The Anti-Spoofing Act proposes amending the Communications Act to “expand and clarify the prohibition on provision of inaccurate caller identification information,” according to its text. Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., introduced HR-3670 last week, and it was referred to the House Commerce Committee. She has two House Commerce co-sponsors: Joe Barton, R-Texas, and Leonard Lance, R-N.J. Meng is not a member of House Commerce.

The Utility Reform Network (TURN) filed a complaint with the California Public Utilities Commission Friday asking the PUC to put a stop to AT&T’s “unreasonable” rates (http://bit.ly/1bsKeTJ). Since Jan. 1, 2011, AT&T’s basic service rates have been deregulated, and AT&T’s flat and measured service rates have increased 40 percent and 73 percent, said the TURN complaint. Since the PUC granted major increases to the price caps of ILEC basic service rates on Jan. 1, 2009, AT&T’s flat and measured service rates have increased 115 percent and 222 percent, it said. “Competitive forces are not imposing sufficient constraints to ensure that AT&T’s basic service rates meet the requirement of Public Utilities Code Section 451 that ‘all charges demanded or received’ by a public utility such as AT&T ’shall be just and reasonable,'” said the complaint. TURN’s complaint was signed by 35 California customers. The complaint calls for the PUC to order a reduction in AT&T’s rates to make them comparable to other carriers, at $20 for flat service and $14 for measured service. AT&T did not comment.

Correction: The extra layer of copyright protection the World Intellectual Property Organization broadcast treaty will create is for content that already is protected where applicable, said Knowledge Ecology International Geneva Representative Thiru Balasubramaniam (CD Dec 9 p9).

Economist papers on retransmission consent filed by NAB have “assorted deficiencies, flaws and problems,” Mediacom said in comments in docket 10-71. The notion that there are 565 separate and distinct national networks “that could serve as substitutes for the popular programs of a Big-Four network carried by a station that is shut off during a negotiating impasse is ridiculous on its face,” it said in reference to a 2010 study by Navigant Economics for NAB. Many of the networks are unavailable on most cable systems and describe themselves as “national” only because they would like to be nationally, rather than locally or regionally, distributed, “but that dream has not been realized and is unlikely to be in the foreseeable (or even unforeseeable) future,” it said. Many of the channels offer highly specialized programming “that would not be considered by the typical viewer as a substitute for popular broadcast network shows,” it said. The Navigant paper’s conclusion “that market conditions preclude broadcast station owners from charging supra-competitive retrans fees is intellectual snake oil,” it said. Mediacom also referred to NAB’s letter last week as “just another instance of spin-doctoring.” Cable interests have distorted NAB’s arguments “and largely reiterated discredited claims and calls for government intervention into the retransmission consent market, even where the commission has no authority to act,” NAB said in that letter (http://bit.ly/J7XXX0).

The Michigan Public Service Commission reversed an arbitration panel determination, in an order Friday, and it will now require AT&T to initiate IP interconnection with Sprint (http://bit.ly/1aP7Y0K). AT&T Michigan argued in the arbitration that it was unable to provide Sprint with IP interconnection because the applicable equipment was owned by a “separate, but affiliated, out-of-state” company, said the order. Without intervention from the PSC, Sprint in the order said “it will be forced to use inefficient and expensive TDM technology to the financial detriment of the company.” According to Section 251(c)(2) of the 1996 Telecom Act, AT&T Michigan is required to provide IP-to-IP interconnection in the same way that it requires TDM interconnection, said Sprint. AT&T said this interconnection requirement does not extend to IP interconnection, and this legal question is “currently pending” before the FCC in a rulemaking proceeding. The PSC acknowledged the FCC’s rulemaking, but it said the FCC did not ask state commissions to “refrain from deciding on the issue.” State commissions are not required to delay their decisions on IP interconnection pursuant to the 2nd Circuit Court’s decision in Southern New England Telephone Company v Comcast Phone of Connecticut, Inc., decided earlier this year, said the PSC order. The PSC said AT&T Michigan failed to provide a reasonable argument on why Sprint’s proposed IP interconnection is not technically feasible, said the order. AT&T Michigan alleged that the softswitch used to provide IP service to its customers was owned by its out-of-state affiliate SBCIS, and is not part of the AT&T Michigan’s network. The PSC said AT&T Michigan and SBCIS work together to operate a network for IP and TDM-based telephone exchange service, and AT&T Michigan is still required to provide Sprint with IP interconnection. In addition, AT&T Michigan can’t use the location of IP softswitch as a reason to deny Sprint access to IP interconnection, said the order. “Based on the Commission’s view of the facts in this case, it appears AT&T Michigan is feigning inability to provide IP interconnection in order to avoid its Section 251(c) obligations,” said the order. The Michigan PSC should be congratulated for promoting “modern and efficient” IP technology implementation, said Charles McKee, Sprint vice president-government affairs, in a statement. “By ruling that AT&T must allow carriers to interconnect using IP, the Commission has taken an important step in providing customers the benefits and efficiencies of IP technology,” said McKee. “Sprint is also pleased that the Michigan PSC ruled favorably on other pro-competitive provisions of Sprint’s proposed interconnection agreement that will allow Sprint to exchange traffic with AT&T more cost-effectively.” Comptel General Counsel Angie Kronenberg said she also applauded the Michigan PSC for siding with Sprint. “As the PSC found, there is no reason why states should wait for further action from the FCC,” she said. “It is critical that states use their authority granted by Congress to address interconnection when parties cannot agree.” AT&T Michigan did not comment.

