PortSecurityNews.com reports that during the week of July 11, Congress cleared legislation (H.R. 556) that would revise the process for reviewing foreign investments in the U.S. The action took place when the House voted 370-45 to accept Senate amendments to the bill that were adopted during Senate consideration of the measure during the week of June 28. The bill now goes to the President. (PSN, dated 07/16/07, available at http://portsecuritynews.com/news/templates/registered.asp?articleid=1659&zoneid=1)

Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell (R) signed a bill shifting video franchising from municipalities to the Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC). That makes Connecticut the eighth state this year to overhaul video franchising. HB- 7182, which takes effect October 1, gives the DPUC 30 days to act on franchise applications. Incumbent cable providers can seek a state franchise to replace existing local franchises 30 days after a new entrant begins service. “An injection of healthy competition into this market will benefit consumers in the long run,” Rell said. “Competition should result in better service and more reasonable rates, and states that have passed similar bills are measuring the success in thousands of new jobs.” The law extends the video franchising requirement to all landline delivery technologies, including IP-based, which means AT&T needs a state franchise for its U-verse video system though the DPUC last year declared it is not cable service. AT&T can keep operating while its application is pending. AT&T and other state-franchised video providers face no buildout requirements, but the law requires the DPUC to review deployment of state-franchised video services after three years and report its findings to the 2011 legislature. The law requires new video entrants to match public access channel capacity of the incumbent within 120 days of starting service, and to provide financial support for community access facilities. The law shifts video consumer protection to the companies and the state. It directs service providers to develop internal means of resolving customer complaints about billing and service issues. If the company does not resolve a problem, the customer can seek nonbinding mediation through the DPUC. If mediation fails, the customer can complain formally to the DPUC. Unless preempted by federal law, this measure requires state-franchised video providers to give the DPUC 30 days’ notice of programming and rate changes. All video providers must give new customers a detailed description of rates, terms, services, billing practices and complaint processes. The law raises the state video gross receipts tax to 5.5 percent from 5 percent, extending it to AT&T video services. It exempts state- franchised video service providers from paying business personal property taxes for 3 years on new gear they install. This is a big break for AT&T, which plans to invest $335 million in new facilities.

Limits on the independence of inspectors general (IG) hurt the National Security Agency IG’s investigation into warrantless wiretapping of American citizens, former Defense Department IG Eleanor Hill said Wednesday at a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing. Like all agency IGs, the NSA IG cannot be as objective as departmental IGs due to limited resources and a lack of statutory autonomy protecting the office from agency directors, she said. IGs need more independence and more visibility for their reports to conduct strong, objective inquiries like Justice Department IG Glenn Fine’s on FBI misuse of national Security Letters, said Sen. Susan M. Collins (R-Maine), who has proposed a bill to amend the 1978 Inspector General Act. Congress should protect inspectors generals’ job security and raise their pay, so IGs can go after higher-ups without fear of reprisal, she said. And better Web site design could bring more attention to IG reports, lending audits the “juice” they need to succeed, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said. Agency sites tend not to have obvious links to IG sites, and it can be difficult to find reports on IG sites, she said.

Limits on the independence of inspectors general (IG) hurt the National Security Agency IG’s investigation into warrantless wiretapping of American citizens, former Defense Department IG Eleanor Hill said Wednesday at a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing. Like all agency IGs, the NSA IG cannot be as objective as departmental IGs due to limited resources and a lack of statutory autonomy protecting the office from agency directors, she said. IGs need more independence and more visibility for their reports to conduct strong, objective inquiries like Justice Department IG Glenn Fine’s on FBI misuse of national Security Letters, said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who has proposed a bill to amend the 1978 Inspector General Act. Congress should protect inspectors generals’ job security and raise their pay, so IGs can go after higher-ups without fear of reprisal, she said. And better Web site design could bring more attention to IG reports, lending audits the “juice” they need to succeed, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said. Agency sites tend not to have obvious links to IG sites, and it can be difficult to find reports on IG sites, she said.

The National Association of Broadcasters led the charge against a merger of XM and Sirius in comments at the FCC. The 58-page NAB filing called the case for rejecting the merger “simple and straightforward.” Diverse commenters lined for and against the proposed merger, many repeating arguments made at four Congressional hearings and in material already on file at the FCC.

The National Association of Broadcasters led the charge against a merger of XM and Sirius in comments at the FCC. The 58-page NAB filing called the case for rejecting the merger “simple and straightforward.” Diverse commenters lined for and against the proposed merger, many repeating arguments made at four Congressional hearings and in material already on file at the FCC.

The FCC should revise an April order on telecom carrier use of customer proprietary network information (CPNI) and other customer information (CD April 3 p10), The United States Telecom Association (USTelecom) and CTIA said in separate petitions for reconsideration. USTelecom said the order seems to assume, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), that carriers are at fault when a pretexter obtains protected information. CTIA took exception to a finding in the order that carriers inadequately protect CPNI.

Updated CableCARD exemption requests continued to flow to the FCC after a July 1 deadline to separate security and navigation features on new set-top boxes, a review of filings in docket 97-80 shows. Comcast, Great Plains Cable and WideOpenWest each updated existing requests for temporary or permanent waivers or made new requests, suggesting the Media Bureau may consider more waivers. June 29 the bureau approved exemptions for more than 100 small cable operators, phone companies and Bells including Qwest and Verizon (CD Special Report June 29 p1). RCN and other companies that applied months ago for exemptions still await bureau action. Cable executives are not sure when more waivers will be issued; FCC officials have been mum. Meanwhile, a vote by commissioners to deny Comcast’s waiver is expected this month.

Updated CableCARD exemption requests continued to flow to the FCC after a July 1 deadline to separate security and navigation features on new set-top boxes, a review of filings in docket 97-80 shows. Comcast, Great Plains Cable and WideOpenWest each updated existing requests for temporary or permanent waivers or made new requests, suggesting the Media Bureau may consider more waivers. June 29 the bureau approved exemptions for more than 100 small cable operators, phone companies and Bells including Qwest and Verizon. RCN and other companies that applied months ago for exemptions still await bureau action. Cable executives are not sure when more waivers will be issued; FCC officials have been mum. Meanwhile, a vote by commissioners to deny Comcast’s waiver is expected this month.

The FCC should adjust any pending automatic roaming rules to go beyond voice to include data, said SouthernLINC Wireless. The carrier, a vigorous advocate of wider roaming responsibilities, filed a paper at the FCC this week based on arguments it made in May meetings with Wireless Bureau staffers.