largest city, and its commercial center. ACS filed a forbearance petition with the FCC on September 30, 2005, pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 160 (which is also known as Section 10 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996).

Section 160 provides, in part, that the FCC "shall forbear from applying any regulation or any provision of this chapter to a telecommunications carrier or telecommunications service, or class of telecommunications carriers or telecommunications services, in any or some of its or their geographic markets, if the Commission determines that -- (1) enforcement of such regulation or provision is not necessary to ensure that the charges, practices, classifications, or regulations by, for, or in connection with that telecommunications carrier or telecommunications service are just and reasonable and are not unjustly or unreasonably discriminatory; (2) enforcement of such regulation or provision is not necessary for the protection of consumers; and (3) forbearance from applying such provision or regulation is consistent with the public interest ..."

Section 251(c)(3) provides, in part, that "each incumbent local exchange carrier has the following duties ... (3) ... to provide, to any requesting telecommunications carrier for the provision of a telecommunications service, nondiscriminatory access to network elements on an unbundled basis at any technically feasible point on rates, terms, and conditions that are just, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory in accordance with the terms and conditions of the agreement and the requirements of this section and section 252 of this title."

General Communications, Inc. (GCI) is a cable operator, and a facilities based telephone service competitor in the Anchorage area. GCI also provides local, wireless, and long distance telephone, cable television, internet and data communications services around Alaska.

The 6 wire centers for which there is no forbearance under this MO&O cover the two military bases north of downtown Anchorage, the hillside areas of O'Malley and Rabbit Creek, and outlying areas, such as the ski resort community of Girdwood, where Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) lives.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin wrote in his statement that this order removes "the application of legacy network unbundling requirements on ACS". He said that "This relief is warranted based on the specific market facts before us", that is, that GCI "has made a substantial infrastructure investment in the Anchorage study area and has used these facilities to provide competing telephone services to thousands of residential and business customers."

He added that "As was the case in the Commission's Qwest Omaha Order, this success of intermodal competition warrants the Commission’s careful exercise of its forbearance authority."

FCC Commissioner Deborah Tate wrote in a separate statement that the competition between ACS and GCI "epitomizes the benefits of local significant network investment and facilities-based competition made possible by the market-opening 1996 Act."

She added that "When sustainable competition arrives, we must exercise our regulatory humility and transition markets away from the constant touch of government regulation, such as price-setting."

FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein wrote in a joint concurring statement that "we have concerns with the analysis in this decision", because it "relies on the intermodal efforts of a single alternative provider to conclude that sufficient competition exists".

Copps and Adelstein (at right) continued that "While we agree that there is especially strong evidence of competition between the incumbent cable and wireline provider in parts of the Anchorage market, we believe the statute contemplates more than just competition between a wireline and cable provider -- and that both residential and business consumers deserve more.

They added that "We concur also because this decision does not adequately address market differentiations, as between residential and business, making it difficult to conclude which market segments are actually receiving the benefit of emerging competitive choice."

And, they concluded that "this decision should not be considered generally applicable for future forbearance petitions involving phone providers facing different competitive landscapes, challenges, and market share."

In addition, the MO&O states that "we adopt herein no rules of general applicability".

FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell did not participate.

GCI stated in a release [PDF] on December 29, 2006, that "The FCC’s decision grants ACS some relief in 5 of the 11 Anchorage wire centers. The decision, however, conditions the relief on ACS’ continuing to provide GCI unbundled loops in those 5 wire centers at the same rates, terms, and conditions as those negotiated between GCI and ACS for Fairbanks in 2004. This condition will remain in effect until such time as GCI and ACS establish new commercially negotiated rates for Anchorage. Both the forbearance relief and the condition will take effect after a one-year transition period."

