GENEVA -- U.S. and Asian manufacturers and others are pressing to update the 1997 World Trade Organization agreement on a range of telephony, Internet, broadcast and data gear. The WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA) has boosted deployment of telecom and information technology products, said Mark MacGann, director general of the European Information & Communications Technology Industry Association. However, it doesn’t cover consumer electronics. Convergence of information technology with consumer electronics has made it out of date, MacGann said.
The Journal of Commerce reports that a federal appeals court denied a request for an emergency injunction to stop the Department of Transportation's U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking pilot program, paving the way for the start of the program, which the DOT hopes to begin as early as September 6, 2007. The program did not begin on September 1 as some had said it would because the DOT's inspector general had not completed the assessment of the program, which a DOT spokesperson stated was expected to be delivered September 5, 2007. (JoC, dated 09/05/07, www.joc.com)
EU broadband penetration now matches that of the U.S. and Japan, the European Competitive Telecommunications Association will report Friday. The figures reflect the penetration rate of 15 EU countries combined, which presents a different picture from an OECD country-by-country comparison that showed the U.S. dropped from 12 to 15 (CD April 24 p1) in 2006. The record rate has resulted from competition by new players using local loop unbundling, cable and alternative technologies, the association said in its twice yearly broadband scorecard. But, it warned, a chronic lag in enforcing unbundling means “success stories are still in the minority.”
EU broadband penetration now matches that of the U.S. and Japan, the European Competitive Telecommunications Association will report Friday. The figures reflect the penetration rate of 15 EU countries combined, which presents a different picture from an OECD country-by-country comparison that showed the U.S. dropped from 12 to 15 (CD April 24 p1) in 2006. The record rate has resulted from competition by new players using local loop unbundling, cable and alternative technologies, the association said in its twice yearly broadband scorecard. But, it warned, a chronic lag in enforcing unbundling means “success stories are still in the minority.”
GENEVA -- Internet governance for development will be a main theme for the November Internet Governance Forum meeting in Rio de Janeiro, but opinions varied on how the talks will incorporate them, officials said Sunday at a consultation on the agenda. With the event less than ten weeks off, organizers are scrambling to flesh out a program, find speakers and increase telecom and developing country involvement.
New logos aim to end consumer confusion over the latest HD-ready TVs and devices, the European Information, Communications and Consumer Electronics Technology Industry Associations said. The “HD ready 1080p” and “HD TV 1080p” labels, in use as of Thursday, go on gear meeting its standards for receiving, processing and displaying HD 1080p video signals that are becoming available, they said. But despite HD-ready products’ proliferation, Europe’s HDTV market lags behind North America’s for lack of programming and investment, analysts said.
New logos aim to end consumer confusion over the latest HD-ready TVs and devices, the European Information, Communications and Consumer Electronics Technology Industry Associations (EICTA) said. The “HD ready 1080p” and “HD TV 1080p” labels, in use as of Thursday, go on gear meeting its standards for receiving, processing and displaying HD 1080p video signals that are becoming available, they said. But despite HD-ready products’ proliferation, Europe’s HDTV market lags behind North America’s for lack of programming and investment, analysts said.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has issued a press release announcing that it is seeking an emergency injunction to block the Bush administration from opening the U.S. border to Mexican trucks. According to the press release, the Teamsters were told by certain FMCSA officials that the FMCSA intended to grant authority to begin the program on September 1. (Teamsters press release, dated 08/29/07, available at http://www.teamster.org/07news/nr_070829_1.asp)
The 700 MHz auction will be “more unpredictable than most” because its rules take “several novel approaches,” such as anonymous bidding, package bidding and reserve prices, “that are significantly different than those used in prior auctions, at least on this scale,” Stifel Nicolaus said in a report. The analysts repeated their prediction that the auction is “unlikely to result in a new national wireless carrier” because of “maturing markets and limited bidders.” Mature wireless and broadband markets make it harder for a new entrant to compete, the report said. Stifel Nicolaus said it’s doubtful that Google or EchoStar “will emerge with a national license,” although Google has indicated it plans to bid. The auction structure gives new entrants few ways of obtaining a national license and incumbents have economic incentives to outbid newcomers, said the report issued Friday.
The 700 MHz auction will be “more unpredictable than most” because its rules take “several novel approaches,” such as anonymous bidding, package bidding and reserve prices, “that are significantly different than those used in prior auctions, at least on this scale,” Stifel Nicolaus said in a report. The analysts repeated their prediction that the auction is “unlikely to result in a new national wireless carrier” because of “maturing markets and limited bidders.” Mature wireless and broadband markets make it harder for a new entrant to compete, the report said. Stifel Nicolaus said it’s doubtful that Google or EchoStar “will emerge with a national license,” although Google has indicated it plans to bid. The auction structure gives new entrants few ways of obtaining a national license and incumbents have economic incentives to outbid newcomers, said the report issued Friday.