TELECOM
Phone Lobbies Push Hard on Local Access
FCC Open Meeting Agenda
MEDIA
Birds Keep Feeding Distant Signals
TV, Games Blamed for Obesity
QUICKLY
Powell Speech to Wireless Communications Association International
New Wireless Systems Push 3G Onto the Defensive
Web Porn Entices Far More Surfers Than Search
Bush FTC Nominee a Triple Threat
TELECOM
PHONE LOBBIES PUSH HARD ON LOCAL ACCESS
The Bush Administration must choose sides between long-distance telephone
companies such as AT&T and MCI and regional phone giants, including
Verizon, BellSouth and SBC. At stake is whether local phone rates will go
up for 19 million people -- which in turn could have consequences in the
presidential campaign -- and what companies will dominate the highly
volatile telecommunications industry. Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson
has a June 15 deadline to decide whether to appeal a federal court ruling
that would void regulations that govern the commercial interaction between
phone companies. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in
March that the regional firms can no longer be forced by the federal
government to allow long-distance and other telephone firms to lease their
lines at discounted rates set by state regulators. If SG Olsen appeals the
ruling, phone rates will probably stay the same for months -- at least
after the election in November. If he does not file an appeal, local
telephone rates could go up and CompTel/Ascent, which represents
competitors to local phone companies, has prepared political commercials
against President Bush for allowing that to happen, threatening to run
those ads in states that are pivotal to his reelection campaign. The Bush
Administration has been betting it would not have to make a decision if all
parties involved could be locked into a DC hotel room and forced to
negotiate. But that's not working.
See more at the URL below.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Birnbaum and Christopher Stern]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13959-2004Jun3.html
(requires registration)
DEFENDING PHONE COMPETITION
The NYTimes comes out in favor of a Supreme Court appeal in this editorial.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: New York Times Editorial Staff]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/04/opinion/04FRI3.html
(requires registration)
FCC OPEN MEETING AGENDA
FCC Commissioners will hold an open meeting June 10 and six items on agenda
were announced Thursday. The Commission will consider 1) a Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking concerning mandatory electronic filing for
international telecommunications services and other international filings,
2) a Report and Order and Fourth Report and Order concerning spectrum
sharing in the 1.6 and 2.4 GHz bands, 3) a Report and Order and Further
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning the eligibility, licensing and
service rules for the 2500-2690 MHz Band to promote ubiquitous wireless
broadband services nationwide, 4) Notice of Inquiry seeking information and
comment for the Eleventh Annual Report to Congress on the status of
competition in the market for the delivery of video programming, 5) a
Report and Order, Order on Reconsideration, and Further Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking addressing numerous issues concerning the provisions,
regulations, and compensation of telecommunications relay service (TRS) for
persons with hearing and speech disabilities and 6) an Order on
Reconsideration concerning requests from BellSouth and Sure West to
reconsider and/or clarify unbundling obligations relating to multiple
dwelling units and the network modification rules.
Popcorn and peanuts will NOT be available at this meeting; someone left a
big mess in the back row last month.
Additional information concerning this meeting may be obtained from Audrey
Spivack or David Fiske, Office of Media Relations, (202) 418-0500; TTY
1-888-835-5322. Audio/Video coverage of the meeting will be broadcast live
over the Internet from the FCC's Audio/Video Events web page at
www.fcc.gov/realaudio.
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-248013A1.doc
MEDIA
BIRDS KEEP FEEDING DISTANT SIGNALS
The Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act of 2004 was
approved by the House Commerce Committee Thursday. The bill would renew
through 2009 satellite TV carriers' right to import out-of-town network
feeds to subscribers who don't get acceptable signals from their local
affiliates. The bill would also end the controversial two-dish system for
local channels -- broadcasters complain that independent channels are often
relegated to the second dish that many consumers do not bother to have
installed. The FCC also would be ordered to study whether to allow DBS
companies to import digital version of networks feeds, something satellite
companies and some activist groups have been pushing for. The House and
Senate Judiciary Committee are expected to approve the legislation without
major changes next week. That would leave just the Senate Commerce
Committee, chaired by Sen John McCain (R-AZ), to consider the bill, but no
meeting of the committee has been scheduled on the subject.
For text of bill and amendments approved by House Commerce Committee, see
http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/Markups/06032004markup1290.htm
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA423264?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
TV, GAMES BLAMED FOR OBESITY
At a three-day summit on the American obesity crisis, William Dietz,
Director of the Nutrition and Physical Activity Division of the Centers for
Disease Control, said a major cause of childhood obesity is increased media
consumption, primarily TV and video games. He praised programs that limit
children's media consumption and urged the creation of more such programs.
