Members of both parties were skeptical about the need for congressional intervention in the wholesale market for pay-TV programming during a House Communications Subcommittee hearing on video competition Thursday. Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., and ranking member Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., asked whether program-access rules need to change to allow new providers, including Verizon, to compete better with cable incumbents such as Cablevision. “We should act as a last resort,” said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich.
The Department of Energy has indicated that it’s looking at standards for TVs and the California Energy Commission is “strongly supportive” of national standards, CEC Chairman Karen Douglas told California legislators Wednesday. But the DOE usually takes three to seven years to develop a standard and if California were to wait for national standards it would mean “a lot of lost time” and “a lot of lost energy savings,” she told the state Assembly’s Utilities & Commerce Committee at a special hearing on the CEC’s proposed TV spec. In cases such as the standards for external power supplies, the federal government has adopted standards set by California, she said.
FCC commissioners gave little reason at Thursday’s meeting to believe that compromise is likely on net neutrality rules. The Democrats, led by Chairman Julius Genachowski, enthusiastically endorsed a rulemaking notice, which was published by the commission in near-record time. Republican Commissioners Robert McDowell and Meredith Baker, as expected, dissented on the substance of the notice. Genachowski had lobbied the two Republicans to endorse the notice, at least in part, or at least not criticize it sharply at the meeting.
FCC commissioners gave little reason at Thursday’s meeting to believe that compromise is likely on net neutrality rules. The Democrats, led by Chairman Julius Genachowski, enthusiastically endorsed a rulemaking notice, which was published by the commission in near-record time. Republican Commissioners Robert McDowell and Meredith Baker, as expected, dissented on the substance of the notice. Genachowski had lobbied the two Republicans to endorse the notice, at least in part, or at least not criticize it sharply at the meeting.
CHICAGO - Network neutrality rules could slow or “halt” progress toward a fully connected world, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg said in a keynote speech Wednesday at Supercomm. “While this future is imminent, it is not inevitable, and the decisions we make today - as an industry and as a country - will determine whether the benefits of these transformational networks will be felt sooner or much, much later.”
CHICAGO - Network neutrality rules could slow or “halt” progress toward a fully connected world, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg said in a keynote speech Wednesday at Supercomm. “While this future is imminent, it is not inevitable, and the decisions we make today - as an industry and as a country - will determine whether the benefits of these transformational networks will be felt sooner or much, much later.”
Two leaders of the House Homeland Security Committee asked the FCC to grant waivers sought by various cities and local governments so they can make early use of 700 MHz D-block spectrum. As expected, the waiver requests got widespread support from various public safety and industry groups. Others, including the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), urged the FCC to act with care, so as to not create problems later on as a national public safety wireless broadband network is put in place.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative has released a preliminary comparison of the pending U.S.-Korea (KORUS) Free Trade Agreement with the recently initialed European Union-Korea FTA.
The rate standard for performance royalties on different platforms would be harmonized under an amendment to the Performance Rights Act (S-379), which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee after failed votes on other amendments Thursday. The successful amendment sponsored by committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, also would introduce a “tiering” system for royalty payments by broadcasters to lessen the burden of new payments on smaller stations. An idea previously floated to protect the intellectual property rights of sound-recording artists in contrast to new royalties -- an “opt-out” list for artists who don’t want uncompensated playback on radio (CD Aug 5 p3) -- failed in markup.