A program agreement that would streamline wireless and broadcast tower siting reviews ran into trouble last week when the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) raised concerns about how certain types of sites would be excluded, sources said. FCC and some industry officials said they remained bullish that differences could be worked out relatively quickly. But they said a key unresolved issue was one that had drawn recent Capitol Hill attention: Treatment of sites “potentially” eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site its January 2004 U.S. Customs and Border Protection Modernization newsletter which discusses, among other things, CBP's plans for expansion of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) in 2004. The following are "highlights" of CBP's January 2004 newsletter:
SAN JOSE -- The U.S. Marine Corps is testing wireless data technologies as battlefield alternatives to current, excruciatingly slow 19 kbps transfer rates. Capts. David Joseforsky and Gil Garcia of the Naval Postgraduate School briefed the Wireless Communications Assn. International’s annual technology symposium here Fri on work this year with Wi-Fi and Free Space Optics (FSO), which is like fiber optics except that air instead of fiber is used to conduct the light.
The 2004 state legislative sessions have seen introduction of bills in Hawaii, Wash., Colo. and Ida. to change the makeup of state commissions or the scope of their duties. Meanwhile, carphone safety bills are moving in Colo., Md. and Utah.
Pioneer will drop CRT-based rear-projection TVs and convert its Pomona, Cal., plant to assembling plasma displays by midyear, Display Mktg. Mgr. Jeffrey Dickson told us. The Pomona facility, which builds Pioneer’s remaining 53W and 64W HD-ready rear- projection sets, will replace the 2 existing CRT production lines with those capable of assembling plasma, he said.
The FCC should consider several “unique interests” of local govts. while developing a regulatory policy for VoIP, several local govt. organizations said in a letter to Chmn. Powell. The signers of the letter were the National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the International Municipal Lawyers Assn., the National Assn. of Counties, the National Assn. of Telecom Officers & Advisors and the Alliance for Community Media. They told Powell a fair and effective VoIP policy should: (1) Preserve local govt. authority to provide police power protection. As regulators of last resort, local govts. must act when citizens require police power protection not asserted by federal or state authorities. (2) Give local govts., which are among the largest consumers of wired and wireless services, “fair treatment” as customers or consumers of VoIP. They should be granted access to “fair services at fair prices.” (3) Provide adequate compensation for resources that local govts. commit to VoIP such as rent for use of public land. VoIP providers also should pay a fair share of taxes in a broad- based taxation system, they said. The group said the FCC should ensure that no action was taken that limited the ability of local govts. to provide VoIP services, given that many municipalities now provided telecom and cable services. The entities urged the agency to refrain from acting on several pending VoIP proceeding until it had completed its work in the proposed broader proceeding that would address general VoIP issues. “Local government is concerned that piecemeal consideration of VoIP in separate proceedings will limit the Commission’s ability to develop a rational approach to VoIP as a whole.” They said they also believed that a holistic approach to VoIP regulation should include telling Congress that the FCC lacked the authority or ability under current law to preserve universal service, to enact customer safeguards and other problems. “Technological changes have outpaced the regulatory environment established by the Communications Act.”
In the absence of a workable alternative on federal tower siting requirements, the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) told the FCC they would have to seek “full consultation with the FCC on many sites to assure that our interests are protected.” A draft program agreement that still must be finalized would streamline the review process for communications facilities under Sec. 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. USET told the FCC that it would like to reach agreement on a best practices document that would meet the Commission’s tower siting obligations, assure expedited review for industry and protect tribal sacred sites from unnecessary harm due to tower construction. “Many of the fears expressed by industry, such as that they would have to contact 550 tribes or would have to pay exorbitant costs, are unfounded,” it said. “USET has committed itself to the development of a tribal lands database that would enable industry to quickly and easily identify which, if any, tribes have an interest in a particular area.” As for reimbursement costs for tribes that provide expertise, USET said it was putting together a model schedule to cover tribal costs, “not create a tribal profit center… This reimbursement schedule will be based on what is commonly charged by other governmental organizations, such as the states, when requests are made to their state historic preservation officers.” USET told the FCC the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation had determined that tribes had “special expertise” on the Sec. 106 process and eligible properties that had religious and cultural significance. “Thus, it was deeply troubling to us that you were unwilling to make this acknowledgment,” USET told the FCC.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued an interim final rule and a notice, both effective January 5, 2004, which announce the establishment of the U.S.-Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology Program (US-VISIT) and detail the requirements for the first phase of this program.
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts told financial analysts he saw no “bottleneck” to competition that would require regulatory intervention. Speaking at a Smith Barney conference in Ariz., Roberts said he thought the most likely scenario was for less regulation of new technology such as VoIP. “I think the model that the government intelligently chose, which is to promote competition, to the extent of less regulation as a general rule for a lot of businesses… is really working,” Roberts said: “Where is the bottleneck facility? I don’t see it.” He predicted the old AT&T Broadband cable systems would achieve 40% margins this year, matching Comcast’s systems. He said the company was reaching the “so-called promised land of free cash flow” and he didn’t foresee the company’s having to hit up capital markets the next 5 years. He said he would watch closely how Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. performed as a competitor. Comcast plans to begin VoIP in Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Conn. and Mass. this year, Roberts said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has published a final rule which amends the Customs Regulations effective January 5, 2004 regarding the advance electronic presentation of information pertaining to cargo (sea, air, rail, or truck) prior to its being brought into, or sent from, the U.S. (See final rule for compliance dates for each transportation mode.)