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Government Regulation & Policy
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| Key News about Government Regulation & Policy | top |
Consumer Protection in the Broadband Era
Federal Register, October 15, 2005
The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) initiates this rulemaking to explore whether regulations we would adopt pursuant to the Commission's ancillary jurisdiction under Title I of the Communications Act (Act) should apply to broadband Internet access service, regardless of the underlying technology providers use to offer the service.
ARRL to FCC: Shut Down BPL System
Access Intelligence, October 14, 2005
In support of amateur radio operator complaints of interference, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is asking the Federal Communications Commission to shut down the two-year-old broadband over power line (BPL) system in Washington, D.C., suburb Manassas, Va. The ARRL action comes barely a week after the Manassas system was declared fully operational and touted as the first citywide commercial deployment - as contrasted to a field trial - in the United States.
Congress to Feel More VoIP 911 and DTV Pressure
Access Intelligence, October 14, 2005
The U.S. Congress will be seeing more letter-writing campaign pressure from lobby and industry groups to ensure that emergency call-handling capabilities are offered by voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers and that the digital television (DTV) transition carries a hard date for the turnover of radio frequency spectrum to both public safety and commercial applications, it was learned.
Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act and Broadband Access and Services
Federal Register, October 13, 2005
The Federal Communications Commission initiates this rulemaking to explore whether the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act should apply to providers of voice over Internet Protocol services that are not interconnected, meaning VoIP services that do not allow users generally to receive calls originating from and to terminate calls to the public switched telephone network.
FCC Opens Can Of Wireless Worms
Access Intelligence, October 13, 2005
Mobile industry troubles and challenges in meeting year-end 2005 deadline quotas on enhanced 911 capabilities for wireless handsets and services have prompted the Federal Communications Commission to open up a public comment proceeding that could push back compliance by about two years.
Dollars and Sense: Brand X, Broadband and the Satellite Sector
Access Intelligence, October 10, 2005
The June launch of Wildblue Communication's broadband service preceded by only a few weeks a major legal milestone that promises to preserve broadband from burdensome regulation and enable it to develop.
FCC Rumored in 'Mega-Merger' Debate with Conditions in Play
Access Intelligence, October 10, 2005
The Federal Communications Commission reportedly is in the final stages of deliberating how to acceptably approve the proposed $16 billion SBC Communications/AT&T and the $8.5 billion Verizon Communications/MCI deals, with a heavy focus of debate among commissioners and staff on whether or to what extent conditions should be imposed on the industry's two pending mega-mergers.
Kids' Television Rules Face Challenge
Newsbytes, October 6, 2005
Viacom Inc. has asked a federal court to overturn new rules requiring more educational TV programs for children and setting tighter limits on kids' exposure to advertising in the age of digital television.
Service Rules for Advanced Wireless Services in the 1.7 GHz and 2.1 GHz Bands
Federal Register, October 5, 2005
In this document, the Commission resolves five petitions for reconsideration of the Report and Order adopting service rules for Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) in the 1710-1755 and 2110-2155 MHz bands.
Unused Satcom Spectrum Now Available For Plucking?
Access Intelligence, October 4, 2005
A quietly simmering feud over what to do with and who should get unused 2 GHz-range satellite communications spectrum may soon boil over among contenders ready to maneuver at the Federal Communications Commission.
Democrats Gang Up On DTV Transition
Access Intelligence, October 4, 2005
The industry's High-Tech DTV Coalition and the Association of Public Safety- Communications Officials International repeatedly have been heard from in calling for RF spectrum to be freed by analog broadcast movement to digital television but, in recent weeks, House Democrats have been jumping all over Rep. Joe Barton, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee that is considering DTV and spectrum reallocation legislation
Ohio Advocate Sets Sights on Verizon-MCI Merger
Access Intelligence, October 4, 2005
Fewer than three weeks after filing an opposition statement that seeks conditions on the proposed $16 billion SBC Communications/AT&T merger (TPR, Sept. 12), Ohio's consumer advocate has taken a similar position on the proposed $8.5 billion Verizon Communications /MCI arrangement.
