Senate Commerce and Appropriations Committee staffers will have to wait for answers from FTC and Dept. of Justice (DoJ) on plan floated recently to give DoJ greater oversight of media merger reviews. Aide to Sen. Hollings (D-S.C.), who is chmn. of both Commerce Committee and Appropriations Commerce Subcommittee on Justice, State and Judiciary, said Senate staffers presented questions and requested data from DoJ at closed meeting Jan. 24. However, “many” of those questions remain unanswered and further meetings with DoJ as well as FTC staff are on horizon, he said. DoJ staffers reportedly admitted they hadn’t consulted with consumer groups before proposing changes in merger review process and didn’t present statistical data that would demonstrate respective entity’s antitrust expertise, Hollings spokesman said. DoJ had no comment by our Fri. deadline. Meanwhile, Alliance for Community Media Exec. Dir. Bunnie Riedel urged Hollings Thurs. to preserve FTC’s role in media merger reviews, saying public interest would be harmed if role were diminished: “Under the proposed agreement, [FTC] no longer would have authority on antitrust issues concerning cable, television and Internet issues. The [FTC] is an independent, nonpartisan body as opposed to [DoJ] where there are administration appointees.” She said proposed mergers of AT&T Broadband with Comcast and EchoStar with DirecTV were prime examples of “disturbing trend” in telecom industry that required preservation of FTC’s public interest responsibilities.
Commission on Future of U.S. Aerospace Industry will meet Feb. 12 at Dept. of Commerce in Washington. Meeting is 2nd in series of planned public events for panel, which Congress established last year to explore economic and national security concerns of U.S. civil and military air and space enterprises. This session will address export controls and communication, navigation and surveillance as they apply to aerospace industry. Meeting is 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. in Herbert Hoover Auditorium -- 703-602-1515.
Ultra-wideband developer XtremeSpectrum said Fri. it supported Dept. of Defense position on UWB as laid out in letter this month to NTIA by Asst. Defense Secy. John Stenbit. He told Deputy Asst. Commerce Secy. Michael Gallagher that DoD required there be no intentional emissions below 4.2 GHz, except for imaging systems. XtremeSpectrum said it backed that caveat and had told FCC it supported DoD proposal. Company said CEO Martin Rofheart met with Sen. Warner (R-Va.) on upcoming FCC UWB decision and that Warner “pledged his support” for XtremeSpectrum and for solution that would meet concerns of both industry and govt. Rofheart said XtremeSpectrum’s proposal “more than meets all the department’s concerns regarding intentional emissions below 4.2 GHz.” He said requirement for low-power emissions in restricted bands would eliminate need for ban on communications between 2 battery-operated devices, or “peer- to-peer communications.” XtremeSpectrum described peer-to- peer networking as “key unresolved issue” before FCC in advance of Feb. 14 agenda meeting at which Commission is expected to take up UWB item. Washington attorney for XtremeSpectrum Mitchell Lazarus said ban on peer-to-peer communications as way to protect GPS and PCS systems from interference wasn’t necessary under “more flexible” solution of DoD. Rofheart described wireless peer-to-peer communications as “commercial driver” for UWB because it could deliver high data rates with lower power consumption. “If the FCC bans peer-to-peer communication for UWB by requiring a fixed, plugged-in node as part of all installations, there is no ability to leverage the low power consumption of UWB and the commercial industry will falter,” Rofheart said. Meanwhile, intense bickering over UWB continued in filings at FCC, showing how far apart some opponents remained on issue. AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless and Qualcomm, citing Qualcomm test results submitted to FCC this month, disputed emissions mask proposed by XtremeSpectrum that would be as low as 35 dB below certain Part 15 levels. Wireless companies said XtremeSpectrum proposal missed “fundamental point” that FCC must resolve. Carriers said tests had shown that “wireless phones suffer harmful interference as a result of transmissions from nearby UWB devices, and no private or public party, including XtremeSpectrum, the other UWB proponents and the Commission itself, has conducted any test of an emissions mask or other restriction to prove that such protective measures will successfully mitigate the harmful interference.” Wireless companies said they still urged FCC not to authorize UWB communications devices below 6 GHz. They expressed concern about critical aviation systems operating between 4.2 and 6 GHz.
