Telecom Policy Report articles from January 2004

Telecom Policy Report archives from January 2004

2003 Ends With CLECs Losing, Bells Winning.
January 7, 2004... But Will Their Good Fortune Hold Up In 2004? It's over! Thank goodness, 2003 is finally over. The year wasn't a particularly great one for telecom. In fact, some may view 2003 as a largely bad year for telecom. Chances are competitive local...

What's In Store For 2004? Will Powell Resign? Will VoIP Be Regulated? ...
January 7, 2004... As much as some people in the telecom industry would like to see FCC Chairman Michael Powell step down, TPR does not foresee that happening in the near future - at least not until after the November presidential election. In fact, Powell...

Policy Expert Dissects Martin's Admonishment To The Bells.
January 7, 2004... 'Stop Your Belly Aching And Get On With It' The Bell telephone companies are being put on notice that their pleas for regulatory help will likely get a cold shoulder from federal regulators unless the companies start keeping their promises....

Federal Court Orders BellSouth To Offer DSL As Part Of UNE-P.
January 7, 2004... In what could become a critical test case for advancing broadband competition in rural and isolated parts of the nation, a federal district court in Kentucky has upheld an arbitration decision by the state's Public Service Commission (PSC)...

Indiana Allows SBC To Hike UNE-P Rates By About 30 Percent.
January 7, 2004... The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) on Monday (Jan. 5) issued an order that allows SBC Indiana to raise its wholesale rates for a platform of unbundled network elements - also known as UNE-P - by about 30 percent. The decision - a...

House Minority Leader Pelosi Has Passion For Broadband.
January 7, 2004... She has been described by conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh as "the most liberal member" of the U.S. House of Representatives. But that's not exactly the way fellow Democrats see Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the first woman in...

USTA Continues To Battle PR Foibles.
January 14, 2004... First The 'Secret Party' - Next 'The Hiring-Firing' What in the world is going on at the United States Telecom Association (USTA)? That is the question now being asked by what appears to be a growing number of telecom professionals, many...

CompTel/ASCENT Tells USTR 12 Nations Violating WTO Telecom Agreements.
January 14, 2004... The CompTel/ASCENT Alliance, the Washington, D.C.-based trade association that represents non-facilities-based competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), has filed papers with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)...

Chairman Powell Warns Against Rushing To Regulate VoIP.
January 14, 2004... FCC Chairman Michael Powell is beginning to sound more and more like a man who is committed to ensuring that Internet telephony - also known as Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP - remains free of most regulation. Late last week, the...

Policy & The Market: 'Telecom Act Is Working' - CLECs Triple Market Cap In 2003.
January 14, 2004... Despite challenges posed by incumbent telcos, competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) appear to be doing pretty well, according to the Association for Local Telecommunications Services (ALTS), one of the CLECs' primary trade organizations....

Telecom PACs May See Mary Bono As Sympathetic.
January 14, 2004... Rep. Mary Bono (R-Calif.), now in her third term representing California's 45th Congressional District, first came to office in 1998, after a special election was held to fill the seat left vacant by the death of her late husband, Sonny Bono....

Utah Cities Aren't Waiting For The BOCs.
January 21, 2004... They Join Others Building Their Own Broadband Networks A large group of Utah municipalities has now been added to the growing list of localities that are not waiting to see whether the Bell Operating Companies (BOCs) intend to keep their...

UTOPIA Gets Helping Hand From AT&T.
January 21, 2004... It would have been a relatively easy decision for telecom giant AT&T to have joined forces with incumbent local telco Qwest and cableco Comcast in opposing efforts by 18 Utah cities to deploy their own region-wide broadband network, known as...

Georgia PSC Rejects BellSouth Motion, Preserves Line Sharing.
January 21, 2004... The Georgia Public Service Commission (PCS) has dealt a severe blow to BellSouth, ordering the telco to continue providing so-called "line sharing" opportunities to competing companies that offer broadband Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) services...

Bells Emerge Victorious In Supreme Court's Trinko Case Ruling.
January 21, 2004... It has taken at least three years of arguments before a handful of lower courts and a full-blown hearing last October before the U.S. Supreme Court. But the decision is at last final: Neither CLECs nor the customers of CLECs can bring federal...

No Swan Song For Tauzin, He's Still Going Strong.
January 21, 2004... He may soon be leaving, but he's not gone yet. Rep. Billy Tauzin (R.LA), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is expected to retire from Congress later this year, after which he will take on a new role as head of the Motion...

D.C. Circuit Takes On Crucial TRO Case.
January 28, 2004... Oral Arguments Herald Possible Changes, More Delays The D.C. Circuit, at press time (Wednesday, Jan. 28), was poised to begin hearing oral arguments on various challenges to the FCC's controversial Triennial Review Order (TRO). Regardless...

Competition Watch: Study Upholds Necessity Of 1996 Telecom Act.
January 28, 2004... Although provisions of the 1996 Telecommunications Act continue to spur a great deal of heated debate, the law's pro-competition elements are clearly functioning as intended. A compelling new study from the Washington, D.C.-based Phoenix...

Costa Rica Enters CAFTA, Agrees To Open Telecom.
January 28, 2004... U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Zoellick and his negotiating team this past weekend concluded Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) discussions with Costa Rica, marking a significant step for Costa Rica in the reform of its...

Congress Strikes Tough Pose On Broadcast Indecency.
January 28, 2004... Congress is about to weigh in on the issue of broadcast indecency, and a number of key House members from both sides appear ready to support legislation that could broaden the enforcement powers of the FCC to impose even harsher penalties on...

Pro-Verizon Bill Would Allow Telco To Bypass State Commission.
January 28, 2004... Verizon is adopting a tactic in Virginia similar to one used by SBC in its Midwestern markets. The Bell Operating Company is pressing state lawmakers to pass legislation that, in essence, would let it bypass Virginia's utility regulators in...

TPR's Top Telecom Lobbyist Picks For January.
January 28, 2004... It is the end of another month, and once again our editors face the awesome task of selecting TPR's top telecom lobbyist picks for January. This month's honorees represent a wide array of telecom-related interests, and are among the most...