Telecom Policy Report articles from October 2006

Telecom Policy Report archives from October 2006

Missing Anti-Pretexting Bill Still A Mystery To U.S. Legislators.
October 2, 2006... Amid inquiries into Hewlett-Packard's boardroom leak-probe scandal and ongoing investigations into call-data brokers, members of a House of Representatives committee appear to remain completely puzzled about the disappearance of a proposed...

Is The 'Missoula Plan' Gaining Traction?
October 2, 2006... The so-called "Missoula Plan" proposal to revamp the telecom business' agreements on access charges (TelecomWeb news break, July 25) appears to be gaining traction and support at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), according to...

Cable Allies Press Feds To Continue PSTN Interconnection Guarantees.
October 2, 2006... Cableco-affiliated lobbying groups that support strong, equal public switched telephone network (PSTN) interconnection language in pending telecom- reform legislation have been trying to leverage their positions in the U.S. Congress, with...

Analysts: FCC's Healthcare Pilot Laudable Yet May Face Limits.
October 2, 2006... Research analysts familiar with telecom's healthcare vertical market say a proposed federal pilot program to subsidize advanced communications deployments among rural healthcare providers may be a creative step in stimulating...

Time's Up: FCC Denies Small CLEC's UNE Challenge.
October 2, 2006... The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has denied a petition by a small California telecom carrier to reverse the agency's nearly-two-year-old abolition of unbundled network element platforms (UNE-P). Apparently, the commission couldn't...

Public Safety Braces Against Reruns Of VoIP's 911 Loopholes.
October 2, 2006... Lobbying groups for emergency-response and public-safety groups this past week appeared to be concerned about legislation pending in the U.S. Congress to mandate the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) business' participation in the national...

FET Refund Hassles Are Alive And Well.
October 9, 2006... The now-deceased federal excise tax (FET) on long-distance telephony caused controversy during its 108-year-old life, but it continues to spook businesses and consumers looking for the refunds promised by the U.S. Department of the Treasury...

S.D. Ballot Includes Wireless Tax Repeal Question.
October 9, 2006... As November's elections approach, so does South Dakota's Ballot Initiative Number 8 - a referendum item asking voters whether the legislature should reverse itself and repeal the state's three-year-old, 4-percent gross receipts tax (GRT) on...

Japan Ministry Mulls How To Handle IP Regulation, NTT Rivalries.
October 9, 2006... The Japanese government is considering several wide-reaching telecom and information-technology (IT) policy changes to formulate a new oversight framework aimed at healthier competition against the near unflappable (and many say...

Front Burner: TRS Issues Include Better Interoperability, Consumer Access.
October 9, 2006... The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) has issued guidelines to help carriers upgrade their network facilities with technical requirements that ostensibly will allow telephone users with hearing and speech disabilities...

FTC Settlement Bars One Call Broker's Sales, Pretexting.
October 9, 2006... As the Hewlett-Packard pretexting fraud scandal intensifies with criminal charges and arrest warrants (TelecomWeb news break, Oct. 5), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revealed it has settled charges against a call-detail broker that will...

Wireless Factions Still Split Over India's 3G Spectrum Direction.
October 9, 2006... India's GSM and CDMA factions appeared to remain divided this past week over a recent government regulator's suggestions on spectrum allocations for future third-generation (3G) and broadband wireless access services as well as license...

FCC Delays AT&T/BellSouth Vote To Air Approval 'Concessions'.
October 16, 2006... In a seldom-seen move to reach consensus, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Friday opened up for public scrutiny a series of conditions and apparent broadband-deployment, goal-oriented concessions AT&T and BellSouth are prepared...

NuVox, XO Wanted FCC To Open AT&T/BellSouth 'Back Room'.
October 16, 2006... Federal regulators on their own certainly had the authority to open a new 10-day comment period on merger-approval concessions proposed by AT&T and BellSouth, but they also may have had a heavy assist in reaching that decision due to...

FTC Report: Single Policy Hard-Put To Govern Muni Wireless.
October 16, 2006... During the past week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a 61-page report on municipalities providing broadband wireless Internet service, suggesting that the economic, geographical and population diversity of U.S. communities makes...

CompTel Wrap-Up: Many Policy Issues But One Core Message?
October 16, 2006... Watching regulatory emergencies pop up like weeds and legislative agenda priorities sway in the political winds, a major challenge for the principal Washington, D.C., association representing alternative carriers is how to crystallize and...

Rural Telcos Give USF Reverse Auction The Brush-Off.
October 16, 2006... Among the dozens of filings now coming into the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the possibility of using so-called "reverse auctions" to determine universal service fund (USF) carrier-eligibility awards based on lowest-cost...

Bush Signs Port Security Bill, Emergency Comms, Gambling And All.
October 16, 2006... President George W. Bush signed into a law a port security bill that includes two oddly placed amendments - one to establish a new nationwide multimedia emergency communications systems and another that blocks online gambling transactions....

Where Will Network Neutrality Rear Its Head Next?
October 23, 2006... Although the network-neutrality issue may be simmering on Congress' back burner due in part to its recent recess and the upcoming post-election, lame- duck session, the polarizing topic has a chance of resurfacing on the regulatory front due...

Bigger Carriers Vet Support For USF Reverse Auctions.
October 23, 2006... While rural wireline and wireless telecom carriers seem the most adamant against so-called "reverse auctions" to determine and to dole out universal service fund (USF) carrier eligibility (Telecom Policy Report, Oct. 15), their bigger...

FCC Extends Verizon's Unbundling-Freedom Debate.
October 23, 2006... The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is allowing more time for public comment on a Verizon Communications bid to free select urban wire centers from its remaining unbundling obligations amid a series of incumbent local exchange...

The Supremes: Still No Appeal Of Minnesota Cellular Case.
October 23, 2006... The U.S. Supreme Court this past week declined to hear a Minnesota state government appeal of a disputed cellular telephone law, letting stand a lower bench's ruling against the statute and in favor of the wireless carrier business. The...

Preparing For The Vote: FCC Ponders Hundreds Of AT&T/BellSouth Merger Comments.
October 30, 2006... The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has gotten an earful (eyeful?) from an eclectic bunch of merger comments on the 2l "conditions and concessions" AT&T proposes in exchange for approval of its BellSouth and Cingular Wireless...

NENA Starts Next-Gen/IP E911 Transition Working Group.
October 30, 2006... Following up on its much-discussed previous intentions, the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) formally launched an effort to develop a next-generation 911 (NG911) transition plan for the industry and for the official public-safety...

Telecom Italia Local-Access Separation Raises Eyebrows.
October 30, 2006... Telecom Italia's (TI) apparent acquiescence to a government push that it open its network wider to rivals via a separation of its local-loop access facilities is expected to spur speculation within the international policy- making community...

Brazil Elections Could Sway Disputed WiMAX Spectrum Bid.
October 30, 2006... Political winds in Brazil could have an impact on a highly disputed decision by the country's telecom regulator to bar landline carriers from select RF auctions and allocations earmarked for so-called WiMAX wide-area wireless broadband...