NTIA submitted ultra-wideband (UWB) policy recommendation to FCC Fri. that would restrict intentional emissions below 4.2 GHz, protect radioastronomy band and restrict peer-to-peer networking of UWB devices, sources said. Emissions limits in NTIA proposal reflect several stipulations laid out by Defense Dept. in letter earlier this month to NTIA, but proposal appears to have left unresolved differences among federal agencies on what emissions limits would best protect GPS. Industry source said proposal had left officials at agencies such as Dept. of Transportation upset because their demands for higher threshold for intentional emissions of 6 GHz hadn’t been heeded in final NTIA recommendation. NTIA recommendation came in advance of UWB item that’s expected to be on agenda for Feb. 14 FCC meeting.
Federal govt. working closely with high-tech industry should commit to “10-year vision” for next generation of Internet infrastructure, Computer Systems Policy Project (CSPP) said Thurs. Group, composed of CEOs of major U.S. information technology companies, proposed that by end of decade 100 million homes and small businesses be able to receive 100 Mbps affordable broadband capacity. It also urged that 200 MHz of spectrum be allocated for broadband and that both wireline and wireless networks be interconnected. In report, Building the Foundation of the Networked World: A Vision for 21st Century Wired and Wireless Broadband, CSPP was very specific on its goals but said little about policy and technical decisions needed to build network.
BellSouth Vp Pepper English named to Democratic National Committee’s 2004 Site Selection Advisory Committee… Eric Cooney promoted to COO, Tandberg TV… David Lebow promoted to senior vp-radio operations, Emmis Communications… Esther Koch, ex-Gymboree Corp., appointed interim CFO, Wink Communications, replacing Jonathan Spatz, who is critically ill… Hubert Joly promoted to exec. chief information officer, Vivendi Universal… Correction: Mark Nicholson, ex-Nortel, named Syndesis chief technical officer and vp- product management (CD Jan 23 p12)… Linda Thomsen promoted to deputy dir., SEC Enforcement Div… Phillip Bond, Commerce Dept. undersecy. for technology, assumes additional role of chief of staff.
Congressional staff meeting scheduled Wed. to discuss proposed changes in FTC and Dept. of Justice (DoJ) antitrust jurisdiction (CD Jan 23 p6) has been postponed until today (Thurs.), spokesman for Sen. Commerce Committee Chmn. Hollings (D-S.C.) said.
SANTA CLARA, Cal. -- WorldCom Vice Chmn. John Sidgmore said remaining telecom upstarts still faced tough battle to survive, but continuing Internet growth sparked by broadband, wireless and especially voice-command innovations would create enormous business opportunities in e-commerce and other spheres. About-face in capital markets makes it appear “2 or 3 years ago we were all geniuses and now we're all idiots,” Sidgmore told SuperNet conference here Tues., adding that’s not so: “There will be huge opportunities in telecom -- but they're not the same opportunities as a few years ago.” His prediction that Internet would become most important technology advance ever remained on track, he said. As with last comparable innovation, automobiles, however, only few companies will survive shakeout but they will become giants that contribute great portion of GDP.
Congress should determine whether antitrust legal community “exercised inappropriate influence” over recent plan to change FTC and Dept. of Justice (DoJ) merger review process, Media Access Project (MAP) told Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Hollings (D-S.C.). FTC and DoJ abruptly dropped scheduled news briefing last week on details of proposal, which would have given DoJ jurisdiction over media merger reviews (CD Jan 18 p3). Critics say plan was crafted without proper consultation with Congress and all FTC commissioners. Hollings, who also leads Appropriations Commerce Subcommittee on Justice, State and Judiciary, should “pursue the matter aggressively,” MAP Pres. Andrew Schwartzman said Tues. in letter to Hollings: “MAP’s experience is that the FTC and [DoJ] have been quite effective in allocating responsibility for particular mergers. Those claiming otherwise typically are trade associations and lawyers who represent companies seeking merger approval. Their purported desire to expedite the review process may be more accurately described as an interest in obtaining approval of mergers, not improvement in antitrust enforcement.” FTC and Justice officials were meeting with Senate staffers to discuss antitrust proposal and its potential impact on Justice budget.
Dept. of Commerce official called on Congress to adopt export control legislation that would establish consistent export review regime. Absence of “coherent, modern statutory basis” for current export law creates uncertainty for U.S. makers of dual-use items such as satellites and computers and harms U.S. credibility in dealing with foreign govts., Asst. Commerce Secy. for Export Enforcement Michael Garcia said Thurs.