House Rural Caucus Chmn. Peterson (R-Pa.) expressed frustration about the lack of advanced services in rural areas and said he would support the rights of municipalities to build their own broadband networks. During Wed.’s Rural Caucus Telecom Task Force forum on VoIP, Peterson pushed the issue of municipal deployment of telecom services. “I don’t have a lot of hope” about broadband deployment in rural areas, he said.

The FCC has given a nonprofit consulting group a contract worth up to $750,000 to see if the Commission can improve how it runs the E-rate program, we have learned. The study, recommended by the FCC’s inspector general, comes amid criticism of the E-rate program by Congress (CD Sept 23 p5). The consulting group, the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), is made up of former federal govt. officials who assist federal agencies, congressional committees, state and local govts.

CTIA Pres. Steve Largent urged FCC Chmn. Powell to deny a petition filed by the National Assn. of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA). The petition asks the Commission to declare regulatory line items are prohibited unless authorized by govt. “If granted, NASUCA petition would provide consumers less complete and accurate information than is currently available to them,” he wrote in a letter dated March 3: “Consumers benefit from more, not less, information about the services they purchase. The wireless industry’s efforts in developing a Voluntary Consumer Code for Wireless Service are entirely consistent with this principle.”

Govt. needs to gradually auction off spectrum on a “reasonable schedule” if it wants to get maximum value for the “taxpayer-owned asset,” said Capitol Solutions CEO David Taylor in a technology forum Fri. by Citizens Against Govt. Waste Another panelist discussed the regulatory environment and future of VoIP.

FTC Comr. Orson Swindle said he was skeptical of congressional action on spyware and online privacy, in a technology forum by Citizens Against Govt. Waste (CAGW) on Fri. The thrust of the forum was to remove govt. regulation of telecom and the Internet.

Bill-&-keep (B&K) should be seriously considered as a compensation method for carriers to reimburse each other, the FCC Wireline Bureau said in an analysis that was attached to the agency’s Intercarrier Compensation (ICC) rulemaking, issued Thurs. When the Commission voted to institute the rulemaking in Feb., Comr. Abernathy complained some of the commissioners refused to include the bureau analysis in the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) itself. However, the report was attached to the rulemaking as an appendix, which means parties still can issue comments on it, FCC staff members said (CD Feb 11 p3).

General Services Administration (GSA) officials faced harsh criticism about their plans for the govt.-wide Networx telecom program in a House Govt. Reform Committee hearing Thurs. Committee members and telecom panelists said the agency, which is supposed to release its request for proposals (RFP) in April, needed to work harder to earn their trust. “GSA must get its house in order… do this right and do it on schedule,” said Chmn. Davis (R- Va.) at the hearing outset.

Bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate on Thurs. would impose a nationwide ban on the disposal of waste electronic equipment in landfills. The Electronic Waste Recycling & Promotion & Consumer Protection Act by Sens. Wyden (D-Ore.) and Talent (R-Mo.) would give consumers and industry tax incentives to recycle used electronic products. “Harmful e-waste is a large and growing problem,” the senators said, saying experts estimate that more than 150 million tons of electronic equipment were disposed of in 2004 alone. Referring to e- waste programs being developed in some states, they said no such program existed on a national level: “A unified national program may ultimately be desirable for consumers because manufacturers and retailers frequently have a difficult time adhering to different standards under various state laws.” Under the current system, they said, states that don’t enact their own laws could become “dumping grounds” for those that don’t ban e-waste disposal. The bill would: (1) Establish an $8-per-unit tax credit for companies that recycle at least 5,000 display screens or computer system units per year. (2) Provide a $15 tax credit for consumers who recycle their old computers and TVs, provided they use specified recyclers. (3) Ban landfill disposal of any electronic equipment containing a display screen larger than 4” or any computer unit. The ban would take effect 3 years after passage of the bill. This provision is contingent on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finding that a majority of households have “reasonable access” to e- waste recycling. (4) Modify the EPA’s Universal Service Rule to classify display screens and system units as “universal waste” to allow for easier collection, transportation and recycling. (5) Require federal executive agencies to ensure that every display screen or system unit procured by the govt. is recovered and recycled. (6) Direct the EPA administrator to study and make recommendations to Congress within a year on the feasibility of establishing a nationwide recycling program that would preempt any state plan. The bill is expected to be referred to the Senate Finance Committee, an aide said. A measure pending in the House (HR-425) would require companies to assess a fee of up to $10 on new computers to fund an EPA-administered recycling grant program to encourage municipalities and private organizations to start e-waste programs. Companies that have their own recycling programs would be exempt from the fee.

The N.M. House passed a universal service bill that would require state regulators to establish statewide affordability benchmark rates for determining the level of universal service subsidies carriers receive. Under the bill (HB-776) forwarded to the Senate, the Public Regulation Commission would establish benchmark rates through a rulemaking that would conclude by April 2006. Starting then, the bill requires that telecom carriers begin a 2-year phase-in of access charge reductions that will bring intrastate access charges down to intrastate levels by May 1, 2008. The bill also would clarify the public interest standard for granting eligible telecom carrier (ETC) status, which allows carriers to receive universal service subsidies. Regulators would have to consider whether an additional ETC in a market would produce more customer choice while having no major adverse impacts on universal service funding.

The CEOs of 6 major telecom firms were subjected to more than 3 hours of questioning by members at Wed.’s House Commerce Committee, but few pushed the Bells, long distance providers or wireless carriers represented about how the proposed mergers would affect the telecom industry. Several members asked general questions about investment and competition, but only Rep. Solis (D-Cal.) asked about how the proposed mergers could lead to job loss. She asked the question more than 2 hours into the hearing, after several members had asked specific questions about service in their home districts, including one member who wanted to know why the text messaging on his cell phone didn’t work correctly.