World News Tonight anchor Peter Jennings moderated a panel on marketing to
children. The media and marketers got more and heavier criticism during the
session, both for the enforced sedentariness and for the opportunity that
provides to market fast food, snacks and sweets. But outgoing Federal Trade
Commission Chairman Tim Muris said banning food ads targeted toward
children would be ineffective, not to mention illegal. Chairman Muris added
that "kids get most of their info from adult programs," anyway. Ironically,
he said, government regulations can actually prevent positive health
messages. FDA rules, for example, prevent apple growers from claiming their
product "is better for you than, say, potato chips.... This (kind of thing)
actually drives good health information out of advertising."
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA422942?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
MURIS PANS FOOD-AD BAN
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA423247?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
QUICKLY
POWELL SPEECH TO WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL
FCC Chairman Michael Powell spoke at this WCA 2004 conference. His remarks
focused on the role wireless has and will play in bringing broadband to all
Americans. He concluded: "[T]he broadband future is exciting, innovative
and bright, and we look forward to wireless being part of that future. The
raw material is there, and the recognition of its importance has begun to
develop. Now all that is left is the easy part, of actually making it
happen, and that's what the discussions and debates at this important
conference are about -- bringing the stakeholders together who know how to
make it happen. Hopefully in a few years we will look back quite proudly
of our accomplishments knowing that we put the country and the world on
better, more competitive footing. This is a world that our children will
enjoy for years to come."
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-248003A1.doc
NEW WIRELESS SYSTEMS PUSH 3G ONTO THE DEFENSIVE
Third-generation mobile phone services have finally arrived in Europe after
a mammoth effort that cost the industry at least $123 billion, but new
systems that operate much faster already threaten to consign 3G to history.
Major wireless service providers such as Nextel in the United States and
Britain's Vodafone are trying out Flash-OFDM, a new wireless technology
able to carry data 10 times faster and cheaper than 3G networks. A rival
system is WiMAX, supported by U.S. chip giant Intel , which would offer
fast wireless Internet over distances of up to 28 miles. WiMAX aspires to
be the long-distance version of existing local wireless Internet systems.
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR:Lucas van Grinsven]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=GBNK4G0OYYQRICRBAELC...
WEB PORN ENTICES FAR MORE SURFERS THAN SEARCH
What were we all doing on the Web May 23-29? Research firm Hitwise Inc.
breaks down Web visits that week as: "Adult" at 18.8%, "Search Engines and
Directories" at 13.8%, "Entertainment" at 8.0%, "Business and Finance" at
7.4& and "Shopping and Classifieds" at 7%. Search engine Google accounted
for 2.7% of all Web visits.
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Lisa Baertlein]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=NMBXMKIXMFNYCCRBAEOC...
BUSH FTC NOMINEE IS TRIPLE THREAT
Deborah Majoras, a former Bush administration Department of Justice
official, who supervised the controversial settlement with Microsoft, is on
track to become the chair of the Federal Trade Commission. Majoras, who
represents some of the country's largest oil and media companies, would
become the federal government's lead "consumer advocate." But as Senators
Wyden and Boxer and a number of consumer groups have made clear, Majoras at
the FTC would be bad for consumers, competitors, and citizens alike. One
major objection to Majoras is her stance on the role that the FTC should
play in reviewing media mergers. She backed a secret plan developed by the
Bush Administration in 2002 that would have removed the FTC from reviewing
such mergers. Under the proposal, only the Department of Justice would
have had media merger authority. DOJ has been notoriously friendly to the
big media companies that lobby an administration (regardless of which party
is in charge). Only at the FTC have consumers and competitors been given
serious attention (as in the case of AOL and Time Warner, where the FTC
imposed some "open access" and non-discrimination safeguards). As chair of
the FTC, Majoras would be unlikely to seek review of media mergers,
permitting the DOJ to rubberstamp even more consolidation. While at DOJ,
Majoras also led the Bush administration's backroom deal that approved a
much-criticized agreement with Microsoft. The Majoras plan essentially
left the computer giant intact, and cut off the crucial rule of the states
in imposing more significant safeguards. The Jones, Day law firm, where
Majoras works in the government regulation/anti-trust division, represents
some of the biggest media (and media-related) companies in the country,
including: DIRECTV, General Electric Company,The Goldman Sachs Group,
Halliburton Company, Kellogg Brown & Root, Knight Ridder, Lehman Brothers
Holdings, Liberty Media Group, Merrill Lynch & Co., Procter & Gamble, R.R.
Donnelley & Sons, Thomson Multimedia S.A., Time Warner, the Tribune
Company, and the Washington Post Company.
[SOURCE: Center for Digital Democracy]
http://www.democraticmedia.org/news/washingtonwatch/majoras.html
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Is it Friday already? Have a great weekend and we'll be back next week with
more on an E-rate oversight hearing, digital TV & kids, an FCC meeting,
maybe some movement on satellite TV legislation... and all those good
community networking people will be meeting in Seattle.
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Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
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