"GCI expects the primary effect of the decision to be an increase, starting at the end of 2007, in the unbundled loop rate in the 5 Anchorage wire centers from $18.64 per loop per month to $23.00. GCI estimates that at the end of 2006, it will be using approximately 26,500 ACS unbundled loops in the 5 Anchorage wire centers." GCI added that "The rate increase reinforces GCI’s determination to finish converting the customers it serves in Anchorage using ACS unbundled loops to GCI’s own facilities."

1/29. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a notice in the Federal Register that announces, describes, recites, and sets the effective date (March 30, 2007) of its new rules regarding voluntary internet availability of proxy materials. The SEC adds that "Persons may not send a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials to shareholders prior to July 1, 2007." See, Federal Register, January 29, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 18, at Pages 4147-4173.

The SEC also published a second notice in the Federal Register that announces, describes, and sets the comments deadline (March 30, 2007) for its further notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding mandatory internet availability of proxy materials.

This notice states that "Currently, issuers decide whether to provide shareholders with the choice to receive proxy materials by electronic means. We are proposing amendments to the proxy rules that would require issuers and other soliciting persons to furnish proxy materials to shareholders by posting them on an Internet Web site and providing shareholders with notice of the availability of the proxy materials. The proposal, if adopted, would provide all shareholders with the ability to choose whether to receive proxy materials in paper, by e-mail or via the Internet." (Footnote omitted.) See, Federal Register, January 29, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 18, at Pages 4175-4188.

The SEC adopted its original NPRM on November 29, 2005. See, SEC release and story titled "SEC Proposes to Allow Internet Delivery of Proxy Materials" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,263, December 1, 2005. The SEC adopted its new rule [119 pages in PDF] for voluntary internet availability of proxy materials on December 13, 2006. See, SEC release and story titled "SEC Adopts E-Proxy Rule Changes" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,506, December 15, 2006.

1/30. The Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) and the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) will host a conference titled "The Future of Communications Services in Europe and the United States: The Role of Regulation and Markets in a Converged World" in Brussels, Belgium. There will be panels titled "Investment in Next-Generation Networks", "Net Neutrality", and "Content Development" . The speakers will include Boyden Gray (U.S. Representative to the European Union), William Kovacic (FTC Commissioner), David Gross (U.S. Department of State), Fabio Colasanti (European Commission Director General for Information Society), and David Currie (Chairman of Ofcom). See, PFF notice.

1/29. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced in a release that the USPTO and the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of the Philippines have "signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on technical cooperation between the two intellectual property offices".

1/29. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a report [6 pages in PDF] titled "Annual Report on the National Do-Not-Call Registry" in its proceeding titled "In the Matter of Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991". This report is DA 07-279 in CG Docket No. 02-278.

1/22. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) released its legislative recommendations regarding surveillance and national security, consumer privacy, copyright, free expression on the internet, and other issues. See, release and agenda.

1/29. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a release that lists numerous staff appointments and promotions made 2006 in its Bureau of Consumer Protection.

1/29. President Bush nominated James Clapper to be Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. See, White House release.

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The House will meet at 10:30 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. It will consider several non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. See, Majority Leader's weekly calendar [PDF].

TIME? Day one of a two day closed meeting of the Department of Defense's (DOD) Defense Science Board's (DSB) Task Force on Space Industrial Base [PDF]. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 24, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 15, at Page 3116. Location: Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), 4001 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA.

9:00 AM - 12:30 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (USCC) will host a workshop titled "Social Networking, Viral Campaigns, and Humor: What you Need to Know". This is the second of four workshops in a series titled "Online Strategies for Grassroots Advocacy". See, notice. Location: USCC, 1615 H St., NW.

9:00 AM - 3:30 PM. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Advanced Technology Program Advisory Committee will hold a partially closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 16, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 9, at Page 1705. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Employees' Lounge, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:30 AM. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of John Negroponte to be Deputy Secretary of State. See, notice. Location: Room 216, Hart Building.

