January 16, 2013

Inside The Beltway...

No More VSSI Frame Relay?
As of Feb. 15, Verizon Select Services Inc. (VSSI) wants to stop offering interstate frame relay service at speeds slower than 200 Kbps in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, citing declining market demand. In its petition to the FCC, VSSI says existing customers can keep their service until the end of their contracts, at which time they will be asked to transition to alternative services. Comments objecting to this petition (WC Docket No. 13-11 and Comp. Pol. File No. 1075) must be filed with the commission on or before Jan. 30.
 
Appeals Court Shuts Down Signal-Theft Rules
Following a decade of dispute, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit told the FCC it can’t impose encoding rules on satellite-TV operators or other MSOs to prevent signal theft. This bodes well for operators when it comes to content-distribution negotiations, but cablecos still are subject to the set-top integration ban that requires separable security (such as CableCARDs).