Hmmmmmm.... That response sounds framiliar....
:-)
-B-
Rudy Worrell wrote:
Gents and fellow concerned WISP operators. I had the same questions most of
you have regarding FCC form 477. I went directly to the source as you will
see below. I got an answer and it is stated below.
At this time my opinions are not yet formed as we are now moving out of the
hobby type of operations towards carrier status. There is no doubt that we
must all make some decisions in the coming months that will determine the
future of WISP's as we now know it.
I don't have the answers but we should now think of a few things that come
to mind as we move forward.
1.) Security to this list (my customers can join along with anyone else)
2.) Frequent meetings
3.) We need formality and a great deal of lobbying for WISP.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ellen Burton [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2006 2:27 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: Lauren VanWazer; James Eisner
Subject: RE: Form requirement
Good afternoon, Mr. Worrell,
I'm responding to the email about FCC Form 477 that you sent to Jim
Eisner, and copying Lauren VanWazer, the Chair of the FCC's Wireless
Broadband Access Taskforce, so she'll be aware of the policy issues you
mention.
The reason Form 477 indicates an interest in your subscriber base and
location is that Congress, in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, told
the FCC to "determine whether advanced telecommunications capability is
being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion," and
the FCC decided that it needed to collect information about what it
calls "broadband" connections in order to do that. Congress told the
FCC to proceed "without regard to any transmission media or technology,"
so the Form 477 questions about broadband are not limited to only
telephone companies.
Form 477 is mandatory for "facilities based" providers of "broadband"
connections (as those terms are defined for purposes of Form 477).
We've developed a FAQ for the typical Form 477 situation for WISPs.
That FAQ appears immediately below, and the complete set of Form 477
FAQs is available at
http://www.fcc.gov/broadband/broadband_data_faq.html. (The form and
detailed reporting instructions for the filing due 3/1/06 are available
at www.fcc.gov/formpage.html#477. If there are downloading problems
with those, please let me or Jim Eisner know.)
Best regards,
Ellen Burton
Assistant Chief, Industry Analysis and Technology Division
Wireline Competition Bureau
(202) 418-0958
* * * * * * * * * *
Form 477 FAQ #8. Are Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs)
exempt?
No. Entities that provide broadband connections to end user locations
by using spectrum on an unlicensed basis for the "last hop" to the end
user location must report information about those connections.
Typically this is done by completing the questions for broadband
category 7 ("terrestrial fixed wireless") in Part I of the form and also
filling in column (f) in Part V of the form. (If broadband connections
are reported in another technology category, such as "terrestrial mobile
wireless," please put a brief explanatory note into Part IV of the
form.) A WISP should consider the user data rate (as opposed to the
over-the-air raw data rate, for example) when determining whether
connections are broadband for purposes of Form 477. (A broadband
connection enables the end user to receive information from and/or send
information to the Internet at information transfer rates exceeding 200
kbps in at least one direction. See also FAQ #5.)
A WISP should not report subscribers to its broadband Internet-access
service when that service is delivered over a broadband connection to
the end user location that the WISP, or the WISP's customer, has
obtained from an unaffiliated entity such as a municipality, public
utility district, or DSL service provider ("DSL wholesaler.") The
underlying, facilities-based providers of wired broadband connections to
end user locations are responsible for reporting them, and any
particular broadband connection should be reported only once in this
data collection. See also FAQ #10.
Part II and Part III of Form 477 - which are the parts of the form where
information about local telephone service is collected - may not apply
to particular WISPs:
* Only WISPs that are authorized (by the WISP's state
telecommunications regulator) to operate as a CLEC need to consider Part
II of the form, and they should also see FAQ #13.
* Only WISPs that offer mobile telephone service as commercial
mobile radio service (CMRS) providers need to consider Part III of the
form. Note that CMRS providers typically hold or operate spectrum
licenses for cellular, PCS, or SMR services.
* * * * * * * * * *
-----Original Message-----
From: Rudolph Worrell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, January 23, 2006 11:35 PM
To: James Eisner
Subject: Form requirement
I am aware of form 477 and would like to know why this has come to be?
Will
this be used for future taxes? I this form a survey that is not
required or
is it required?
If this form is required are you saying that the FCC will now recognize
WISP as
a Telco and grant us the same options regarding being a utility type
company
with access to local and federal utility easements?
Are we to assume that in the near future there may be regulations
regarding
territories and last mile access that will affect WISPS?
Will this form help to justify allotting an RF space much like the
cellular
industry to further grow our business?
These questions are for us to better understand your interest in our
subscriber
base and location.
--
Bob Moldashel
Lakeland Communications, Inc.
Broadband Deployment Group
1350 Lincoln Avenue
Holbrook, New York 11741 USA
800-479-9195 Toll Free US & Canada
631-585-5558 Fax
516-551-1131 Cell
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