Wireless carriers told the FCC they shouldn’t be forced to transmit emergency messages through text messages on mobile phones. Led by CTIA, carriers noted that efforts to develop a more effective Emergency Alert System (EAS) were under way and a voluntary approach would work best. The Rural Cellular Assn. said in a white paper filed as a comment in the proceeding that wireless phones may be particularly ill-suited as warning devices.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Entertainment piracy won’t be beaten back until legal digital movie copying becomes easy over broadband and the federal govt. is forced to attack the problem head on, A&M Records Pres. Ron Fair told the Audio Engineering Society convention here: “The economy of the United States couldn’t afford a 40% disgorgement of the movie industry.” The music industry, having sustained such losses from its peak, is busy seriously reinventing itself, even as it strives to agree on technical copy- protection measures, he said in a keynote subtitled “The Perfect Storm.”
ANNAPOLIS -- FCC Office of Engineering & Technology Chief Edmond Thomas said the Commission’s proposed advanced wireless services (AWS) auction dramatically demonstrates the need to reform how the FCC reallocates spectrum between the govt. and private sectors. Thomas told the Dept. of Defense Spectrum Summit here Fri. the 90 MHz reallocation -- 45 MHz of which is coming from govt. spectrum, possibly through federal legislation (CD Oct 29 p1) -- has taken far too long.
Just a day after launch, one of 2 DualDisc titles was being yanked from store shelves by the Warner Music Group (WMG), according to an Oct. 27 WMG recall notification obtained by Consumer Electronics Daily. The DualDisc in question, Gold Medal by The Donnas released on Oct. 26, suffered a premature cut-off of its final track owing to what the label called “a bug in the CD audio software” used for mastering the hybrid. At our deadline, a WMG spokeswoman confirmed the recall, said its speed would likely result in few complaints or returns and told us the label was preparing options to satisfy any affected customers -- including free online downloads of the truncated track.
The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is under the microscope at the FCC, FEMA, the National Weather Service and NOAA, with some complaining that while the system is mandated for national messages, it’s strictly voluntary or “permissive” at the state and local level. Parties also said EAS is antiquated post-9/11. Comments are due today (Fri.) to the FCC on how to overhaul EAS for a digital age.
The President of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) offered ideas in a press conference to "break the jam and get the cargo moving" in the seriously congested ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, including the Pacific Maritime Association's (PMA) hiring of more casual workers, the use of container gangs, moving to 24-hour gates to expedite the flow of containers, etc., adding that union workers were not going to pay the price of increased accidents by working two shifts back-to-back. (ShippersNewsWire@americanshipper.com, dated 10/22/04)
AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Nextel and T-Mobile have signed on to a digital Emergency Alert System (DEAS) pilot launched jointly by the Assn. of Public TV Stations and the Dept. of Homeland Security (CD Sept 29 p7), APTS Pres. John Lawson said Thurs. At the formal launch of the 6- month pilot in Washington, he said he expected to add other wireless carriers. He said the pilot would demonstrate improved mechanisms for distributing digital emergency alerts and warning messages via digital TV and satellite to an expanded range of retransmission media, including wireless, cable and Internet service providers. The pilot will simulate DHS-generated test messages sent through an access point located at public broadcaster WETA Washington, which would broadcast it to a variety of relay points and end-user devices as well as PBS. In turn, PBS would distribute that message through its satellite interconnection system to Md. PTV, N.J. Network and WHRO Norfolk. Other APTS member stations would receive the test data and could re-broadcast it to test the reception in their own markets, Lawson said. Reynold Hoover, dir. of FEMA’s Office of National Security Coordination, said the agency realized there was no single EAS solution, which is why the public TV project is important to demonstrate that messages reached the greatest number of people. He said EAS also had a valuable local component for the media in amber alerts and hazards and weather warnings.
European countries are moving toward agreement on a European Commission (EC) proposal aimed at easing regulatory barriers to broadband deployment over power lines (BPL). At its Oct. 13-14 meeting, the EC’s Communications Committee (COCOM) reached consensus on a draft recommendation members think “is the right thing to do,” a Commission official said. The recommendation tracks the approach the FCC recently took on broadband over power line, he said. Telcos say they're committed to opening broadband markets, but remain concerned about interference issues. The technology is called powerline communications (PLC) in Europe.
A panel of federal appeals court judges indicated Thurs. that timing concerns might prevent them from issuing a mandamus order involving the FCC’s special- access policy. During oral argument, U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., judges repeatedly noted that a petition seeking an update of the agency’s special-access pricing flexibility order was filed only 2 years ago. Not enough time may have passed to require the court to intervene and force action, the judges said. AT&T, CompTel, the eCommerce & Telecom Users Group and the Information Technology Assn. have asked the court to issue a mandamus order forcing the FCC to act on the petition.
BOSTON - VoIP industry speakers warned the FCC here that E911 shouldn’t be required of VoIP, unlike wireless. “With the technology evolving so quickly, it would be a great mistake for federal and state regulators to impose an E911 mandate based on the network topologies and capabilities of yesterday,” said MCI Vp-Federal Law & Policy Richard Whitt. He said “the preferable approach is to allow the industry to work closely with NENA and other responsible organizations to devise feature-rich and innovative emergency service applications and networks.” Alcatel Senior Vp-Research & Innovation Jack Jachner agreed, saying it would be “helpful” of the FCC to emphasize the importance of VoIP E911 and let the industry find the technologies.