According to Reuters, on September 27, 2004, the World Trade Organization (WTO) launched a probe into a complaint by the European Union (EU) that the U.S. had failed to drop illegal import duties on certain EU steel products from Britain, France and Spain. The article states that the panel request followed consultations where the EU stated that the U.S. had not removed all safeguard duties, while the U.S. stated that they had been adjusted after the WTO ruled them illegal two years ago. (Reuters dated 09/27/04, available at http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=6344486 )
The Dept. of Homeland Security and the Assn. of Public TV Stations (APTS) signed an agreement under which APTS will oversee the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) in the D.C. area, APTS officials confirmed Tues. Wireless carrier sources said several are likely to participate in the program, under which the carriers would target geographic areas or even specific groups of customers for text message alerts in national and local emergencies.
The Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) is launching an Office of Interoperability & Compatibility, DHS Secy. Tom Ridge said Mon. DHS said the office would “oversee the wide range of public safety interoperability programs” spread across DHS, but critics were quick to ask whether the announcement was largely political.
The Network Reliability & Interoperability Council (NRIC) is completing its first detailed study of the causes of 911/E911 outages, NRIC officials said Thurs. But Comr. Copps opened a meeting of the advisory group at the FCC with a warning that the nation is still unprepared for future terrorist attacks.
Motorola is making the case on Capitol Hill that after the DTV transition 30 MHz more 700 MHz spectrum should be approved for public safety, for streaming video and other more “robust” applications that wouldn’t be supported by the 24 MHz currently destined for public safety. The Motorola proposal, which will be discussed during a presentation today (Thurs.) on the Hill, asks for 3 times the 10 MHz of additional spectrum sought by the Spectrum Coalition for Public Safety.
Responding to criticisms about not modernizing the Emergency Alert System (EAS), homeland security officials said they've made progress and will launch a pilot project in D.C. in several weeks. Reynold Hoover, national security coordinator, Dept. of Homeland Security, told the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness & Response the 6-month project is aimed at integrating emergency systems to modern digital forms of communications. T-Mobile and Verizon will participate, along with local broadcast stations, Hoover said, and the department is in talks with Nextel: “I don’t think this could have been done any faster. The technology wasn’t available.” He said one challenge is getting to a common alert protocol. The idea is to be able to issue emergency alerts to anyone through cell phones, pagers, Blackberrys and other wireless devices. In Aug., the FCC issued a proposed rulemaking concerning EAS’s effectiveness(CD Aug 5 p8). The FCC isn’t directly involved in the pilot project but is awaiting the outcome, Hoover said.
Motorola is making the case on Capitol Hill that after the DTV transition an additional 30 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum should be approved for public safety, for streaming video and other more “robust” applications that wouldn’t be supported by the 24 MHz currently targeted to go to public safety. The Motorola proposal, which will be discussed during a presentation today (Thurs.) on the Hill, asks for 3 times the 10 MHz of additional spectrum sought by the Spectrum Coalition for Public Safety.
According to The Journal of Commerce Online, the Port of Los Angeles-Long Beach will delay its implementation of the nation's first-ever charge ($20 per TEU) for moving containers during daytime hours to a date in the first quarter of 2005 (rather than November 1, 2004 as originally planned). The article states that the delay is needed due to a shortage of longshore labor and delays in setting up collections by PierPass, the organization established by terminal operators to manage the program. (Joc Online, dated 09/22/04, www.joc.com )
| \"Legislative Proposals to Implement the Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission\" | 09/22/04 | House Committee on Financial Services |
| \"Combating Terrorism: The 9/11 Commission Recommendations and the National Strategies\" | 09/22/04 | Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations; House Committee on Government Reform |
| \"Intellectual Property Piracy: Are We Doing Enough to Protect U.S. Innovation Abroad?\" | 09/23/04 | House Committee on Government Reform |
| Upcoming Thirteenth Regular Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP13) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) | 09/23/04 | Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans; House Committee on Resources |
| Trade Preferences for Haiti | 09/22/04 | Subcommittee on Trade; House Committee on Ways and Means |
“ATIS’s goal is produce a full suite of standards” for authentication and network security, said Susan Miller, pres. of the Alliance for Telecom Industry Solutions (ATIS), speaking at the group’s Network Security Symposium Tues. Speakers made the case for a standard, preferably one that emerges as quickly as possible without govt. stepping on industry’s toes.