A Blast From The Past - The Biggest Joint Appeal in Airwave History

[zengrifter]

Those who have read my interview will understand this news release from 1996. zg

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USIMTA TAKES AIM AT FEDERAL COURT DECISION
TO DENY WIRELESS CABLE COMPETITION

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 1996 /PRNewswire/ -- The United States Interactive & Microwave Television Association ("USIMTA") on Friday, Jan. 12 criticized the federal court system for failing to reverse actions by the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") which severely handicapped individual entrepreneurs and then denied thousands of applications filed by individual U.S. citizens to acquire licenses to provide Multi- Channel Multi-Point Distribution Service ("MMDS"), or, as it is commonly called, "wireless cable television."

"It is indeed unfortunate," said Lynnea Bylund Dalton, USIMTA's president, "that a public agency could -- with court approval -- take actions that prevented individual citizens from sharing in the bonanza of new interactive video services and technologies.

In effect, the federal government has now reserved the ownership and profits of these new technologies for large companies who already dominate the communications landscape and have no need for government assistance. The FCC," Ms. Bylund Dalton added, "said its actions were necessary to prevent harmful speculation, but the net result of its actions has already fostered even greater speculation by those mega-companies."

MMDS is a wireless (microwave) technology which competes primarily with traditional franchised cable TV and direct broadcast satellites (DBS).

Both the Congress and the FCC are on record as favoring wireless/ MMDS competition to franchised cable. However, these companion FCC and court actions, coupled with other FCC wireless cable rules and policies have significantly delayed implementation of such competing wireless cable service. Such FCC actions, if not corrected will also potentially deny cable-like service to millions of American households.

On December 26, 1995, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an opinion rejecting an appeal by thousands of individual citizens who had protested the FCC's dismissal of their MMDS applications. The citizens pointed out that the FCC had relied principally on a 1988 Public Notice that was not -- contrary to applicable law -- published in the Federal Register and available for public comment.

The FCC's denial of the citizens' appeal was compounded by the same court's earlier refusal to hear USIMTA's appeal on the so-called "one day filing rule" -- a rule adopted in October 1990 which basically provided a one-day window for individual parties to file MMDS applications for a particular area. If an application was not filed on the same day, the first-filed application could be awarded the license without any competition.

"USIMTA had appealed the one-day rule in January 1991 to insure that every citizen had a reasonable opportunity to file a competing application and be considered in a reasonable time frame," Ms. Bylund Dalton explained, "but the FCC was able to convince the court to postpone USIMTA's appeal while the FCC considered a petition for reconsideration dealing with other issues."

Ms. Bylund Dalton said that the denial of the thousands of citizen-filed MMDS applications rendered the one-day rule appeal moot and that USIMTA therefore had no choice, as a practical matter, but to request dismissal of its appeal. Ms. Bylund Dalton pointed out that the FCC and court actions were completely at odds with telecommunications deregulatory legislation moving through Congress.

"It certainly is ironic," said Ms. Bylund Dalton, "that Congress should be pursuing new laws to maximize opportunities without restraints of FCC regulation. That very regulation has now stifled at birth opportunities for every-day citizens to form new businesses and provide new competition in emerging wireless services around country. Competition in MMDS will now be largely confined to a few large companies -- like the Bell Operating Companies -- who are most expert at suppressing competition.

If Congress wants reform the FCC," exclaimed Ms. Bylund Dalton, "it must simplify filing procedures and prohibit the FCC turning away citizens and other small entrepreneurs on the basis of minor technicalities and manipulation by special interests."

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USIMTA was founded in 1990 to represent newcomers to wireless cable and interactive TV, whose business and political interests were not adequately represented in Washington. USIMTA's 10,000+ members worldwide include license applicants, system operators, licensees, consulting engineers, and equipment vendors.
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CONTACT: Lynnea Bylund Dalton of USIMTA, 714-499-4469/
C/O: United States Interactive & Microwave Television Association

COPYRIGHT 1996 PR Newswire Association, Inc.