Pending South Carolina legislation would impose barriers to community broadband initiatives in the state, including initiatives that have received federal economic stimulus grants and loans, opponents of the bill said. H-3508 would ensure a level playing field for all broadband providers, regardless of whether they're private or government-owned, said AT&T, a major proponent of the bill. The bill would preclude the state’s Orangeburg County from using the $18 million Rural Utility Service grant/loan to develop a last-mile network, County Administrator Bill Clark said. He attacked the definition of “unserved area” in the bill, saying it’s “substantially more restrictive” than NTIA and RUS’ standard. Combined with the bill’s definition of broadband at 190 kbps, it would appear that at least 95 percent of the state would fail to qualify for the exemption from the restrictions on government-owned service providers, he said. By directing government-owned providers into the “unserved areas” while also imposing “unreasonable restrictions” within more populated areas, the sustainability of Orangeburg County’s stimulus project is at risk, he claimed. The county is committed to a $4.66 million obligation (25 percent match) as part of the RUS grant/loan. Additionally, the bill’s cost and rate computations and accounting requirements would be subject to disputes and litigation, he said. The bill and companion bill S-483 don’t prevent a local government from deciding it wants to offer broadband service, said an AT&T spokesman. Rather, they require that when a government provides broadband in competition with private business, it must play by the same rules that apply to private business, he said. The Orangeburg County official misunderstood the details of the legislation, he said. Fair competition provisions like paying taxes and securing insurance like other businesses must only take effect when a government competes in an area served by private companies, the spokesman noted. If satellite is the only broadband service available or if land-based broadband is available to less than 10 percent of the population, a government could offer broadband and use tax dollars to subsidize it, he said. In either event, nothing in the bill would prohibit a local government from serving any area it wants at any time of its choosing, the spokesman said. Additionally, critics of the bill had said it would cripple Oconee County’s middle-mile project, which was funded by a nearly $10 million stimulus grant from NTIA. Compliance would be difficult if the bill’s passed, County Administrator Scott Moulder had said. But after meetings with members of the Legislature and the industry, the issues were resolved, he said. The telecom industry in the state generally supports the bill, said Jerry Pate, head of the South Carolina Telecom Association. A similar bill is moving forward in North Carolina. The House recently approved H-129, which opponents said would restrict municipal broadband development in the state (WID Feb 25 p7). Service providers had claimed that municipal broadband services have unfair advantage over commercial networks. The bill now moves to the Senate.
Pending South Carolina legislation would impose barriers to community broadband initiatives in the state, including initiatives that have received federal economic stimulus grants and loans, opponents of the bill said. H-3508 would ensure a level playing field for all broadband providers, regardless of whether they're private or government-owned, said AT&T, a major proponent of the bill.
On March 31, 2011, the following trade-related bills were introduced:
Consulting firm ICF International has landed a five-year, $36.5 million EPA contract to provide technical and analytical support for the Energy Star program, the company said. The ICF team’s responsibilities include providing EPA with specification development, research and analysis, sales and marketing strategies, media marketing, software and electronic information development, program integrity support, program evaluation, administration, and management support for Energy Star, it said.
A wireless signal booster order scheduled for a vote at the FCC’s April 7 meeting could get pulled for further work, after Verizon Wireless, the National Emergency Number Association and APCO raised 911 concerns, agency officials said Tuesday. Verizon Wireless, joined by NENA, flagged a technical concern in rules for acceptable booster design in a series of meetings at the FCC. “Verizon explained that the proposed safeguards relating to automatic gain control and oscillation detection are insufficient to address harmful interference to E-911 network operation and services,” said an ex parte filing. “NENA expressed concern about the threats to public safety from unauthorized and/or improperly installed signal boosters, including harmful interference to commercial users attempting to dial 911 and degrading the performance of E-911 location accuracy technology.” APCO sent the commission a letter Tuesday also raising concerns. “The docket in this proceeding includes evidence that boosters can create dangerous interference to other cellular users (including those who may be trying to dial 9-1-1) and to public safety land mobile operations in adjacent portions of the 800 MHz frequency band,” APCO said.
OEM supplier Inventec has landed low-volume LCD TV orders from LG, Sharp and Vizio as it seeks to double shipments this year to 10 million units, Taiwanese news reports said. A Sharp spokeswoman declined to comment. LG and Vizio officials weren’t available for comment. Partly fueling the rise in Inventec shipments this year is Sharp’s decision to outsource 10 percent of TV production to OEM manufacturers, industry analysts have said. A Vizio pact with Inventec would signal a further broadening of the company’s supplier base beyond Amtran, which has been among its top TV assemblers for many years. Inventec shipped 600,000 LCD TVs in February and is forecasting 1.5-2 million units in Q1, up from 1.35 million in Q4, reports said.
The State Department announces that the U.S. joined more than 60 nations and international organizations at the United Nations in New York on March 21, 2011, for a meeting of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia. In a communiqué following the meeting, the Contact Group called for a renewed international commitment to combating piracy, both at sea and on land in Somalia, through robust and integrated military, law enforcement, and development activities.
Philips’ global TV business will post a Q1 operating loss as high as $169 million, nearly double that of a year ago, amid high inventory and sharp pricing pressure, the company said Monday. As a result, Philips will likely fall short of its goal of having the TV division break even in 2011, marking its fifth consecutive annual loss, the company said.
EUbusiness reports that China's top three airlines -- Air China, China Southern and China Eastern -- plan to jointly lodge a legal case with the China Air Transport Association against a European Union plan to impose a carbon tax from 2012, claiming it could cost them millions of dollars a year. China's aviation sector will have to pay an additional 800 million yuan ($122 million) a year after the EU starts levying a carbon emissions tax from next year on flights originating or landing in Europe, the Beijing News said.
After a stutter start in the tablet business last fall, Staples is taking the nascent category head-on with an online section dedicated to tablet technology, and plans to field a lineup of half a dozen models “over the next few months,” the company said Thursday. Staples launched its tablet business in November with a 10-inch Viewsonic model (CED Nov 22 p8) then it pulled a month later citing a “manufacturing defect” that it attributed to a glitch in the Android software.