Telecom Policy Report articles from October 2004

Telecom Policy Report archives from October 2004

AT&T Now Courting Verizon As Possible Buyer.
October 6, 2004... Dorman Ringing Seidenberg's Bell, But Ivan Isn't Answering AT&T Chairman and CEO David Dorman is continuing to pursue talks with the Baby Bells about a possible takeover of AT&T, according to corporate insiders who requested anonymity. The...

FCC Still On Shaky Ground With Reciprocal Compensation Remand.
October 6, 2004... The FCC this week continues wrestling with issues related to the highly controversial matter of reciprocal compensation for Internet Service Provider (ISP)-bound traffic. The agency has until this Friday [Oct. 8] to craft a plan capable of...

While ALTS Document May Embarrass, It Also Opens Eyes.
October 6, 2004... The leadership of the Association for Local Telecommunications Services (ALTS) this past week hammered out its strategic plan for the coming year, but in the process of doing so, it may have infuriated a number of key legislators and...

CLEAR Coalition To BellSouth: You Are Waaaaay Wrong.
October 6, 2004... An alliance of agricultural, rural, consumer, business, labor, and public interest groups working on ways to reform the federal Universal Service Fund (USF) is taking strong exception to a position articulated by BellSouth in last week's...

End Users Group Presses FCC To Rewrite Price Cap Rules.
October 6, 2004... A coalition of telecom service end users who pay very large telephone bills is telling the FCC that if the agency can't -- or won't -- do anything about reforming special access, it should at least try to fix the price cap regime. Special...

Boxer's Amendment Would Radically Alter 'Junk Fax' Act.
October 6, 2004... Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), a champion of businesses closely connected to the Internet, wants to add an amendment to S. 2603, the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2004, that would force companies to obtain permission -- either orally or in writing...

Decision In CoreTel Case Bodes Well For CLECs.
October 13, 2004... Commission Still Hung Up On Jurisdictional Question Of all the regulatory skirmishes inspired by the passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, few of them have been as hotly contested as the ongoing dispute over intercarrier compensation...

Verizon, BellSouth Still At Odds With ICF Over ISP-Bound Traffic.
October 13, 2004... Verizon and BellSouth continue to remain at odds with the Intercarrier Compensation Forum (ICF), a cross-industry group that includes sister Bell company SBC Communications, over the issue of how to deal with Internet service provider...

Competing Technologies Battle For India's 3G Market.
October 13, 2004... The battle for India's potentially huge third generation (3G) mobile communications market is beginning to grow hotter, with proponents of opposing technologies jockeying for "pet tech" treatment by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India...

D.C. Circuit Gives Powell Chance To Make Good On Promise.
October 13, 2004... The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals appears to be placing a respectable degree of faith in the word of FCC Chairman Michael Powell. Powell has said the Commission will issue a final Triennial Review Order (TRO) by the middle of December,...

Disconnect Between Powell's Words, Deeds Troubles Investors.
October 13, 2004... A group of executives from the U.S. investment community is questioning FCC Chairman Michael Powell about statements he has made that seem to be at odds with his professed interest in and commitment to facilities-based competition. The...

Daschle Knows How To Get Around In High-Tech Arena.
October 13, 2004... As the top Democrat in the U.S. Senate, Tom Daschle (S.D.) is bound to command a great deal of respect from the folks who dole out political action committee (PAC) money. And indeed, PAC donations to Daschle's re-election effort have been...

ILECs Win Full Control Of Their Fiber Loops.
October 20, 2004... FCC Stifles CLECs' Access To 'Last Mile' Facilities The FCC's actions late last week clarifying the agency's controversial Triennial Review Order (TRO) serves to further strengthen the already solid position of incumbent local exchange...

Bells Vow To Double Up On Their Fiber Deployment Efforts.
October 20, 2004... SBC, the San Antonio-based Baby Bell, wasted no time last week in reacting to the FCC's decision granting incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) virtual total control over their newly deployed fiber facilities. Within minutes after the...

Kimmelman, Cooper Rail Against FCC's Broadband Order.
October 20, 2004... Two of the squeakiest wheels in Washington, D.C., are once again making lots of noise. They are sharply criticizing the FCC's decision last week granting the Bell companies greater control over their "last-mile" facilities for high-speed...

Commission Crafts Rules For Broadband Via Power Line.
October 20, 2004... The FCC last Thursday may have given the Bell Operating Companies (BOCs) most of what they were looking for, but the BOCs also got something from the agency they weren't looking for at all -- another potential competitor, one that might be...

A Nutshell Analysis Of The BPL Rules.
October 20, 2004... The official text of the FCC's decision on broadband over power line (BPL) became public just as TPR was going to press (Tuesday, Oct. 19). A preliminary analysis of the order, which is posted on the FCC's Web site (www.fcc.gov), indicates that...

Progressive Policy Institute Decries Bush's IT Shortcomings.
October 20, 2004... The Bush Administration has utterly failed to make a serious commitment to e-government-- i.e., improving the delivery of government services through digital information technologies (IT). As a result, the United States has lost its global lead...

Grassley Brings 'Family Farmer' Logic To Policy Arena.
October 20, 2004... In October 2002 when Democrats on Capitol Hill were blaming the Bush Administration's fiscal policies for creating the economic problems that beset the telecom industry and the rest of the U.S. economy, it was Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) who...

Are States, Feds Ready To Battle Over VoIP?
October 27, 2004... In This High Stakes Fight, USF Subsidies May Be First Casualty Thus far, state regulators appear largely hesitant to regulate an emerging new technology such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Even so, VoIP's continued rollout is...

House Democrats Urge FCC To Take Fast Action On VoIP - And Beyond.
October 27, 2004... Twenty-three House Democrats, including the ranking Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee, have fired off a jointly signed letter to FCC Chairman Michael Powell, urging the...

Rep. Nathan Deal Learns To Deal With Telecom PACs.
October 27, 2004... A small town lawyer from rural northern Georgia, Rep. Nathan Deal, now a Republican, was a Democrat when he first came to the House of Representatives in January of 1993. He switched parties in 1995. Deal sits on the House Energy and Commerce...