Analysis of Sen. Ensign’s (R-Nev.) telecom bill (CD July 28 p1) is yielding a common refrain: It’s a good start, but the bill won’t pass as is because of controversial provisions affecting cable, CLECs and municipalities, according to interviews with analysts and lobbyists. Furthermore, Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) is planning his own telecom bill, which he has said he'll unveil in the fall after dealing with DTV legislation. Senate sources said Stevens may gauge the response to the Ensign bill as he drafts his own legislation. Others are pessimistic that there will be time to write an omnibus bill.

Universal service fund (USF) contributions would be applied to all 2-way voice services under a bill introduced late Fri., just before the summer congressional recess. Sponsored by Sens. Smith (R-Ore.), Dorgan (D- N.D.) and Pryor (D-Ark.) , the bill broadens the base of contributors and establishes a separate fund capped at $500 million a year to encourage broadband deployment in rural, “unserved” U.S. areas.

The FCC should provide incentives and reward “good behavior” to encourage efficient spectrum use, speakers said Thurs. at a Technological Advisory Council meeting in Washington. “There is a lot of potential to make a far better use of the spectrum and enable a lot more applications and innovation,” said Vanu Inc.’s Vanu Bose.

Sen. Ensign (R-Nev.) Wed. introduced a broad telecom update bill that would erase local video franchise requirements, let municipalities invest in broadband networks via competitive bid and set consumer protection standards for carrier service. The bill did not address universal service fund (USF) reform, an issue Ensign said Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) and co- chairman Inouye (D-Hawaii) want to handle separately. A Committee aide confirmed that Stevens plans to address USF this year, separately or in a larger telecom bill.

AUSTIN, Tex. -- NARUC adopted resolutions Wed. that call for careful federal review of pending telecom mega- mergers, and suggest a general extension or carrier- specific waivers of a year-end FCC deadline for full implementation of handset-based wireless E-911. However, because of a technicality they voted against a proposal that would have urged states and the FCC to consider naked DSL as a pro-competition tool when reviewing mergers or generally making regulations. The measures, approved by NARUC committees earlier this week, were approved by NARUC’s board Wed. as official NARUC policy.

The FCC said it proposed over $2 million in fines for universal service fund and other regulatory program violations. It proposed to fine Carrera Communications $606,500, InPhonic $819,905 and Teletronics $692,000.

A plan by FCC Chmn. Martin to reclassify telecom- provided DSL as an information service is circulating among the other commissioners’s offices, seeking approval, sources said. The new classification would lessen regulation of Internet access service provided by incumbent phone companies. The move was expected after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brand X ruling, which upheld similar FCC handling of cable modem service (CD June 28 p1).

Telecom regulators should reject incumbents’ calls to ease controls on next-generation networks to avoid stifling competition, Germany’s Assn. of Telecom & Value- Added Service Providers (VATM) said. The competitive telcos endorsed a European Commission (EC) decision not to impose universal service obligations (USO) on mobile and broadband services, but said that doesn’t mean regulators should relax existing regulations regarding USO or other aspects of the EC e-communications regulatory framework. Regulators should tie USO to services, not technologies, because users don’t care how they get access to e- communications services as much as whether they can use them, the VATM said. Certain services should come under USO only if: (1) They're clearly defined. (2) There’s clear evidence the service is a social necessity. (3) There’s a service gap that business won’t fill soon. (4) Access or affordability barriers are delineated. The VATM also asked the Commission to clarify the rules for providing directory information. There’s no need for an explicit USO on directory services, it said, but in practice incumbents, which own the databases for all phone service providers, often charge competitors that aren’t carriers unreasonable access fees. The VATM urged USO funding from tax revenue, because universal service is in the public interest. The EC in May launched a discussion on the need for USO requirements for mobile and broadband services, and longer-term matters.

Telecom regulators should reject incumbents’ calls to ease controls on next-generation networks to avoid stifling competition, Germany’s Assn. of Telecom & Value- Added Service Providers (VATM) said. The competitive telcos endorsed a European Commission (EC) decision not to impose universal service obligations (USO) on mobile and broadband services, but said that doesn’t mean regulators should relax existing regulations regarding USO or other aspects of the EC e-communications regulatory framework. Regulators should tie USO to services, not technologies, because users don’t care how they get access to e- communications services as much as whether they can use them, the VATM said. Certain services should come under USO only if: (1) They're clearly defined. (2) There’s clear evidence the service is a social necessity. (3) There’s a service gap that business won’t fill soon. (4) Access or affordability barriers are delineated. The VATM also asked the Commission to clarify the rules for providing directory information. There’s no need for an explicit USO on directory services, it said, but in practice incumbents, which own the databases for all phone service providers, often charge competitors that aren’t carriers unreasonable access fees. The VATM urged USO funding from tax revenue, because universal service is in the public interest. The EC in May launched a discussion on the need for USO requirements for mobile and broadband services, and longer-term matters (CD May 25 p7).

Data security, U.S., technology developments and telecom policy and Internet governance were key topics for Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) working Washington this week. Traversing Capitol Hill and federal agencies, delegates spent 3 days gabbing with a parade of political power brokers -- sometimes seeing eye-to-eye, sometimes befuddled by the U.S. system -- but always stressing the need for more U.S.-Europe collaboration on communications issues.