The issue of whether the digital transition will mean a surge in analog TV dumping came up Tues. in a Senate hearing. Lawmakers seemed open to a fee and tax credit approach to jump-start a national electronics-waste (e- waste) recycling program. The U.S. is home to some 287 million analog TV sets, Ranking Member Barbara Boxer (D- Cal.) said at an e-waste oversight hearing by the Senate Superfund & Waste Management Subcommittee. About 90% of those devices are likely to be dumped after the digital transition, adding 1 billion pounds of lead to the waste stream, she said.
GENEVA -- Better management of a complex array of intellectual property rights (IPR )is seen as critical to developing video and image coding and applications (VICA) standards, said officials meeting at the ITU Fri. and Sat.
After a lengthy debate ending Thurs. night, the House agreed 257-171 to reauthorize the nation’s chief antiterrorism law -- a vote that would render permanent some of its most controversial high-tech provisions. The revised Patriot Act measure added restrictions to U.S. agents’ ability to troll library and medical records in investigations and use roving wiretaps focusing on suspects instead of specific locations. The same day, Senate Judiciary Committee passed a companion bill with stricter requirements for seizing records. The Senate Intelligence Committee last month passed another version of the legislation.
The International Assn. of Fire Chiefs, National Assn. of Counties and National League of Cities backed APCO’s petition seeking an FCC ruling under which the specified level of accuracy for locating wireless 911 calls is required at the local level, rather than averaged over entire states. “We share APCO International’s concern that too large of a measurement area will leave some public safety answering points (PSAPs) with very poor levels of accuracy, making it difficult for first responders to locate emergencies in a timely manner,” the groups told the FCC. They said wireless 911 accuracy should be required at the community level, because “Phase II E911 services are requested, deployed and utilized at the local level, contracts between wireless carriers and PSAPs are initiated at the local level and responses to calls begin at the local level.” The groups urged the FCC to provide “clear guidance regarding the relevant geographic area in which wireless carriers must provide and test E911 accuracy to the levels specified in the FCC’s rules.” The issue has spurred a huge fight between those in public safety and the industry, which has been advocating accuracy testing on a statewide bases. The 49- member Network Reliability & Interoperability Council (NTIC) in March urged accuracy testing be conducted on a statewide basis, but APCO dissented. Sam Feder, then FCC Chmn. Martin’s aide, has said Martin has “some sympathy for APCO’s view that you need to look at this on a more granular basis.” He has urged the carriers to work with APCO on “a solution about how that can be done.”
XM’s acquisition of WCS Wireless last week for $200 million in a stock transaction added new bandwidth to old arguments between satellite radio and the NAB. The 2 sides have long been at odds over how much satellite can localize its service. The latest round of debate is over what XM should be able to do with its new WCS spectrum.
XM’s acquisition last week of WCS Wireless for $200 million in a stock transaction (CED July 14 p6) added new bandwidth to old arguments between satellite radio and the NAB.
Payment card firms emerged nearly unscathed from a House Financial Services oversight subcommittee hearing Thurs. on the security of credit card data processing. The immediate spur was a breach at CardSystems Solutions, a 3rd party payment processor for several card companies. That breach compromised more than 40 million credit card accounts from 4 major firms (WID June 23 p8). The incident led Visa and American Express to sever ties with CardSystems as of Oct. 31.
The electronics waste (e-waste) problem won’t go away soon, especially given the impending digital transition, House Environment & Hazardous Waste Subcommittee Chmn. Gillmor (R-Ohio) said Wed. as Congress began acknowledging calls for a federal solution. In the first phase of hearings by Gillmor’s panel, representatives of the EPA and the Commerce Dept. and officials from 3 states -- Cal., Me. and Md. -- with e-waste laws were called to testify.
Data security, U.S., technology developments and telecom policy and Internet governance were key topics for Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) working Washington this week. Traversing Capitol Hill and federal agencies, delegates spent 3 days gabbing with a parade of political power brokers -- sometimes seeing eye-to-eye, sometimes befuddled by the U.S. system -- but always stressing the need for more U.S.-Europe collaboration on communications issues.
Data security, U.S., technology developments and telecom policy and Internet governance were key topics for Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) working Washington this week. Traversing Capitol Hill and federal agencies, delegates spent 3 days gabbing with a parade of political power brokers -- sometimes seeing eye-to-eye, sometimes befuddled by the U.S. system -- but always stressing the need for more U.S.-Europe collaboration on communications issues.