A 5.9 magnitude earthquake centered near Richmond, Va., felt as far north as Ontario, Canada, caused millions of North Americans to reach for their cellphones and call friends and family asking “did you just feel that?”  The result: cellular networks faced severe congestion for approximately 30 minutes just after the earthquake hit at 1:51pm EDT.

The earthquake, which lasted as long as 45 seconds, has been irresistible catnip for television media, as stations up and down the east cost interrupt regular programming in a breathless, hyped hunt for damage.  In the nation’s capitol, hundreds of thousands of workers decided to call it a day, and are currently clogging highways in an effort to get home.  They are talking on their cell phones, too.

WUSA-TV in Washington is covering building damage, mostly to older structures that have spewed bricks and concrete onto the sidewalks below.  Injuries so far appear to be minor.

Sprint is calling today’s earthquake the spark for a “temporary mass calling event,” causing a number of calls to fail.  But little, if any, permanent damage has been done to wireless infrastructure.

But it is another example of what happens to America’s communications infrastructure during any significant event, major or not: wireless clogs that only subside when customers get off their phones.

[For the record, at Stop the Cap! HQ in suburban Rochester, N.Y., we did not feel a thing.]

Martha's Vineyard

President Barack Obama’s arrival on Martha’s Vineyard brings a gift any local resident can enjoy: improved cell phone reception on the island, located off the coast of Massachusetts.

The president’s advance team and entourage rely on Verizon Wireless cell phone service, so when the president travels to a vacation spot, Verizon Wireless usually follows with one or two temporary cell towers to guarantee adequate coverage.  This summer is no different, and customers that used to have to walk outside and face the mainland for adequate reception are suddenly enjoying four bars, thanks to two traveling cell towers strategically placed on the island at Chilmark and West Tisbury.

Martha’s Vineyard is notorious for lousy cell phone reception, and the island’s small population has not justified investment for improved service.  Even when carriers explore the idea, local residents usually object to the proposed cell towers, dismissed as unsightly.

But for much of August, the island’s cell phones have been ringing as Verizon customers accustomed to simply going without service while on the island are suddenly getting rock solid service.  That puts a temporary end to the usual practice of trading knowledge of “known reception spots” — specific floors in buildings, certain sidewalks with an especially clear view to the coastline, or where unknown forces converge to deliver enough signal to make a quick call or send a text message.

The cacophony of ringtones has received a mixed reception from the locals, some of whom are unimpressed with wealthy vacationers, bankers, and politicians who call Martha’s Vineyard home for two weeks during the summer.

Rachel Fox, an entertainment lawyer from Manhattan whose family has a home on the island told the New York Times, “A lot of the people who vote here, who live here year-round, couldn’t care less if the people who invade them in the summer get to talk to their Hollywood producers in the middle of the Chilmark [general] store.”

Cell Tower on Wheels

When the president leaves, Verizon’s two cell-on-wheels-trucks leave as well, leading some 15,000 locals to ponder who is paying Verizon to haul the two towers on and off of the island and the expense to run them.  The newspaper wondered the same and didn’t get a clear answer.

Laura Williams, a spokeswoman for the White House Communications Agency, said its job was to ensure “that the president has the best communications possible wherever he travels” so that he can “remain informed and connected.” But Ms. Williams would not answer specific questions about the enhanced service, including how much it costs and who pays for it, citing security concerns.

One thing is certain, the two or three week cell phone nirvana the island enjoys in the summer only benefits Verizon Wireless customers.  Those with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint find themselves with no bars in virtually all places on the island.

That suits Linda Alley, whose home in West Tisbury is located right next door to one of Verizon’s temporary towers, just fine.

“I’m not attached to my cell phone like a lot of people are,” she told the Times. “I couldn’t care less.”

Cohen

Next time you wonder why Washington politicians bend at the whims of big telecom companies, simply follow the money.

The Washington Post reports Comcast’s executive vice president David L. Cohen hosted nearly 120 people in his home last Thursday evening.  The price of admission?  At least $10,000 targeted for President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign.

The total haul for the current president — at least $1.2 million.

Among the attendees: Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.

Cohen, who is well-known as a Democratic operative, spent much of his free time earlier this year helping win favor for Comcast’s merger with NBC-Universal.

Obama

President Obama signed a memorandum this morning that will free up 500Mhz of government and privately-owned spectrum over the next decade to double the amount of wireless broadband capacity in the United States.

The Obama Administration claims the newly available spectrum will throw a rescue line to overburdened wireless networks that are facing a spectrum crunch.  The White House estimates wireless data usage will explode — growing between 20 and 45 times in the next five years.

President Obama:

Few technological developments hold as much potential to enhance America’s economic competitiveness, create jobs, and improve the quality of our lives as wireless high-speed access to the Internet.  Innovative new mobile technologies hold the promise for a virtuous cycle — millions of consumers gain faster access to more services at less cost, spurring innovation, and then a new round of consumers benefit from new services.  The wireless revolution has already begun with millions of Americans taking advantage of wireless access to the Internet.

Expanded wireless broadband access will trigger the creation of innovative new businesses, provide cost-effective connections in rural areas, increase productivity, improve public safety, and allow for the development of mobile telemedicine, telework, distance learning, and other new applications that will transform Americans’ lives.

In practical terms, the reallocation of spectrum could spark a battle between the current spectrum holders — often government agencies and private UHF television stations — and the government.  Parts of the plan will require Congressional approval, a sure-fire guarantee that wireless providers will have to write some more checks to their astroturf and sock puppet friends to help sell the benefits of the plan to a wary Congress.

