GENEVA -- Countries and the Internet registry community are discussing the possibilities of a global policy for reserving IPv6 addresses and of the ITU’s becoming an additional Regional Internet Registry, said participants at a group meeting about IPv6 that continues through Tuesday. The U.S. and some other participants said current mechanisms work well and can adapt to future needs.
Tough new rules proposed at the Department of Transportation for shipping lithium batteries on airplanes (CED March 1 p3) “would have dramatic impacts on retailing” in key areas not even discussed or considered in the department’s rulemaking notice, the CE Retailers Coalition said in comments submitted at the Friday deadline. Among other things, CERC heeds the warnings of the Cargo Airline Association that the proposed rules would cause logjams in the shipment of covered products, especially during the holiday selling season, when retailers transact 25 to 40 percent of their annual business, it said.
Continued uncertainty in the launch market hurts the satellite industry’s ability to develop strategic business plans for investors, said Michael McDonnell, Intelsat’s chief financial officer. At the Satellite 2010 conference in National Harbor, Md., he joined other CFOs on a panel Monday in saying he hopes Sea Launch can emerge soon from bankruptcy to help keep the launch market competitive.
GENEVA -- Countries and the Internet registry community are discussing the possibilities of a global policy for reserving IPv6 addresses and of the ITU’s becoming an additional Regional Internet Registry, said participants at a group meeting about IPv6 that continues through Tuesday. The U.S. and some other participants said current mechanisms work well and can adapt to future needs.
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico has posted Ambassador Pascual's remarks before the AmCham National Convention in which he suggested "extending" the U.S.-Mexico border to transit hubs throughout Mexico and the U.S., moving security and customs operations to these decentralized points, and creating multiple customs points in certain cities using pre-clearance, automation resources and GPS technology. (Remarks, posted 03/10/10, available at http://mexico.usembassy.gov/eng/Ambassador/A100310AmCham.html)
The four co-chairs of the Congressional E-911 Caucus are introducing bipartisan legislation to upgrade 911 call centers nationwide and toughen penalties for states that divert 911 funds for other purposes. The bill also would move the national E-911 Implementation Coordination Office to the NTIA. Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and John Shimkus, R-Ill., introduced the 2010 Next-Generation 9-1-1 Preservation Act (HR-4829) in the House on Friday. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Richard Burr, R-N.C., plan to introduce a Senate version on Monday, said an Eshoo spokesman.
The State Department has issued a notice announcing its determination, effective March 10, 2010, to remove non-proliferation sanctions against Russian space organization Glavkosmos, and its sub-units and successors.
Congress should consider legislation to withhold federal funds from states that spend 911 money for unrelated purposes, said a public safety coalition including the National Emergency Number Association. In a letter Wednesday to House and Senate Commerce Committee chairmen and ranking members, the coalition said states including Georgia, Maryland, New York and Wisconsin “raided or diverted” money last year in violation of federal restrictions. “In the current budget climate, the message should be clear that Congress will not provide federal funds for 9-1-1 and homeland security to a state that does not properly spend money already in its coffers,” the coalition said. Congress could require the FCC to share results of its annual report on state 911 activities with the Office of Management and Budget and all federal agencies that run public-safety grant programs, it said. “This information could then be taken into consideration as a factor when determining eligibility for federal public safety grants.” Congress should ask the FCC what additional steps the commission can take to prevent the practice, the coalition said. “For example, while the FCC is tasked with enforcing ’truth in billing’ requirements on commercial licensees, the Commission could also enforce a requirement that states be truthful about the fees they impose on consumers that are collected by carriers."
On February 1, 2010, the President submitted his fiscal year 2011 budget (October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011) to Congress.
SAN FRANCISCO -- The historically supersecret National Security Agency is seeking commercial technologies to allow easier and less expensive information transfers to those it works with, an official said. “We realize we have a problem, and it’s a sharing problem,” said Margaret Salter, technical director and senior advisor for cryptographic strategy.