U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an electronic notice which announces the phased enforcement of mandatory Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) electronic manifest: Truck (e-Manifest: Truck) for advance cargo information purposes at all land border ports in Washington and Arizona as well as the ports of Pembina, Neche, Walhalla, Maida, Hannah, Sarles and Hansboro, North Dakota beginning January 25, 2007.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an electronic notice which announces the phased enforcement of mandatory Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) electronic manifest: Truck (e-Manifest: Truck) for advance cargo information purposes at all land border ports in Washington and Arizona as well as the ports of Pembina, Neche, Walhalla, Maida, Hannah, Sarles and Hansboro, North Dakota beginning January 25, 2007.
Rude drivers beware: Your license plate may land online, on a gripe site begun late last year. PlateWire.com, founded by Fairfax, Va., resident Mark Buckman, grew out of Buckman’s frustration with a pathologically slow commute and 5 near-crackups on a single trip. Honoring the maxim that drivers toe the line when police are watching, PlateWire will “become a real deterrent to unsafe driving habits,” letting users enter a vehicle plate number and comment on the associated driver under a category -- “award,” “flag,” “hazard” or “wink,” the last to flirt with drivers. Response comments are welcome. The most-cited plates make the homepage. Users can also enter plate numbers -- including their own -- to get RSS feeds listing comments about the plates’ owners. The site, founded in Nov., passed 3 million visits this week, Buckman said.
According to updated information on the draft February 3, 2007 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) posted by the International Trade Commission, and ITC and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources, the following information has been clarified:
The first formal protests against “tweener” satellite authorizations granted to Spectrum 5 and EchoStar landed at the Commission last week, filed by DirecTV and Telesat Canada. The satellite operators -- whose systems sandwich the 86.5 degrees W and 114.5 degrees W “tweener” slots -- called for immediate Commission review and reversal of the International Bureau authorizations. Granted Nov. 29, the authorizations cleared the Bureau 2 weeks before comments in the ongoing “tweener” rulemaking (which would set the rules for such licenses) were due, stirring industry and FCC concern.
Shippers' NewsWire reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) plans in 2007 to internationalize the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program by mutually recognizing for the first time similar programs in a handful of countries, which would allow companies accredited in one country as having adequate safeguards for container shipments to receive faster U.S. customs clearance without having to go through multiple application and vetting processes, or wait until U.S. officers can arrive. According to the report, CBP will also outline its plans for outsourcing some supply chain validations to private sector contractors by mid-February. (American Shipper Pub 01/04/07, www.americanshipper.com)
The FCC Wireless Bureau wants comment on a Ronan Telephone request for 3 more years to satisfy a tribal lands bidding credit construction requirement for service it plans to offer the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. In 2004, Ronan received a license for the lower 700 MHz C block -- UHF Channels 54 and 59 - covering a rural service area in Mont. Because of its commitment to be serving 75% of the Blackfeet reservation population by Jan. 29, Ronan got a $182,000 credit, 50% of its gross bid. But Ronan told the FCC that due to the proximity of a high-power, co-channel TV transmitter for channel 54 it cannot use any of the available high-altitude transmitter sites that would enable it to meet its mandate. So Ronan has been offering service via low- altitude transmitters. To date, it’s reaching only 50% of reservation residents. Comments are due Jan. 12, replies Jan. 17.
DirecTV landed an airport distribution deal in EchoStar’s back yard, unveiling Thurs. a multi-year pact with the Denver International Airport (DIA). The DBS operator will be “the sole provider of programming in select areas throughout the airport,” it said. “Travelers arriving earlier and spending more time in airports waiting for their flights now have a new way to enjoy their down time and experience DirecTV first-hand,” said John Suranyi, DirecTV pres.-sales & services. The entertainment deal comes too late for holiday travelers stranded last week at DIA by a blizzard, but more snow was predicted. DirecTV will open a retail kiosk in the airport, to showcase HD and DVR services to travelers waiting for flights, officials said. Passengers can also subscribe to DirecTV at the kiosk, DirecTV said.
Telecom and Internet service providers scrambled Wed. to reroute traffic widely disrupted across the Asia-Pacific region by a powerful earthquake off Taiwan’s southern coast. People in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and elsewhere awoke to find themselves without voice and data services after a 7.1 Richter scale quake damaged at least 8 undersea cables in the region, telcos said.
Telecom and Internet service providers scrambled Wed. to reroute traffic widely disrupted across the Asia-Pacific region by a powerful earthquake off Taiwan’s southern coast. People in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and elsewhere awoke to find themselves without voice and data services after a 7.1 Richter scale quake damaged at least 8 undersea cables in the region, telcos said.