Showgoers can expect plenty of DRM announcements at the IFA fair in Berlin later this month-- not just digital rights management but Digital Radio Mondiale, the digitized AM system already in use by 20 broadcasters worldwide. Take-up has been limited so far due to the dearth of popularly priced radios, but that’s set to change this holiday season with the availability of sub- $250 receivers, 1/4 the current price, based on a tuner module by TI and RadioScape.
Europe’s telecom industry would like to have a common position on retention of telephony and Internet traffic data when it meets in Sept. with justice and home affairs (JHA) ministers, said Sandro Bazzanella, dir.-EU affairs for the European Competitive Telecom Assn. At an informal Sept. 8-9 JHA Council event called by the U.K. Presidency, ministers, law enforcement officials and industry representatives will discuss the Council’s controversial draft framework decision on data retention, he said. It’s unclear whether the talks will include a proposed directive about to emerge from the European Commission (EC) as well. Communications services providers (CSPs) say data preservation, not retention, is the way to help law enforcement, claiming there’s no need to hold massive amounts of traffic data, Bazzanella said. But European CSPs seem divided on whether to harmonize national data retention laws with EU law, he said. In countries that have tough data retention rules, CSPs see harmonization as easing regulation. But in countries where CSPs and law enforcement cooperate smoothly even without data retention laws, providers fear a directive or framework decision could mean stiffer requirements, Bazzanella said. Italy, which boasts one of Europe’s strictest data retention regimes, recently enacted antiterrorism legislation that, among other things, requires all telephony providers to store traffic data until Dec. 31, 2007. Providers of public Internet access also must retain users’ data, said digital policy consultant Andrea Glorioso. ISPs must hold the data for at last 6 months, a period that can be extended 6 more months. The law mandates identification of mobile telephone users before service actually is activated, whether at the moment of the order or when the SIM is handed over, he said. Owners of Internet cafes and public telephone shops with at least 3 terminals must get permits within 30 days from local Ministry of Home Affairs representatives and store all customer traffic data. Wi- Fi points and locations that don’t store traffic data will have to demand users show identification, a practice already used at some Italian airport hotspots, Glorioso said. Legally, Bazzanelle said, the new provisions enable traffic data retention by outlawing relevant data protection provisions until the end of 2007. The law doesn’t contain specific rules for Internet traffic data, but calls for telephony providers to store all failed dial attempts, a stipulation whose high cost riles telcos. Ministers agreed, however, to hold a further debate on the costs and allocation of costs caused by the requirement, “while excluding any financial reimbursement by the State.” Glorioso said some provisions -- such as an obligation for Internet public points to hold user data -- aren’t “that bad,” but the public and private sectors “completely lack the necessary resources to put the law in practice.” Italian politicians often take a short-term approach, he said. With the 2006 elections near, pols seek “public visibility and emotional impact, not the practical viability of these measures. The Italian govt. was under pressure to act against terrorism before the Aug. parliamentary break, said Marco Berliri, a telecom attorney with Lovells in Rome. Because data retention at the EU level remains only a proposal, the govt. felt it needed an emergency law. But Berliri said the measure is a law decree, which will dissolve unless approved by Parliament.
Europe’s telecom industry would like to have a common position on retention of telephony and Internet traffic data when it meets in Sept. with justice and home affairs (JHA) ministers, said Sandro Bazzanella, dir.-EU affairs for the European Competitive Telecom Assn. At an informal Sept. 8-9 JHA Council event called by the U.K. Presidency, ministers, law enforcement officials and industry representatives will discuss the Council’s controversial draft framework decision on data retention, he said. It’s unclear whether the talks will include a proposed directive about to emerge from the European Commission (EC) as well. Communications services providers (CSPs) say data preservation, not retention, is the way to help law enforcement, claiming there’s no need to hold massive amounts of traffic data, Bazzanella said. But European CSPs seem divided on whether to harmonize national data retention laws with EU law, he said. In countries that have tough data retention rules, CSPs see harmonization as easing regulation. But in countries where CSPs and law enforcement cooperate smoothly even without data retention laws, providers fear a directive or framework decision could mean stiffer requirements, Bazzanella said. Italy, which boasts one of Europe’s strictest data retention regimes, recently enacted antiterrorism legislation that, among other things, requires all telephony providers to store traffic data until Dec. 31, 2007. Providers of public Internet access also must retain users’ data, said digital policy consultant Andrea Glorioso. ISPs must hold the data for at last 6 months, a period that can be extended 6 more months. The law mandates identification of mobile telephone users before service actually is activated, whether at the moment of the order or when the SIM is handed over, he said. Owners of Internet cafes and public telephone shops with at least 3 terminals must get permits within 30 days from local Ministry of Home Affairs representatives and store all customer traffic data. Wi- Fi points and locations that don’t store traffic data will have to demand users show identification, a practice already used at some Italian airport hotspots, Glorioso said. Legally, Bazzanelle said, the new provisions enable traffic data retention by outlawing relevant data protection provisions until the end of 2007. The law doesn’t contain specific rules for Internet traffic data, but calls for telephony providers to store all failed dial attempts, a stipulation whose high cost riles telcos. Ministers agreed, however, to hold a further debate on the costs and allocation of costs caused by the requirement, “while excluding any financial reimbursement by the State.” Glorioso said some provisions -- such as an obligation for Internet public points to hold user data -- aren’t “that bad,” but the public and private sectors “completely lack the necessary resources to put the law in practice.” Italian politicians often take a short-term approach, he said. With the 2006 elections near, pols seek “public visibility and emotional impact, not the practical viability of these measures. The Italian govt. was under pressure to act against terrorism before the Aug. parliamentary break, said Marco Berliri, a telecom attorney with Lovells in Rome. Because data retention at the EU level remains only a proposal, the govt. felt it needed an emergency law. But Berliri said the measure is a law decree, which will dissolve unless approved by Parliament.
