Google responds to FCC, tower siting, FOX v. FCC, a media czar, Comcast's net neutrality case

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Google Inc. responded to an FCC inquiry on how it restricts calls to rural areas by saying the blocking of calls to high-cost areas is necessary to control costs.

"Google Voice is predicated on the ability to manage operating costs aggressively," the company said in an Oct. 28 letter to the FCC. "The vast majority of outbound calls to phone numbers in the United States can be terminated at reasonable costs. … We have found that calls to a relatively small number of telephone numbers generate vastly disproportionate costs."

For instance, in June the company noticed 1.1% of its monthly calling volume accounted for 26.2% of its costs. In some of these rural exchanges, the cost to connect calls ran as high as 39 cents per minute.

Google added that if it connected calls to these areas, Google Voice, a free service, would be "jeopardized." The company said it blocks access to fewer than 100 numbers.

The tech giant also said it informs users of the restrictions on its Web site, which warns that Google Voice is not capable of receiving or placing calls to emergency services. Echoing earlier arguments, the company further said it was not a traditional or Internet calling service under the commissions' definitions.

"As a free unified messaging and call management application, Google Voice does not compete with the telecommunications services offerings of Carriers," Google said in the letter, while also insisting Google Voice is not an interconnected Voice over IP service under the FCC's rules.

FOX v. the FCC

The FCC reiterated that it has jurisdiction to regulate so-called fleeting expletives in the case pitting the commission against News Corp.'s FOX.

"Whether or not offensive language actually is more prevalent today than in earlier times, that cannot be a reason for invalidating government's effort to support parents who wish to shield their own children," the FCC said in an Oct. 28 filing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. "Indeed, the increased availability of offensive language makes the government's assistance to concerned parents all the more important."

In a Sept. 16 filing, FOX lashed back at the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that the network violated indecency laws when celebrities uttered obscenities at separate awards shows. In siding with the FCC in April, the Supreme Court reversed a previous 2nd Circuit order that found the initial FCC ruling to be "arbitrary and capricious" under the Administrative Procedure Act and remanded the case back to the appellate court.

Nov. 18 FCC meeting

On Oct. 28, the FCC said its Nov. 18 meeting will focus on tower siting and the national broadband plan.

The commission is set to consider an order on reducing delays in the construction and building of wireless networks and towers, also known as tower siting, in an effort to push the deployment of wireless broadband.

The FCC will also get an update on the national broadband plan, which is due to Congress in February 2010.

Future of media czar

On Oct. 28, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski named Steven Waldman head of the agency's review of the state of media. Waldman will eventually make recommendations to the commission on the media industry.

Waldman co-founded and served as the CEO of Beliefnet.com, a religious Web site, which was bought by News Corp. Before Beliefnet.com, Waldman was national editor of U.S. News & World Report and a national correspondent for Newsweek.

"Steve Waldman is uniquely qualified to look at this shifting terrain and make sure we meet this moment wisely," Genachowski said. "He's also known for his even-handedness and has garnered respect from people of widely different ideologies and approaches."

Comcast's net neutrality case

Comcast Corp.'s seminal network neutrality case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit was scheduled to be heard Jan. 8, 2010.

A decision in the case might not come until late spring or early summer and could cast doubt on any rules the FCC comes up with during its current rulemaking on network neutrality.