Public TV stations nationwide will form the “last mile delivery system” for federal emergency alerts, according to a Wed. announcement of a phased rollout of a digital emergency alert system (DEAS). Aided by the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS), the Assn. of Public TV Stations recently completed 2 successful DEAS pilots using stations’ digital infrastructure. The rollout will cover 9 Gulf and Atlantic coast states in 2006 and the rest of the U.S. by Dec. 31, 2007, said APTS and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials.
Frustrations kindled by the Copyright Royalty Board’s (CRB) early performance have basis, but its mechanics will smooth out, Chief Judge James Sledge told us Wed. The CRB, which in 2004 replaced the 12-year-old Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel (CARP), is hearing its first case, on webcasting rates and terms. Sources close to the trial said the board’s actions are complicating the process, making it more costly than litigants anticipated (WID July 11 p1).
E-911 supporters urged Congress Wed. to approve funding for wireless E-911 technology that would make it possible for Americans to connect to safety services anywhere in the country. Only part of the wireless E-911 network is built, and many states need federal and state grants to upgrade equipment and technology to route calls from public safety access points (PSAPs) to the proper emergency personnel, said Greg Rohde, exec. dir.-E-911 Institute.
The Justice Dept. should bar Mario Gabelli from participating in FCC auctions, since DoJ has charged him with misusing the FCC designated entity process, FCC Comr. Adelstein said Tues. A company owned by Gabelli applied to bid in the Aug. advanced wireless services auction (CD July 11 p1). “This AWS auction has been somewhat mishandled,” Adelstein said in response to an audience question at a conference sponsored by the Minority Media & Telecom Council (MMTC).
FCC Comrs. Adelstein and Copps urged expansion of the FCC’s 4 net neutrality principles to include one barring bias in the carriage or treatment of Internet traffic. Speaking to the Minority Media & Telecom Council (MMTC) conference Tues. indirectly they indicated the 5th principle has been discussed in the FCC’s consideration of the Adelphia merger.
Moves against an EU directive requiring communications traffic data storage may have gotten a boost from a court rejection of a U.S./EU airline passenger name records (PNR) pact, privacy experts said. A European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling that the PNR was based wrongly in EU internal market law, instead of tenets involving law enforce, isn’t likely to halt transfer of Europeans’ personal data to the U.S. But Ireland said it could help its case against the data retention directive.
Moves against an EU directive requiring communications traffic data storage may have gotten a boost from a court rejection of a U.S./EU airline passenger name records (PNR) pact, privacy experts said. A European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling that the PNR was based wrongly in EU internal market law, instead of tenets involving law enforcement, isn’t likely to halt transfer of Europeans’ personal data to the U.S. But Ireland said it could help its case against the data retention directive.
A new paper by the National Assn. of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) examines the role of the state CISO (chief information security officer) as it has evolved in response to the growing complexities of the IT threat environment, homeland security concerns and increasing demands for enhanced citizen services. The brief addresses critical state CISO success factors, security governance and reporting structures, the breadth and depth of CISO authority, the CISO and information privacy and a few predictions on the future evolution of the state CISO. “As the role of the CISO has evolved, the state CISO must now focus on relationship-building across the state and even outside of the state,” said Mary Carroll, co-chmn. of NASCIO’s Security & Privacy Committee and CIO for Ohio: “The state CISO must be involved with a variety of other state officials, including those involved in homeland security, critical infrastructure protection, and emergency management.”
Odds are dimming that Congress will pass a comprehensive data security bill before recessing in Aug., sources told us. In the House, 3 bills have emerged from committee and await floor consideration. So have 3 Senate bills. But deciding which bills reach each chamber’s floor and reconciling them will test lawmakers’ abilities to deal with their own brief, crammed calendars no less than their will to fight breaches.
An FCC order on Emergency Alert Systems (EAS) may be off the table for the summer after President Bush signed an executive order last week instructing the Dept. of Homeland Security to submit a plan for reorganizing EAS to the White House within 90 days. Meanwhile, telecom and satellite interests continue outreach at the FCC on EAS, based on ex parte filings made at the Commission in recent days.