Brad Edwards promoted to vp-govt. affairs, USTA… Bob Marbut retires as Hearst-Argyle TV chmn. at year end, will remain dir., be replaced as chmn. by Victor Ganzi, CEO of parent Hearst… Connie Correll ex-TechNet, named counselor and senior adviser in Commerce Dept. Technology Administration… Katherine Pope promoted to vp-prime-time series, NBC Studios… Changes at Starz Encore: Erin Keefe- Feiner advanced to group dir.-affiliate mktg.; Peter Roberts, ex-AT&T Broadband, rejoins Starz as senior dir.- direct mktg.; Ann Ivancie, ex-Excite@Home, named senior dir.-affiliate operations… Tom Ramsey, ex-Rivals.com, becomes dir.-strategic mktg… Kristin Apple, ex-E! Networks, returns to Starz as dir.-strategic mktg… Margaret Bellville, ex-Incanta, named exec. vp-operations, Charter Communications.
There are several positions in Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) that White House hopes to fill in Jan., including many of interest to telecom community. Some, such as Tom Ridge as DHS secy., will require Senate confirmation, but it isn’t expected that any of nominations will encounter difficulty in GOP Senate, particularly with Democrats wary of being accused of delaying development of new agency. White House late Mon. released 32-page reorganization plan for DHS. Under Homeland Security Act the White House had 60 days to release plan following the signing of Act, but instead took mere hours.
FCC International Bureau Chief Donald Abelson expressed concerns about Chinese govt.’s raising settlement rates for international calls. “This is just another vain attempt at stopping what will be inevitable -- that is, the cost of connectivity should go down,” Abelson said at news conference Fri. Noting progressive stance that China had taken in past on IP telephony, he said that was “exactly the kind of policy I thought that we were going to see from China going on in the future. This particular action… I am surprised by it.”
Minn. PUC told Qwest it must be more creative in crafting proposed remedy for its violations of state and federal law in failing to file certain preferential agreements it made with CLECs. PUC said Qwest’s current proposed remedy plan wasn’t satisfactory because it focused too much on retail operations. It gave Qwest until Dec. 12 to come up with better plan. But there also was good news for Qwest. PUC ruled out structural separation, pulling Qwest’s intrastate certificate and draconian proposal for $175 million fine as penalty options. Qwest had offered to give CLECs 10% discount on future wholesale purchases, create 100 new Minn. jobs, offer senior citizens free privacy protection services for 2 years and extend DSL service to 6 new communities. Minn. Dept of Commerce, which filed initial complaint about unfiled agreements, objected, saying offenses affected wholesale markets so remedy plan must do more to ensure against future anticompetitive wholesale behavior. Minn. Attorney Gen. wanted Qwest’s plan modified to give elderly customers free privacy products for 3 years and to make 10% CLEC credit retroactive to Jan. 2000. In informing Qwest its plan needed more work, PUC told carrier to consider AG’s proposal and to find way to extend to all CLECs those preferential terms given to CLECs that were parties to unfiled agreements. PUC also told Qwest that if its new plan wasn’t satisfactory, it was prepared to fine Qwest up to $75 million. Once Qwest files new remedy plan, parties will have 30 days to file comments. Final decision could come in Feb.
Two senators are promoting use of Wi-Fi wireless broadband as alternative to cable-DSL debate that has resulted in impasse in Congress. Sens. Allen (R-Va.) and Boxer (D-Cal.) are circulating “Dear Colleague” letter that encouraged more unlicensed spectrum be devoted to broadband.
It’s not “sexy” digital rights management issues such as Napster that will drive take-up of high-speed Internet access at home, but telework and education, Technology Administrator Chief Counsel Nuala O'Connor Kelly said. More employees are finding it necessary and desirable to have connectivity with their offices from home, Kelly said at Georgetown U.’s E-Commerce Institute. Commerce Dept.’s telework policy is used more by men than by women, she quipped, because women who are mothers don’t want to stay home with screaming kids. Other staffers just want some unbroken time away from office to concentrate on their work, she said.
Colo. PUC rejected 14 Qwest interconnection agreements previously entered into with various CLECs. PUC said contracts were against public interest because they contained discriminatory provisions and required CLECs to drop opposition to Qwest’s merger and long distance entry initiatives at PUC. AT&T last spring asked agency to investigate whether Qwest had failed to file CLEC agreements and amendments that should have been submitted to agency for approval. AT&T asked after Minn. Dept. of Commerce in Feb. accused Qwest of making preferential deals with CLECs to silence their opposition to its regulatory pleas. Minn. PUC this summer concluded Qwest had violated law by failing to file agreements and now is considering penalties. Colo. PUC approved 2 unfiled agreements that involved MFS Communications and McLeod USA, saying neither had any improper impacts on competition. PUC also set Nov. 26 prehearing conference in its investigation into whether Qwest’s failure to file agreements impaired competition in state. Docket will consider whether Qwest should be punished and what remedies would ensure that future interconnection agreements were filed as required. In another matter, PUC called for comments by Nov. 27 on whether it should open rulemaking to change processes for reviewing tariffs. It asked commenters to address whether current tariff requirements and practices impaired carriers’ ability to respond to competition and what reforms might alleviate any impairment. PUC also asked what processes might be followed for customers to challenge rates and terms of services if they were detariffed.
White House Cybersecurity czar Richard Clarke called Thurs. for “national discussion” on whether U.S. should embrace Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) as next-generation Internet protocol, move that would follow path already chosen by Japan and Europe. U.S. govt. doesn’t have position on IPv6, but Clarke ticked off several cybersecurity and economic factors that he said would support move to that protocol.
House will continue debate today (Thurs.) on compromise bill (HR-5710) to create Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS), including combined Directorate for Information Analysis & Infrastructure Protection (IA-IP). DHS would include undersecy. responsible for comprehensive national plan for protecting key national resources such as information technology and telecom systems, “including satellites, electronic financial and property record storage and transmission systems, emergency preparedness communications systems.”
CHICAGO -- Speakers at NARUC annual meeting here Tues. said incumbent telcos, CLECs and regulators had mutual interest in making telecom market once again attractive to investors and in resolving role of unbundled network element platforms (UNE-Ps) in development of competition. Speakers agreed investment and UNE-P issues were linked but remained far apart on how matters could be addressed.