10:00 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing titled "Trade and Globalization". See, notice. Press contact: 202-225-1721. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

11:00 AM. The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) and its member groups will host a news conference to release a report titled "Copyright Industries in the U.S. Economy:  The 2006 Report" written by Stephen Siwek of Economists Incorporated. The scheduled speakers include Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). Location: Room SC-6, Capitol Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Center for American Progress (CAP) will host a panel discussion titled "Local Media Diversity Matters to All Americans". The speakers will be Rep. Xavier Becarra (D-CA), Robert Entman (George Washington University), Philip Napoli (Fordham University), Federico Subervi (Texas State University -- San Marcos), and Mark Lloyd (CAP). Lunch will be served at 12:00 NOON. The program will begin at 12:30 PM. See, notice. Location: Room B-340, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.

3:00 PM. The House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Trade will hold its organizational meeting for the 110th Congress. See, notice. Press contact: 202-225-1721. Location: Room 1105, Longworth Building.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Majority Leader's weekly calendar [PDF].

TIME? Day two of a two day closed meeting of the Department of Defense's (DOD) Defense Science Board's (DSB) Task Force on Space Industrial Base [PDF]. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 24, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 15, at Page 3116. Location: Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), 4001 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA.

8:30 AM - 4:30 PM. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) will host an event titled "3rd Annual Internet Caucus State of the Net Conference". See, notice and agenda. The basic price is $350. The price for members of the Internet Caucus Advisory Committee is $300. The price for non-profit and academic personnel is $75. The price for "current government employees and credentialed members of the press" is free. Location: Hyatt Regency Hotel, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing titled "The Treasury Department’s Report to Congress on International Economic and Exchange Rate Policy (IEERP) and the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue". The sole witness will be Henry Paulson, Secretary of the Treasury. See, notice. Location: Room 538, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) will hold its organizational meeting for the 110th Congress. See, notice. Press contact: Steve Adamske at 202-225-7141 or Heather Wong at 202-226-3314. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

10:15 PM. The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled "Presidential Signing Statements under the Bush Administration: A Threat to Checks and Balances and the Rule of Law?". Location: Room 2147, Rayburn Building.

10:30 AM -12 NOON. The Heritage Foundation will host an event titled "Taiwan Security Looking Forward: Issues and Problems". The speakers will Andrew Nien-dzu Yang (Secretary General, Council for Advanced Policy Studies, Taiwan), James Mulvenon (Center for Intelligence and Analysis, Richard Bush, (Brookings Institute), and Harvey Feldman (Heritage). See, notice. Location: Heritage, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) HLS/Emergency Communications Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Emergency Alert and Warning and the Warning, Alerts and Response Network (WARN) Act". The speakers will be Christopher McCabe (CTIA), David Webb (Federal Emergency Management Agency), and Lisa Fowlkes (FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau). For more information, contact Jennifer Manner at jmanner at msvlp dot com or 703-390-2730. Location: Akin Gump, 1133 New Hampshire Ave., NW.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "US-VISIT: Challenges and Strategies for Securing the U.S. Border". The witnesses will be Richard Barth (Assistant Secretary,
Office of Policy Development, Department of Homeland Security), Robert Mocny (Acting Director,
US-VISIT, Department of Homeland Security), Richard Stana (GAO), Phillip Bond (Information Technology Association of America), and Stewart Verdery (Monument Policy Group). See, notice. Press contract, Tracy Schmaler at 202-224-2154. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Michael McConnell to be Director of National Intelligence. Location: Room 106, Dirksen Building.

