HOUSE MEMBERS FOCUS ON POWERLINE BROADBAND TECHNOLOGY

Congress should clarify how different broadband services are treated, with an emphasis on parity, said Jay Birnbaum, vp-gen. counsel of Current Communications Group, a BPL provider. Birnbaum said court cases like BrandX have left BPL providers, along with all broadband providers, uncertain about the regulatory future. In Brand X, the 9th U.S. Appeals Court, San Francisco, threw out the FCC’s ruling that cable modem was an information service, as opposed to a telecom service. Birnbaum said Current was providing BPL in Cincinnati and this summer would carry VoIP over those lines. He said he believed more utility companies would begin providing BPL since the technology to provide the service has improved. “The technology is more viable,” he said, referring to failed attempts at BPL 5 years ago. “However, [utilities] are slow movers.” But Birnbaum said more utilities were looking into BPL, not because they're eager to provide high speed Internet service, but because the technology gives them the ability to add functions to their electricity service, such as automated meter reading and the ability to locate power disruptions.

Rep. Cox (R-Cal.) asked Birnbaum about funding of BPL technologies and said regulated utilities should fund some of the development of the technology. Birnbaum said Cynergy, an Ohio utility, provided 50% of the funding for his Cincinnati venture. Birnbaum said utilities often need to fund such ventures through the unregulated side of their companies. Rep. Wynn (D-Md.) asked about safety, and Birnbaum assured him that a modem that plugs into wall outlets is safe. Birnbaum told Rep. Stearns (R-Fla.) that the broadband feed can flow through power lines even during a power outage, though it’s a moot point unless the computer has battery backup. Birnbaum also said Current is working with NTIA on the agency’s study of BPL interference with aircraft traffic communications, claiming that signal that “leaks” off of the power lines was very low. He also said the low leakage meant interference with ham radio operators was unlikely, but added that Current’s BPL doesn’t operate in the same frequencies as ham radio operators.

Cox asked the mobile telephony witnesses -- representing Qualcomm, Verizon and Sprint -- about software applications for phones. Cox speculated that the proprietary operating systems of cell phones and other similar devices were preventing some convergence between cell phones and other digital devices. Jonas Neihardt, Qualcomm vp-federal govt. affairs, said the industry has recognized that cell phone software lacked the ability to use standard applications and was working to increase the phones’ versatility. Neihardt also said the processing power of cell phones has increased dramatically over the past few years.

John Burris, Sprint dir.-data product mktg., said Sprint’s introduction of cell phone cameras and picture mail has been very successful, with nearly 100 million photos having been sent this year. He said Sprint would soon introduce MobiTV, which will give consumers limited TV selection -- including MSNBC and CNBC -- over their cell phones for an additional $10 a month. Baseball audio will also be offered, he said.

Verizon used the hearing to show off its new “iobi” device, which will bring TV, Internet and telephony services together, said Adriana Rizzo, Verizon exec. dir.-eServices. Rizzo demonstrated the device and told members it should be available for purchase in time for the holidays. While the price hasn’t been set, she said it would be sold below cost to win new subscribers. Also, Rizzo said Verizon was announcing a rollout of fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) in Keller, Tex., in the Ft. Worth area. She said the company planned to pass 1 million homes with FTTP by the end of the year and double that by the end of 2005. She also said Verizon would invest more than $1 billion over the next 2 years to expand wireless broadband.

Rep. Shimkus (R-Ill.), co-chmn. of the Congressional E- 911 Caucus, asked about how E911 could function on VoIP technology. Jack Jachner, Alcatel senior dir.-research & innovation, said the technology in IP telephony phones would help E911 to work over VoIP systems. Jachner emphasized that IP technology phones will provide both presence, which could alert a caller to the availability of someone before making the call, and preference, which can help callers protect privacy and availability.

Kevin Leddy, Time Warner Cable (TWC) senior vp-strategy & development, said TWC was offering a “triple play” of voice, data and advanced video. TWC has begun offering VoIP in Portland, Me., and 11% of potential subscribers have signed up. VoIP should be available over the entire TWC footprint by 2004, he said. Also, TWC expects to offer 15 HDTV channels by the end of the year, he said.

During the hearing, House Telecom Subcommittee Chmn. Upton (R-Mich.) reiterated his belief that the Telecom Act of 1996 perpetuates “stovepipe” regulations that hamper competition and that the Act should be reworked in the next congressional session. House Telecom Subcommittee ranking Democrat Markey (Mass.) said Congress’s treatment of wireless phones in the 1996 Act should serve as a model for revisions of the act and that Congress should “insist on competition.”