In its March 27, 2008 issue of ShippersNewsWire, American Shipper reported that some truckers were talking about a one-day shutdown across the nation on April 1, 2008 due to the cost of fuel and their inability to pass along fuel surcharges. Industry officials are questioning how widespread this effort to grab the attention of lawmakers might be. (AS, dated 03/27/08, www.americanshipper.com )
The FCC must get better at collecting data on cellphone use on tribal lands, the National Tribal Telecommunications Association (NTTA) said in a filing. In February, the Wireless Bureau sought comment on the annual CMRS competition report. NTTA said the FCC doesn’t do enough to promote competition on tribal lands. The latest CMRS Market Report refers only once to wireless services on tribal lands -- a quote from CTIA, the group said.
Growth in international communications-related traffic led AT&T and NTT to join a consortium to build the Trans-Pacific Express submarine cable network, they said. The network will enhance reliability by providing more ways for traffic generated throughout the Asia-Pacific region to get to the U.S., they said. TPE, a high-bandwidth fiber submarine cable linking Japan, mainland China, Korea, Taiwan and the U.S., is being built by a consortium including China Netcom, China Telecom, China Unicom, Chungwha Telecom, KT and Verizon. The cable network can carry as much as 5.12 terabits per second over a total of 18,000 kilometers. Phase 1 of the China-U.S. route is to be operating by August, with landing points in major coastal cities in northeast China, South Korea, Taiwan, and the U.S., according to NTT. A direct connection between Shinmaruyama, near Tokyo, and the west coast of the U.S. will follow in 2010. NTT will establish and manage the new landing station in Japan near the Tokyo metro area. “The Trans-Pacific Express cable network will increase data and voice reliability, and it will enhance diversity and resiliency to AT&T customers,” said John Stankey, AT&T group president of telecom operations.
Broadband radio services rules approved by the FCC were a mixed bag but will help rollout of wireless broadband in the 2496 to 2690 MHz band, the Wireless Communications Association said Friday. The FCC approved rules for the unassigned broadband radio spectrum auction, sought comment on licensing educational broadband service spectrum, and set up a BRS service area for the Gulf of Mexico, a step firmly opposed by WCA and Sprint Nextel. The FCC counts more than 70 BRS basic trading areas unassigned and available for auction, it said.
Work by business and government participants in the ITU- R study group on terrestrial services will deal, in whole or part, with about 80 percent of 2011 World Radiocommunication Conference agenda items. Choosing a structure for the next four years is an immediate priority, sources said. Opinions differ on whether to merge a working party on International Mobile Telecommunication systems with one on amateur and amateur-satellite service and land mobile service that now excludes IMT, sources said. Countries wary of the proposed combination said the resulting working party would be unmanageable due to large size. Other countries said consolidation is needed for efficiency and economy, though coordinating work with other ITU-R study groups would be difficult. Studies on enhancing the international regulatory framework will be challenging. Dealing with the technical aspects of cognitive radio systems, software-defined radio and standardization of intelligent transport systems are key areas. Specifications for radio in development for IMT- advanced are also important.
The National Retail Federation has issued a press release urging the Port of Oakland to reject a proposal to impose huge new container fees similar to those approved recently in Los Angeles and Long Beach, and instead adopt a plan to ease air pollution and congestion that is supported by shippers. (NRF press release, dated 03/11/08, available at http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=491)
Chicago and Cleveland CBP have issued Pipelines stating that Census has announced that its Automated Foreign Trade Zone Reporting Program for FTZ operators will be discontinued on April 1, 2008, as it has determined that the electronic CBP Form 214 (e-214) meets its statistical standards. Census sources state that operators seeking an extension of the April 1, 2008 deadline should contact the Census Bureau. (Chicago Pipeline 08-12, dated 03/07/08 and Cleveland Pipeline 08-050, dated 01/11/08, available by emailing documents@brokerpower.com.)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued an ABI CSMS message announcing that the problem involving requests for prior notice (PN) confirmation numbers for Food and Drug Administration (FDA)/Bioterrorism Act (BTA) shipments has been resolved.
The Canada Border Services Agency has announced its goal of introducing a modernized Partner in Protection (PIP) program by June 30, 2008. Membership applications to the current PIP program will only be accepted until March 31, 2008. After that date, no applications will be accepted until June 30, 2008, when the modernized PIP program takes effect. (Canada's PIP program is similar to the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program.) (CBSA announcement, updated 03/07/08, available at http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/security-securite/pip-pep/menu-eng.html)
Telecom carriers would not get retroactive immunity for aiding government surveillance programs under a bill (HR- 3773) that the House passed Friday 213-197. The measure sets the stage for a clash with the Senate, which passed a bill in February that would offer retroactive immunity to carriers alleged to have helped the post-Sept. 11 government warrantless monitoring of phone and email conversations to find terror suspects. Carriers face dozens of lawsuits by civil liberties groups claiming the program violated laws on search procedure.