Since most of the spectrum would likely be sold at auction, the proceeds could deliver the administration a tidy sum to either reduce the federal budget deficit and/or fund broadband initiatives.

But what might seem at first like a win-win might not turn out that way in the end.

We have the following concerns:

Past spectrum auctions have largely benefited incumbent wireless carriers, especially companies like AT&T and Verizon who have the deep pockets that guarantee successful bids at auctions.  Both wireless carriers are not actually using all of the spectrum they already acquired in earlier auctions and have essentially warehoused those frequencies, particularly in rural areas, to keep them out of the hands of other companies that could deliver service.  FCC requirements that auction winners actually utilize their acquired spectrum have been so lax as to be laughable.  Carriers can easily satisfy FCC requirements building only in urban areas and leaving large swaths of the countryside unserved. The FCC must set rules that auction winners use their allotments in both rural and urban areas, or face fines or forfeiture.

Setting aside some frequency blocks for smaller providers and would-be competitors is critical.  In today’s mobile wireless marketplace two companies are superpowers and then there is everyone else.  Both AT&T and Verizon have the resources to outbid virtually anyone.  Allowing blocks of frequencies to be reserved exclusively for new competitors would bolster competition and give consumers more choices.  Those frequencies must be sold in a block that is identical nationwide — not leftover spectrum running through several frequency bands.

Providing additional spectrum for wireless broadband isn’t a problem, but with complaints about wireless service providers growing, along with consumers’ bills, now is the time to reform wireless for the benefit of consumers.  Let’s make it a “win” for everyone.

[flv width=”640″ height=”500″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Bloomberg Obama Proposes to Double Airwaves for Mobile Web Access 6-28-10.flv[/flv]

Bloomberg News explains the controversy behind the transfer of spectrum from the government and broadcasters to the mobile broadband industry.  (2 minutes)

FCC Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

America’s broadband blueprint could wither on the vine of good intentions if some of America’s largest telecommunications companies prevail in efforts to derail the parts they dislike.  This morning, Reuters reports Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and his circle of advisers are weighing options to try and keep the Obama Administration’s broadband policies on track.

They have their work cut out for them.

Net Neutrality vs. Restraint of Trade

In January, the Federal District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia gave a hostile reception to the Commission’s argument it had the authority to order Comcast to stop throttling the speeds of their broadband customers.  Although Comcast complied, they also filed suit claiming the FCC overstepped its boundaries when it interfered with the company’s business practices.

A favorable court ruling for Comcast could create major problems for the Obama Administration’s Net Neutrality plans and broadband industry oversight in general.

Those monitoring the DC Circuit suspect the court will find for Comcast, but to what degree is unknown.  A narrow ruling could simply find the FCC erred in how it censured Comcast.  A broader ruling could require the Commission to seek more explicit authority from Congress to oversee broadband.  A sweeping ruling could wipe away the Commission’s ability to involve itself in broadband oversight, period.

Plan B: Regulate Broadband Under Existing Telephone Rules

One way around a court ruling unfavorable to Commission oversight powers would be to regulate broadband services under the existing rules governing phone service.  The most controversial aspect of those rules are found in “common carrier” provisions — including those that could potentially force open the broadband networks offered by cable and telephone companies to third party competitors.

While telephone companies have grudgingly accepted their more regulated status under the Commission’s regulatory service model, broadening it to also cover broadband will start World War III, according to Susan Crawford, former special assistant to President Barack Obama for science, technology, and innovation policy.

With billions in profits at stake, large telecommunications companies from AT&T and Verizon on the telephone side to Comcast and Time Warner Cable on the cable side would likely file lawsuits demanding such regulatory policies be deemed unconstitutional or also exceed Commission authority.

One warning sign that Obama’s FCC is not the same as the one in place under President Bush arrived in last week’s approval of a merger between Skyterra, a satellite company planning a nationwide 4G mobile network, and private capital equity firm Harbinger.  The FCC included provisions in the approval permitting the agency to review any plans by SkyTerra to lease or provide wholesale access of its spectrum to AT&T Mobility or Verizon Wireless.  In effect, the Commission can veto moves by the two mega-carriers to become even larger through SkyTerra.

AT&T and Verizon Wireless called the FCC’s approval terms “flawed” and “manifestly unwise and potentially unlawful.”

Congressional Action: Reopening the Telecommunications Act of 1996

The presidential signing ceremony for the 1996 Telecommunications Act

Another possible option for the FCC is to seek expanded authority with the passage of new telecommunications laws enacted in Congress.  The last wholesale review of telecom policy was during the second term of the Clinton Administration.  The 1996 Telecommunications Act was a gift to the industry, delivering sweeping deregulation, allowing increased consolidation and reduced oversight.

Opening the door to a 2010 Telecom Act would bring millions of dollars in lobbying by large players to preserve, protect, or expand their positions in the marketplace.  Many providers still favor telecommunications reform that would further deregulate their businesses.

Amit Schejter, professor of telecommunications policy at Penn State University, told Reuters he doesn’t believe Congress can pass such legislation at this time, especially with a divided, partisan Congress.

Not everyone is concerned that the FCC’s position between a rock and a hard place is all that unusual.  The last administration’s FCC rarely tangled with the telecommunications industry.  That Chairman Genachowski may be leading the Commission in a different direction is welcome news for some.

“The only reason this looks new and shocking is that for so long the FCC hasn’t made a decision opposed by a major company,” Ben Scott, policy director for Free Press told the Washington Post. “The FCC has spars with companies on a regular basis and this is good news.”