The Department of Transportation's Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) has issued a proposed rule that would amend requirements in the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) for the transportation of lighters and lighter refills, as well as the testing, certification, and recordkeeping associated with lighter design samples. Written comments on the proposed rule are due by November 15, 2004.
According to The Journal of Commerce, the Director for the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) states that the biggest problem with prior notice of imported food is importers' accurate reporting of the manufacturers' registration, adding that importers are doing it correctly only 16% of the time. The article states this is why the FDA is giving an additional 10 weeks of grace. (JOC, August 23, 2004)
The Dept. of Defense should work more closely with the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop technologies that can be used by first responders to respond to disasters, including new communications technologies, the National Academies’ National Research Council said in a report released Thurs. The report said the Army in particular should work more closely with first responders. “While many aspects of homeland security and homeland defense overlap, an extremely high correlation exists in the area of command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR),” the report argued. “The committee believes that C4ISR is a high-payoff capability that offers great return on investment for the nation.” The report recommends the creation of a forum at the assistant secretary level to discuss how to best work together. The group observed: “Collaboration between the Army and DHS will be challenging because the organizational structure of DHS is still evolving and the Army is engaged in conflicts abroad.” Committee Chmn. John Lyons said: “Many of the needs of emergency response personnel could be addressed by technologies developed by the Army and other military services, so DHS and DoD should partner to answer these needs.”
VoIP providers are forming the Global IP Alliance to demonstrate to state, national and international regulators that the industry is capable of self-governance. The alliance, expected to be formally announced in the next several weeks, will be led by Pulver.com and consist of ILECs, CLECs, IXCs and pure VoIP providers from around the world. “We want to make sure we represent all points of view globally,” said Pulver.com Gen. Counsel Jonathan Askin, who will be exec. dir. of the alliance. He said the group has attracted “a lot of” U.S. VoIP providers and “a couple of” European ones, but he said “we need to get more Asian” companies. The initial members will include SBC, Global Crossing, Skype, KMC, Volo and Pulver.com.
In the July 30, 2004 Federal Register, an Executive Order (EO), an interim rule, and a final rule were published in order to, among other things, set forth changes to the U.S. government's export, reexport, and licensing policies with respect to Iraq.
With VoIP expected to become a major means of communications, VoIP providers could become subject to requirements to report outages, possibly including power- related ones, to the FCC, officials said. “If VoIP becomes a critical part of the critical telecom infrastructure,” the Commission may take a look at the issue, an FCC source told us. But he said that would also depend on language in new Telecom Act, expected to emerge starting next year. “You don’t know what the Communications Act will say,” the source said: “If the Commission has an authority to look at [that issue] under the new Telecom Act and thinks it’s necessary to revisit the issue, it may very much do so.” But the source stressed that was “not on the radar screen” now.
The Journal of Commerce Online reports that on August 4, 2004, the World Trade Organization (WTO) preliminarily ruled that European Union (EU) subsidies for its sugar farmers violate global trade rules, upholding a complaint filed by Brazil, Australia, and Thailand. The article states that this WTO decision follows a recent WTO ruling against U.S. cotton subsidies. (JoC Online, dated 08/05/04, www.joc.com )
Cable overbuilder RCN, struggling to emerge from bankruptcy, told the FCC that it should implement a la carte pricing for cable networks, on a “voluntary, market-supported basis,” saying doing so would satisfy consumer demand for competition, choice and control. RCN’s comments were among many replies in the FCC’s proceeding on a la carte pricing for cable and satellite. The FCC is examining the issue at the behest of several members of Congress, including Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.)
Cingular Wireless said it received a contract from the National Communications System to provide Wireless Priority Service (WPS) to authorized emergency personnel. Cingular said it already has launched WPS in “select markets” and hopes to have the service deployed across most of its network by the end of 2004, with total deployment by next summer. Cingular and NCS had previously indicated the carrier would offer the service. “WPS is an extremely important tool to provide to key national security and emergency preparedness personnel during disaster and emergency situations,” said Brian Fontes, vp-federal govt. affairs.
The Journal of Commerce Online (JoC Online) reports that when Congress returns for hearings on implementing the recommendations from the 9-11 Commission, they will likely note that the Commission's report shares many of their concerns about security weaknesses in the cargo transportation area. According to JoC Online, the 9-11 report notes that cargo security remains a serious concern. (JoC Online Pub 07/30/04, www.joc.com)