Emergency number representatives will storm the Hill today (Wed.) at the behest of the National Emergency Number Assn. (NENA) and several legislative and regulatory players who spoke at its conference. Timed to coincide with a report on the group’s E-911 program, the convention Tues. focused on how public safety access points (PSAPs) can grab funding and attention from D.C. policymakers. Several Hill staffers urged PSAP representatives to support pending legislation in both houses that would resolve liability issues for VoIP providers.
An FCC Hurricane Katrina panel Tues. heard from Miss. and Fla. broadcasters, disability groups, amateur radio operators, the satellite industry and others in Jackson, Miss. (CD March 7 p8). Echoed by others present, a Miss. Assn. of Bcstrs. representative urged credentialing of broadcasters as first responders in emergencies -- at least entitling stations to fuel and generator power. “If anything comes out of these hearings, it should be that the FCC and other federal agencies dedicate broadcasters as first responders,” said Dave Vincent, WLOX Biloxi-Gulfport- Pascagoula station mgr. Marie Antoon of Miss. Public Bcstg. asked the FCC to consider “hardening certain broadcast assets” in the Gulf Coast region, referring mainly to broadcast towers. “Fuel is important, but towers are our weakness,” she said. Antoon said the Miss. Dept. of Homeland Security is testing an addressable FM-radio system covering 95% of that state and 2 WiFi-based projects for 2-way voice, video and data. Fla. Assn. of Bcstrs. Pres. Pat Roberts said his state is “already in high gear” for hurricane season. Fla. is “redoing” hurricane-related media campaigns to reach urban poor and retirees in high-rise buildings on the coast, he said. The Katrina panel’s 3 working groups reported on progress to panel chair Nancy Victory. Each group said it has met at least twice since the panel’s Jan. inauguration (CD Jan 31 p1). Working group 1, on infrastructure resiliency, hopes to have recommendations for the full panel within 30 days, said Chair Marion Scott, vp-operations at CenturyTel. Steve Davis, senior vp-engineering at Clear Channel, is leading working group 2, on recovery coordination. His group is zeroing in on emergency responder credentialing, access to broadcasting and telecom facilities and coordinating emergency information between state and local officials. Working group 2’s next conference call is set for March 28, Davis said. Working group 3, on emergency communications, may report early on national emergency information to the full panel, said Chair Steve Delahousey, vp-operations American Medical Response. “There may be a need to make some interim recommendations prior to the June 15 deadline,” Delahousey said. Delahousey said his group wants to hold roundtable discussions with “emergency communicators” in southern Miss., La. and Ala. in the near future to hammer out a few best practices. The Katrina panel’s next full meeting will be in April, Victory said.
Music publishers Mon. welcomed Rep. Ferguson’s introduction of legislation (HR-4861) last week authorizing the FCC to mandate an audio broadcast flag for digital radio content protections. Songwriters and music publishers “want consumers to have increased access to music in the emerging digital marketplace,” but also want “reasonable compensation for their hard work,” said National Music Publishers’ Assn. Pres. David Israelite: “Requiring radio services to get the appropriate licenses is only fair. Innovation depends on everyone involved in the process playing by rational rules.”
Music publishers welcomed Rep. Ferguson’s (R-N.J.) platform parity legislation on Mon. The Audio Broadcast Flag Licensing Act (HR-4861) debuted last week (WID March 3 p1). Songwriters and music publishers “want consumers to have increased access to music in the emerging digital marketplace” but also want “reasonable compensation for their hard work,” said National Music Publishers’ Assn. Pres. David Israelite: “Requiring radio services to get the appropriate licenses is only fair. Innovation depends on everyone involved in the process playing by rational rules.”
Federal, state and local money should be appropriated specifically for satellite communications equipment to be used during national disasters, said Satellite Industry Assn. Exec. Dir. David Cavossa in a letter Fri. to the FCC’s Katrina panel. The group meets today (Mon.) in Jackson, Miss. to study lessons from the disaster. One lesson, Cavossa said, is that “in many of the affected areas, satellites provided the only source of communications” during and after the hurricanes, and “the fundamental crisis in the lack of communications command and control… could have been avoided or significantly mitigated” if satellite networks were used more. The main problem, he said, was lack of satellite equipment in the affected area, and such equipment should be placed in areas likely to be affected by disasters. Even where equipment was available, users often had difficulty completing satellite calls because equipment hadn’t been properly maintained or staff hadn’t been properly trained in its use, Cavossa said. He also said provision should be made for easy credentialing of satellite engineers and technicians in an emergency.
Results in nations emerging as leaders in spectrum reform have been mixed, speakers said Wed. on an NTIA panel on international issues.
Despite improvement in EU-U.S. trade, roadblocks remain to trans-Atlantic business related to telecom and intellectual property (IP) rights, the European Commission (EC) said Wed. in its latest annual report on U.S. barriers to trade and investment. The U.S. has made “significant commitments” on European service provider market access, but the EU “remains concerned” about steep hurdles European and foreign-owned firms still face, the Commission said. The report emerged as the sides agreed to lift longstanding public procurement sanctions, some involving European telecom.
Despite improvement in EU-U.S. trade, roadblocks remain to trans-Atlantic business related to telecom and intellectual property (IP) rights, the European Commission (EC) said Wed. in its latest annual report on U.S. barriers to trade and investment. The U.S. has made “significant commitments” on European service provider market access, but the EU “remains concerned” about steep hurdles European and foreign-owned firms still face, the Commission said. The report emerged as the sides agreed to lift longstanding public procurement sanctions, some involving European telecom.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release announcing that the U.S. and Colombia have concluded their work on a free trade agreement (FTA).
CTIA called for a technical summit including wireless carriers, the FCC, FEMA, NOAA and the National Communications System to discuss such emergency alert system (EAS) issues as the type and format of EAS messages and the timeframe for delivery of EAS. CTIA made the call in reply comments on an EAS docket. “If EAS is to be a seamless experience, these questions must be considered for each of the existing U.S. air interfaces, including CDMA, GSM, and iDEN, as each of those systems may have unique implementation issues with particular EAS requirements,” CTIA said. 3G Americas called for the creation of an advisory committee to resolve wireless industry EAS questions. “Mobile wireless technologies are fundamentally different than the broadcast technologies that now carry EAS notifications,” the group said. “These differences mean that many significant technical and policy issues must be resolved before mobile wireless networks can be effectively integrated into an expanded EAS.”