Telecom Policy Report articles from May 2005

Telecom Policy Report archives from May 2005

At The 11th Hour, Verizon Beefs Up MCI Takeover Offer.
May 4, 2005... Qwest Thwarted After Playing The Weekend Waiting Game? Verizon Communications today said it has agreed to raise its offer for interexchange carrier MCI to at least $26 per share in cash and stock - once again dealing a blow to the...

Martin Chairs Maiden Meeting, Upholds SLI/DA Rules.
May 4, 2005... At its open meeting last Friday, the FCC rejected BellSouth Corp. and SBC Communications petitions to change some of its rules requiring incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) to provide subscriber list information (SLI) to directory...

NYC Needs Partners For Telecom, Broadband Challenge.
May 4, 2005... New York City's challenge to keep its area telecom networks as well as its broadband deployment at top condition - in competition with other large cities of world - is likely to require a number of future municipal actions, many in...

VoIP Blocking Remains An Open Question.
May 4, 2005... It is uncertain at this time how extensive incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) blocking of competitive voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) traffic may be, but regulators, lawmakers, legal advisors and academic experts are wondering if...

Congressmen Blast Verizon Wireless Union Fight.
May 4, 2005... Verizon Wireless has drawn fire for alleged union-busting practices recently from some 113 members of the House of Representatives who sent a joint letter to Verizon to protest what they believe are anti-union activities at the carrier's...

What States And Towns Want From Congress.
May 11, 2005... Some Respect & A Governing Partnership On Wish Lists While the issue's tug-of-war is as old as the country itself, U.S. lawmakers are now under the gun on proper distribution of authority over Internet Protocol services among federal,...

More On CICA And Federalism.
May 11, 2005... The Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee recently held an open session on the roles of city, state and federal governments in regulating the Internet, with an emphasis on the impact of a Telecom Act rewrite. It included panel...

Despite Controversy, Tyco Network Now Is In VSNL Hands.
May 11, 2005... The FCC's International Bureau granted the transfer of submarine cable licenses and assets held by two Tyco International subsidiaries to the U.S. unit of India's Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL), declining to consider protests on any...

SBC Can't Get IP Services Off The Common-Carrier Hook.
May 11, 2005... SBC Communications has been unable to convince the FCC that Internet Protocol (IP) platform services should be free from common carrier regulation - in large part because a favorable commission ruling on such a request could have stirred up...

SBC's IP Deal With Covad.
May 11, 2005... If its proposed merger passes regulatory muster, SBC and AT&T will be working with Covad Communications Group Inc. to expand the IP offerings of the merged SBC-AT&T, including voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP), to out-of-region businesses...

Mimicking Canada, New FCC Chair Could Mandate E911.
May 11, 2005... Fueled by state-government and emergency-group discontent, reports circulated last week that new FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin is sending out feelers regarding a plan that would require voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers either to...

Fun At The FCC With Verizon And MCI.
May 11, 2005... The FCC staff will be quite busy this week because today (May 9) is the first due date for all initial public comments and petitions in the approval process on the proposed Verizon-MCI merger. Tomorrow (May 10) is the deadline for the...

There's More To Life Than The Telecom Act.
May 16, 2005... Lawmakers Eye Tax, R&D, Spectrum, Broadband Potpourri The U.S. Congress is looking at a number of legislative items designed to stimulate national economic conditions and businesses competitiveness, with potentially favorable direct and...

APCO's Gurss Highlights 911, Public-Safety Agenda.
May 16, 2005... Enhanced 911 capabilities for wireless and voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) services as well as demands for more official radio-spectrum assignments and allocations have topped the regulatory and legislative agenda at The Association of...

State Telemarketing Flaps Resurface At The Commish.
May 16, 2005... An ongoing dispute between state governments and telemarketing organizations reared its head again last week at the FCC as the regulator decided to look into jurisdictional issues surrounding telemarketing laws and interstate commerce. One of...

FCC Puts IP E911 On May Docket.
May 16, 2005... Confirming earlier reports (TPR, May 9, sister publication TelecomWeb, May 5), the Federal Communications Commission late last week put the hot potato of enhanced 911 service capabilities for Internet Protocol-enabled services - logically...

Congress, FCC Take Action On VoIP's E911 Issue.
May 23, 2005... New Bills, Order Also Press Local Telco Cooperation Two bills introduced in the U.S. Congress and a much-awaited order from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) finally took shape last week regarding the pressing demand that...

Study Questions Telecom Act Reform.
May 23, 2005... Academic researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Princeton University tomorrow (May 24) are expected to release details of a new study questioning whether the timing is currently right to amend or to completely...

E9-1-1 Institute Focuses On VoIP.
May 23, 2005... The not-for-profit E9-1-1 Institute will sponsor a policy roundtable tomorrow (Tuesday, May 24) on the issue of rapidly emerging VoIP service providers being required to offer E911 access to their customers, including what is billed as a...

Canadian Telco Says VoIP Ruling Won't Deter New Launch.
May 23, 2005... The CEO of eastern Canada incumbent telecom provider Aliant Inc. last week said the company's plan to offer VoIP services later this year won't be stymied by the national telecom regulator's May 12 ruling to continue regulating the VoIP...

Broadcast Flap Allies Small/Rural Cablecos And Telcos.
May 23, 2005... A seemingly broadcast-centric dispute over TV programming signals appears to have a deeper significance to the Internet access, broadband deployment and communication service plans of small and rural cable operators as well those of many of...

Outdated Telecom Taxes Still A Pain In The Wallet.
May 30, 2005... Survey Says Levies Are Inconsistent, Save For Regular Hikes A 164-page survey released last week by the non-profit Council On State Taxation (COST) organization suggests that federal pre-emption or some other over-riding U.S....

It's Crunch Time For Congress On DTV Transition.
May 30, 2005... Internal debate and outside pressures are weighing heavily on the U.S. Congress as it moves closer to legislating the transition from analog to digital television (DTV). The tension mounted last week as the House of Representatives aired a...

FCC's Special Media Council Readies Open-Meeting Agenda.
May 30, 2005... The Federal Communications Commission says its Media Security and Reliability Council (MSRC) - which is attempting to help ensure reliable, robust and secure operation of broadcast, multi-channel video programming and related...

New on TelecomWeb's Managed Services Report: Lucent's '2005 Cable Market Strategy' and 'Managed Services For Next-Generation Networks'.
May 30, 2005... The first half of 2005 saw many changes in telecom service-provider technologies, businesses and markets. To keep up with the resulting new network-management issues, TelecomWeb's Managed Services Report provides information on network...

Massive Telecom Reform Now 'In The Zone'.
May 30, 2005... Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Princeton University released details of a historical analysis and study of U.S. business and the economy that suggests massive telecom regulatory reform should take place...

VoIP Security Workshop Eyes Technology, Policy.
May 30, 2005... Public-advocacy group the Cyber Security Industry Alliance (CSIA) and three universities are sponsoring a two-day workshop this Wednesday and Thursday (June 1 and 2) on voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) security issues for government...

Supremes Hint At Brand X, MGM Decisions.
May 30, 2005... With June approaching fast, so do expectations that the U.S. Supreme Court during the coming month may render its much-anticipated decisions in the Brand X Internet Services and MGM Studios cases that could impact legal and regulatory...