Members of House Telecom Subcommittee asked recording industry to put more information in its advisory labels so parents could better determine whether content in CDs was appropriate for their children. Industry said current labels were working and adding more information would subject individual creative works to subjective judgments that could not be rendered in uniform manner.

Wireless security policy just released by Defense Dept. keeps intact year-old moratorium on construction of new wireless networks at Pentagon and bars wireless connections to classified networks or computers. Long-awaited policy, released quietly in DoD memo last week, keeps in place July 2001 moratorium on installation of wireless network infrastructure at Pentagon and related facilities until: (1) Security vulnerabilities are assessed fully. (2) Wireless design for Pentagon is developed. (3) “Appropriate policies and procedures are established to support the responsible introduction of wireless technologies into the Pentagon” and shared facilities with common networks. Continued moratorium is “in recognition of the exploitable vulnerabilities that wireless devices introduce to Pentagon area facilities and networks,” memo said.

FCC granted 13 small cable operators 36-month waivers of Commission’s rules on Emergency Alert Systems (EAS). Rules require cable systems serving fewer than 5,000 subscribers from headend to either provide national level EAS messages on all programmed channels or install EAS equipment and provide video interrupt and audio alert on all programmed channels and EAS audio and video messages on at least one programmed channel by Oct. 1, 2002. Commission has said it would grant waiver requests on case-by-case basis upon showing of financial hardship. It also noted it recently amended EAS rules to permit small cable systems to install FCC-certified decoder-only units, rather than both encoders and decoders, if such devices became available and that agency anticipated such systems would provide significant cost savings. Those granted waivers were: PEC Cable of Nichols, Ia., with 77 subscribers; Sherman Cablevision, Sherman Mills, Me., 175; Howard Cable Co., 2 systems in Wis. and one in Mich., 169- 403; S & K TV Systems Inc., with 7 systems in Wis., 72-430; HLM Cable Corp., with 5 systems in Wis., 68-320; HFU L.P., Cal., 225, and Nev. 472; Moosehead Enterprises Inc., 6 systems in Me., each with fewer than 750; Alpine Cable TV, 9 systems in Ia., with 723 total; Dodge County Cablevision, Wis., 336; Powhatan Point Cable Co., 2 systems in Ohio with 308 and 896 subscribers, respectively; TV Assn. of Republic, one system in Wash., 490; Farmers Co-Operative Telephone Co., Ia., 70; J. Feeney Assoc. Inc., doing business as Chain Lakes Cable, 6 systems in N.Y., one in Pa., and 3 Va., 36- 860. In another decision on EAS systems, FCC gave W.A.T.C.H. TV 30-day waiver to allow company to seek revision of Commission’s EAS rules with petition for rulemaking. W.A.T.C.H. operates 9 wireless cable TV systems in Ohio and believes it has alternative technology approach that will be less costly.

WOAI-TV San Antonio shouldn’t be punished for lack of closed captions on programming during record flood July 3-6, station said in response to 153 complaints received by FCC. Station said it preempted its regular programming and provided “wall-to-wall” news coverage of emergency situation, although coverage wasn’t fully captioned. Station said portions of newscasts that were scripted were captioned, and it regularly crawled National Weather Service and other advisories on screen, along with other graphics of “vital information.” Owner Clear Channel said it “acknowledges” frustration of hearing impaired who couldn’t get full access to all programming, but said it complied with rules because it did best it could in emergency and would work with hearing-impaired community to meet its needs.

Public safety groups told FCC that some clarification or change in existing Enhanced 911 rules might be needed but certain modifications shouldn’t be retroactive. Verizon Wireless recently asked Commission to stipulate that wireless carrier wouldn’t be in violation of E911 Phase 2 deadline when public safety answering point (PSAP) couldn’t yet receive and use more detailed location information because either PSAP or LEC hadn’t completed necessary network upgrades. Sprint PCS endorsed modified approach to one that Verizon outlined. Verizon had said its clarification could be carried out while keeping in place previous FCC decision that required licensees to start Phase 2 deployment in advance of actual PSAP readiness. Under existing rules, PSAP request for more-detailed Phase 2 information is deemed valid if PSAP can show it has ordered necessary equipment and has vendor commitments to have it installed and operational within 6 months. National Emergency Number Assn., Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials and National Assn. of State 911 Administrators told FCC that some changes might be needed to address LEC and PSAP readiness issues raised by Sprint and Verizon: “However, in the end, as we have said previously, implementation will depend more on common-sense accommodations reached in good faith among the parties than on rule changes. Nevertheless, removal of lingering uncertainties remains a worthy objective.” Groups said any relief from 6-month requirement should hinge on there being agreement between carrier and relevant PSAP on need to extend implementation deadline. Such agreement could take form of letter from PSAP agreeing to revised schedule, groups said. “Submission of that letter to the FCC would relieve the carrier of its 6-month requirement and avoid the need for enforcement action,” filing said. But public safety groups stressed that carriers shouldn’t have right to “unilaterally” extend compliance date because they perceived that PSAP wasn’t ready, whether because of equipment installation delays or because LEC hadn’t done necessary database upgrades. Filing raised concerns that Verizon and Sprint proposals would involve rule changes that would be applied retroactively. “Retroactive rulemaking is usually not a good idea and we cannot accept it here,” filing said. Although there may be more valid PSAP requests than carrier facing Dec. 2002 deadline can handle, “these need not be summarily invalidated,” filing said.

