Intel said the FCC is taking the right approach in its proposed rules for the 700 MHz D-block by opening the door for bidders to pursue a national or regional license for the spectrum. “The Commission is faced with the difficult challenge of trying to balance public safety and emergency preparedness requirements, with market-oriented flexibility and profitability requirements,” Intel said in a filing at the FCC. “A single, flexible nationwide license would, for practical deployment reasons, assure the interoperability requirement was met. However, it would also greatly limit the field of potential bidders. Intel supports the Commission’s approach of increasing the field of bidders, by allowing a flexible auction process.” TIA, meanwhile, urged that the FCC reduce or remove the minimum bid requirement for the D-block. TIA wants public safety officials to be able to select commercial devices and applications that meet Public Safety Broadband Licensee (PSBL) specifications. “As the FCC rightly indicates, building an interoperable broadband public safety network is more important to this nation than loading our federal coffers,” said Danielle Coffey, TIA vice president for government affairs. “We now have an economic landscape where bidders are scrambling to find funds for investment in the D Block; in this instance, an artificial floor for bidding should be replaced by a competitive bidding structure that lets the market set the value of the D Block spectrum.”
On October 29, 2008, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a hearing on "Investing in Infrastructure: The Road to Recovery." Testimony was heard from government, transportation, and public witnesses. (Congressional Record dated 10/30/08, available at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/B?r110:@FIELD(FLD003d)@FIELD(DDATE20081030).)
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s push to act on a complex Nov. 4 agenda has fueled intense lobbying, letter writing, phone calls and meetings with advisors, according to interviews with analysts, lobbyists and Hill staffers. The activity level, common in administrations whose ends are near, is heightened by high-profile issues affecting a wide array of players. The “order of magnitude” is big in a compressed time period, said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Blair Levin.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt sent FCC Chairman Kevin Martin a letter asking that the FCC not delay a Nov. 4 vote opening the TV white spaces to unlicensed portable devices. Meanwhile, 28 members of Congress, including five from Martin’s home state of North Carolina, urged delay. Lobbying was intense from both sides Tuesday, with the FCC set to release a Sunshine Notice cutting off further lobbying. The notice hadn’t been released at our deadline, but FCC sources said they expected Martin to schedule a vote as planned.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt sent FCC Chairman Kevin Martin a letter asking that the FCC not delay a Nov. 4 vote opening the TV white spaces to unlicensed portable devices. Meanwhile, 28 members of Congress, including five from Martin’s home state of North Carolina, urged delay. Lobbying was intense from both sides Tuesday, with the FCC set to release a Sunshine Notice cutting off further lobbying. The notice hadn’t been released at our deadline, but FCC sources said they expected Martin to schedule a vote as planned.
Russia and Arab nations and some others back a proposal that the ITU launch a “mark” program encouraging telecom gear interoperability and compatibility, but U.S. officials cited potential liability and budgetary issues. Developing nations have the most to gain from efforts at standardization. A compromise at the World Telecom Standardization Assembly may emerge Monday, U.S. Ambassador David Gross told us.
Russia and Arab nations and some others back a proposal that the ITU launch a “mark” program encouraging telecom gear interoperability and compatibility, but U.S. officials cited potential liability and budgetary issues. Developing nations have the most to gain from efforts at standardization. A compromise at the World Telecom Standardization Assembly may emerge Monday, U.S. Ambassador David Gross told us.
Online health care in the U.S. could save $197 billion the next 25 years, said Kauffman Foundation Vice President Robert Litan on a panel on remote monitoring at the National Press Club. Remote monitoring could cut care costs for 10 million Americans, including the elderly, the disabled and chronic disease patients, he said. Checking vital signs online and video chats with physicians are alternatives to in-home care, nursing homes, extended hospital stays and frequent doctor visits, he said. For $1,000 a patient yearly, it could reduce hospital crowding and emergency room traffic, Litan said.
Telecom and tech firms are big contributors, enabling campaign spending that’s estimated at $5.3 billion for the 2008 elections, making it the most expensive campaign in U.S. history, the Center for Responsive Politics said Wednesday. Sheila Krumholz, the center’s executive director, said historically large givers are active, but this is the first election to make systematic use of online donations, she said.
Telecom and tech firms are big contributors, enabling campaign spending that’s estimated at $5.3 billion for the 2008 elections, making it the most expensive campaign in U.S. history, the Center for Responsive Politics said Wednesday. Sheila Krumholz, the center’s executive director, said historically large givers are active, but this is the first election to make systematic use of online donations, she said.