State regulators want their values to be part of any Communications Act updates that the House Commerce Committee works on. In early December, Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., announced intentions for white papers and hearings on the broader Telecom Act updates in 2014 and legislation to be introduced in 2015 (CD Dec 4 p1). Two key NARUC telecom commissioners and its general counsel told us Friday it’s the right time to reexamine the Communications Act and they want states to be a part of the conversation.
U.S. officials are continuing to plan for the upcoming World Telecommunication Development Conference, although the ITU hasn’t announced a new locale for the conference. The WTDC, held every four years, sets the agenda and guidelines for the ITU’s Development Sector for the following four years. The WTDC had been set for March 31-April 11 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, but the ITU decided to move the conference because of continuing political instability in the country, an industry observer told us.
Companies or a third party, not the government, should store phone metadata of U.S. citizens the government wants to surveil, recommended a key executive branch-appointed panel in a report released Wednesday, one among 46 recommendations that proposed sweeping changes to U.S. surveillance law. Proposals ranged from creating a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) public advocate to limiting phone searches. The White House unveiled the advice of its five-member surveillance review group in an unplanned move to quash speculation on the report’s contents, said Press Secretary Jay Carney. The release comes as more than 50 organizations pressed Congress not to pass legislation that would preserve the government’s bulk metadata surveillance program.
Companies or a third party, not the government, should store phone metadata of U.S. citizens the government wants to surveil, recommended a key executive branch-appointed panel in a report released Wednesday, one among 46 recommendations that proposed sweeping changes to U.S. surveillance law. Proposals ranged from creating a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) public advocate to limiting phone searches. The White House unveiled the advice of its five-member surveillance review group in an unplanned move to quash speculation on the report’s contents, said Press Secretary Jay Carney. The release comes as more than 50 organizations pressed Congress not to pass legislation that would preserve the government’s bulk metadata surveillance program.
If the EU and U.S. can agree on an umbrella data protection pact, negotiations on other pacts such as the trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) may become easier, said Elmar Brok, European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, at a news conference in Brussels Tuesday. He and Claude Moraes, of the Socialists and Democrats of U.K., who will publish Wednesday the draft report of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee on U.S. mass surveillance of Europeans, met with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich. All three said strong disagreements on data protection remain, but progress is being made.
If the EU and U.S. can agree on an umbrella data protection pact, negotiations on other pacts such as the trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) may become easier, said Elmar Brok, European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, at a news conference in Brussels Tuesday. He and Claude Moraes, of the Socialists and Democrats of U.K., who will publish Wednesday the draft report of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee on U.S. mass surveillance of Europeans, met with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich. All three said strong disagreements on data protection remain, but progress is being made.
With federal regulators concerned about cutting the number of major national wireless carriers from four to three, a possible Sprint/T-Mobile merger would face an uphill battle at the FCC and Department of Justice, industry observers say. Reports emerged last week that Sprint, the nation’s third largest carrier, and T-Mobile US, its fourth largest, are looking at a deal to merge. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Sprint is looking at making a bid north of $20 billion for T-Mobile in the first half of next year, while it also studies “regulatory concerns."
With federal regulators concerned about cutting the number of major national wireless carriers from four to three, a possible Sprint/T-Mobile merger would face an uphill battle at the FCC and Department of Justice, industry observers say. Reports emerged last week that Sprint, the nation’s third largest carrier, and T-Mobile US, its fourth largest, are looking at a deal to merge (CD Dec 16 p15). The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Sprint is looking at making a bid north of $20 billion for T-Mobile in the first half of next year, while it also studies “regulatory concerns."
The Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee’s work on spectrum sharing in the 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1850 MHz bands was a long, sometimes painful process, but yielded some good results, members of CSMAC and the industry working groups said during a lessons-learned meeting Friday. The process led to what is expected to be the eventual opening of the 1755-1780 MHz band for commercial use, a band long targeted by wireless carriers. Sharing, as opposed to exclusive use, has been a top focus of the Obama administration (CD June 17 p1).
The FCC voted to require carriers to file annual audits addressing how they are following best practices for 911 connections, over a dissent by Commissioner Ajit Pai, who said the order goes too far. Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, then acting chairwoman, had first circulated the order, which Chairman Tom Wheeler teed up for a vote at Thursday’s meeting.