The Journal of Commerce reports that the U.S. decision to withdraw its obligations in the online gambling case brought against the U.S. by Antigua and Barbuda in a World Trade Organization dispute panel could imperil U.S. exports. The Journal of Commerce further states that the ruling of the WTO dispute panel opened the door for compensation claims against the U.S., not only by Antigua but by any WTO member, which could potentially run into the billions of dollars in trade concessions imposed on U.S. goods. (JoC, 05/23/07, available at www.joc.com.)
Satellites should figure in any next-generation public- safety communications system, said panelists at Fri.’s FCC First Responder Summit. But satellite phones are costly and many local agencies can’t afford them, warned one panelist. “There is absolutely a role for satellite,” said Steve Jones, First Response Coalition exec. dir.: “Any communications plan that doesn’t take into consideration the role satellites can play is doing a disservice to their community.” The Satellite Industry Assn. is an FRC member. “You need caches of phones,” said Jon Pehu, assoc. dir.-Center for Wireless & Broadband Networking at Carnegie Mellon U. “That could be a lot to ask of a local agency.” Another concern is that current technology doesn’t include dual-mode phones offering both land mobile and satellite technologies. “The farther we move away from commercial technologies -- like putting a satellite chip in a land-mobile phone -- it will get more expensive,” said Robert LeGrande, D.C.’s deputy CTO. It would be “far more practical” to roll out cell-on-wheels in crises, so public safety can use commercial cell phones, LeGrande said.
The FCC should exempt carriers serving tribal lands from a proposed cap on universal service subsidies to competitive carriers, General Communications Inc. (GCI) said Thurs. in an ex parte letter to the FCC and staff. The alternative is impeded deployment of services to these hard-to-serve areas, the Alaska-based company told the FCC. Under a plan by GCI, the cap exclusion would apply to services on tribal lands and Alaska native regions defined under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. A CETC (competitive eligible telecom carrier) serving a tribal area could avoid a cap only by offering broadband service over its own facilities to 50% or more of tribal area households, “with a commitment to increasing coverage to at least 80% of the households over the next three years,” GCI said. The carrier proposed an initial broadband standard of 400 kbps, rising to 1 Mbps over the 3 years. “Compliance would be verified by certifications and supported by reporting requirements,” GCI said. Uncapped support would be limited to “one payment per each residential account,” so subsidies couldn’t be used to fund multiple lines or handsets in a single household. “A cap exclusion crafted in this way will ensure that a cap will not unintentionally… deepen the divide between today’s communications haves and have-nots,” GCI said. Comments on the proposal by the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service to cap CETC subsidies are due June 6 at the FCC.
Space Systems Loral got a contract for NASA’s Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) Spacecraft Accommodation Study, it said. Loral will have 4 months to propose a design based on its 1300 bus platform and study how to integrate the LDCM Operational Land Imager instrument, it said. LDCMs make Earth-observing satellite missions managed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. After the study, NASA is expected to begin procurement, requesting proposals in the fall and awarding a contract in Dec., said Loral.
Companies must monitor employees’ e-mails and clearly explain why, lawyer Mike Overly told us. “It seems like a bit of a no-brainer to do,” he said: “Every company should have a policy like this, without exception.” The idea is “not to try to lay a trap for employees but to let employees understand why [the employer is] concerned about this,” he said: “The whole idea is to let employees know from the beginning, the e-mail system is for work.” Education and software can save companies millions in suits avoided, he said.
CBP has issued an ABI administrative message announcing that it has posted to its Web site a notice of the e-Manifest: Truck phased enforcement actions that truck carriers at all land border ports in Idaho and Montana should expect CBP to take beginning August 6, 2007. (See ITT's Online Archives or 05/24/07 news, 07052405, for BP summary of the phased enforcement plan.) (Adm: 07-0134, dated 05/25/07, available at http://www.brokerpower.com/cgi-bin/adminsearch/admmsg.view.pl?article=2007/2007-0134.ADM)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted to its Web site an Automated Commercial Electronic Manifest Development Report for Release 4 (e-Manifest: Truck).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued an ABI administrative message stating that some filers are erroneously submitting paper documents in support of Remote Location Filing and Electronic Invoice Processing entries, instead of transmitting and processing these entries in a completely electronic environment.
CBP has issued an ABI administrative message announcing that the final version of the Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR) "TI" chapter (CBP Form 5106 add/update) will be included in the on-line CATAIR. No changes were made since the draft chapter was posted to the CBP Web site on February 15, 2007. (See ITT's Online Archives or 03/13/07 news, 07031325 2, for BP summary announcing the posting of the draft CATAIR chapter on CBP Form 5106, which includes a link to the draft chapter.)
The Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics issued its first stand-alone container report in March 2007 entitled, "America's Container Ports: Delivering the Goods." The report analyzes U.S. container ports and their role in global container traffic.