Perhaps signaling an amiable turf war between the FTC and FCC, FTC Comr. Jon Leibowitz staked a claim for his agency on oversight and enforcement of broadband competition, with or without formal net neutrality rules. He’s often asked which agency should take the lead if Congress is close to passing neutrality legislation, Leibowitz told an FTC broadband competition workshop. The FCC has a “major role to play,” but neutrality “touches the heart of what the FTC does” -- consumer protection. The FTC is especially keen on ensuring the 4th of former FCC Chmn. Michael Powell’s Internet freedoms -- transparency and disclosure -- Leibowitz said.

USTelecom cited a Google executive’s recent remarks to warn Sens. Snowe (R-Me.) and Dorgan (D-N.D.) of the effect of their legislation mandating net neutrality -- without using that term. The head of Google’s TV technology unit, Vincent Dureau, had said Internet TV projects like the Skype founders’ Joost would hurt Web infrastructure, which can’t handle large-scale broadcast-quality TV and movies (CD Feb 8 p14). Dureau’s comments calling for “strategic commercial partnerships with network service providers” are “a significant departure from Google’s previous support for [neutrality] legislation,” which would ban such arrangements, USTelecom Pres. Walter McCormick wrote the senators. Even with telephone networks, “no effective network has ever been built without regard to efficiency, peak load management, prioritization of traffic and other capacity management efforts,” he said. Neutrality is a “draconian solution” that would ban network flexibility and “end the Internet as we know it” -- all the more troubling “in the absence of actual problems in the marketplace,” McCormick said. “Many breakthroughs” are on the way, from “home health” and environmental monitoring to “enhanced telecommuting,” but they require “continual investment” in infrastructure, he added. The “government-knows-best” approach to network management might have the “best of intentions” but “will quickly become outmoded” and hold back American innovation, McCormick said.

FCC should extend deregulation of wireline Internet Access services to rate-of-return carriers, USTelecom said Tues. in an ex parte filing. The Sept. 2005 deregulation was an attempt to create regulatory parity between wireline carriers and other broadband providers, but excluded rate-of- return wireline carriers, the association said: “Prohibiting rate of return carriers from participating in this flexible framework denies their customers the benefits of deregulation, including the broader deployment of advanced broadband services,” the filing said. Some carriers gained deregulation because they're classified price cap carriers at the federal level, though in some states they're considered rate of return carriers, USTelecom said. The association acknowledged that wider deregulation could raise cost allocation issues, but said such issues “apply to both price cap and rate of return carriers and can be resolved in alternative proceedings.”

Telcos, cable companies and Web brands began a campaign to promote safe practices by children on the Internet. While perhaps unintended, the effort could help fend off or dilute congressional proposals for data retention mandates on ISPs and filtering technologies on social networking websites. The Internet Education Foundation, whose Hill events in recent years have stressed a hands-off approach to such issues, is coordinating the publicity. Support is coming from AT&T, NCTA, Charter, Comcast, Cox, Qwest, Time Warner Cable, MySpace.com parent Fox Interactive Media, Facebook.com, News Corp., domain registrar Network Solutions, BlogSafety.com, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and others. A spokeswoman for USTelecom couldn’t immediately tell us whether the telco trade group was recruited -- as cable peer NCTA seems to have been -- or declined. The Foundation spokeswoman said she didn’t know if USTelecom had been approached, but said “a wide net was cast” for participants, and “anyone who could contribute materials or tools was listed as a participant.” Some entities may have been “turned off” because the group isn’t an “active coalition” and won’t take policy positions, she added. Project Online Safety provides Internet safety tools and educational materials on parental control technologies, reporting cybercrime, cyberbullying and kid-friendly sites. Participants will “devote resources toward distributing and encouraging the broadcast” of public service announcements on Internet safety sponsored by DoJ, NCMEC and the Ad Council, which will run on cable, broadcast and Internet properties. PSAs will run this spring. Participants are conducting “national traveling education programs” and training authorities on dealing with Internet predators -- www.ProjectOnlineSafety.com.

A proposed White House FY 2008 budget would double FCC spending for oversight of the Universal Service Fund, add $2 billion in interoperability funds and spend $426.3 million on the digital converter box program, according to documents submitted Mon. to Congress. OMB Dir. Rob Portman called the President’s budget request “credible” in a briefing with reporters. Portman said he consulted with Congress before drafting the document so he could be responsive to concerns.

USTelecom enlisted Howard Waltzman, ex-chief counsel, telecom and the Internet for the House Commerce Committee, to help make its case against requiring carriers to get consent from customers before sharing CPNI information with vendors. Waltzman recently left the House to join law firm Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw.

Congress should move quickly to repeal what’s left of the federal phone excise tax, based on revised estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), USTelecom said Thurs. CBO says fully repealing the excise tax would save taxpayers about $1.5 billion over 10 years. That contrasts with a 2006 figure from the Joint Committee on Taxation of $4.5 billion. The committee follows the CBO baseline in making estimates for tax legislation. “While the IRS has already taken action to end the tax on long distance service, the remaining tax irrationally penalizes customers who still subscribe to standalone service,” USTelecom Pres. Walter McCormick said in a written statement.

Wireline and wireless carriers want the FCC to step away from proposed rules that would block carriers from sharing customer proprietary network information (CPNI) with vendors handling billing and marketing. Chmn. Martin told reporters last week that CPNI rules he has circulated would limit sharing of data among carriers and partners in joint ventures as well as independent contractors (CD Jan 18 p4). Under the revised rules, customers would have to “opt in” before private information could be shared.

Motient board member David Grain resigns, joins advisory board of subsidiary TerreStar Global… Deb Swann, ex-Verizon, becomes Society of Cable Telecom Engineers vp- mktg. & business development… Wayne Crawford, ex-NAB and CES, named exec. dir. of joint TIA-USTelecom NXTcomm trade show… Heidi Salow, ex-Sprint Nextel, joins DLA Piper’s communications, e-commerce & privacy practice as of-counsel in D.C. office.

GENEVA “Minuscule progress” occurred Thurs. toward a new broadcast treaty as WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) was meeting, said a knowledgeable diplomat. After non-govt. entities voiced concerns about the treaty, they were shepherded, along with intergovernmental organizations, from the meeting room as national delegations began negotiating behind closed doors.