Sens. Brownback (R-Kan.), Clinton (D-N.Y.)and Lieberman (D- Conn.) introduced legislation Wed. authorizing a $90 million federal grant program for research into the effects of electronic media on children’s physical and psychological development. The Children & Media Research Advancement Act (CAMRA) would establish a program within the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development to look at the impact of all forms of media, including TV, radio, videogames and the Internet, on children’s behavior at the early stages of brain development.

Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV) petitioned the FCC for review of a decision that would allow Inmarsat to access “confidential commercial information” MSV submitted with its ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) application. The Commission recently ordered MSV to provide the information in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from Inmarsat (CD May 11 p12). However, MSV said the “information Inmarsat seeks is in no way relevant or material to the interference issues Inmarsat has raised regarding” the application. MSV said Inmarsat made no “persuasive showing” that the information is necessary, and while the FCC “concedes” that the information is commercially sensitive, it also fails “to demonstrate that the standard had been met.” MSV asked the Commission to reverse the order and deny the FOIA request.

House Commerce Committee Chmn. Barton (R-Tex.) said he and House Telecom Subcommittee Chmn. Upton (R-Mich.) plan to send a letter to FCC Chmn. Powell asking the FCC to study the feasibility of a la carte cable programming. Barton and Deal have asked Reps. Dingell (D-Mich.) and Markey (D-Mass.) to sign the letter, to make it bipartisan. Barton was awaiting word from the Democrats before sending the letter. Barton’s remarks came during a luncheon gathering of the American Cable Assn. (ACA) on the Hill.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice announcing that it has determined not to initiate an investigation regarding a Section 301 petition filed by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) which addressed workers' rights in China.

Public safety groups weighed in Mon. strongly supporting Nextel arguments that it should get spectrum at 1.9 GHz as embraced by the “consensus” plan, and not at 2.1 GHz proposed by CTIA and other wireless carriers. The groups said they have grown “frustrated” with delays tied to the latest rebanding debate and hope for a quick decision.

The proposed Cingular-AT&T Wireless merger faces no meaningful objections and should face no hurdles at the FCC, the firms told the Commission in reply comments in the merger docket. “This merger has met with very little opposition. Indeed, no wireless carrier -- [and] for that matter, no telecommunications company of any type -- has opposed the merger. The only telecommunications company that made a filing, United States Cellular Corp., stated that the merger is in the public interest.” The companies said no filers against the merger had standing to challenge the deal under the Communications Act: “The eight oppositions that were filed came from: A shell corporation that, years ago, was a wireline [competitive local exchange carrier]; 2 consumer organizations; parties with unrelated private disputes with one or the other of the applicants; and a few individuals.” Cingular and AT&T also answered criticisms by the Consumers Federation of America and Consumers Union that the merger would raised concern because Cingular is jointly owned by BellSouth and SBC: “Nothing about the merger will change the nature or extent of the current relationship between Cingular and its parents. Nor is there any basis to question the continuing ability of market forces and regulatory oversight to preclude the imagined misconduct with respect to the special access market.”

AT&T called on the Bell companies to enter binding arbitration to reach long term commercial agreements that would “preserve local telephone competition and allow for a smooth transition to its own facilities.” With the June 16 effective date approaching for the D.C. Appeals Court order eliminating the FCC’s UNE-P rules, the company said it was “frustrated by the lack of progress in reaching commercial agreements” with the Bells. It also said it expected an independent arbiter to report to federal regulators and govt. officials on the status of the talks.

The House Commerce Committee postponed markup of the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act (SHVIA) Thurs. A House source said the Judiciary Committee, working on a version of the legislation that focuses on copyright, asked the Commerce Committee to hold off on its markup so the 2 committees could continue to harmonize the bills. Additionally, the Senate Judiciary Committee didn’t address the SHVIA bill it had on its calendar for Thurs. business meeting. At a hearing Wed. (CD May 13 p4), Senate Judiciary ranking Democrat Leahy (Vt.) said the Committee needed time to make adjustments to the bill. The bill introduced by Senate Judiciary Committee Chmn. Hatch (R-Utah) simply extends the current SHVIA provision for 5 more years, but Hatch indicated he thought royalty fees should be raised for DBS providers.

With commissioners noting the complexity of the issue, the FCC at its agenda meeting Thurs. clarified some of its rules for CLEC access charges, but generally affirmed a 3- year-old order limiting how much CLECs can charge. FCC Wireline Bureau Chief William Maher said the agency opted to deny petitions for reconsideration that it thought would have resulted in higher access rates.

At the heart of the debate on Capitol Hill on the balance between fair use and copyright law is whether Congress should regulate technology or behavior. Whenever technology causes legal problems, this debate surfaces. It’s central to the current debate over spyware legislation, and it was part of the debate during the 1998 passage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). That debate continued Wed., as the House Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection considered legislation that would rewrite DMCA to permit circumvention of copy- protection technology to engage in fair use of protected content (see separate story, this issue).