The Commerce Dept.’s Inspector Gen. (IG) concluded that then NTIA Dir. Nancy Victory, by accepting a party that lobbyists threw in her honor Oct. 2001, had violated federal govt. ethical guidelines. But the IG report said it didn’t turn up evidence to support a charge that her position on wireless spectrum caps was shaped by the party. The IG report was finalized June 25 but not released until Mon. by House Govt. Reform Committee ranking Democrat Waxman (Cal.).
Several technology leaders wrote the Senate Appropriations Committee leadership urging that funding be restored for the Commerce Dept.’s Technology Administration (TA). In the Commerce Justice State (CJS) appropriations bill (S-1585), the $8 million in funding for the TA was eliminated. The CJS bill was approved by the Appropriations Committee Sept. 4, but hasn’t moved to the Senate floor. CapNet, the Information Technology Assn. of America (ITAA), the Business Software Alliance (BSA), VeriSign and AT&T all signed the Sept. 22 letter urging restoration of TA funding. It was sent to Senate Appropriations Chmn. Stevens (R- Alaska), committee ranking Democrat Byrd (W.Va.) and Appropriations CJS Subcommittee Chmn. Gregg (R-N.H.). “As our chief ally in the Administration, TA is the primary federal agency charged with the explicit mission of working with U.S. industry to accelerate innovation and maximize technology’s contribution to U.S. economic growth,” the letter said. “The TA has been an important partner to the technology sector during times of prosperity and downturn.” The letter noted that the House had passed its CJS appropriations bill with full funding for the TA. The House Appropriations CJS subcommittee had eliminated funding for TA, but it was restored in the full committee markup.
Omnibus could become an ominous word for those that want to see Congress reestablish a 35% broadcast ownership cap. Despite the recent Senate passage of a “legislative veto” (S.J. Res. 17) of the FCC’s June 2 media ownership rules, most observers still see an appropriations legislation rider as the most likely vehicle to establish an ownership cap during this session. But with the appropriations process slowly trudging along, coupled with the need for supplemental appropriations for Iraq, some industry and Hill sources said the prospect of an omnibus appropriations bill is becoming greater.
Commerce Dept. named Heidi Hijikata, ex-EDS, as standards liaison for its International Trade Administration… Time Warner promoted Brian Benschoter to vp-gen. mgr., News 8 Austin (cable)… Sal Petruzzi, ex-A&E, named TBS vp-PR… Jeff Kiernan, ex-WTMJ-TV Milwaukee, appointed news dir., WCCO-TV Minneapolis… National Geographic promoted Andrew Wilk to exec. vp-production… Paul Vasington, ex-Mass. Dept. of Telecom & Energy, named vp- Analysis Group… Charles Gallagher of Viewpointe Archite Services joins NTL board.
Verizon Wireless told the FCC that service rules for advanced wireless spectrum at 1.7 GHz and 2.1 GHz shouldn’t include restrictions on aggregation. The carrier outlined a need for paired spectrum with sufficient separation between an uplink at 1710-1755 MHz and a downlink at 2110-2155 MHz. Verizon Wireless said Part 24 rules, with some changes, would provide flexibility for licensees in this spectrum. It argued for a “substantial service” performance requirement, noting advanced wireless services could develop in any of several different directions, so flexibility is crucial. Verizon Wireless said rules should provide for an initial license term longer than 10 years. Citing similar FCC actions at 700 MHz, Verizon Wireless said 15 years would accommodate the extent to which spectrum couldn’t be used while still encumbered by military and other incumbents. Concerning clearing of Defense Dept. and other govt. users at 1.7 GHz, Verizon Wireless said a “detailed plan (including timelines) must be developed before FCC’s rules are finalized, because timing of availability may impact band configuration.” A plan to pay for relocation of govt. incumbents with auction proceeds is “key to efficient band clearing,” Verizon Wireless said. While congressional legislation has been pending that would create a trust fund for such spectrum clearing, it has become enmeshed in Northpoint riders. An amendment recently was added to spectrum relocation trust fund legislation (HR-1320) by the Senate Commerce Committee that would allow Northpoint Communications to bypass an FCC auction for spectrum in the Ku-band.
State regulators around the country are taking up the issues referred to them in the FCC’s Triennial Review Order (TRO) on network unbundling. The commissions of Ill., Ind., Mich., Ohio and Wis. plan to hold a regional workshop session at Ill. Commerce Commission headquarters Oct. 16-17 to prioritize the issues and establish paths for communication and information exchange. The N.C. Utilities Commission (NCUC)established 2 dockets to address TRO issues. One is for the 90-day review on whether competition in the large- business local market segment would be impaired without access to unbundled switching (Case P-100, Sub 133P). The agency told the state’s 4 largest incumbents to file by Sept. 19 information on how many UNE combinations of DS-1 loops and unbundled switching they had in service. CLECs have until Oct. 3 to challenge the presumption that unbundled switching isn’t needed for effective large-business competition. The other docket (Case P-100, sub 133Q) is the 9-month case on the mass market’s need for unbundled switching. No procedural schedule has been set. The Tenn. Regulatory Authority (TRA) gave parties until Sept. 24 to file their challenges to the FCC’s presumption that unbundled local switching wasn’t needed in the large-business market. The TRA (Case 03-00490) said challengers must identify the specific markets that would be impaired absent unbundled switching and provide evidence to support their impairment claims. The Mass Dept. of Telecom & Energy (DTE) plans hearings Nov. 12-14 in its TRO docket (Case DTE 03-59) on switching for large business customers, with final briefs by Dec. 4. The Mich. PSC asked SBC to respond by Sept. 24 on whether it planned to amend the cost studies underlying its wholesale rates in the wake of publication of the full TRO. SBC in May asked the PSC to increase its UNE rates to cost and comments were to be filed by Nov. 10. The PSC last month acknowledged the TRO could affect the UNE price case and said the procedural schedule could be changed if amendments were needed because of the TRO.
Several Capitol Hill staffers were working to understand what impact a line in the Senate Commerce Justice State appropriations bill could have on the FCC’s auction authority, officials said Wed. A spokesman for the Senate Appropriations Committee said the measure in the CJS bill, which was passed last Thurs. by the Committee, would prevent the FCC from using a portion of the auction revenue for auction administration. Sources said legal fees and other considerations have driven the cost of holding auctions to about $97 million per year. Several Hill staffers were unaware of the provision or if it would have an impact on the FCC’s auction authority or budget.
Threats to critical infrastructure such as telecom networks via a cyberattack became more real for many members of Congress in Aug. after the blackout of Aug. 14 and the series of Internet worm attacks, even though all intelligence to date suggested neither was terrorist-related. On Capitol Hill Thurs., 2 House subcommittees held a joint hearing on cyberthreats, but at that session -- and an appropriations hearing on the critical infrastructure unit of the Dept. of Homeland Security -- govt. witnesses expressed little concern about any immediate danger.
Elizabeth Prostic will be named the Commerce Dept.’s chief privacy officer today (Thurs.), sources told us. Prostic moves to Commerce from the Senate Commerce Committee, where she was a Republican staff member. She will facilitate communications between the chief information office and attorneys and will be responsible for developing a network of privacy advocates in each of the Commerce bureaus, we're told.
Second-quarter Internet retail sales grew 4.6% over previous quarter to $12.5 billion, Commerce Dept. reported. It said figure was up 27.8% over same quarter a year ago, despite falling 13.4% in first quarter of this year. But e-commerce accounted for only 1.5% of all retail sales, same percentage as in previous quarter, Commerce said.