• The FCC has released the Tentative Agenda for its next Open Meeting to be held March 21, 2012, at 10:30 am Eastern. It contains five items, four of which are Notices of Proposed Rulemaking that regard enhancing Low Power FM service, potential interference in the Low 700 MHz band, possible terrestrial uses of the 2 GHz band, and the exclusive contract prohibition in the program access rules. It also contains a Report and Order adopting new rules for low power radio service. To view the Tentative Agenda, click here.
  • The FCC will hold workshops on March 12 and 13, 2012, titled “Spectrum Efficiency and Receiver Performance”, at its headquarters in Washington, DC. The workshops are designed to “discuss the characteristics of receivers and how their performance can affect the efficient use of spectrum and opportunities for the creation of new services.” To view the Public Notice describing the workshops, click here.
  • The FCC is seeking nominations to the Technical Advisory Board for First Responder Interoperability, an entity established in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. The Act requires the FCC to appoint fourteen voting members to the Board by March 23, 2012, and is very specific as to the industries and professions that the voting members must represent. To view the Public Notice about the Board, click here.
  • Reply Comments on the CenturyLink Petition for Waiver from portions of the FCC Intercarrier Compensation/Universal Service Reform Order (FCC 11-161) are due March 15, 2012. The Order establishes rules designed to eliminate “Phantom Traffic” — telephone traffic that lacks information necessary for carriers to determine how that traffic is classified — and determines what intercarrier charges apply to it. Specifically, it requires that carriers include the Calling Party Number, and the Charge Number if it is different, whenever they hand off a call to another carrier. On January 23, CenturyLink filed a Petition for Limited Waiver, asking to be exempted from these requirements when (1) it is acting as a long-distance carrier, and 2) it uses Multi-Frequency signaling instead of SS7. A copy of the petition can be found here. The Public Notice announcing the comment deadlines can be found here.