A European Parliament panel delayed action on a hotly debated EC proposal to criminalize intellectual property (IP) infringements, in part to find compromise on 150 plus amendments, a Legal Affairs (JURI) committee spokesman said Fri. Set for this week, a debate and vote on a measure (known as IPRED2) to add criminal prosecutory muscle to ensure EU enforcement of IP rights won’t be aired until Feb. 26-27, he said. Many amendments are technical and easily merged, but discord on some key provisions is pronounced. Even so, he said, the report likely will be adopted.
NTIA needs to develop E-911 grant guidelines as required under a law passed 2 years ago, Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Inouye (D-Hawaii) said Thurs. in a letter to NTIA Dir. John Kneuer. NTIA has made “little or no effort” to establish grant criteria for the program, but instead has relied on the Administration’s failure to ask for funds for E-911 grants to justify inaction “in the face of this explicit congressional directive,” said the letter, also signed by 5 other Democrats. The situation is critical since many public safety answering points (PSAPs) are unable to upgrade their emergency response systems without the grants, the letter said. According to the National Emergency Number Assn., nearly half of the counties in the country lack a PSAP that can locate 911 calls made from a wireless phone, it said: “Respectfully, we ask that you reconsider your agency’s present position and move quickly under your existing operational budget to develop grant guidelines.” The senators said they intend to secure sufficient funding for the program.
Guidance on spending $1 billion in interoperability funds set aside by the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act appears in a bill (S-385) introduced late Wed. by the Senate Commerce Committee. The bill would guide NTIA on awarding emergency communications grants to police, fire fighters and emergency medical crews. It keeps a Sept. 30 deadline for distributing the grants set in motion by last year’s Call Home Act.
Digital terrestrial TV (DTT) services are flourishing in western Europe but struggling in the U.S., said ABI Research analyst Michael Arden. DTT operators there have exclusive content deals with local teams, he said: “That’s driving a lot of the interest in DTT solutions.” In the U.S., sports programming rights are tied up by national broadcast networks or leagues, Arden said. In Europe, telcos are getting into the DTT business to complement IPTV offerings, Arden said: “You get one box, the DSL line connects into it and that’s how you get the premium channels and VoD. But some of the local channels and more basic cable channels are picked up off the air.” The biggest DTT operator in the U.S., USDTV, emerged last year from bankruptcy, he said.
Sen. Sununu (R-N.H.) introduced legislation (S-337) to require the FCC to complete its white space proceeding by Oct. 1, like a measure by Sen. Kerry (D-Mass.) (S-234). Sununu’s bill requires the FCC to finish its rules within 90 days of the bill’s enactment or Oct. 1, whichever is sooner. It also allows licensing as possibly the best way to make use of the white space spectrum. Eligible frequencies span 54- 698 MHz. “This ensures the maximum flexibility for dealing with future applications or commercial ventures,” Sununu said. Kerry’s bill makes no provision for licensing but would establish technical requirements for unlicensed devices operating in the eligible frequency range to protect incumbent license holders from interference. Kerry’s bill calls for a final order 180 days after enactment or by Oct. 1. Some broadcasters are leery of the white space proceeding because of possible interference. Both bills provide for field testing to evaluate interference, before device certification. White space bill opponents say unlicensed devices can’t be traced if interference problems emerge after testing, making it hard to locate the sources of any problems. The Sununu bill would grant licenses through competitive bidding and ban unlicensed use of frequencies in the market. It also would set up local, regional or national licensing areas. And the bill would prohibit the FCC from imposing its marketing ban on white space technologies.
As more and more state e-waste bills emerge, they're showing a trend toward making manufacturers, not imposing consumer recycling fees, said officials we polled.
Sen. Sununu (R-N.H.) introduced legislation (S-337) to require the FCC to complete its white space proceeding by Oct. 1, like a measure by Sen. Kerry (D-Mass.) (S-234). Sununu’s bill requires the FCC to finish its rules within 90 days of the bill’s enactment or Oct. 1, whichever is sooner. It also allows licensing as possibly the best way to make use of the white space spectrum. Eligible frequencies span 54- 698 MHz. “This ensures the maximum flexibility for dealing with future applications or commercial ventures,” Sununu said. Kerry’s bill makes no provision for licensing but would establish technical requirements for unlicensed devices operating in the eligible frequency range to protect incumbent license holders from interference. Kerry’s bill calls for a final order 180 days after enactment or by Oct. 1. Some broadcasters are leery of the white space proceeding because of possible interference. Both bills provide for field testing to evaluate interference, before device certification. White space bill opponents say unlicensed devices can’t be traced if interference problems emerge after testing, making it hard to locate the sources of any problems. The Sununu bill would grant licenses through competitive bidding and ban unlicensed use of frequencies in the market. It also would set up local, regional or national licensing areas. And the bill would prohibit the FCC from imposing its marketing ban on white space technologies.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the State Department have issued a reminder that beginning January 23, 2007, citizens of the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda are required to present a passport to enter the U.S. when arriving by air from any part of the Western Hemisphere.
SAN JOSE -- It’s “tragic” that 911 is left out of efforts for interoperable emergency communications -- but one such bid ignited a “firestorm” showing the explosive potential of moves to redirect govt. money first responders want, said panelists at a Homeland Defense Journal conference here. “Current policies don’t consider 911 a critical component of public-safety interoperability,” said Evelyn Bailey of L. Robert Bailey & Assoc. consulting.
The federal Wireless Priority Service (WPS) is working on including SMS and text messaging, probably in 2009 or 2010, an official said Thurs. The program gives priority to cellphone calls by emergency officials and others to deal with network congestion during emergencies (CD May 26 p8). It’s working with 35 businesses, volunteering services, “looking at the process to do this” extension, said Vernon Mosley, chief engineer for WPS and the corresponding Govt. Emergency Telecom Service (GETS) for wireline calls. He said at a Homeland Security Journal emergency communications conference in San Jose that Sprint Nextel will start offering WPS next quarter, rounding out a roster of 5 national wireless carriers. Network-level preemption to increase call completion would require a Presidential override of FCC policy -- and in the Gulf hurricanes, performance wouldn’t have improved much, because most routing failures were caused by network damage, not congestion, Mosley said in answer to a question. GETS has 150,000 users, Mosley said. That’s 10,000 more than it had Dec. 1. He said all 911 public service access points (PSAPs) “should have available to them GETS,” for callbacks when calls are cut off. The services fall under the National Communications System in the Homeland Security Dept.