The Office of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release stating that it has decided to negotiate a broad textile agreement with the Chinese government, stating that in its numerous consultations with the U.S. domestic textile and apparel industries and members of Congress, there were unambiguous calls for a more comprehensive approach to textile trade with China. The press release notes that the talks will begin August 16-17 in San Francisco, the dates that U.S.-China consultations were previously scheduled on the China safeguards the U.S. imposed on May 23 and May 27. (USTR release dated 08/11/05, available at http://www.ustr.gov/Document_Library/Press_Releases/2005/August/United_States_to_Negotiate_Broad_Textile_Agreement_with_China_August_16-17.html )
Kenya’s Communications Commission (CCK) will publish guidelines Fri. allowing VoIP service in that country, the CCK said. The guidelines include provisions letting corporations and other closed user groups use VoIP without having to apply for licenses and letting licensed national operators use VoIP backbones instead of existing networks. Under the guidelines, VoIP providers must meet emergency service, quality of service and universal service obligations, said CCK Dir.-Gen. John Waweru. There will be a 60-day comment period on the guidelines.
Despite increasing Internet activism over recent years, blogs are still “viewed through the traditional lenses of politics or media, rather than as the communal social phenomenon that they are,” according to a new report from the New Politics Institute (NPI). “Real political power and influence is now being wielded through online communities comprising millions of people. And trends suggest that this is only the beginning,” said the report, released Wed. The Emergence of the Progressive Blogosphere, by prominent bloggers Chris Bowers of MyDD and Matt Stoller of Blogging of the President, notes a burgeoning social structure that includes important differences in how conservatives and liberals use the Web to communicate. For years, conservatives dominated the political Internet, with websites like FreeRepublic.com, the Drudge Report and Newsmax. Moveon.org was one of the few exceptions to conservatives’ dominance, the authors state. “Their Internet supremacy was anchored in, and improved on, an already existing conservative infrastructure. On the whole, it reflected the top-down, coherent messaging structure that characterizes the conservative movement,” the report said. Since 2002, Howard Dean’s campaign and other events have helped the blogosphere thrive as a powerful political force, the authors said. An analysis by Bowers said liberals have an edge in overall traffic, but more conservative sites rank among the top 250 political blogs. Over the past 2 years, traffic on the top 1,000 political blogs has risen from 500,000 visitors a day to over 3 million. The visits are mostly to the most popular blogs, but 409 blogs have more than 1,000 visitors, vs. the 51 previously estimated, the report said. A recent study by Bowers showed that 54.6% of conservative traffic and 69% of liberal traffic went to the top 10 blogs representing their respective ideologies. “Unlike their conservative counterparts, progressive Internet activists have not relied on an existing set of institutional relationships. They have instead forged a new constituency group, a new set of leaders, and a new forest of social relationships,” the report said: “Bloggers do not reside at the political fringes, and defy easy characterization as ‘progressive’ or ‘conservative.’ They run the full gamut of ideologies, but are united by their shared commitment to active engagement in local, state and national politics.” Early responses to the report shared on NPI’s site were largely positive. One reader called the report “a major step forward in looking at the big picture.”
LAS VEGAS -- After years of CE makers drop-shipping product directly to rent-to-own (RTO) stores, distributors increasingly are emerging as a major supply conduit, with vendors pulling back. The trend is embodied by distributors D&H and Brooke, which are exhibiting here at the Assn. of Progressive Rental Organizations (APRO) show for the first time, while O'Rourke Bros. has assumed responsibility for distributing Philips products.
Free Wi-Fi use is on the rise, but advertising-based models may emerge as a more viable alternative than municipal service, Jupiter Research said in a white paper this week on Wi-Fi business models. The research examined various models in the context of the ever-growing number of Wi-Fi users, including in parks, hotels and airports, as well the increasing number of users who don’t -- and don’t expect to -- pay for service. “As advertisement- supported models undergo trials,” Jupiter recommends in the report, “advertisers should seek large-scale deployments and focus on local content.”
The National Emergency Number Assn. and the VON Coalition petitioned the FCC to clarify the order that requires VoIP carriers to provide full E-911 capability by Nov. 28. The July 29 petition seeks technical clarifications to make sure VoIP providers can comply with the order and doesn’t ask for reconsideration of any “substantive findings,” the groups said. The clarifications would apply to such things as address validation, selective routers that can’t handle the additional traffic generated by new E-911 information, and public service answering points (PSAPs) that aren’t capable of receiving automatic location information data.
Analysis of Sen. Ensign’s (R-Nev.) telecom bill (CD July 28 p1) is yielding a common refrain: It’s a good start, but the bill won’t pass as is because of controversial provisions affecting cable, CLECs and municipalities, according to interviews with analysts and lobbyists. Furthermore, Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) is planning his own telecom bill, which he has said he'll unveil in the fall after dealing with DTV legislation. Senate sources said Stevens may gauge the response to the Ensign bill as he drafts his own legislation. Others are pessimistic that there will be time to write an omnibus bill.