US LEC petitioned FCC for declaratory ruling reaffirming that LECs we entitled to recover access charges from IXCs for providing access service on interexchange calls that originate from or end on mobile wireless networks. US LEC said long distance carrier, which it didn’t name, had challenged US LEC’s billing for access service provided on long distance calls to and from commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) subscribers. It said such challenge hadn’t emerged in past but that issue was relevant for FCC to clarify as more wireless end users used their phones as part of national, long distance pricing plans. “Under the existing compensation structure established by the Commission, it is clear that LECs are entitled to access charges for these calls, and it is also clear that the prevailing practice is for LECs to assess access charges for these calls and for the IXC to pay these charges,” US LEC said. Competitive carrier sought “prompt ruling” from FCC “reaffirming” right of LECs to bill for access service they provided on such calls “to dispel any controversy or uncertainty surrounding this issue.” Company said FCC had acknowledged that until wireless operators generated enough traffic to justify direct connections to IXC points of presence, most CMRS carriers were expected to rely on LECs to interconnect interexchange traffic to IXCs. As wireless subscribers step up their use of national long distance calling plans, LEC networks increasingly will be called on to provide access service to IXCs, US LEC said. “It is vital that LECs be able to recover access charges for providing this access service,” company said. FCC recently ruled that Sprint PCS wasn’t barred from charging AT&T access fees for use of Sprint PCS network, but that AT&T wasn’t required to pay them absent contractual obligation to do so. That decision “reinforces” idea that LECs can impose access charges for CMRS traffic, US LEC said. “Unlike CMRS providers, LECs have tariffed access charges and their access charges are regulated,” filing said.

Draft bill circulated by Reps. Tauzin (R-La.) and Dingell (D-Mich.) would require broadcasters to cease analog TV service and operate in digital only by Dec. 31, 2006, and do so without dual must-carry. Bill, if passed, would impose 2006 date originally intended by Congress when it mandated that broadcasters return their analog spectrum and effectively shut down analog broadcasting for good. Under current law, TV station doesn’t have to return its analog spectrum until 85% of local market can receive DTV signal, but new bill draws hard-and-fast line at Dec. 31, 2006 -- 85% or not.

One of more pressing issues scheduled for discussion at ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (Plenipot) beginning Mon. (Sept 23) is whether -- and how -- union should be reformed. Documents filed in recent months lay out broad range of proposals for restructuring ITU, including everything from tweaking Constitution and Convention upon which it’s founded to giving it stronger role in ICANN. Breadth and contentiousness of some of proposals for 4-week conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, foreshadow more difficult meeting than usual, we're told. Some proposals stress diverging interests of developing and developed countries, with focus on digital divide issues, while others focus on roles of private sector vs. govts.

Foreign investors seeking to acquire U.S. communications assets could hasten completion of such transactions if they consulted with FBI before filing formal applications with govt., an agency official told Federal Communications Bar Assn. (FCBA) Wed. Advance consultations make applicants aware of need for law enforcement and intelligence agencies to conduct electronic surveillance “in a way that there’s no legal or technical impedance,” FBI Asst. Gen. Counsel Allen McDonald said at an FCBA Transactional Practice Committee workshop at FCC hq.

To strengthen its intellectual property position worldwide and avoid having to pay royalties to foreign patent holders, China should hasten development of its own digital audio technology standard, analysts with domestic information technology research group said Mon., as reported by China Daily. “The establishment of a Chinese-owned standard has become something of vital importance to the development of the national industry,” said Wang Peng, vp of China Centre for Information Industry Development Consulting (CCID).