Telecom Policy Report articles from June 2005

Telecom Policy Report archives from June 2005

State Muni Services Debate Lands On Federal Doorstep.
June 6, 2005... Proposed House Bill Would Ban Fed-Funded Offerings The state-by-state battle over municipal government-sponsored communications services (TPR, April 13) now has made it to the federal doorstep with the recent introduction of legislation in...

Commish Readies Two Open Meetings.
June 6, 2005... The FCC this week is scheduled to conduct its regular monthly open meeting starting at 9:30 a.m. on June 9, while the commission's Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC) also is expected to hold a public session at 9 a.m. on June 10. Both the full...

The DTV Transition: $24B Worth Of Freed Spectrum?
June 6, 2005... The approximate market value of the 60 megahertz of unauctioned spectrum at 700 MHz, to be freed by the transition from analog to digital television, could be worth between $20 billion and $24 billion, according to a new study released by...

How BellSouth Will Leapfrog The IPTV Competition.
June 6, 2005... BellSouth is serious about television, and the ILEC intends to become a major player in the U.S. TV space. The company, like many other telcos, is beginning to look seriously at what it can do in the IPTV arena. While the company won't be...

Texas Telecom Bills Slide As Legislature Adjourns.
June 6, 2005... The Texas legislature let a number of telecom-related bills slide into the Ether as the state body adjourned its 79th legislative session (not to reconvene for a traditional two-year period - early 2007) after members of the Austin capitol's...

The 2005 Chicago Fire: 'Outdated' Telecom Laws Take The Heat.
June 13, 2005... Attendees at last week's Supercomm confab in Chicago were told repeatedly that multiple types of providers essentially relatively constrict state and federal regulators in their decisions and rule-makings by outdated or outmoded state and...

Martin At Supercomm: Q&A Potpourri.
June 13, 2005... FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin at last week's Supercomm in Chicago remarked on a large number of industry issues and FCC agenda items, but his statements were not delivered via a classic speech script and a podium. Instead, he took a soft seat...

Carriers Ponder: Can VoIP E911 Be Built In 120 Days?
June 13, 2005... The FCC order giving VoIP service providers 120 days to comply with basic 911 emergency call-handling capabilities after its publication in the Federal Register (TPR, May 23) continued to cause some concerns last week as experts during...

USTA On Special Access Rates: No FCC Micromanagement, Please.
June 13, 2005... At press time, the U.S. Telecom Association (USTA) was urging the FCC to "extend policies that encourage investment and market-driven competition for special access services, dedicated point-to-point data and voice services provided to...

Are Policy-Makers Passing The Video Franchise Buck?
June 13, 2005... The idea that ILECs would like local franchises for video to be replaced by federally authorized state-wide franchising began rolling around congressional halls and House hearings a short time ago, but the discussion surprisingly was on many...

Forget July 4: Supercomm Muni Network Debate Sparks More Fireworks.
June 13, 2005... With telcos and cablecos fighting each other over the local video franchise matter, and with both those groups trying to stop municipal government-sponsored communications network and Internet access services, former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt,...

FCC Inquiry Seeks Better USF Management.
June 20, 2005... Recovery Of Errant Funds Drives The Issue The Federal Communications Commission is launching "a broad inquiry" into the supervision of its Universal Service Fund (USF) telecom support and subsidiary program, with a dialogue on how well...

NYC Council Hearing Addresses Citywide Tech Business Issues.
June 20, 2005... The New York City Council says its Committee on Technology in Government will hold an oversight hearing for tomorrow (Tuesday, June 21) for elected officials to hear and to discuss testimony on how the city government can support the...

U.S. Telecom Competitiveness Faces Policy Conundrum.
June 20, 2005... In addition to the often-discussed U.S. position in broadband penetration (TPR, June 13), policy makers, industry executives and academic experts have been debating whether the country's telecom network carriage and manufacturing...

Maine Court Decision Could Provide Benchmark For Unbundling.
June 20, 2005... A top-level court in Maine ruled that Verizon New England must open its network to interconnection and usage by a small Internet access service provider in a decision that could have statewide implications for unbundling conditions. The...

Louisiana Lawmakers Reject Wireless Tax.
June 20, 2005... The Louisiana House of Representatives rejected a state tax measure that would have added a 2-percent line item on wireless bills in an effort to offload existing taxes or to stem possible tax hikes on wireline services. House Bill 688,...

ATIS Bares NGN Regulatory Challenges.
June 20, 2005... While carriers and manufacturers aggressively press for the convergence of infrastructures, applications and services over next-generation network (NGN) technologies on a worldwide basis, there are many policy issues in regulation, public...

When Will A DTV Date-Certain Stick?
June 20, 2005... Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) plan to introduce a co-sponsored bill devoted to the RF spectrum allocation requirements of emergency and public-safety communications users. The draft of the "Spectrum...

NEW! Insider Insights Into Managed-Services Market Growth.
June 20, 2005... Go to TelecomWeb's "Managed Services Report" to find out what Dave Dial, Vice President of Managed Services at Lucent Worldwide Services, sees for the future of the managed-services market. Read about the growth plans during the next few...

Is Congress On The Wrong IP-Centric Reform Track?
June 27, 2005... Think Tank Maintains Monopoly Regulation Is Not Relevant The Progress & Freedom Foundation, a think tank/study organization that earlier this year formed five working groups to draft telecom reform legislation as a possible guideline for...

SBC-AT&T Nuptials Inch Up.
June 27, 2005... At press time, SBC Communications Inc. said clearances of its proposed merger with AT&T have been completed in 26 of 36 states with approval or notification requirements and in the District of Columbia. According to SBC General Counsel James...

Telecom Taxation Has Plenty Of Representation.
June 27, 2005... Questions surrounding the tax status of IP-enabled services, multiple tax burdens on existing communications offerings in every state, the 107-year-old federal excise tax, new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules and litigation on a variety...

Coalition Appeals To Congress For Muni Broadband.
June 27, 2005... A coalition of more than 40 government, public-advocate and consumer- rights groups has mounted a counter-assault on state and federal legislative attempts to curb municipal- or community-sponsored networks offering broadband Internet access...