The Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) sent President Bush a letter expressing concern about the rapid deployment of VoIP. The letter said the public isn’t always aware of the difference between VoIP and traditional telephony and noted the recent case of a Houston woman who wasn’t able to dial 911 from her VoIP phone. “The public has an expectation that telephone services will provide 9-1-1 and Enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1-1) capability, regardless of whether the telephone operates on the public switched telephone network (PSTN), wireless networks, or the Internet,” APCO International Pres. Greg Ballentine said in the letter. “Yet, at present, there is a very real likelihood that a 9-1-1 call from a VoIP telephone will be lost, delayed or misrouted.”
Proposed UNE rules slated for action at the FCC’s agenda meeting Wed. (CD Dec 9 p1) may undergo changes to lengthen UNE-P transition and revise rules for CLEC access to high-capacity loops and transport, sources said Mon. However, insiders remained optimistic that the order would stay on the agenda. The negotiations appeared to be between Republicans and Democrats on the Commission -- with the Democrats, especially Comr. Copps, pushing for changes to benefit competitive carriers and, in one case, Chmn. Powell responding by strengthening the Bells’ hand.
PVR ownership will grow nearly tenfold, reaching 58 million U.S. homes for 49.5% penetration by the end of the decade, Smith Barney said in a new report that examines the technology’s impact on the media industry. The PVR boom will outpace that of cellphones and DBS, but not DVD, and network TV advertising faces the biggest risk, the report said.
FCC Chmn. Powell is expected to start circulating draft UNE rules among commissioners today (Wed.) so they can have input on the item before the rules are placed on the agency’s Dec. 15 agenda meeting. Lobbying has stepped up as various industry segments attempt to push their views in the much-contested proceeding. One 8th floor aide reported having 9 meetings with industry lobbyists Tues. “It’s already starting and the schedule looks pretty solid” the next week or 2, he said.
Despite a high-profile launch and national distribution through Sears, Rainbow DBS’s Voom HD satellite service has attracted less than 10% of its 26,000 subscribers through retail, parent Cablevision said in an SEC filing. In addition to Sears, which has 1,600 stores, Voom is being marketed by distributor O'Rourke Bros., which gives it access to another 800 outlets. Voom also has relied on direct sales of the service, which launched a year ago and delivers 36 HD and 80 SD channels in programming packages that carry $49-$89 monthly fees.
Price caps remain the dominant form of retail rate regulation for large and mid-sized incumbent telcos in the U.S. They are employed by 38 states plus D.C., Communications Daily’s survey of state regulatory schemes showed. In the other states, regulation ranges from rate- of-return (ROR) to full retail rate deregulation. Regulators in 4 states and D.C. are considering new price regulation plans for their largest incumbents, while 2 other states are considering major modifications to existing regulatory regimes. Most small incumbents remain under rate of return regulation, while CLECs operate under minimal regulation across the country.
Members of the House got some of what they wanted and a little of what they didn’t want when the Senate approved a broadcast decency amendment Tues. as part of the Defense Dept. (DoD) Authorization bill (S-2400). The Senate overwhelmingly approved a 9-fold fine increases for indecent broadcasts, but it also approved a stay on the FCC’s media ownership rules -- a provision strenuously opposed by House leadership -- and controversial restrictions on violent broadcasts. Much, but not all, of the contents of Sen. Brownback’s (R-Kan.) S-2052 were approved by a 99-1 vote for the amendment to the DoD bill. NAB said it opposed the amendment.
The National Emergency Number Assn. (NENA) is pushing a new angle in efforts to get stalled Enhanced 911 (E911) legislation through Congress. Seizing on the interest in new services like VoIP, NENA is presenting the case that E911 legislation is essential because it would establish a National Coordinating Office in the federal govt. That office would help integrate 911 services to VoIP and other new services, like Wi-Fi and Blackberries, said NENA Govt. Affairs Dir. Stephen Seitz. The national coordination office was the top priority cited in a document NENA delivered to Congress last week, ahead of funding.
The FCC plans a 3rd meeting of its E911 Coordination Initiative on April 27, 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and April 28, 9 a.m.-1:45 p.m. It will be in the Commission meeting room at FCC hq.
NTIA, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and the Commerce Dept.’s Technology Administration plan a forum April 1 on wireless sensor technologies. The half-day forum will cover the future market for sensor technologies, including current and prospective uses by industry and govt. The forum will address public policy issues such as spectrum use, privacy and security and intellectual property. It will be 9 a.m.-1:15 p.m. at the Commerce Dept. auditorium, 1401 Constitution Ave. NW.