The Consumer Product Safety Commission will hold a conference call on October 20, 2008 to discuss its proposed rule on labeling requirements for toy and game advertising. The call is intended to inform the public about the details of the proposed rule and give interested stakeholders the opportunity to raise questions and share concerns about the rulemaking. (CPSC Public Calendar, dated 10/15/08, available at http://www.cpsc.gov/calendar.html.)

Wireline officials raised red flags about the FCC’s draft intercarrier-compensation overhaul the day after Chairman Kevin Martin unveiled it (CD Oct 16 p2). The plan isn’t publicly available, but industry officials in interviews said the package favors the largest carriers and hurts small and midsized companies. If the FCC adopts the plan as is, the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association may challenge it in court, said Dan Mitchell, NTCA legal vice president, in an interview.

1. President Signs GSP and ATPA/ATPDEA Extensions, DR "2 for 1" Apparel Benefit, AGOA "Abundant Supply" Repeal, Etc.

The FCC should create an E-911 Technology Advisory Group, but doesn’t need to wait to complete E-911 location accuracy rules, APCO and the National Emergency Number Association said in reply comments filed at the agency. Meanwhile, T-Mobile and the Rural Cellular Association reiterated concerns that the two main proposals for E-911 location accuracy rules, worked out between AT&T and Verizon Wireless and the two public safety groups, aren’t workable for all carriers. Motorola said the objections they raise are “valid and reasonable.”

CTIA and PCIA asked the Office of Management and Budget to reject the backup power requirements for cell sites in the FCC’s Hurricane Katrina order as not justifying the costs and as inconsistent with the Paperwork Reduction Act. The rule has been on hold as OMB completes its evaluation. It’s also the subject of a court challenge by wireless carriers. Carriers and tower companies would have to install batteries at 220,000 sites if the rule takes effect and survives the federal court appeal.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is requesting comments on the certificate requirements for general conformity testing and third party testing under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA, Public Law 110-314).

The FCC extended by 90 days the deadline by which the agency must respond to a Feature Group IP forbearance petition. The new deadline is Jan. 21. The FCC said Feature Group’s petition raises “significant questions” regarding whether forbearance and their implementing rules for all telecom carriers meets the statutory requirements of the Communications Act, the Bureau said. Feature Group filed a petition earlier asking the FCC to exempt access charges for interconnected VoIP.

Core Communications never got past questions about its legal standing in challenging FCC denial of its forbearance petition as the competitor and the agency faced off Tuesday before a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Observers predicted Core will lose, noting that the judges asked few questions about the substance of its complaint. Observers also see the case as largely a sideshow, with the real action to come next month, when the FCC is to address intercarrier compensation rules at its Nov. 4 agenda meeting.

It’s unclear whether the “Internet of Things” needs a new governance model or if the “multistakeholder” tack of ICANN and the Internet Governance Forum should be adapted to the task, speakers told an EU French Presidency ministerial conference in Nice, France. That’s because the next stage of Internet evolution remains a concept, they said. But all said the Internet of things will need far more international cooperation.

Cable operators, incumbent telcos and network overbuilders are increasing broadband speeds to meet rising demand for video streaming, content uploading, multiplayer gaming and social networking, executives told us. In recent years ISPs we surveyed have been charging about the same or only slightly more, trying to lure and keep customers by providing higher speeds. But few broadband subscribers seem to need the fastest packages, analysts noted. Some home computers can’t process data quickly enough to capitalize on the higher speeds, and few people use online applications needing the speeds, they said.