The first session of the 109th Congress started on a fast track for telecom when the House quickly approved a broadcast decency bill in March, but its performance leaves much for the second session to complete. Chances for completing action on long-awaited DTV provisions ended when no deal was reached 2 days before Christmas. Congress approved a one-year exemption from Anti- Deficiency Act rules for the Universal Service Fund (USF) in Nov. In an effort led by Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska), the measure was included in the Commerce-State-Justice appropriations bill.
Lobbying spending among telecom, cable and broadcast groups increased about 9% in the first half of 2005 compared with the same period in 2004, according to mid- year reports filed with the Secy. of the Senate. The reports examined for this article include only the internal spending reported by trade associations and companies. Most companies and trade associations supplement their internal resources with outside lobbying groups and law firms that have special expertise in topic areas for contracts ranging from $10,000 to $250,000 per filing period, which is 6 months.
FCC Chmn. Martin made it clear he still backs a numbers-based approach to reforming the way companies contribute to the Universal Service Fund (USF), despite concerns about that method’s effect on low-volume telephone users. User groups have said a phone number- based approach would hike USF fees carriers pass on to customers.
Plans for a draft House telecom bill markup are on hold until next year, lawmakers decided late Thurs. afternoon, when they couldn’t resolve differences. “We'll have a markup when we're ready to have a markup,” a panel spokesman said. David Hickey, telecom aide to Rep. Stearns (R-Fla.), said at a conference sponsored by the Practising Law Institute (PLI): “We want to get it done and we were debating a markup.”
Changing video habits could mean new markets for Fixed Satellite Services operators, and SES Global said it’s angling to go after them while competitors Intelsat and PanAmSat focus on combining. “Our peer group is preoccupied with merging and there’s a window of opportunity of at least three to five years to go after growth… under circumstances where there will be less competition,” said SES Global CFO Mark Rigolle at the UBS media conference Mon. And the evolving video market could offer SES just that opportunity, Rigolle said.
Universal service fund (USF) support would be used for broadband deployment, under a discussion draft released Thurs. of a bill by Reps. Terry (R-Neb.) and Boucher (D-Va.). The bill would expand the USF base by requiring payments into the fund by service providers that use telephone numbers or IP addresses or sell network connections. “To change USF, I believe that all who play must pay,” said Terry. He called the draft a vehicle for reform that would remedy “inequities that exist today.” Boucher said he’s seeking comments on the draft by Dec. 23 and plans to introduce a bill next year.
A measure adopted by the Senate to exempt the Universal Service Fund (USF) from the Anti-Deficiency Act (ADA) (CD Sept 16 p9) would let rural telecom companies “continue investing in their networks,” 4 rural telecom groups said. “We look forward to working with members from the House… to create a permanent fix,” the Independent Telephone & Telecom Alliance, NTCA, OPASTCO and Western Telecom Alliance said. The measure would extend for one more year an existing exemption of the USF from ADA provisions.
State lawmakers from across the U.S. will tackle telecom and technology issues this week at the National Conference of State Legislatures’ annual conference in Seattle. Proposed state and national telecom law rewrites and wrangles over municipal Wi-Fi are among the hot topics at the 5-day conference, which begins today (Tues.). About 7,000 state legislators, policy experts, advocates, govt. leaders and media are expected to attend.
State lawmakers from across the U.S. will tackle telecom and technology issues this week at the National Conference of State Legislatures’ annual conference in Seattle. Proposed state and national telecom law rewrites and wrangles over municipal Wi-Fi are among the hot topics at the 5-day conference, which begins today (Tues.). About 7,000 state legislators, policy experts, advocates, govt. leaders and media are expected to attend.
Verizon this year has hired 5 firms to lobby Congress, according to the latest filings with the Secy. of the Senate reflecting a flurry of activity over DTV and telecom legislation. Verizon hired the lobbyists on issues such as telecom and broadband, spectrum allocation and regulatory parity in broadband deployment, the documents show. “As issues change you want to give yourself flexibility to be effective,” said a Verizon spokesman.