Recording industry groups are gearing up for a push on the Hill to restructure the way terrestrial radio broadcasters pay royalties, a task they have tried 3 times before. This year, the groups believe the timing is right due to heightened congressional awareness of the royalty structure from the XM-Sirius merger hearings and the dispute over Internet radio royalty rates. “Here we had [Sirius CEO] Mel Karmazin making our case for us,” said Recording Artists Coalition (RAC) National Dir. Rebecca Greenberg: “That really put it on people’s radars.” Broadcasters’ plans for HD Radio are also motivating the recording industry to act, said Hal Ponder, American Federation of Musicians (AFM) govt. relations dir.
Recording industry groups are gearing up for a push on the Hill to restructure the way terrestrial radio broadcasters pay royalties, a task they have tried 3 times before. This year, the groups believe the timing is right due to heightened congressional awareness of the royalty structure from the XM-Sirius merger hearings and the dispute over Internet radio royalty rates. “Here we had [Sirius CEO] Mel Karmazin making our case for us,” said Recording Artists Coalition (RAC) National Dir. Rebecca Greenberg: “That really put it on people’s radars.” Broadcasters’ plans for HD Radio are also motivating the recording industry to act, said Hal Ponder, American Federation of Musicians (AFM) govt. relations dir.
MetroPCS is open to bidding in the 700 MHz auction, executives said on the company’s Q1 financial conference call. But they avoided statements committing to it. The wireless carrier, which has maneuvered at the FCC in ways suggesting interest in the valuable spectrum, reported a strong quarter and predicting geographic and financial growth in the coming quarters. MetroPCS is flush; a recent IPO raised more than $1 billion cash.
FCC Chmn. Martin backs “exploring” inclusion of broadband in the high-cost Universal Service Fund (USF), he said in a letter to House Telecom Subcommittee Chmn. Markey (D-Mass.). Martin declined to answer Markey’s April 2 query (CD April 3 p7) as to whether Martin favors using USF subsidies for broadband -- a strategy explored in several legislative proposals on Capital Hill.
FCC Chmn. Martin backs “exploring” inclusion of broadband in the high-cost Universal Service Fund (USF), he said in a letter to House Telecom Subcommittee Chmn. Markey (D-Mass.). Martin declined to answer Markey’s April 2 query as to whether Martin favors using USF subsidies for broadband -- a strategy explored in several legislative proposals on Capital Hill.
Companies that make streaming-media players must use anti- ripping technology by Media Rights Technologies (MRT) to comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), MRT told Microsoft, RealNetworks, Adobe and Apple in cease-and- desist letters last week. Its claims are based on DMCA language prohibiting the circumvention of “technological measures,” which can include avoiding such measures. MRT is pulling the word “avoid” out of context, a lawyer critical of the company’s reasoning told us.
The FCC Fri. terminated another extended proceeding, dismissing as moot 1999 petitions for consideration by Nextel and Rand McNally questioning whether Telecom Act rate integration provisions apply to CMRS. In acting, the FCC ended what could have been a pesky proceeding for carriers, though the questions raised now have little relevance.
The legality of cable’s geographic clustering may be tested in a lawsuit alleging that Comcast violated federal antitrust laws by consolidating Philadelphia-area systems. The case seems to be the first of its kind to get class action status, said analysts. The suit, by a handful of cable subscribers, links clustering to rising cable bills, long a matter of much FCC and legislative scrutiny (CD Dec 20 p3). The plaintiffs face an uphill battle showing that clustering hurts consumers, said analysts and former cable executives, since centralized systems seem to let companies cut fees and offer more services. Cable critics said Comcast and other companies boost profits -- not customer service -- through clustering.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a press release announcing that the Secure Freight Initiative "officially" began transmitting data from a new radiation scanning system (that includes both radiation detection and non-intrusive imaging)1 in Port Qasim, Pakistan on April 30, 2007 as part of its operational testing of Phase One of SFI.
The German Presidency will propose increasing public financing of Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation project, Transport Council Pres. Wolfgang Tiefensee said Mon. With an industry consortium assigned to build and deploy Galileo’s 30 satellites likely to miss a May 10 deadline for ironing out major problems with the program, Tiefensee thinks the public- private partnership requires reconsideration but isn’t dead, a Presidency spokesman said.