The Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) has “had discussions” on the potential impact of federal regulation on an industry’s ability to protect critical infrastructure, but after only 7 weeks isn’t prepared to suggest that regulators remove rules, a DHS official said Wed. Speaking at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event on critical infrastructure, DHS Deputy Secy. Gordon England responded to a question from a BellSouth official in the audience that DHS knew some industries had “high regulatory walls around them,” adding that personally “I would like not to build up new regulatory requirements” as industries increased their focus on security. England had been asked whether DHS would be willing to lean on the FCC to reduce regulations on ILECs, or at least have the FCC run proposed regulations through a homeland security filter, but England couldn’t give her a firm answer: “We're not at that point.” Separately, he said companies needed “embedded economic incentives” to improve cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection. With 85% of the nation’s critical infrastructure in private hands, he said, companies needed to recognize that “the market will reward” companies that took security seriously. He said DHS would help by providing assessment methodology to calculate risk and by compiling best practices. Chamber of Commerce Exec. Vp-Govt. Affairs Bruce Josten agreed security was a responsibility of the private sector and said his organization had been asked by DHS to work on a business model for security. However, he said, “economic security and homeland security go hand in hand.” In “challenging economic times,” Josten said companies must figure out ways to leverage spending and even see return on investment (RoI) from their security dollars.
PALO ALTO -- The Bush Administration plans to start coordination between the new Homeland Security Dept. (DHS) and the Commerce Dept.’s Technology Administration (TA), a Commerce official disclosed late Tues.
NTIA, the FCC and the State Dept.’s International Communications & Information Policy Group will hold a wireless technology “showcase” and policy discussion May 12- 13 in the Commerce Dept. auditorium. The technology showcase will be May 12, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., with a policy panel discussion 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. the next day. The event is designed to build on NTIA’s Spectrum Summit last year. The panel discussions, whose participants haven’t been announced, will focus on unlicensed technology.
Washingtonians already are signaling that News Corp.’s purchase of DirecTV (CD April 10 p13) from General Motors won’t sail through completely unscathed, but most are predicting it eventually will be approved by both the FCC and the Justice Dept. Analysts said News Corp. had moved to head off at least one of the key issues with its program access guarantees, but questions still remain about the competitive impact of one company’s owning DBS, a major broadcast network, TV stations, a major movie studio and several hot cable networks.
State legislatures this year have taken up many bills that will affect state commission operations, administration and jurisdiction, ranging from agency restructuring and public campaign financing to universal service and consumer advocacy, including proposals to turn the Cal. PUC and Utah PSC from appointed to elected bodies, restructure the Ark. PSC and reform the commissioner selection process in S.C.
The House Telecom Subcommittee Wed. approved an amended bill by Subcommittee Chairman Upton (R-Mich.) that would create a trust fund from auctioned spectrum to reimburse federal agencies that vacated spectrum. Upton told reporters after the markup that, based on the support of the Bush Administration, “I'm pretty encouraged by the prospects of this bill.” He said Commerce Committee members would rally together to ensure the bill’s passage, given likely opposition by appropriators. He said he had recently discussed the legislation with Senate Communications Subcommittee Chmn. Burns (R-Mont.) and was confident the Senate would act as well.
CEA’s R3 Audio Systems Committee formed working group (R3 WG4) to develop voluntary standards for All Hazards NOAA Weather Radio receivers and related products. Assn. said initiative included TVs as well as radios and would be public sector-private sector partnership with Commerce Dept.’s National Oceanic & Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) and National Weather Service (NWS). Working group also will evaluate certification opportunities for developing and placing All Hazards Alert logo on products meeting appropriate criteria, CEA said.
Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. McCain (R-Ariz.) is considering holding a hearing on media ownership issues, Committee Counsel Bill Bailey told reporters at NAB. He said no date had been set and the committee might not be able to get to the hearing promptly. But Bailey said McCain would like to examine the issue before the FCC’s report on media ownership, which is scheduled to be released June 2. A spokeswoman for Senate Communications Subcommittee Burns (R- Mont.) said he wanted to closely examine the proposal to sell Global Crossing to foreign buyers. She said Burns was concerned about many outstanding national security issues associated with the purchase. She said no hearing had been scheduled and one wasn’t likely, but it couldn’t be ruled out.
On the eve of a markup of spectrum relocation trust fund legislation, scheduled for today (Wed.) by the House Telecom Subcommittee, CTIA told Commerce Committee Chmn. Tauzin (R- La.) and ranking Democrat Dingell (Mich.) that it supported recent changes. At a March 25 hearing, Pentagon officials told the subcommittee they had some limited, technical concerns about HR-1320, including timetables in subcommittee Chmn. Upton’s (R-Mich.) bill that would be difficult to meet. The changes made since that hearing address congressional oversight issues -- how reviews are to be integrated into the process to ensure that DoD cost estimates for relocation from spectrum don’t go out of control while guaranteeing that federal users that move are fully reimbursed, an industry source said. The modifications also provide more opportunities for congressional oversight, as well as processes for submitting expenses for General Accounting Office review and subsequent reviews if costs exceed 110% of the govt.’s estimate. CTIA Senior Vp-Governmental Affairs Steven Berry told Tauzin and Dingell that the wireless industry supported the changes “because they remain true to the legislation’s central aim of providing a certain, predictable and accountable relocation process.” CTIA also urged Tauzin and Dingell to “oppose any amendment that would tip the careful balances struck in the legislation. While other ideas may have merit, it is unwise to place government reimbursement at risk.” Berry said Stephen Price, deputy asst. secy. of defense for spectrum, had called for a “trustworthy trust fund” at the March hearing. The measure is considered key to clearing Defense Dept. incumbents from spectrum earmarked for advanced wireless services. Last year, the Pentagon agreed to clear most of 1710-1755 MHz, which is part of 90 MHz being made available for advanced commercial wireless services, including 3G. Current law requires commercial entities to reimburse federal users for the costs of relocating from reallocated spectrum. The proposed spectrum relocation trust fund would change the system to a central relocation fund financed from auction receipts from the current system of direct payments from commercial entities to federal agencies. “The current process is a ‘black hole’ for both government agencies and the private sector -- filled with uncertainty, punctuated by unknown costs and bereft of predictability,” Berry wrote in the letter to Tauzin. “The current process works for no one.” Telecom Subcommittee ranking Democrat Markey (Mass.) at the hearing supported a bill he recently introduced that would create a spectrum commons and would set up trust fund provisions that would include a $5 billion cap and a separate fund for technology training for schools. Both Price and NTIA Dir. Nancy Victory expressed concerns about the Markey proposal, including the idea of a cap on the fund.
The Senate passed a bill (S-718) Tues. in a voice vote that would give troops in Iraq and Afghanistan access to free phone service so they could call home. The bill by Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. McCain (R-Ariz.), known as the “Troops Phone Home Free Act,” has been referred to the House Armed Services Committee. The bill would require that troops in Iraq or Afghanistan be give up to $40 worth of free phone service each month. The Defense Dept. would have to make telephones available to the troops. The service would end 60 days after the Defense Secy. determined that Operation Iraqi Freedom had ended. McCain also asked telephone companies not to cut service to family members of soldiers who couldn’t pay their bills because of the cost of calls to the Middle East. He said he had received assurances from ALTS, CompTel and USTA that family members wouldn’t have their services disconnected.