The Department of Homeland Security and the State Department have issued a proposed rule for the land and sea portion of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) that would require a passport or other secure document denoting citizenship and identity for all land and sea travel into the U.S.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted to its Web site an updated "draft" deployment schedule for equipping land border ports with Automated Commercial Environment e-Manifest: Truck capabilities.
Arguments against capping universal service subsidies to competitive carriers are based on “short-term self interest rather than long-term public interest,” OPASTCO told the FCC. “Excessive growth in the High-Cost program that is threatening its sustainability is attributable solely to competitive ETCs,” said OPASTCO in reply comments on the cap proposal. On the other hand, extending the interim cap to all rural telecom companies would “seriously threaten” wireline rural carriers, OPASTCO said. “At greatest risk would be continued service to subscribers in the most remote and highest-cost regions that may not have other reliable service options,” said the group, which represents wireline LECs.
Motorola, railroads, utilities, businesses and other users of the 150-512 MHz public land mobile radio (PLMR) agreed with New York City that the FCC sowed confusion in March in an order stating its intention to require users to convert to 6.25 kHz technology. In May, New York asked the FCC to agree to seek comment before mandating the transition. The FCC order is effective once the commission determines sufficient gear is available and is part of an initiative dating to 1995 to promote more efficient use of the bands.
CBP has updated the following chapters of its "Laboratory Methods" Guide: 4, 7-9, 11, 12, 15, 17-22, 24-35, 38-42, 44, 47-64, 68-76, 78-81, and 85. Requests for copies of "Laboratory Methods" should be sent to cbp.labhq@dhs.gov. (List of updated chapters, posted 06/14/07, available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/operations_support/labs_scientific_svcs/technical_documents/lab_methods/)
Second Life creator Linden Lab is “surprised and disappointed” that Familles de France (FDF) sued without first coming to Linden with its concerns that minors may be exposed to harmful material in the virtual world, a spokesman told us Wednesday (WID June 20 p1). Most of what happens in Second Life is appropriate for all users, but it is limited to those 18 and older, he said. A global system rolled out May 4 lets providers of the experiences verify local age requirements and control visitor access to their parcels of land in Second Life, which constitutes far better control than that exercised by traditional site operators, he said. Had FDF contacted Linden, it would have learned that Linden requires users to comply with the laws of their lands and that it cooperates with authorities on illegal activities, the spokesman said. “Despite the accusations of the plaintiff, which we strongly dispute, there are very few instances of users under 18 being able to enter the primary Second Life Web sites or of activity in Second Life that violates laws regarding child safety or minors’ access to adult material,” he said. As hosting provider, Linden does not supervise what people post on each island, but Second Life residents actively help ensure that the experience is safe and legal by reporting violations, the spokesman said. The company is confident the French court will understand its role as a responsible hosting provider, he said, noting government agencies, schools, companies, churches, charities and scientific bodies all are building “immersive, three- dimensional” offerings of their own.
French family rights activists want to block access to Second Life in France on grounds that it is exposing minors to shocking content. In a hearing Monday in the Paris Court of First Instance, Familles de France (FDF) said children can view sex, violence and other inappropriate material in Second Life. French Internet service providers (ISPs) and Second Life creator Linden Lab said they have no control over what avatars (virtual people) do onsite and should not be held accountable.
The N.M. Public Regulation Commission (PRC) reported progress on a dispute between Qwest and Pojoaque Pueblo that threatened phone service across northern N.M. The PRC said the pueblo tribal govt. extended a land lease for Qwest’s switching office lease by 4 months, to Feb. 1, 2008, instead of requiring Qwest to vacate pueblo land Oct. 1. The PRC said the sides seem to be negotiating seriously again. The dispute erupted after the pueblo changed its incumbent telco from Qwest to Mescalero Apache Telephone Co. Talks on transferring the Qwest exchange to Mescalero broke down over price; in Oct. the pueblo threatened to evict Qwest’s switching center. That would have affected communities in the Pojoaque Valley plus tens of thousands of customers across northern N.M., because the switching center also is a connection point for the Qwest and Windstream phone networks. The PRC intervened after talks broke off, to safeguard phone service in the state.
Public safety needs must get prime consideration when the FCC writes rules for the 700 MHz auction, Senate Commerce Committee members said at a hearing Thurs. Many members passionately urged the FCC to require commercial interests to build networks and prohibit them from making quick profits through resales. Members also agreed that interoperability is an important public safety need, but the panel was divided on whether the spectrum auction could provide the solution.
Public safety needs must get prime consideration when the FCC writes rules for the 700 MHz auction, Senate Commerce Committee members said at a hearing Thurs. Many members passionately urged the FCC to require commercial interests to build networks and prohibit them from making quick profits through resales. Members also agreed that interoperability is an important public safety need, but the panel was divided on whether the spectrum auction could provide the solution.