Accuracy is critical as the FCC upgrades its spectrum dashboard, now in Beta release, but set to be updated later this year, speakers said at an FCC forum Wednesday. The dashboard came in for both praise and criticism.
Feedback from states and tribal locations identifying areas that should get priority to receive money in the second round of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program was posted on the NTIA’s website. Comments were due Monday. They were submitted by 49 states, 4 territories, and 18 tribes. The suggestions of states and tribes are “only one of several factors NTIA weighs when evaluating applications,” the agency said.
A paucity of comments on an FCC radio rulemaking asking whether it should extend preferences for assigning stations to tribes without lands (CD Feb 4 p12) seems to underline the relative lack of controversy, several broadcast lawyers said. Three groups and a non-profit representing Native Americans and Alaska natives filed comments that were released Tuesday afternoon in docket 09-52. Other groups said they sat out the filing round. Commission action on tribal issues seems like it won’t take long, but acting on a more controversial matter raised by a 2009 rulemaking notice of whether to make it harder for stations to move into larger towns may take a while if it occurs at all, said three industry lawyers.
Legalizing “intrastate” Internet poker in California wouldn’t bring the state a windfall for a while, the chairman of the state Senate Governmental Information Committee said in an interview with Clarion Gaming, which will hold the Global iGaming Summit & Expo in Montreal next month. Sen. Roderick Wright, D-Inglewood, chaired a nine-hour committee hearing on the subject in February and is scheduled to make a speech at the conference. Revenue estimates from taxing Internet poker range from $50 million a year if only a “modest number” of those playing on unregulated offshore websites migrate to a statewide system, to $1.5 billion a year if most players switch and the system enjoys “significant, sustained growth,” he said. But setting up the system could put at risk hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue-sharing from Indian tribes, a possibility not considered in the revenue estimates, he said. “The state would be lucky to realize a few hundred million [dollars] a year in the first five years of operation,” and that’s only after the courts rule on whether intrastate Internet poker violates tribal gaming exclusivity and puts revenue sharing at risk. Lawmakers have several concerns about authorizing poker, including the transparency of the system and how the state can ensure that players are physically located in California and are “live people,” not “robotic” players, Wright said. “Given the complexity and gravity of the issue, extensive time is needed” to consult stakeholder groups and create a “critical mass of support for any specific proposal.” Wright said he wants to know more about the advantages and risks of developing an intrastate system using varying numbers of “hubs,” given factors such as player liquidity, competition and system redundancy. California should try to get ahead of federal legislation, which could take “several years” getting through Congress, he said.
Congress and the FCC should encourage e-care technologies by deploying “significant public resources to deliver broadband” to unserved areas, said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., at a Senate Special Aging Committee hearing Thursday. And rural healthcare providers should receive assistance to buy broadband services if they're not affordable in their area, said Wyden, who guest-chaired the hearing on the FCC’s National Broadband Plan. The senator later talked net neutrality, asking if health care should get a priority lane on wireless broadband.
Congress and the FCC should encourage e-care technologies by deploying “significant public resources to deliver broadband” to unserved areas, said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., at a Senate Special Aging Committee hearing Thursday. And rural healthcare providers should receive assistance to buy broadband services if they're not affordable in their area, said Wyden, who guest-chaired the hearing on the FCC’s National Broadband Plan. The senator later talked net neutrality, asking if health care should get a priority lane on wireless broadband.
The Department of Homeland Security has released its Open Government Plan to enhance transparency, public participation, and collaboration as part of the Administration’s Open Government Initiative. The plan, which is part of DHS’s effort to utilize public feedback to better share information, calls for reducing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request backlogs, maintaining an open dialogue with the public, and expanding its Virtual USA1 framework.
NTIA got 867 applications seeking a total of $11 billion in funding for proposed broadband projects in the second Broadband Technology Opportunities Program funding round, the agency confirmed Wednesday (CD April 6 p7). The Rural Utilities Service, which had a later filing deadline than NTIA, will release numbers on applications for its part of the stimulus program within the next few days, a spokesman said Wednesday. NTIA has about $2.6 billion to award in round two. Applications were filed by “a diverse range of parties including state, local, and tribal governments; nonprofits; industry; anchor institutions, such as libraries, universities, community colleges, and hospitals; public safety organizations; and other entities in rural, suburban, and urban areas,” NTIA said. It said 355 of the applications -- requesting about $8.4 billion -- were for Comprehensive Community Infrastructure projects; 251 of the applications, seeking about $1.7 billion, were for projects that promote sustainable demand for broadband services; and 261, requesting more than $922 million in grants, were for public computer center projects. “For the second round of BTOP funding, we sharpened our program focus and encouraged applicants to create comprehensive proposals to meet the needs of their communities,” said NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling. “We are pleased that a high percentage of applicants appear to have met our priorities.” The dollar figures cited by NTIA are applicants’ self-reported totals “and may change as the applications are reviewed for errors, omissions, and duplications,” the agency said.
NTIA got 867 applications seeking a total of $11 billion in funding for proposed broadband projects in the second Broadband Technology Opportunities Program funding round, the agency confirmed Wednesday. The Rural Utilities Service, which had a later filing deadline than NTIA, will release numbers on applications for its part of the stimulus program within the next few days, a spokesman said Wednesday. NTIA has about $2.6 billion to award in round two. Applications were filed by “a diverse range of parties including state, local, and tribal governments; nonprofits; industry; anchor institutions, such as libraries, universities, community colleges, and hospitals; public safety organizations; and other entities in rural, suburban, and urban areas,” NTIA said. It said 355 of the applications -- requesting about $8.4 billion -- were for Comprehensive Community Infrastructure projects; 251 of the applications, seeking about $1.7 billion, were for projects that promote sustainable demand for broadband services; and 261, requesting more than $922 million in grants, were for public computer center projects. “For the second round of BTOP funding, we sharpened our program focus and encouraged applicants to create comprehensive proposals to meet the needs of their communities,” said NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling. “We are pleased that a high percentage of applicants appear to have met our priorities.” The dollar figures cited by NTIA are applicants’ self-reported totals “and may change as the applications are reviewed for errors, omissions, and duplications,” the agency said.
Free conference call companies are rallying customers to urge lawmakers and the FCC to not stifle their ability to continue using free conference call services. “We let people know to contact their representatives in Congress that they use the service and don’t want it to go away,” FreeConference.com Chief Financial Officer Mike Placido said in an interview. The commission continues to get comments on a 2007 rulemaking notice concerning just and reasonable rates for terminating access charges by competitive local exchange carriers mainly located in rural areas. Bells have accused rural LECs of “traffic pumping,” and urged lawmakers and the FCC to look into ending the practice. The House Commerce Committee has collected information from CLECS and interexchange carriers to begin its inquiry (CD Feb 18 p 1).