Telecom Policy Report articles from December 2003

Telecom Policy Report archives from December 2003

Cable Modem Case Could Spur Huge Changes.
December 10, 2003... FCC Presses For 'En Banc' Federal Appeals Court Proceeding The FCC last Friday filed a petition with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals seeking an en banc rehearing of a controversial case that has the potential of spawning a raft of...

House OKs 39 Percent Broadcast Ownership Cap; Senate Fight Seen Possible.
December 10, 2003... A measure approved by the House on Monday (Dec. 8) that raises the national television station ownership cap from 35 percent to 39 percent may not have an easy time of it in the Senate, according to sources on Capitol Hill. Senate staffers tell...

Competitors, FCC Officials Question BOCs' Motives.
December 10, 2003... Competitive telecom carriers and their trade groups are increasing pressure on state and federal officials to investigate whether the U.S. Telecom Association (USTA) and three Bell Operating Companies (BOCs) ran afoul of antitrust laws when...

Here's What Tom Tauke Said That Riled Commissioner Kevin Martin.
December 10, 2003... TomTauke, Verizon's senior vice president for public policy and external affairs, isn't at all happy with the FCC. "What we need now is decisive action by the commission," he told an audience last week at a telecom conference sponsored by...

AT&T Presses FCC To Forbear On Streamlined Tariffs.
December 10, 2003... AT&T is urging the FCC to forbear from enforcing a provision of Section 204 of the Communications Act that allows local exchange carriers (LECs) to file access tariffs on a streamlined basis and then deems those tariffs lawful unless they are...

Unraveling The Mystery Behind Bernard's Exit From AT&T.
December 10, 2003... Last week's surprise announcement from AT&T that company President Betsy Bernard would be leaving has stirred a great deal of speculation among telecom industry analysts as to what prompted the measure. AT&T's press release simply stated...

Top Donors In 2004 Campaign Also Play Big In Telecom.
December 10, 2003... Virtually all of the top contributors to President Bush's re-election campaign as well as those who contribute to the Democratic candidates exert considerable influence in the telecom arena, according to the findings of a new study from the...

OPASTCO Presses FCC For Regulation of VoIP.
December 17, 2003... Small Telco Group Holds Views Parallel To NARUC's Position Regulatory treatment of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) should not be detrimental to the underlying network, and substitutable services should be subject to equitable regulatory...

NTCA, OPASTCO Seek LNP Stay From D.C. Circuit.
December 17, 2003... The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA) and the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies (OPASTCO) on Monday filed papers with a federal court, accusing the FCC of failing to...

Forecaster Sees Impending Demise Of ILECs' Loops.
December 17, 2003... Competition is having a major impact on incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs), and if these long-time rulers of the nation's local networks are not careful, they could one day find themselves reigning over a relatively valueless kingdom of...

Virginia Law Snares World's Eighth Worst Spammer.
December 17, 2003... The nation's first felony charges and arrest for using fraudulent means to transmit illegal, unsolicited bulk electronic mail - also known as "spam" - over the Internet has resulted in the arrest of a spam kingpin, according to officials in the...

UK's New Anti-Spam Laws Draw Fire For Being 'Too Weak'.
December 17, 2003... New Internet-related laws that went into effect last week in Great Britain barring UK companies from sending unsolicited emails, i.e., spam, to individuals and tracking which Web sites Internet users visit without first informing them are being...

Microsoft Appears To Want Out Of Broadband Group.
December 17, 2003... Is Software Giant Undergoing 180-Degree Reversal? Computer software giant Microsoft may be having second thoughts about its affiliation with the Coalition of Broadband Users and Innovators (CBUI), a Washington, D.C.-based group that...

PFF Argues For Retail Price Deregulation In Telecom.
December 17, 2003... Technological advances providing facilities-based competition from wireless, Internet voice, cable telephony, and electronic messaging services have moved markets so close to a main goal of the 1996 Telecommunications Act - i.e., full local...

Report: Signs Are Promising For Comeback By CLECs In 2004.
December 17, 2003... All the ingredients are present for a growth turnaround in the competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) industry, though the recipe may indicate a slow rise requiring continued patience on the part of investors and vendors, according to a...

Telecom Industry Poised For Big Political Spending In 2004.
December 17, 2003... Make no mistake: The telecom industry is gearing up for a major political push in the coming election year. As the figures on this page illustrate, telcos - incumbents and competitors alike - are beginning to spend major sums on congressional...

TELRIC Proceeding Seen As Solution In Search Of Nonexistent Problem.
December 24, 2003... The FCC's announced plan to "fix" the costing formula that states use to regulate wholesale rates for unbundled network elements (UNEs) is a solution in search of a problem. What's more, the commission's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)...

Low-Income, High-Cost Area Subsidies Continue Putting Pressure On USF.
December 24, 2003... The latest data collected by the FCC show that growing demands by lowincome households and high-cost area service providers continue to have a draining effect on the federal Universal Service Fund (USF). According to data made public Monday...

Researchers See Signs Of Imminent Comeback By CLECs.
December 24, 2003... If the FCC, in its TELRIC proceeding, is indeed bent on upsetting the proverbial apple cart for competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), federal regulators may first want to review a just-released report from New Paradigm Resources Group...

AT&T Chides FCC For Rush To Judgment In 'Do Not Call' Case.
December 24, 2003... Is the FCC intentionally picking on AT&T? A growing number of AT&T insiders think so. Late last week AT&T fired a resounding shot across the bow of the FCC, telling federal regulators that the agency greatly overstepped the boundaries of...

Note To Lawmakers: Say Goodbye To Telecom Soft Money.
December 24, 2003... When the Supreme Court on Dec. 10 upheld most of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act, the decision immediately put into place a raft of new restrictions on political fundraising, including a ban on so-called "soft money." By...

TPR's Top Lobbyist Picks For December.
December 24, 2003... At year's end, it gets a little easier to identify winners on the legislative and regulatory fronts. By and large, 2003 has been a pretty good year for competition in the communications arena. Despite tough resistance from long-time marketplace...

Editor's Note.
December 24, 2003... Telecom Policy Report will not be published over the holiday period. The next hard-hitting edition of TPR will be dated Jan. 7, 2004. In the meantime, we hope you have a safe and happy holiday season [Copyright 2003 PBI Media, LLC. All...