5:00 - 7:00 PM. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) will host an event titled "10th Annual Kickoff Reception & Technology". See, notice. Location: Room 902, Hart Building, Capitol Hill.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Harnessing U.S. Trade Policy to Solve International Intellectual Property Rights Problems". The speakers will include Sturgis Sobin (Heller Ehrman), Victoria Espinel (Assistant US Trade Representative for Intellectual Property Rights), Brian Pomper (Chief International Trade Counsel, Senate Finance Committee), and Yang Guohua (Counselor for Intellectual Property, Embassy of China). The price to attend ranges from $90 to $135. For more information, call 202-626-3488. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1250 H St NW B-1 Level.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) in its TV white space proceeding. This FNPRM is FCC 06-156 in ET Docket Nos. 04-186 and 02-380. The FCC adopted this item at an October 12, 2006, meeting, and released it on October 18, 2006. See, story titled "FCC Adopts Order and FNPRM Regarding TV White Space" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,467, October 12, 2006, and notice in the Federal Register, November 17, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 222, at Pages 66897-66905.

EXTENDED FROM JANUARY 5. Extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to assist the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) in drafting a report on the ability of persons with hearing disabilities to access digital wireless telecommunications. This proceeding is WT Docket No. 06-203. See, original FCC Public Notice [4 pages in PDF] (DA 06-2285) and Public Notice (DA 06-2498) extending deadlines.

The House will not meet due to party retreats. See, Majority Leader's weekly calendar [PDF].

9:00 AM - 4:30 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 17, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 10, at Page 2088. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building, Capitol Hill.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Assessing the Communications Marketplace: A View from the FCC". The witnesses will be the five Commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

? 2:30 PM. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management will hold a hearing "to examine privacy implications of the Federal government's health information technology initiative relating to private health records, focusing on the efforts of Department of Health and Human Services to integrate privacy into the Health Information Technology national infrastructure and Office of Personnel Management's efforts to expand the use of Health Information Technology through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and the impact such actions have on Federal employees' health information privacy". Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

Deadline to submit additional reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the Missoula Plan, an intercarrier compensation reform plan. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 18, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 11, at Pages 2249-2250. This proceeding is CC Docket No. 01-92.

The House will not meet due to party retreats. See, Majority Leader's weekly calendar [PDF].

9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. Day two of a two day meeting of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 17, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 10, at Page 2088. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building, Capitol Hill.

12:30 PM. Ted Leonsis, Vice Chairman of AOL, will give a speech titled "Web 2.0 and How it is Reshaping Marketing and Traditional Media". Location: Ballroom National Press Club, 13th floor, 529 14th St. NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the recommendations of the FCC's World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee regarding the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07). See, FCC's Public Notice [45 pages in PDF] (DA 07-26), to which the recommendations are attached. This is IB Docket No. 04-286.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a three day meeting of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board's (ATBCB) Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee (TEITAC). The agenda includes consideration of web site design mandates. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, which is codified at 29 U.S.C. § 794d, provides that the ATBCB shall write regulations that contain design mandates for federal departments and agencies for electronic and information technologies used by disabled employees. See, notice in the Federal Register: January 12, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 8, at Pages 1472-1473. Location: Transportation Security Administration, 601 South 12th Street, Arlington, VA.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Qwest Corp v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 05-1450. See, FCC's brief [PDF]. Judges Griffith, Kavanaugh and Williams will preside. Location: 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

? 10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on judicial nominations. Press contract, Tracy Schmaler at 202-224-2154. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in DataTreasury v. EDS, App. Ct. No. 2006-1506. This is a patent infringement case involving electronic check processing. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments in response to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Public Notice [4 pages in PDF] regarding how the FCC should interpret the phrase "remote communities effectively unserved by commercial mobile service", in Section 605(a) of the Warning, Alert, and Response Network (WARN) Act. The WARN Act was enacted in late 2006 a part of the port security bill. It establishes a process for commercial mobile service providers to voluntarily elect to transmit emergency alerts. Section 605(a) establishes a grant program for the installation of technologies in remote communities. This item is FCC 07-4 in PS Docket No. 07-8. See also stories titled "Bush Signs Port Security Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,469, October 16, 2006, and "House and Senate Approve Port Security Bill With Tech Provisions" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,461, October 4, 2006.