The U.S. supports Central African economic integration and strengthened commercial ties with American industry players, Deputy Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization David Shark said July 29, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). As part of a prepared statement delivered during the WTO Trade Policy Review of the six-member Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) (here), Shark advised the five member nations present, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Chad and Cameroon, to optimize the abundance of natural resources in the region to stimulate development.

Response to Verizon’s petition to discontinue copper service on Fire Island, N.Y., highlighted a longstanding divide between incumbents and competitive providers. ILECs unanimously supported the request, which they said was a reasonable and cost-effective way to replace an obsolete technology damaged by Superstorm Sandy. CLECs worried that if the FCC grants the request, it could prejudge issues involved in the overall IP transition and put the competitive providers at a disadvantage. State public utility commissions and consumer advocates raised questions about the suitability of Verizon’s planned Voice Link fixed wireless service as a replacement for its traditional copper landline.

The Food and Drug Administration’s July 29 proposed rule to establish a Foreign Supplier Verification Program would require importers to implement procedures to analyze the hazards associated with the food they import and verify their suppliers’ compliance with applicable regulations. The exact form that verification will take is still up in the air, with FDA proposing two alternative requirements. FDA said it expects foreign suppliers will seek out verification on their own from third parties, which would ease the burden on importers. The agency is also proposing exemptions and modified requirements for small businesses and some foods subject to other food safety regulations.

Public Knowledge and 18 other organizations asked the FCC Thursday to “provide both certainty to industry and reassurance to the public” by “clearly delineating what responsibilities telecommunications providers have to rebuild in the aftermath of disasters.” The “improvised” government and industry response after Superstorm Sandy “should not be the template for post-disaster recovery in the future, and should not serve as a model for the future of the telecommunications network,” said the letter to acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn. It was co-signed by the New America Foundation, Center for Media Justice,Benton Foundation, Common Cause and others (http://bit.ly/1bS5Gnk). The “premature rollout” of Verizon’s Voice Link on Fire Island “threatens to raise a precedent that puts Americans at risk after natural disaster situations,” said a PK spokesman. “Unless the FCC establishes appropriate responses for situations in which infrastructure is damaged and carriers do not wish to rebuild, policy makers will continue to improvise, carriers will continue to evade their regulatory obligations, and consumers will continue to be harmed,” PK wrote in a blog post (http://bit.ly/1bS6dW5).

The FCC will likely approve the proposed $1.5 billion merger between Gannett and Belo despite petitions to deny the transaction filed Wednesday by the American Cable Association, Time Warner Cable, DirecTV and multiple public interest groups, said several industry observers in interviews Thursday. “It’s unlikely that the petitions to deny would result in the commission not approving the transaction,” said former FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell, now a visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute.

The Prism program could change people’s perceptions on how their data is used, said Joshua Meltzer, Brookings Institution fellow. “Surveillance relies on the free flow of information and the perception issue seen in terms of branding and trust,” said Meltzer. “People might start switching to non-U.S. search engines.” The way the media reported the surveillance leaks will have some impact on U.S. businesses and trade in the short term, said Jake Colvin, National Foreign Trade Council vice president. “If you read what the companies directly associated with Prism have maintained, they have complied with lawful demands subject to search warrant or court order in the United States and elsewhere,” said Colvin. “They do not provide backdoors or provide encryption keys or otherwise permit direct access to their services. There has been a heavy suggestion that this program is limited, certainly more than initial reports have suggested.”

NTIA’s Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee now has in hand final reports from all five of its working groups looking at sharing in the 1755-1850 and 1696-1710 MHz bands, but, following an extensive argument, put off votes on the reports until members can read them in detail. But early indications from at least one of the working groups is that sharing may not be possible and some Department of Defense systems will have to be moved before spectrum can be used by carriers for LTE.

The Prism program will have large repercussions on digital trade, in terms of trust and competition for U.S. companies, said panelists at an Information Technology Innovation Foundation (ITIF) event Wednesday. While the Prism disclosures may not have added “anything of substance” to the current discussion, they have a “significant atmospheric effect,” said Phil Verveer, former State Department coordinator for international communications and information policy. Verveer and others mentioned the letter by Internet companies and other advocates asking for permission to disclose records requests they get from the government (WID July 19 p13). “There’s a lack of information on how often the government has access to these records from companies,” said Verveer.

The proposed design of research into the critical information needs (CIN) raised concerns among all three commenters on the CIN work on new and old media alike. A dozen nonprofits including the umbrella organization Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, NAB and five communications academics from Howard University raised different issues with the research design. Comments on a May public notice from the FCC Office of Communications Business Opportunities were posted Tuesday and Wednesday in docket 12-30 (http://bit.ly/14IvBuD). The possible barriers-to-entry studies OCBO asked about, which would cost about $1 million (CD May 29 p2), could be used for making decisions about media ownership rules and some said would be required under the Adarand Supreme Court precedent if the commission ever targets relief to women, minority and/or other groups.

The proposed design of research into the critical information needs (CIN) raised concerns among all three commenters on the CIN work on new and old media alike. A dozen nonprofits including the umbrella organization Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, NAB and five communications academics from Howard University raised different issues with the research design. Comments on a May public notice from the FCC Office of Communications Business Opportunities were posted Tuesday and Wednesday in docket 12-30 (http://bit.ly/14IvBuD). The possible barriers-to-entry studies OCBO asked about, which would cost about $1 million (WID May 29 p1), could be used for making decisions about media ownership rules and some said would be required under the Adarand Supreme Court precedent if the commission ever targets relief to women, minority and/or other groups.