Congress Strives for Equity across Broadband Industry
Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, October 3, 2005
The following editorial appeared in the San Jose Mercury News on Friday, Sept. 30:
Telecommunications laws are typically cooked up in back rooms by lobbyists for the powerful telephone, cable and media industries with little regard for the interests of consumers or the needs of the nation.
Inmarsat Seeks Access to 2 GHz Spectrum
Access Intelligence, October 3, 2005
Inmarsat plc announced Sept. 27 it filed a petition with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission seeking authorization to provide mobile satellite services (MSS) by 2010 using a spacecraft that will operate in the 2 gigahertz (GHz) band.
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| Feature Articles |
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In Google We Trust
National Journal's Insider Update, September 19, 2005
The starting gun for telecommunications overhaul has been fired, as key members of the House and the Senate have released initial legislative proposals. In the 1996 Act, Congress was mistaken to focus so much on the artificial division between long-distance and local telephone service. The distinction essentially evaporated as the average Jane shifted cross-country calls to a cell phone with its bucket of free minutes. Moreover, the 1996 Telecommunications Act essentially ignored the World Wide Web -- except for the ill-fated part about banning indecency on the Internet. Overlooking the Internet meant the law gave little guidance on broadband and Internet phones. But on the positive side, neglect allowed digital applications to develop and flourish in a laissez-faire climate. Today, the battle lines are different.
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Canada Weighs Telecom Options in One Fell Swoop
Access Intelligence, August 22, 2005
The Canadian government is in the midst of a broad review of telecom regulation that, in many ways, parallels the current U.S. debate, although the major effort north of the border targets potential all-encompassing decisions on regulatory rulemaking as well as national legislation in one fell swoop. Canada's centerpiece for the sweeping process is the three-member, four- month-old Telecommunications Policy Review Panel (TPRP), a high-level federal- government body taking public comments and recommendations since early June on how to approach the industry down the road. Myriad options are being explored to enhance competition; to spread universal service; and to encourage enhanced technology deployment and investment, especially broadband.
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View from the Top: The Broadband Race
United Press International, July 22, 2005
Most U.S. broadband customers think they have a good thing going. As long as they can surf news sites and download their favorite music and games at 1-3 megabits per second, they feel as though they have entered digital Nirvana. Americans may be surfing away in ignorant bliss, but there is a secret about broadband they may never discover: Their fellow Web users around the globe are enjoying broadband speeds up to 25 times faster -- at a fraction of the cost -- and government officials in Europe and Asia are pushing for even faster speeds and wider connectivity networks, intended mainly to foster economic growth. Ironic, but the United States still ranks behind many other countries in per-capita broadband usage -- countries that have not left broadband rollout to private industry.
After 'Brand X': A Kinder, Gentler, Victorious FCC?
Access Intelligence, July 12, 2005
It may be wishful thinking, but there is a theory circulating around Washington. D.C., that the FCC could revamp its interpretation of telecom laws, considering an across-the-board policy on open-network interconnection in all services segments without the threat of a Brand X Internet Services case hanging over it.
What’s Next for Telecom?
Regulation, Spring 2005
For eight years, the FCC has sought to write rules implementing the 1996 Telecommunications Act that federal courts would uphold. Among other things, the 1996 legislation requires incumbent local telephone companies to make elements of their networks available for lease by competitors at regulated prices. A network element must be leased if regulators decide that the competitor's ability to compete would be "impaired" if it does not have access to that element. Courts continually concluded that the FCC failed to enunciate a clear principle defining when lack of access to a network element impairs a competitor.
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Congress, FCC Take Action on VoIP’s E911 Issue
Access Intelligence, May 23, 2005
Two bills introduced in the U.S. Congress and a much-awaited order from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) finally took shape last week regarding the pressing demand that voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) companies support enhanced 911 (E911) compatible with existing emergency call-handling systems. The Washington, D.C., actions also press incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) and other third-party service providers that currently handle such services to allow VoIP companies all the necessary access for full 911 functionality.
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FAQ: Why the FCC is Targeting VoIP 911 Calls
CNET, May 19, 2009
Most Americans take it for granted that when they dial 911 they will reach a dispatcher who can immediately summon an ambulance, fire truck or police patrol. That dispatcher might even dispense preliminary advice for those with medical emergencies. But for the growing number of people who are using their broadband connections to make phone calls--using a technology known as VoIP, or voice over Internet Protocol--that assumption could prove dangerous.
