The Journal of Commerce reports that in July 2005, Representative Dave Weldon (R-Fla) introduced H.R. 3319, the "Short Sea Shipping Tax Exemption Act of 2005" in order to exempt coastwise container, ferry or roll-on, roll-off traffic moving between U.S. mainland ports from paying the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT, or HMF), which is seen by advocates as one of the major barriers to developing coastwise shipping as an alternative to land freight transport. (JoC, dated 07/25/05, www.joc.com )
ASPEN, Colo. -- Spectrum reform is discussed the wrong way -- it’s not that property rights and a commons concept are polar opposites, but “we have this figment of our imagination that there’s this thing called spectrum.” said U. Pa. business professor Kevin Werbach at the Progress & Freedom Foundation seminar here. Spectrum doesn’t really exist, he said, but devices that transmit and receive data by untangling messages from one another do: “What we're allocating is set of property rights around devices, and a commons position is a more market oriented position.”
Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV) introduced its MAT-G2 mobile satellite radio Mon. for use on the MSAT Network. MSV said it designed the 2-way radio with public safety needs in mind: Interoperability with Land Mobile Radio systems, plus access to multiple agencies, talk groups and GPS. MSV said the new radio extends the reach of traditional Land Mobile Radio technology with Ethernet and DB9 serial ports on the transceiver that enable GPS output and connection to 3rd party interfaces.
In 2005, 23.9 million consumers will search online for wireless services, up 72% from last year, said Yahoo Search Marketing and Compete. Two in 3 consumers (66%) said they have no preferred service provider in mind before searching online and evaluate 2 or more before purchasing. Searchers reaching the websites of the top 5 wireless carriers -- Cingular, Nextel, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless -- are 3 times likelier to sign up for online self-care than other customers landing there through search. The study, which analyzed the behavior of 2 million Internet users, also surveyed 785 Internet users who used search engines to help make wireless purchases in the last 12 months.
MobilePro soon will announce 3 business deals, CEO Jay Wright told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting. The company landed a contract to build and run a wireless network in a “western” city, he said. MobilePro also has signed 2 letters of intent to acquire firms in Cal. and Fla. Wright declined to name them, saying details will be released “shortly.” He also said a Tempe, Ariz., wireless network contract had been signed Thurs., and MobilePro’s letter of intent to acquire ATX assets expired last week.
The debate over the .xxx TLD has created strange bedfellows: Conservative outlets -- some of which traditionally support regulation of adult content - and the ACLU, which have wound up on the same side of the argument against the adult-only domain. The civil liberties group said .xxx is likely to lead to an online red-light district “where everyone would be segregated if they engage in some sort of pornography,” ACLU Legislative Counsel Marv Johnson told us.
Fresh from design wins with Chrysler and Harley- Davidson, Harman International will open a new factory in Washington, Mo., by year-end to make components for the company’s mobile “infotainment” systems, officials told analysts in an earnings conference call.
Tex. Gov. Rick Perry (R), reversing his ground, will allow final approval of video franchising rules that had been delayed, sources at the state capitol said late Tues. (CD Aug 17 p1). Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who signed the bill Tues., had previously signaled they'd block any bill, including video franchising, until education initiatives were passed (CD July 21 p2). With time running out on the Tex. legislature’s 2nd special session, Dewhurst and Perry decided against opposing the bill, we're told. Meanwhile, one of the next battleground states for such legislation may be N.J., where lawmakers are expected to return to the capitol later this year.
In vowing Wed. to back Blu-ray with a slate of titles when hardware is available in 2006, Lions Gate made good on a pledge in its Aug. 10 first-quarter conference call to endorse one next-generation format over the other “perhaps within a week.”
Sens. Burns (R-Mont.) and Clinton (D-N.Y.) asked the Homeland Security Dept. (DHS) to take the lead on a 2 GHz proceeding pending at the FCC, citing the security benefits of “next-generation, ubiquitous, interoperable nation-wide wireless system.” In a Aug. 4 letter to Secy. Michael Chertoff that was attached to comments filed by TMI/TerreStar Mon. at the FCC, the senators asked DHS to “play a leading role” on the issue. It’s imperative that DHS weigh in on critical telecommunications infrastructure, they said: “We believe the FCC would give some deference to your views on this matter, and we urge you to be actively involve as the FCC considers how it will allocate this spectrum.”