Res Communis

Austria and Bolivia pass new telecom laws

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

Austrian govt unveils telecom law change proposal

Source: Telecompaper.com

Bolivia: New Telecommunications Law

Source: Library of Congress

Jamaica: PM Statement to Parliament on Digicel’s Acquisition of Claro

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

Source: Jamaica Information Service

TUESDAY, 30 AUGUST 2011

Members of this Honourable House would be aware that telecommunications providers, Digicel and Claro, have entered into an agreement under which Digicel would acquire 100% of Claro’s shares and, hence, assignment of Claro’s licences.

This agreement, as required by section 17(3) of the Telecommunications Act, is subject to ministerial approval and a joint application to this end dated March 17^th 2011 was submitted to me. The proposed acquisition is part of a tri-country deal with reciprocal arrangements for a similar transfer of ownership from Digicel to Claro of Digicel’s assets in Honduras and El Salvador… [Full statement]

Following LightSquared, Dish ups the ante in spectrum speculation

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

Source: Gigaom.com

by Stacey Higginbotham

Do we really think that Dish wants to build an LTE-Advanced mobile broadband network? I know that last night it filed a waiver asking the FCC to grant it the ability to use its satellite spectrum to deliver a combo terrestrial and satellite network, but let’s get real for a moment. This isn’t about mobile broadband, it’s about the spectrum. Charles W. Ergen, the CEO of Dish is making a huge gamble on the hyped-up spectrum crisis, the FCC’s failure so far with LightSquared, and a realization that satellite television is going to become an increasingly niche product. [more]

European Commission positions itself against LightSquared, proposal still under FCC review

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

Source: AVweb

The European Commission has added its name to the long list of those opposed to LightSquared’s plan to use satellite band frequencies for a ground network of broadband transmitters. The proposal, which is now before the Federal Communications Commission for comment, has been widely condemned by pro-GPS companies and organizations in the U.S. because it could disrupt GPS service. The European Commission is now officially worried the broadband signals will obliterate signals from its Galileo satellite-based navigation system, which will deploy in three years, and Heinz Zourek, the director general for enterprise and industry, says the signals may have an even greater impact on Galileo equipment than the interference being reported on GPS receivers. “Interference effects have been determined to occur in the range [of] 100 [meters] to almost 1,000 [kilometers],” Zourek said in a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

The main concern is that Galileo receivers operating in the U.S. will be affected by the signals but Zourek notes GPS users will also be affected by the interference caused to Galileo signals. He said Galileo is designed to work hand-in-glove with GPS to improve accuracy and reliability. Zourek acknowledged that individual countries can allocate radio spectrum as they see fit but international conventions don’t allow interference with the systems of other countries.

European Commission’s letter on LightSquared [PDF]

FCC: Reporting Requirements for U.S. Providers of International Telecommunications Services – Final Rule

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

Source: Federal Register [PDF]

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 138 (Tuesday, July 19, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 42567-42573]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-18156]

=======================================================================
———————————————————————–

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 43 and 63

[IB Docket No. 04-112; FCC 11-76]

Reporting Requirements for U.S. Providers of International
Telecommunications Services

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

———————————————————————–

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission
(Commission) concludes that it should eliminate outdated and
unnecessary reporting requirements related to international
telecommunications traffic for which the burdens on U.S. international
service providers outweigh the benefits. Specifically, the Commission
finds four information collections are no longer necessary and removes
them from its rules: The division of telegraph tolls report; the
quarterly large carrier traffic report; the quarterly foreign-
affiliated switched resale carrier report; and the circuit-addition
report. The Commission also finds that the annual traffic and revenue
reports and annual circuit status reports can be simplified by removing
the requirement to separately report for off-shore U.S. points.

DATES: Effective July 19, 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Copes or David Krech, Policy
Division, International Bureau, FCC, (202) 418-1460 or via the Internet
at John.Copes@fcc.gov and David.Krech@fcc.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the First Report and
Order portion of the Commission’s First Report and Order and Further
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, IB Docket No. 04-112, FCC 11-76, adopted
May 12, 2011, and released May 13, 2011. The full text of the First
Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is available
for inspection and copying during normal business hours in the FCC
Reference Center, 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554. The
document also is available for download over the Internet at http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db0513/FCC-11-76A1.pdf. The complete text also may be purchased from the Commission’s
copy contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc. (BCPI), located in Room
CY-B402, 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554. Customers may
contact BCPI at its Web site: http://www.bcpiweb.comor call 1-800-378-3160.

