Telecom Policy Report articles from July 2006

Telecom Policy Report archives from July 2006

RFID Solutions Straddle U.S. Border Policy.
July 10, 2006... The industry's so-called "contactless card technologies," including the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) communications techniques, appear to be among the balls being bounced around policy and funding decisions as Congress deals...

FCC Taps Calling Cards For Access, USF Payments.
July 10, 2006... In a rebuff to the pre-merger AT&T, the Federal Communications Commission has ruled that certain prepaid calling cards will be treated as telecom services subject to access changes and universal service fund (USF) contributions, thus...

Fighting The Bar Instead Of Raising It: Cingular Refutes Customer Lawsuit.
July 10, 2006... Cingular Wireless over the weekend began a public campaign to fight back against last week's lawsuit charges that it used deceptive practices and contract-upgrade tricks against AT&T Wireless Services subscribers after it purchased the rival...

Let The Fun Begin: Judge Spells Out Merger Review Inquiry.
July 10, 2006... The federal judge looking into last year's SBC Communications/AT&T and Verizon Communications/MCI mega mergers as part of the formal Tunney Act review process late Friday issued orders on how the legal antagonists are to conduct themselves...

Post-July 4 Fireworks: Cyber Security, Critical Infrastructure Debates Re-Ignite.
July 10, 2006... United States critical infrastructure and cyber space security protections - with Internet communications clearly playing a key role in both cases - intermingled and flared up last week as increasingly debated policy issues that the federal...

Wireless, VoIP Consumer-Protection Exemptions Rile States.
July 10, 2006... With the draft of a sweeping communications-reform bill now heading for joint Senate-House conference resolution (TelecomWeb news break, July 6), local, county and state government forces remain disturbed about the overall federal preemption...

Alltel-Cingular Deal Now In The Regulatory Hopper.
July 17, 2006... Alltel Communications and Cingular Wireless are seeking federal regulatory approvals on an agreement for Little Rock, Ark.-based Alltel to divest the mobile-radio activities of several rural service area markets southern Minnesota to Cingular....

The Whole Story And Nothing But: Merger Review Court Seeks FCC Documents.
July 17, 2006... The federal judge handling a judicial review of the SBC Communications/AT&T and Verizon Communications/MCI mega mergers issued an order last Friday seeking a fuller record of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval of the two...

Gabelli Settlement Underscores Auction Bid Frauds.
July 17, 2006... As the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) debates and develops rules designed to clamp down on various types of fraud connected with past spectrum auctions (Telecom Policy Report, June 5), a reminder of that motivation made headlines as...

It's Not Over: EU Roaming Edict Still May Change.
July 17, 2006... The European Commission's recent decision to slash roaming charges for wireless users by as much as 70 percent could have positive aspects for mobile operators in the region, according to analysts, in large part because the rules and...

NARUC Readies Further Telecom Bill Objections.
July 17, 2006... The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) currently is circulating draft copies of its Telecommunication Committee resolutions that. among things, are expected to further articulate the group's concerns about...

Despite FCC Nod, Adelphia Case Can't Elude Net-Neutrality Flap.
July 17, 2006... The network-neutrality controversy last week came full circle to its perceived source, the Federal Communications Commission, as the regulators' five members debated yet approved bankrupt Adelphia Communications Corporation's $17.6 billion...

USF Numbers-Plan Backers Counter Detractors.
July 17, 2006... The future direction of the universal service fund (USF) sparked fireworks again last week as a new carrier coalition started a public campaign to support the use of telephone numbers instead of long-distance revenues as the exclusive or...

Research Cites Net Neutrality's 'Unintended Consequences'.
July 24, 2006... Network neutrality threatens to turn the Internet into a "stupid network" that will force consumers to spend more for service, deter network providers from investing in their facilities and slow broadband deployment, especially in rural...

Under The Microscope: USF's Top 20 Biggest Dippers.
July 24, 2006... A study of the universal service fund (USF) high-cost program for U.S. rural carriers conducted on behalf of The Seniors Coalition (TSC) includes what is, in essence, an expose of the most egregious examples of expenses that 20 small telcos...

Letter-Writing Campaign: Merger Review Court Gets A Bit Crowded.
July 24, 2006... The federal court reviewing last year's SBC Communications/AT&T and Verizon Communications/MCI mega mergers is creating something of bandwagon effect as additional petitions and letters to the bench seek to intervene or to render opinions...

Show Us The Money: DHS Infrastructure Plan Raises Funding Issues.
July 24, 2006... Critical funding and information-sharing issues are likely to become the biggest shortcomings of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) recently unveiled National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP), according to federal market...

Heat Wave: Verizon Fuels State Regulatory 'Hot Spots'.
July 24, 2006... A severe heat wave gripped the northeast United States last week, but it was practically nothing compared with the policy hot spots Verizon Communications at the same time was creating throughout the region. From Maine to Virginia,...

NSA Affair Linked To AT&T/BellSouth Fortunes.
July 24, 2006... The alleged National Security Agency (NSA) telecom-traffic surveillance program with telco collaboration came into focus again last week as a civil- rights group claimed the scandal could impact AT&T's proposed $67.1 billion deal to purchase...

AT&T, BellSouth Shareholders In Love Fest.
July 24, 2006... Shareholders of AT&T and BellSouth embraced each other wholeheartedly today with overwhelming support of the proposed $67.1 billion merger of the two former Bell companies that includes folding their existing Cingular Wireless joint venture...

Almost Recess Time: New Two-Year R&D Tax Credit Moves From House To Senate.
July 31, 2006... After keeping the industry on pins and needles for months, the U.S. House of Representatives today voted to extend the research-and-development tax credit for two years, with improvements that the information technology, telecom and...

It's A Crowd Of 168, At Least, For AWS Spectrum Auction.
July 31, 2006... The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says at least 168 bidders are currently qualified to participate in its August auction of 1,122 Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) licenses in the 1710 MHz-1755 MHz and the 2110 MHz-2155 MHz bands...

Senate Ponders NSA/Telco Surveillance 'Compromise'.
July 31, 2006... For the second week in a row, a key Senate committee looked for elusive answers and struggled with a proposed legislative compromise on how to deal with the Administration over allegations that the National Security Agency (NSA) conducted...

USF Backers To TPR: Seniors Can't Do Without The Program.
July 31, 2006... Although a major senior-citizen lobbying group recently released a report lambasting the $7 billion universal service fund (USF) and its $3.7 billion high-cost segment for rural carriers (Telecom Policy Report, July 23), defenders of the...

Merger Judge Casts Net Further For Decision Making.
July 31, 2006... The federal judge reviewing the Department of Justice (DoJ) deals with the SBC Communications/AT&T and Verizon Communications/MCI combinations last week said there isn't enough information for him to yet make a determination on the...

Commentary: The Bumper-Sticker War.
July 31, 2006... By Steve Effros, president, Effros Communications It has become painfully obvious recently--in the unique way of Washington, D.C.--that the "net neutrality" battle has become what we call a "bumper-sticker war." Even the major newspaper...

In Canada, Competitors Take Root But Incumbents Spread Out.
July 31, 2006... Canada's telecom competitors are slowly increasing their encroachment into all segments of the domestic market - with wireless, Internet-access and business long distance the brightest spots for rivals - but incumbent carriers effectively...