House Govt. Reform National Security Subcommittee Chmn. Shays (R-Conn.) told govt. and military representatives at hearing Tues. that his panel “will do whatever it has to do to straighten out” public and private sector differences over spectrum allocation policy. Most testimony from first panel of military officers reiterated necessity of prioritizing Dept. of Defense (DoD) spectrum needs, while pledging to keep in mind needs of industry in deploying 3rd generation (3G) wireless services. Second panel, which included FCC and NTIA officials, said progress was being made in developing national spectrum policy, evidenced by increased interagency dialogue to address growing need for spectrum in public safety and commercial 3G arenas.
Piracy of software and entertainment might never be curtailed “unless someone is in charge to take the credit and take the blame,” House Appropriations Commerce, State, Justice Subcommittee Chmn. Wolf (R-Va.) said Tues. At field hearing in Loudoun County, Va., Wolf told panel of 5 federal officials that “it does seem someone should be responsible domestically and someone internationally” for both enforcement of piracy laws and education on topic. Those officials, representing Depts. of Commerce, State, Justice and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), seemed less than enthusiastic. PTO Dir. James Rogan, who also is undersecy. of Commerce for intellectual property, told us after hearing that he wasn’t convinced federal govt. needed “an IP czar.” Wolf held hearing in his district at Va. campus of George Washington U. to emphasize importance of federal funding for intellectual property protection. Witnesses repeatedly focused on need for both enforcement and consumer education.
Piracy of software and entertainment might never be curtailed “unless someone is in charge to take the credit and take the blame,” House Appropriations Commerce, State, Justice Subcommittee Chmn. Wolf (R-Va.) said Tues. At field hearing in Loudoun County, Va., Wolf told panel of 5 federal officials that “it does seem someone should be responsible domestically and someone internationally” for both enforcement of piracy laws and education on topic. Those officials, representing Depts. of Commerce, State, Justice and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), seemed less than enthusiastic. PTO Dir. James Rogan, who also is undersecy. of Commerce for intellectual property, told us after hearing that he wasn’t convinced federal govt. needed “an IP czar.” Wolf held hearing in his district at Va. campus of George Washington U. to emphasize importance of federal funding for intellectual property protection. Witnesses repeatedly focused on need for both enforcement and consumer education.
Efforts by competitors to stop SBC-backed state legislation to require regulatory parity between incumbent telcos and their competitors for DSL and other broadband services proved unsuccessful in first of 4 SBC states to consider such bills this year. Okla. Gov. Frank Keating (R) signed bill (HB-2796) that prohibits Okla. Corp. Commission from regulating high-speed Internet access services such as DSL and all other broadband services, “regardless of the technology or medium used” for providing service. State broadband service regulation of SBC/Southwestern Bell and all other providers in state must cease as of July 1. New law requires carriers to obey any network unbundling requirements imposed by FCC, but otherwise contains no prerequisites or tradeoffs for broadband deregulation. Bill defines broadband as any digital service operating at speeds over 150 kbps.
Spring tradition in Washington has begun anew with Congress trying to reverse Presidential desire to scale back Advanced Technology Program (ATP). Under President Clinton and now with President Bush, Administration budgets have sought to redirect research funds to other efforts, and this year is no exception (CD Feb 5 p1). Members of Congress have past grant recipients in their districts, however, and previous authorizing committees and appropriators have worked together to save it. This year, the process began with Senate Commerce Committee grilling Commerce Dept. Deputy Secy. Samuel Bodman on Administration’s plan to limit funding for new ATP projects to less than $35 million in FY 2003.
If U.S. loses viable launch industry foreign terrorists could harm our abilities to enter space, Sen. Nelson (D-Fla.) said Tues. Speaking at Commerce Committee hearing on Commerce Dept. programs, Nelson said Office of Space Commercialization had been without dir. for more than 2 years. Lack of leadership in Washington, Nelson charged, could mean more satellite launches would go abroad, and “pretty soon you start diminishing” ability of U.S. “to get into orbit. Terrorists will try to keep us from space.” Commerce Dept. Undersecy. Samuel Bodman said Nelson had urged him to fill spot at Bodman’s confirmation hearing more than year ago, but assured Nelson that “I have spent a good deal of personal time with the space manufacturing industry.” Committee Chmn. Hollings (D-S.C.), who echoed importance of U.S. role in space business, said Bodman’s involvement was good news.