FCC: Reporting Requirements for U.S. Providers of International Telecommunications Services – Proposed Rule

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

Source: Federal Register [PDF]

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 138 (Tuesday, July 19, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42613-42625]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-18153]

=======================================================================
———————————————————————–

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 0, 43, and 63

[IB Docket No. 04-112; FCC 11-76]

Reporting Requirements for U.S. Providers of International
Telecommunications Services

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

———————————————————————–

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission
(Commission) is reviewing its reporting requirements for providers of
international telecommunications services. The Commission proposes to
amend its reporting requirements for providers of international
telecommunications services and transmission facilities in order to
simplify the filing of the annual traffic and revenue report and the
annual circuit-status report and modernize the information collected
under those reports. The Commission also proposes to amend its rules to
create a new annual services report designed to obtain basic
information about providers of international telecommunications
services and to update contact information. The Commission also
proposes to amend its rules to clarify the confidential treatment of
certain disaggregated information reported under the traffic and
revenue report and the circuit-status report. This action is part of
the Commission’s comprehensive review of its international reporting
requirements and is intended to remove unnecessary

[[Page 42614]]

information collections and tailor its information collections to the
current state of the international telecommunications market.

DATES: Submit comments on or before August 18, 2011, and replies on or
before September 2, 2011. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments should
be on or before September 19, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. 04-112, by
any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Federal Communications Commission’s Web Site: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/. Follow the instructions for submitting
comments.
People with Disabilities: Contact the FCC to request
reasonable accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language
interpreters, CART, etc.) by e-mail: FCC504@fcc.gov, Phone: 202-418-
0530 or TTY: 202-418-0432.
For detailed instructions for submitting comments and additional
information on the rulemaking process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Krech, John Copes, or Sean
O’More, Policy Division, International Bureau, FCC, (202) 418-1460 or
via the Internet at mail to: David.Drech@fcc.gov, John.Copes@fcc.gov,
and Sean.O’More@fcc.gov. On PRA matters contact Cathy Williams, Office
of the managing Director, FCC (202) 418-2918 or via the Internet at
mail to: Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov.

FCC: International Settlements Policy Reform – Notice of proposed rulemaking

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

Source: Federal Register  [PDF]

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 138 (Tuesday, July 19, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42625-42631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-17368]

———————————————————————–

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 0, 43 and 64

[IB Docket No. 11-80; FCC 11-75]

International Settlements Policy Reform

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

———————————————————————–

SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission proposes to remove the
International Settlements Policy (ISP) from all U.S. international
routes except Cuba. Eliminating the ISP will enable more market-based
arrangements between U.S. and foreign carriers on all U.S.
international routes. The Federal Communications Commission seeks
comment on a proposal to enable the Commission to better protect U.S.
consumers from the effects of anticompetitive conduct by foreign
carriers in instances necessitating Commission intervention.
Specifically, it seeks comments on proposals and issues regarding the
application of the Commission’s benchmarks policy.

DATES: Submit comments on or before August 18, 2011, and replies on or
before September 2, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. 11-80, by
any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Federal Communications Commission’s Web Site: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/. Follow the instructions for submitting
comments.
People with Disabilities: Contact the FCC to request
reasonable accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language
interpreters, CART, etc.) by e-mail: FCC504@fcc.gov, phone: 202-418-
0530 or TTY: 202-418-0432.
For detailed instructions for submitting comments and additional
information on the rulemaking process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kimberly Cook, David Krech or James
Ball, Policy Division, International Bureau, FCC, (202) 418-1460 or via
the Internet at Kimberly.Cook@fcc.gov, David.Krech@fcc.gov and
James.Ball@fcc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission’s Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking in IB Docket No. 11-80, FCC 11-75, adopted May
12, 2011, and released May 13, 2011. The

[[Page 42626]]

full text of this document is available for inspection and copying
during normal business hours in the FCC Reference Center, Room CY-A257,
445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554. The document also is
available for download over the Internet at http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-11-75A1.pdf. The complete text also may
be purchased from the Commission’s copy contractor, Best Copy and
Printing, Inc. (BCPI), located in Room CY-B402, 445 12th Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20554. Customers may contact BCPI at its web site:
http://www.bcpiweb.com or call 1-800-378-3160.

Thales Alenia Space España is awarded international contracts for telecom systems

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

Source: Thales Group

Press Release 4 July 2011

In the first months of this year Thales Alenia Space España has received contracts from European and American companies worth more than 9 million Euros for Telecommunication satellites, an area in which the company is well-known for being the leader in the Spanish market. These contracts are focused on the development and supply of TT&C data communication systems and radiofrequency equipment, for civil and military communication,payloads, specifically for the satellites Optus-10, O3B, W3D, Arsat-2, Sicral-2, Express AT1, AT2 and AM8, Athena Fidus and Yenisei.