ST. GEORGES, Del. -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is circulating a cybersecurity proposal among Senate committees of jurisdiction that combines bills proposed by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., Thursday. But the process is secretive and shutting out private industry, says a leading lobbyist, making him “very nervous."
The National Emergency Numbers Association supported giving the D-block to public safety agencies under legislation introduced this month by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. The association previously supported auctioning the D-block commercially as proposed in draft legislation by House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., calling that the best approach to secure funding for the network. The Rockefeller bill, which would pay for the public safety network through network leasing and proceeds from incentive and other auctions (CD Aug 9 p3), deals with both public safety’s spectrum and funding shortfalls, NENA President Steve O'Conor said Wednesday. Rockefeller’s “recognition that the public safety wireless broadband network must be integrated with our nation’s 9-1-1 centers demonstrates a clear understanding of their vital role in the emergency response chain,” O'Conor added. The association “also recognizes the significant work” of other lawmakers working on the public safety issue. Several overlapping and conflicting public safety bills have been announced or introduced, including by Rockefeller, Waxman, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Ct., and Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. Waxman hasn’t introduced his bill, the only one that would enact the National Broadband Plan’s recommendation to auction the D-block. Rockefeller’s committee may hold a public safety hearing next month, after the Senate returns from recess Sept. 13 (CD Aug 25 p2).
The Internet-related market in 2025 will be driven mainly by growth from outside today’s high-income economy, concluded a report published Wednesday by Cisco and the Monitor Group’s Global Business Network. “The next two or three billion Internet users will be mostly in emerging markets and very different from the first two billion,” said Enrique Rueda-Sabater, Cisco’s director of strategy and economics and a co-author of the report. “Global business models and national policies will fail if they are based on old expectations of behavior, preferences and success.” Other trends identified by the report are that global governance of the Internet will remain substantially unchanged by 2025 and that the QWERTY keyboard will no longer be the main Internet interface, having been passed up by technologies such as touch screens and voice and gesture recognition. “Digital natives” who grew up with the Internet will relate to it in markedly different ways than earlier generations, the report added. They'll view it as fundamental as thinking and conversing are to earlier generations and will be more comfortable with less privacy online. Pricing models will become more flexible to address a lack of available bandwidth, as flat pricing will become a rarity, the report said.
Congress shouldn’t require mobile devices to include FM-radio chips, six manufacturers and wireless service providers said in a letter Monday to House and Senate Judiciary Committee leaders of both parties. CTIA, CEA, TechAmerica, the Telecommunications Industry Association, Rural Cellular Association and Information Technology Industry Council questioned the NAB’s and MusicFirst’s right to make the proposal in the groups’ performance royalty talks. The CEA and CTIA had objected to any legislation sought by radio broadcasters and music labels requiring chips in cellphones (CED Aug 16 p5).
Congress shouldn’t require mobile devices to include FM-radio chips, six manufacturers and wireless service providers said in a letter Monday to House and Senate Judiciary Committee leaders of both parties. CTIA, CEA, TechAmerica, the Telecommunications Industry Association, Rural Cellular Association and Information Technology Industry Council questioned the NAB’s and MusicFirst’s right to make the proposal in the groups’ performance royalty talks. The CEA and CTIA had objected to any legislation sought by radio broadcasters and music labels requiring chips in cellphones (CD Aug 16 p5).
The burgeoning market in online video is “highly unlikely” to become a full-fledged pay-TV competitor anytime in the “foreseeable future,” Comcast, NBC Universal and NBCU parent General Electric told the FCC. Consumers and programmers alike see Web video as a complement to and not substitute for service from multichannel video programming distributors (MVPD), they said in the last round of comments on commission review of Comcast’s planned purchase of control in NBC Universal.
The burgeoning market in online video is “highly unlikely” to become a full-fledged pay-TV competitor anytime in the “foreseeable future,” Comcast, NBC Universal and NBCU parent General Electric told the FCC. Consumers and programmers alike see Web video as a complement to and not substitute for service from multichannel video programming distributors (MVPD), they said in the last round of comments on commission review of Comcast’s planned purchase of control in NBC Universal. Union and telecom foes of the deal represented by ex-FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and companies including EarthLink disagreed with Comcast and NBC Universal in filings posted Friday to docket 10-56. They and direct broadcast satellite companies contend the rapid growth of online video, in some instances including over-the-top Web programming seen on TVs, is making it more of a competitor to cable.
The burgeoning market in online video is “highly unlikely” to become a full-fledged pay-TV competitor anytime in the “foreseeable future,” Comcast, NBC Universal and NBCU parent General Electric told the FCC. Consumers and programmers alike see Web video as a complement to and not substitute for service from multichannel video programming distributors (MVPD), they said in the last round of comments on commission review of Comcast’s planned purchase of control in NBC Universal. Union and telecom foes of the deal represented by ex-FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and companies including EarthLink disagreed with Comcast and NBC Universal in filings posted Friday to docket 10-56. They and direct broadcast satellite companies contend the rapid growth of online video, in some instances including over-the-top Web programming seen on TVs, is making it more of a competitor to cable.
The top priority for the Internet Governance Forum now is its own continuation, said Cisco Senior Director of Strategic Technology Policy Art Reilly in an interview Friday. The IGF, which holds its fifth meeting September 14-17 in Vilnius, Lithuania, has a five-year mandate which ends next year, and the International Chamber of Commerce, which Reilly represents there, wants it to carry on, he said. Other key issues are Internet resources, security/privacy and, for the first time, cloud computing, he said. Meanwhile, the IGF model is successfully spreading to the local and regional level, said Marilyn Cade, a longtime participant in ICANN and Internet governance activities.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has issued an Office of Technology Evaluation report, "Critical Technology Assessment: Impact of U.S. Export Controls on Green Technology Items."