Commerce Dept. and its National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will issue a position soon on S-2037, NET Guard bill introduced in March by Senate Commerce Technology Subcommittee Chmn. Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sen. Allen (R-Va.), Commerce Dept. Undersecy. Samuel Bodman said Tues. Bill would create at NIST Center for Civilian Homeland Security Technology Evaluation, with charge of helping federal govt. sift through myriad private sector suggestions on homeland security. At Commerce Committee hearing on Advanced Technology Program (see separate item, this issue), both Wyden and Allen pressed Bodman on bill. After first demurring, Bodman said that personally “I think it’s a good idea to have a repository.” However, he said he wasn’t sure NIST employees had requisite backgrounds to perform technology assessments called for in bill. He also said “I get a little concerned” when federal govt. “picks winners and losers and you don’t have market involvement.” Wyden said “we don’t want the federal government picking winners.” Instead, he said, “we want an objective opinion on what looks promising.”
Global Crossing and Sprint filed separate protests at General Accounting Office (GAO) over recent decision by Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) to award $450 million IP network contract to WorldCom. Contract for Defense Research & Engineering Network (DREN), which is designed to connect Defense Dept. supercomputer users via virtual private network, has been touchstone of controversy since DISA made original award to Global Crossing last summer. DISA rescinded that award after rival bidders AT&T, Qwest, Sprint and WorldCom protested and DISA conducted 2nd round of bidding with what some sources have said were revised criteria in certain areas. Global Crossing said it filed GAO protest after DISA notified company, which filed for Ch. 11 protection in Jan., that it was “ineligible for award” as result of its “current financial situation.” On Fri., Sprint filed separate protest based on what spokesman said were “inconsistencies in the evaluation criteria and errors in the RFP assessment” that DISA used.
Business method patents will hinder “post-industrial” economy including e-commerce and Internet-based industries, several speakers said at FTC hearing April 11. Hearing, which addressed business method and software patents, was continuation of joint FTC-Justice Dept. examination of competition and intellectual property law and policy for the knowledge-based economy.
Despite 3G bid prices in Germany that spiraled to $46.1 billion in 2000, Matthias Kurth, pres. of Germany’s Regulatory Authority for Telecom Posts, defended auctions Thurs. as tool for distributing spectrum. He addressed Transatlantic Telecom Trade Seminar in Washington on European marketplace, sponsored by Commerce Dept., CompTel, European Competitive Telecom Assn. (ECTA), TIA. “I still believe the auction system is good, even if people overbid,” Kurth said in luncheon speech shortly before meeting with FCC Chmn. Powell: “I can’t help that.” Of high bid prices for licenses, which were highest in European 3G auction, he said: “It was surprising even to us.” Auctions still are better alternative than traditional European “beauty contest” method in which licensees were judged on merit-based factors rather than bids. “It’s a question of timing,” Kurth said, noting that at time of 3G auction, telecom market was at peak of its cycle. If bidding were held in today’s depressed economic environment, “I'm pretty sure we wouldn’t get the same results,” he said. Kurth said that in aftermath of auction, Germany had allowed operators to explore alternative solutions such as network sharing to help defray costs and keep rollout of services on track. He said another issue German regulators were beginning to encounter in wireless industry was calls by competitors to step up regulation of sector. In some cases, competitors argue that individual wireless networks in themselves embody monopolies and should be regulated as such based on factors such as prices to terminate calls. But Kurth said he advocated light touch in such areas. “We always step back when we have a feeling that the market is competitive,” he said. But he added: “We have a lot of forces who want to push us in this [other] direction and it’s a very crucial debate.” As for broadband access, Kurth said that as in U.S., regulators in Europe were struggling with how to ensure that incumbents provided network access to competitors for starting services. He said Deutsche Telekom recently lowered DSL prices for residential customers in what was seen as step closer to creating “mass market” for DSL services. In separate speech Thurs., ECTA Pres. Phil Evins said factors such as diminished availability of venture capital were pointing to another wave of company consolidations in Europe. He cited $8 billion merger last month of Sweden’s Telia and Finland’s Sonera. Trend of former national monopolies’ pairing up across border will continue, Evins said. Europe is likely to end up with 5 or 6 former national monopolies after consolidations are completed, he said: “There is still a lot of consolidation. There is still a lot of fallout.”