U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an updated version of its set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), dated March 23, 2006, regarding its enforcement of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS) wood packaging material (WPM) regulations that took effect September 16, 2005.
Clear Channel will program 7 regional news and talk channels for XM -- despite ardently opposing local content on satellite radio and backing NAB-pushed bills to strip XM and Sirius of just such channels. XM unveiled plans Mon. for the 7 regional news channels plus 10 new commercial-free music channels. The regional news and talk channels will, for the first time, bring XM subscribers regional news on every area of the continental U.S., XM said. A Clear Channel official said the company is “trying to protect its own interests” by stocking enemy airwaves with the more-localized programming.
Clear Channel will program 7 regional news and talk channels for XM -- despite ardently opposing local content on satellite radio and backing NAB-pushed bills to strip XM and Sirius of just such channels. XM unveiled plans Mon. for the 7 regional news channels plus 10 new commercial-free music channels. The regional news and talk channels will, for the first time, bring XM subscribers regional news on every area of the continental U.S., XM said. A Clear Channel official said the company is “trying to protect its own interests” by stocking enemy airwaves with the more-localized programming.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a travel advisory announcing that beginning May 1, 2006, German temporary passports (or emergency passports) will no longer be valid for travel to the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).
French telcos and ISPs will have to retain phone and Internet traffic data for up to one year following official publication Mon. of a law whose imposition has taken more than 4 years, Internet civil liberties group Imaginons un Reseau Internet Solidaire (IRIS) said. Under the new law, ISPs must hold data identifying the user of a service, the terminal used, the destination of traffic, and the date, time and duration of communications. Telephony providers must store data identifying calls’ origins and locations. The requirements debuted in Nov. 2001 for a limited time, then were made permanent in a 2003 law, IRIS said. In Jan., a counter-terror law extended them to give police services access to the data. The 2006 law also requires retention of data on individuals and entities providing public Internet connections in cybercafes, hotels and other public places. In 2002, IRIS sued to stop implementation of the law. The claim remained pending while the various laws emerged, and in 2002 and again this year, the European Commission adopted data retention rules. The EU directive mandates 6-24 months data storage; France picked the longest retention period allowed under national and European legislation, IRIS said. The decree marks the culmination of a strategy seeking ever- wider control of the population for which the fight against terrorism is only a pretext, IRIS said.
The FCC likely will vote March 17 for an order permitting it to create a Public Safety/Homeland Security Bureau, sources said Mon. On a 2nd security-themed item in the same meeting, the FCC is likely to pass an order that could clear the way for public safety to provide video and other broadband applications, in addition to voice communications, on 700 MHz spectrum. Chmn. Martin late Fri. began to circulate both items with colleagues in preparation for the March meeting.
French telcos and ISPs will have to retain phone and Internet traffic data for up to one year following official publication Mon. of a law whose imposition has taken more than 4 years, Internet civil liberties group Imaginons un Reseau Internet Solidaire (IRIS) said. Under the new law, ISPs must hold data identifying the user of a service, the terminal used, the destination of traffic, and the date, time and duration of communications. Telephony providers must store data identifying calls’ origins and locations. The requirements debuted in Nov. 2001 for a limited time, then were made permanent in a 2003 law, IRIS said. In Jan., a counter-terror law extended them to give police services access to the data. The 2006 law also requires retention of data on individuals and entities providing public Internet connections in cybercafes, hotels and other public places. In 2002, IRIS sued to stop implementation of the law. The claim remained pending while the various laws emerged, and in 2002 and again this year, the European Commission adopted data retention rules. The EU directive mandates 6-24 months data storage; France picked the longest retention period allowed under national and European legislation, IRIS said. The decree marks the culmination of a strategy seeking ever- wider control of the population for which the fight against terrorism is only a pretext, IRIS said.
PierPASS Inc. has issued a press release stating that effective April 24, 2006, it will adjust the current Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) assessed on container traffic using marine terminal day gates under the OffPeak program to $50 per TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) or $100 per FEU (forty-foot equivalent unit or larger), an amendment from the program's original $40 per TEU rate. (Note that PierPASS had originally issued a press release setting the effective date for this increase as April 3, 2006.) (PierPass, dated 03/24/06, available at http://www.pierpass.org/press_room/releases/?id=26 )
GENEVA -- Rollout of next-generation networks (NGNs) is presenting major challenges for policy makers, officials said during a 2-day ITU workshop here, as emphasis turns from core ICT infrastructures to exploiting the service potential of the new environments.
GENEVA -- Rollout of next-generation networks (NGNs) is presenting major challenges for policy makers, officials said during a 2-day ITU workshop here, as emphasis turns from core ICT infrastructures to exploiting the service potential of the new environments.