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There's More to Life Than the Telecom Act
Access Intelligence, May 16, 2005
The U.S. Congress is looking at a number of legislative items designed to stimulate national economic conditions and businesses competitiveness, with potentially favorable direct and indirect impacts on the high-tech and telecom sectors. And much of the deliberation among lawmakers, advisors, lobbyists, advocacy groups and other experts is outside of the already-heavily-discussed congressional intention to rewrite or amend the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
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The Showdown Over VoIP
Business Week, April 27, 2005
Who ya gonna call if you're unhappy with your Internet phone service? Federal and state lawmakers are arm wrestling over that issue now. So far, the feds have the upper hand, though the match is far from over. On Nov. 9, 2004, the Federal Communications Commission ruled that voice-over-Internet protocol, or VoIP, services are inherently interstate and cannot be governed by state public utility regulations. The FCC order preempted a move by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to subject New Jersey-based Vonage Holdings to Minnesota phone service regulations.
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FCC Ruling Limits Competition, ISP Tells Justices
Washington Post, March 30, 2005
A Bush administration lawyer urged the Supreme Court to accept a 2002 Federal Communications Commission ruling that gave cable companies the right to bar rival Internet service providers from their lines, as the justices heard oral arguments yesterday in a case that could determine what choices are available to broadband subscribers.
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| Web Resources |
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United States Government Resources:
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Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the United States government’s primary telecommmunications regulatory agency.
http://www.fcc.gov/
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FCC Wireline Competition Bureau
The Wireline Competition Bureau develops and recommends policy goals, objectives, programs and plans for the Commission on matters concerning wireline telecommunications.
http://www.fcc.gov/wcb/
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FCC Media Bureau
The Media Bureau develops, recommends and administers the policy and licensing programs relating to electronic media, including cable television, broadcast television, and radio in the United States and its territories. The Media Bureau also handles post-licensing matters regarding Direct Broadcast Satellite service.
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/
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Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) handles nearly all FCC domestic wireless telecommunications programs, policies, and outreach initiatives.
http://wireless.fcc.gov/
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Market Disputes Resolution Division
The Market Disputes Resolution Division (MDRD) is responsible for resolving complaints by market participants, entities or organizations against common carriers (wireline, wireless or international) for alleged violations of the Communications Act that are filed pursuant to Section 208 of the Act.
http://www.fcc.gov/eb/mdrd/
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National Telecommunications & Information Administration
Part of the Department of Commerce, the NTIA is the federal executive branch’s primary advisor on telecommunications and information policy issues.
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/
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Senate: Subcommittee on Communications
Has responsibility for the Federal Communications Commission, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Communications Satellite Corporation, encrypted communications, intelsat, telecommunications industry economics, telecommunications law, universal service, and spectrum allocation.
http://commerce.senate.gov/subcommittees/communications.cfm
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International & Foreign Government Resources:
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International Telecommunications Union
The ITU, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland is an international organization within the United Nations System where governments and the private sector coordinate global telecom networks and services.
http://www.itu.int/home/index.html
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eCommunications (European Union)
Services or networks that transmit communications electronically, whether it is wireless or fixed, carrying data or voice, Internet based or circuit switched, broadcasting or personal communication are all covered by a set of EU rules that became applicable on 25 July 2003.
http://europa.eu.int/information_society/topics/
ecomm/index_en.htm
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Office of Communications (UK)
Ofcom is the regulator for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services.
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/
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Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
TRAI promotes competition and efficiency, regulates telecom services and tariffs, dictates standards, and promotes universal service accessibility.
http://www.trai.gov.in/
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Canadian Radio, Television and Telecommunications Commission
The CRTC is vested with the authority to regulate and supervise all aspects of the Canadian broadcasting system, as well as to regulate telecommunications common carriers and service providers that fall under federal jurisdiction.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/welcome.htm
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Publications & Portals:
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World Dialog on Regulation
The World Dialogue on Regulation for Network Economies is concerned with regulation and governance for network economies. It conducts research, facilitates online dialogue and discussion among experts, and publishes and distributes papers, reports and other relevant information.
http://www.regulateonline.org/
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