The Internet is propelling pornography into pop culture and American homes, making more pervasive and problematic adult content once relatively hard to get, witnesses said Thurs. at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing. Some lobbied for another stab at legislating against pornographers and urged the govt. to crack down on content they consider unsuitable, but others defended First Amendment rights and technological solutions that could block unwanted content.
The N.Y. PSC called for comments by Dec. 12 on whether it needs to do more to educate the public and affected customers on the national Telecom Service Priority Program (TSP). The comments, collected in the PSC’s ongoing network reliability docket (Case 03-C-0922), should address the need for change in existing programs need change, and whether firms adequately inform the public and those customers immediately affected by the TSP program. The TSP kicks in during natural disasters and other emergencies to ensure govt., military, public safety entities and other designated groups get priority for service restoration and installation. The PSC in June had firms file TSP plans and describe outreach and education to inform the public and affected customers about the TSP program.
The House Commerce Committee released an updated draft of its telecom bill Thurs. that considers broadband video services (BVS) as intrastate services subject to federal jurisdiction. Providers must register with the FCC, provide PEG channels, pay a franchise fee to local govts. up to 5% of gross revenue, and are subject to Title VI provisions such as must carry, ownership restrictions, obscenity safeguards, emergency alerts, equal employment opportunity and closed captioning. Redlining is prohibited and program access is similar to DBS, according to the bill. The legislation would prohibit the FCC or states from regulating broadband Internet transmission services (BITs) except in cases FCC jurisdiction is exclusive. BITs providers aren’t allowed to block access to content, and telecom carrier access to network elements, resale, collocation to provide telecom services and special access aren’t affected by the bill. VoIP is considered an interstate service subject to FCC jurisdiction. Providers must register with the FCC, and must exchange traffic with telecom carriers and other VoIP providers with dispute resolution to be handled by the FCC. Each VoIP provider must ensure that 911 and E-911 are provided to subscribers, and it’s up to the FCC to decide whether to impose universal service contribution obligations on VoIP providers. The bill sets national consumer standards for BITs, VoIP and BVS including: Do not call, automatic dialing, access by the disabled, customer privacy, telephone harassment, unsolicited faxes and spam. States may enforce the consumer standards. SBC praised the bill, saying it would bring more competition to the marketplace. “This is a strong, positive step for consumers and the country,” said Tim McKone, SBC senior vp-federal relations. “It will help spur more investment in advance technology and foster real competitive choice for broadband, TV and entertainment services.” USTelecom said the bill’s “reliance on market-based competition” would spur new broadband investment, job growth and increased video choice for consumers. The group hopes the committee will address other “critical” issues including universal service, offering regulatory flexibility for rural carriers in providing broadband service, and “freeing traditional voice service to fully compete.” Verizon said it was still reviewing the draft, but “it appears that it would significantly advance consumers’ interest by promoting competition and speeding” broadband deployment.
The House Commerce Committee released an updated draft of its telecom bill Thurs. that telcos welcomed for its emphasis on market-based competition. The new version of the bill drops a “carve-out” provision that would have addressed buildout requirements for video providers - something that telcos opposed. But the updated bill does prohibit redlining, a mandate most telcos said they would accept. The bill contains 4 titles with regulations covering broadband Internet transmission services, VoIP, video and national consumer standards.
ANNAPOLIS -- As spectrum needs grow, commercial and military users must find ways to share available spectrum, speakers said at a DoD spectrum summit here. “The demand for spectrum is absolutely tremendous, because it’s the key to development… and to countries being successfully competitive,” said Freedom Technologies Pres. Janice Obuchowski.
The FCC extended national warning system rules to digital broadcast and cable TV, digital audio broadcasting, satellite radio, and DBS -- previously not subject to Emergency Alert System (EAS) controls. All 4 commissioners called the move the first step of many in an EAS reform that will account for new technology and language diversity. A Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on several topics, such as integration of wireless technologies and telco fiber-to- the-home into the alert system, accompanied the Thurs. order.
The Alliance for Telecom Industry Solutions (ATIS) published the Emergency Services Messaging Interface (ESMI) standard, which defines transfer of emergency services information in next generation networks, the organization said. In existing emergency networks, the transfer of Automatic Location Identification information, such as fixed addresses for wireline calls or GPS coordinates from wireless devices, to a public safety answering point (PSAP) occurs on limited point to point circuits using modems, the organization said. The just- published standard provides a way to deliver information from the ALI to the PSAP using data packets over a multi- point IP network, ATIS said. It also updates the data to XML syntax. The ESMI protocol will provide a “delivery envelope” that will enable not only voice, but video, graphics and images to be part of next generation emergency networks, ATIS said. Examples of potential services that could be triggered with a 911 call would include transmission of a map of known hazmat at an industrial site. The call could activate public or private video cameras at an incident site, ATIS said. The ESMI standard was prepared by the ATIS Emergency Services Interoperability Forum. It was reviewed by the American National Standards Institute and was accepted by that body for trial use, ATIS said. The Forum said it would continue to work on another standard to define additional protocols for the transfer of data within emergency services networks using internet protocols such as HTTP, SMTP and FTP. That standard is expected to be published in Q1 2006, ATIS said.
FCC approval of the SBC-AT&T and Verizon-MCI mergers imposes several Internet-focused conditions. The firms must maintain peering arrangements with at least as many Internet backbone providers as they do now and post peering policies on publicly accessible websites, including posting revisions “on a timely basis.” The firms also must also adhere to FCC net neutrality goals and provide stand-alone or “naked” DSL, the Commission said.
Intellectual property (IP) is “in a different solar system” than it was 20 years ago, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Deputy Dir. Gen. Francis Gurry told IP attorneys Thurs. The landscape has changed radically -- economically, technologically, politically and geographically -- the American Intellectual Property Law Assn.’s annual meeting heard. Demand has grown for IP protections, as have the number of patent applications filed internationally, Gurry said. It’s not just an expansion of demand for existing IP rights, he said. New IP rights were created globally the past 2 decades, Gurry said, citing data protection measures, the WTO’s TRIPs agreement and other Internet-related treaties. Networked society and the Web have changed matters politically through the emergence of horizontal alliances, he said. International IP negotiations used to be mainly between regional groups, but now “we're seeing horizontal alliances between non-governmental organizations, often in industrialized countries, and developing countries,” Gurry said. “IP responded to its own policy imperatives and looked after itself.” At the same time, the IP society has become “a very convenient battleground” for international debate, resulting in 2 distinct agendas. Industrialized countries want to make machinery work better and address piracy issues, and developing nations have a more political agenda, Gurry said. The big question is whether these are parallel agendas and whether they will converge.
The Justice Dept. (DoJ) said Verizon and SBC each must divest connections to more than 350 buildings in their respective territories, using long-term leases, known as indefeasible rights of use. Specifically, Verizon and MCI must lease dark fiber connection to 356 buildings in several states in Verizon’s East Coast footprint for at least 10 years. SBC and AT&T must do the same for 383 buildings.