The Inmarsat-5 satellite sent initial signals from orbit, Boeing said Monday in a news release (http://bit.ly/1breLhh). “After reaching final orbit, it will complete several additional maneuvers and tests before officially beginning service for Inmarsat.” The Boeing-built satellite launched Sunday from Kazakhstan on an International Launch Services rocket, it said. The satellite is the first to launch for Inmarsat’s forthcoming Ka-band network (CD Dec 4 p16).

Several members of the House are preparing to tell the FCC to integrate broadband more closely into the E-rate program. “The FCC should focus E-rate on broadband connectivity and infrastructure, create an upgrade fund to support rural areas, and increase transparency, accountability, and program efficiency so that we can deploy high-speed broadband to more schools and classrooms,” wrote Reps. Jared Polis, D-Colo.; Chris Gibson, R-N.Y.; Jared Huffman, D-Calif.; Don Young, R-Alaska; and Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., in a letter to colleagues. They are trying to attract signatories for a letter they've drafted to all five FCC members. “We are proud to support the bipartisan recommendations to update E-rate and we call for those across the education, government, and business communities to recognize the opportunity we have to improve and modernize our schools,” the letter draft said. “We ask the Commission for swift action to bring high-speed broadband to our students on an expedited basis.” Schools should shoot for 100 Mbps now and 1 Gbps by 2017, it said. The letter recommended: “(1) Focus E-rate on broadband connectivity and infrastructure to ensure that we maximize the impact of the program on learning by limiting support for yesterday’s outdated dial-up era technologies; (2) Create an upgrade fund within the E-rate program to connect every school and library, particularly those in rural areas, to high-speed broadband; (3) Increase transparency and accountability for the program in order to reduce costs, research effective practices, and ensure that all students have access to the connectivity they need; and (4) Simplify and streamline onerous paperwork requirements to improve program efficiency.” The FCC this past year reviewed ways to change its E-rate fund as part of a proceeding devoted to what commissioners have called “E-rate 2.0.”

The U.S. Small Business Administration opposes AT&T’s proposed special access tariff revisions, its Office of Advocacy told the FCC in a filing Thursday (http://bit.ly/195zdrH). The SBA is “greatly concerned that the change will result in significant downstream cost increases for small business customers, including both small competitive local exchange carriers as well as end users,” it said. SBA also has “persistent concerns regarding the state of competition in the special access market,” it said. SBA characterized AT&T’s proposed tariff revision (CD Nov 26 p3) as an attempt to “shift demand toward more expensive IP-based offerings by artificially increasing the price of its TDM services.” An all-IP network is something for small businesses to look forward to, but “it should not be financed through artificial price increases in the special access market,” SBA said.

The House Commerce Committee will mark up the FCC Process Reform Act starting Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. in 2123 Rayburn, it said in a notice Friday. The committee scheduled a meeting for Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. to vote on the marked up measure. The committee already has debated the legislation earlier in the year. The bill would call on the agency to consider market forces before regulating, publish its decisions promptly, create “shot clocks” for resolving agency matters and allow more than two commissioners to discuss commission business without issuing an ex parte report, among other changes. Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., said in November he wanted to find bipartisan consensus on this bill soon.

The FCC needs to establish an all-IP pilot program to let the carriers turn off the Public Switched Telephone Network and make the transition to all-IP in a discrete set of wire centers, FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai told the Communications and Technology Task Force at the American Legislative Exchange Council conference Friday (http://bit.ly/1jvjshH). Pai said states should cooperate with the FCC and carriers that elect to participate in the trials. States should be proactive in reducing regulatory barriers to infrastructure investment, said Pai, using Google Fiber in Kansas City as an example. One of the reasons Google chose Kansas City was because the city committed to review all permits within five days and to let Google use an “approved third-party inspection firm” to assist the city in completing necessary inspections, he said. States should “make it easier” to use the Internet for over-the-top business models, said Pai. Mobile apps, such as Uber, Lyft and Sidecar, provide “innovation and competition” that’s good for consumers and proves the value of mobile broadband, he said. But cities such as Los Angeles and Washington have made these “upstarts jump through many regulatory hoops,” and consumers and companies pay the price. “With the threat of new regulation in every city and county across the country, over-the-top companies are likely to shun smaller markets and slow their expansion into new territories,” said Pai. “So one step to improve this situation might be to secure at the state level the right to innovate for all over-the-top providers."