Although Congress is out for a month, net neutrality proponents are asking members to stay involved in the legislative debate. The National League of Cities is conducting a nationwide e-mail campaign to gather support for pro-net neutrality legislation. EBay Pres. Meg Whitman sent a letter to some members asking them to speak out to Congress against “pay to play.” The letter apparently landed in Comcast Vp David Cohen’s inbox, which prompted Cohen to reply to her that regulating networks in the name of network neutrality would “throw a monkey wrench into the works.” It would discourage innovation, harm consumers and stymie business opportunities, he said. “The kind of regulation you propose is laden with risks,” Cohen said, inviting eBay to cooperate in finding an appropriate forum to provide customers neutral information on network neutrality: “Instead of just providing a one-sided decidedly non-neutral perspective on this complicated issue, let’s give your customers a more balanced -- more ‘neutral’ set of facts… so they can make up their own minds.”
Inmarsat Fri. reported a drop in first-half earnings, but said its maritime voice and land data businesses performed better than expected in the first 6 months of the year. First-half revenue was down to $245.9 million, from $253.6 million in the first half of 2005, with EBITDA also down to $162.8 million from $171.8 million a year ago. Maritime business revenue grew 11% thanks to an increase in data traffic, which offset a continuing decline in voice services, Inmarsat officials said. Sales to the aeronautical sector rose 36%, driven by take-up of Inmarsat’s new Swift64 Broadband service, they said. But Inmarsat’s land sector revenue dropped compared to last year’s strong first half. Demand in 2005 was boosted by a need for satellite services post-Asian tsunami and U.S. hurricane disasters, they said. General demand for satellite services on land is falling back as mobile networks ramp up terrestrial 3G coverage, but outlook on BGAN remains positive, CEO Andrew Sukawaty said. Sukawaty said the media has been leading uptake of Inmarsat’s BGAN high-speed mobile Internet offering: “So far it’s being used by media in particular… In the Middle East right now you'd be hard-pressed to see a news program which is not using one [BGAN terminal] for broadcasting.”
The FCC sought industry advice on the need to revise rules for the 700 MHz auction, scheduled to begin by early 2008, offering 90 MHz of highly coveted spectrum. The NPRM doesn’t ask about a proposal by Nextel founder Morgan O'Brien, chmn. of Cyren Call, to dedicate 30 MHz of the spectrum (CD June 28 p3) to a nationwide wireless network for public safety rather than sell it at auction, sources said.
Aaron Rents will open 150 company-owned and 100 franchised stores in 2007 en route to a goal of 2,000 stores by 2009, said Kenneth Butler, pres.-sales & lease ownership division. The expansion comes as Aaron shifts its focus to freestanding locations from the strip malls that have been its staple. Aaron Rents had 1,241 stores June 30, including 766 company-owned 406 and franchised, plus 59 corporate furnishing and 10 Rimco outlets.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted the following to its Web site:
A lengthy shareholder dispute involving Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV) and sister satellite firm TerreStar has landed in the FCC’s lap. In a proposed ownership shuffle that would separate the satellite firms, controlling companies Motient and SkyTerra recently sought transfer of MSV’s FCC licenses from Motient to SkyTerra. The transaction’s docket saw only one set of comments, from Highland Capital, run by Motient shareholder and former Motient director James Dondero, long a critic of Motient’s management.
On July 13, 2006, the Senate passed its own version of H.R. 5441, the fiscal year (FY) 2007 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), etc.
Comments in an FCC proceeding on creation of a spectrum “test bed” illustrate why the Commission should proceed with extreme caution if such a bed is established, commenters said in replies, a number of which were playing defense. CTIA said the FCC must protect CMRS licensees. Shure accused some commenters of seeking a “spectrum give away.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a general notice announcing that the next groups, or clusters, of ports to be deployed for the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE)/National Customs Automation Program (NCAP) test concerning the transmission of automated truck manifest data for truck carrier accounts will be in the state of New York.
An EchoStar challenge of a model the FCC uses to predict broadcast signal strength was batted down by the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C. in a long-awaited opinion released Tues. The FCC formula upheld by the court is used to gauge eligibility of households for distant network TV signals by satellite due to poor local TV network reception over-the-air. EchoStar said the FCC model was inadequate, particularly for VHF stations. But the court sided with the Commission, backing the FCC’s reading of the 1999 Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act (SHVIA) and holding EchoStar’s arguments “inconsistent” with the statute.