Supporters of E-911 will spend this congressional session lobbying for additional funding for E-911 programs. After the Bush Administration declined to fund E-911 in its 2006 budget request, E-911 advocates said Thurs. they would look to Congress and other sources for funding.
XM, like Sirius (CED Feb 10 p1), has had “exploratory” discussions with Apple as it sought to expand its satellite-radio service to a variety of combo devices, CEO Hugh Panero told analysts Thurs. But also like Sirius, XM said Apple had no immediate interest in extending its iPod digital audio players beyond the company’s proprietary iTunes music download service.
A global alliance for information & communication technology (ICT) should replace the United Nations ICT (UNICT) Task Force, the Internet Governance Project (IGP) said Tues. In Bringing Policy Development to the Public and the Public to Policy Development, the IGP said the UNICT is scheduled to go out of existence after this year’s World Summit on the Information Society. However, the group said, given the “innovative structure of the Task Force” and its work program, there should be a debate about successor organizations and processes. Many issues of international concern now aren’t amenable to traditional, restricted decision-making processes, the IGP said. International agreements on those issues must be reached via procedures that are seen as open, transparent and permitting full participation. That, in turn, requires the free flow of information, the group said. The UNICT Task Force is a good example of how techniques made possible by the Internet and the World Wide Web -- e- mail, online forums, Webcast meetings -- can be used. But the IGP said that what has been missing is the ability to collaborate over the Internet in real time. In the last few years, software developers have created collaborative methods that allow synchronous communication, one example of which is now being tested, the IGP said. The concept of a “collaboratory” could be built into the emerging concept of the global alliance, it said. ICT is “particularly amenable” to that sort of approach, because like existing global alliances it involves multiple interested parties. Project members include the Convergence Center, Syracuse U.’s School of Information Studies, the Internet & Public Policy Project, Ga. Institute of Technology, and the Institut fuer Politikwissenschaft at the U. of Zurich.
Cities are bracing for a fresh push by telephone and cable companies for state legislation to keep them out of the broadband business, even as they prepare to deal with the regulatory implications of Bell efforts to enter video markets. Bills restricting or placing conditions on municipal entry have cropped up in Ind., Ore., Neb. and Ohio, said Desmarie Mosco, an American Public Power Assn. (APPA) lobbyist. Similar legislation is expected in Fla. and Ia., she said. Interestingly, the Bells and cable haven’t always seen eye to eye on legislation to limit cities’ ability to provide broadband services, but lawyers for cities said it was too early to say whether that results from Bells’ video plans.
Telecom deregulation legislation has emerged in several states as incumbents once more turn to lawmakers for regulatory relief they say will allow them the freedom to respond quickly to competition. There has been recent deregulation activity in Ala., Ind. and Ida. In other action, leading Va. lawmakers are calling for passage of telecom tax reform measures.
Cities are bracing for a fresh push by telephone and cable companies for state legislation to keep them out of the broadband business, even as they prepare to deal with the regulatory implications of Bell efforts to enter video markets. Bills restricting or placing conditions on municipal entry have cropped up in Ind., Ore., Neb. and Ohio, said Desmarie Mosco, an American Public Power Assn. (APPA) lobbyist. Similar legislation is expected in Fla. and Ia., she said. Interestingly, the Bells and cable haven’t always seen eye to eye on legislation to limit cities’ ability to provide broadband services, but lawyers for cities said it was too early to say whether that results from Bells’ video plans.
SBC’s merger with AT&T undoubtedly will require some divestitures, analysts and others predicted Mon. as the companies announced the $16 billion transaction. SBC Chmn. Edward Whitacre told the news media he didn’t expect regulators to order spinoffs but others say such action may be inevitable, with reviews expected by state regulators, the FCC, the Dept. of Justice and possibly international regulatory bodies. The merger will eventually gain antitrust and regulatory clearance “but could be subject to significant divestitures, particularly in SBC’s region,” Legg Mason predicted in a report Mon. Regulatory attorney Andrew Lipman said there’s a “high probability” of regulators requiring “spinoffs and surgery.”
Last year was the worst year since 1961 for the number of space launches, and the forecast for the next half-decade is just as dismal, according to research firm Airclaims. There were only 54 orbital launches in 2004 -- including 12 commercial geostationary satellite liftoffs - - down from 63 in 2003 and 65 in 2002, the company said. Launch numbers have been sliding since the fall of the Soviet Union, which meant fewer “Cold War-induced” military launches. Last year, “many of the major players were affected by delays due to technical difficulties or satellite related delays,” said Airclaims Space Analyst David Todd.
EarthLink and S. Korea Telecom said they formed a joint venture to market wireless voice and data services in the U.S. The new company, to be called SK-EarthLink, will be capitalized with $440 million of partner investments over 3 years and be a nonfacilities-based nationwide mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). “SK- Earthlink has the potential to reshape the mobile communications market by meeting the growing demand of U.S. consumers who are currently underserved by existing voice-oriented wireless operators,” said EarthLink CEO Garry Betty. Major U.S. wireless providers seemed skeptical about the announcement.
Moxell Technologies re-emerged as a newly created CE Div. of Proview, seeking to strike distribution agreements with regional retailers with a heavy mix of entry-level LCD, plasma and direct-view TVs, company officials said. The dropping of the Moxell name follows the collapse last fall of a proposed joint venture with Motorola that forced a switch to the Proview and Mag brands for a select number of LCD TVs.