Intelsat users want the FCC to act on its request that the original Intelsat licenses be changed to reflect its obligations to maintain lifeline connectivity to developing countries. The FCC said the request by the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization remains pending.

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps remains a “believer” in the benefits of using the broadcast white spaces for wireless broadband, but he still needs to be persuaded that the use of portable devices won’t interfere with the DTV transition, he told reporters Thursday. Copps also expressed strong support for holding an en banc hearing of the commission to examine early termination fees imposed by wireless carriers and other companies that the agency regulates.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The California Public Utilities Commission is stirring the pot on state pay-TV franchising, leading players said. The commission will decide, probably in October or November, whether to require franchise holders to make detailed periodic reports of video subscriber numbers, Michael Morris, chief of the video franchising and broadband development group in the PUC communications division, told us. At a meeting of Women in Telecommunications Wednesday night, he expressed the view that the commission needs the data to enforce a new state franchise law’s ban on service discrimination. The PUC has taken up the matter in a second phase of rulemaking under a statute that took effect in January. Rules on buildouts by small incumbent telcos also are a part of the proceeding, Morris said.

Verizon Wireless’s ban of a NARAL Pro-Choice America text-messaging program was an “incorrect interpretation of a dusty internal policy,” the carrier said Thursday, approving NARAL’s planned SMS alerts. But the ban’s reversal may not have cooled outrage about Verizon’s original decision. House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., and FCC Commissioner Michael Copps slammed Verizon’s interference with consumers’ ability to choose the mobile content they can receive.

On a bill to institutionalize a reporter’s privilege to refuse to disclose sources, the Senate Judiciary Committee markup avoided the touchy subject of how to define “journalist,” a term that could include bloggers and other amateur online writers, and at times a flashpoint (WID June 15 p2). Members instead debated overclassification and harm to national security. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., argued with colleagues for an hour over the Free Flow of Information Act (S-2053), sponsored by Ranking Member Arlen Specter, R-Pa., Sens. Richard Lugar, R-Ind. and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. A House Judiciary Committee version approved last month would require that journalists derive “financial gain or livelihood” from their work, which sponsor Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., said would keep out “casual bloggers” (WID Aug 2 p2). Senate Judiciary didn’t get that far. S-2053’s journalist definition requires a “supervisor, employer, parent, subsidiary or affiliate” for a person practicing journalism, but no financial conditions. Kyl called the bill a needless step that would raise the bar for prosecutors searching for leaks affecting national security beyond their burden of proof in other cases. Fewer than two dozen journalists have been prosecuted for hiding sources, he said. “There’s not some rampant violation of the press here that needs our attention,” especially without a hearing, Kyl said. He accused backers of rushing consideration of the 17-day-old bill. Some classified information previously was posted for years on government Web sites, said Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. Several amendments passed, among other things to block agents of foreign powers from qualifying as journalists. Both Kyl amendments failed. They would have reduced the burden of proof or potential harm for prosecutors to compel disclosure.

Verizon Wireless’s ban of a NARAL Pro-Choice America text-messaging program was an “incorrect interpretation of a dusty internal policy,” the carrier said Thursday, approving NARAL’s planned SMS alerts. But the ban’s reversal may not have cooled outrage about Verizon’s original decision. House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., and FCC Commissioner Michael Copps slammed Verizon’s interference with consumers’ ability to choose the mobile content they can receive. Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam told NARAL President Nancy Keenan the rejection was based on a policy “designed to ward against… anonymous hate messaging and adult materials sent to children” and was “developed before text messaging protection such as spam filters adequately protected customers from unwanted messages.” “Verizon’s latest statement does not identify any substantive change in policy,” Dingell said. “Reports of Verizon’s actions raise troubling questions about a network operator’s ability to determine what its customers receive and from whom… I ask Verizon to decisively state that it will no longer discriminate against any legal content its customers request from any organization.” FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said in a statement the NARAL incident is a good argument for net neutrality and shows the “folly” of reclassifying various forms of communications to no longer fall under Title II of the Communications Act. “This incident illustrates the danger of allowing a handful of telecommunications behemoths to become content gatekeepers,” Copps added. “It highlights the need for strong net neutrality rules.”

Commissioner Michael Copps worries that the FCC’s media ownership proceeding is moving too fast, he told reporters Thursday. Recent news reports (CD Aug 2 p4) and FCC actions indicate the commission’s comprehensive ownership review is picking up speed, he said. “What I sense around here is a little quickening of the pace of how we look at things,” he said. “All of a sudden, the wheels started to turn a little faster.”

On September 20, 2007, Representative Dingell introduced H.R. 3610, the Food and Drug Import Safety Act of 2007, which would amend the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to the safety of food and drugs imported into the U.S.

The Foreign-Trade Zones Board has issued a notice requesting comments by November 30, 2007 on uniform treatment in local access (including possible conflicts of interest) where a third-party agent of the grantee(s) may effectively control access to FTZ procedures.

Latimes.com reports that in approximately two weeks Costa Ricans will head to the polls to vote on the Dominican Republic - Central America Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. and six other countries. (Latimes.com, dated 09/21/07, available at http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cafta21sep21,1,13700.story)