A Pa. appeals court upheld a lower court’s telecom tax ruling that affirmed Dauphin County tax officials acted lawfully when they taxed cellular communications towers as real estate. The Pa. Commonwealth Court denied Shenandoah Mobile Communications’ appeal of a 2002 county assessment. The wireless company (Case 1299 C.D. 2004) claimed the action was an unlawful and discriminatory spot reassessment of its property. It also argued that since the tower could be dismantled, it was a portable structure that didn’t count as a permanent land improvement. The court ruled that the county acted lawfully because its assessment policy applied to all cellular towers, which previously weren’t taxed. It said counties have the right to determine that a new subject for taxation exists as long as policy applies equally to all affected property. The court dismissed the spot reassessment claim since the assessment at issue was the initial determination of property value. The court also said the tower could be considered a taxable permanent improvement because it is anchored to the ground for keeps.
Cable providers are rolling out faster broadband speeds as they battle telcos for customers. RCN has taken the lead with its broadband speed boost to 10 Mbps, announced just a week after Comcast kicked off the new year with faster residential speed tiers and a range of new services.
Cable providers are rolling out faster broadband speeds as they battle telcos for customers. RCN has taken the lead with its broadband speed boost to 10 Mbps, announced just a week after Comcast kicked off the new year with faster residential speed tiers and a range of new services.
Cable providers are rolling out faster broadband speeds as they battle telcos for customers. RCN has taken the lead with its broadband speed boost to 10 Mbps, announced just a week after Comcast kicked off the new year with faster residential speed tiers and a range of new services.
LG will ship 71W and 62W LCoS-based rear projection TVs starting in the 2nd quarter in the U.S., Australia and S. Korea, said SpatiaLight in an SEC filing Mon. SpatiaLight, which is supplying the microdisplay technology to LG, had 2 SEC filings: one seeking to resell 2.4 million shares and a separate filing to sell 2 million shares as part of a 1999 stock option plan.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has issued a final rule, effective January 31, 2005, which establishes user fees for individuals who apply for or renew a hazardous materials endorsement (HME) for a commercial driver's license (CDL), and thus are required to undergo a security threat assessment in accordance with 49 CFR Part 1572 (Credentialing and Background Checks for Land Transportation Security).
Telenor Satellite Services acquired Neratek, a Norwegian provider of land mobile and maritime satellite communications equipment and services, the company said Tues. Telenor plans to incorporate Neratek’s operations with its own global satellite services retail organization, Marlink. Details of the transaction weren’t disclosed.
At the recent Homeland Security Cargo Summit, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offered a draft national cargo security strategy paper as a starting point for a Summit discussion on the development of a strategic plan to support enhanced cargo security across DHS.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a memorandum stating that CBP is revising its procedures, effective immediately, for Pre-Arrival Processing System (PAPS) entries in order to reduce the work load for Customs brokers and CBP Officers.
Shippers NewsWire reports that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has begun to expand its cargo security strategy beyond weeding out high-risk international shipments to include a domestic component designed to provide comprehensive supply chain security from point of origin to final destination. According to the article, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is developing domestic security policies to prevent truck, rail, barge or air modes of transport within the U.S. from being used to attack critical transport networks or transfer a mass destruction weapon to high-value targets, and is taking its cues from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). (SNW dated 01/19/05, www.americanshipper.com.)