State lawmakers are starting 2006 with a slew of bills on telecom deregulation and taxes, privacy, carphone safety, 911, telemarketing, video franchising and wireless issues.

Cable and phone companies voiced worry about BPL interfering with DSL and cable modem services, in comments on Industry Canada’s BPL consultation paper. Broadcasters and amateur radio operators cited similar concerns, based on how close BPL gear on utility poles is to other broadband equipment. The Canadian Cable & Telecom Assn. (CCTA) said BPL operating in the 2-80 MHz band could harm cable upstream broadband data services, including Internet access, telephony and interactive set-top boxes’ return channel. Cable is designed as a closed system immune to outside RF interference, but it doesn’t work that way, CCTA said, warning that if BPL emissions aren’t curbed, cable phone and even 911 service could suffer. And the problem won’t be confined to cable, but will affect all VoIP subscribers, it said. CCTA wants BPL under rules akin to Industry Canada-imposed cable leakage controls that require periodic testing and reporting. Citing bans by some govts. on BPL systems and conditions imposed by others on BPL trials and deployments, CCTA urged a “cautious approach” by Canada in setting BPL deployment rules. Bell Canada said BPL interference could degrade DSL quality. Since power lines aren’t shielded, RF energy radiations can cause interference with authorized radio and nonradio services, the Bell Wireless Alliance said. Of particular concern, it said: Interference with phone networks carrying DSL and VDSL services. About 240 TV transmitters operate in the 54-80 MHz band, a frequency in which BPL may radiate signals, said the Canadian Assn. of Bcstrs. (CAB). Industry Canada needs a new interference- causing equipment standard (ICES) for BPL and should require makers to demonstrate compliance through certification, CAB said. It also wants to require BPL operators to ensure their systems will comply “in all places and at all times” with radiation limits.

Citigroup raised its global handset shipment forecast to 911 million units in 2006 from its previous 877 million units, based mostly on strong Q4 sales numbers for handset manufacturers and better-than-expected guidance for Q1 2006. Citigroup also predicted even-stronger subscriber growth and replacement rates for the year. Most of the global markets investors had expected to slow down have remained bullish in the handset sector, Citigroup said in a report late Wed., especially the surprisingly robust N. American market.

The DTV provisions in the Budget Deficit Act are considered final, but some contentious sections of the bill could be amended, according to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report. The House is expected to take up the budget bill when it reconvenes Jan. 31. Most Hill telecom staffers and lobbyists are confident the bill will pass without a hitch. But if budget reconciliation fails, new legislation could be introduced on spectrum release dates, auctions and plans to assist the transition to DTV covered in the conference report, the CRS report said. “From the perspective of public safety, the worse case scenario is that the legislative initiative to release spectrum fails, either because it’s stalled in debates over budget reconciliation or because new legislation cannot be agreed on,” the report said. Such legislation could be more expansive, since it wouldn’t be confined by restrictions in budget rules, and it would probably cover whether cable and satellite are subject to multicast must-carry rules and so are obliged to transmit all of a broadcaster’s over-the-air programming, the report said. Under the conference report adopted by the Senate and awaits approval by the House, the spectrum auctions would turn over $7.36 billion to the federal govt. for the budget deficit, which is why DTV provisions ended up in a budget bill. The 700 MHz spectrum that broadcasters would return has produced a wide range of valuations, the CRS report said. The Congressional Budget Office offered the most conservative at $12.5 billion, and private studies have gone as high as $28 billion. For investors, a crucial consideration is that the spectrum be unencumbered -- that broadcast stations have vacated. “In the case of spectrum at 700 MHz, the general opinion is that there is significant risk that the spectrum will remain encumbered, despite hard dates, thereby tying up resources indefinitely and hampering investment in new communications technologies and services,” the report said. “As presently configured, 874 licenses in 60 MHz would be available for auction. Of these, 280 licenses are considered encumbered by TV broadcast stations,” it said. The budget bill also would spend $1.5 billion on a DTV converter box subsidy program; $1 billion for public safety agencies for interoperability; up to $30 million for temporary digital equipment for N.Y. area broadcasters; up to $65 million for low-power TV stations in rural areas to upgrade from analog to digital technology; up to $106 million building a unified national alert system and $50 million for a tsunami warning and coastal vulnerability program; $43.5 million for a national 911 improvement system under the Enhance 911 Act of 2004; and up to $30 million to support the Essential Air Service Program.

The House will pass a telecom bill this year, although agreement has yet to be reached on sticky issues such as net neutrality, Commerce Committee aides told an FCBA lunch Fri. The legislation will be “market-based and market-driven,” said Howard Waltzman, the committee’s majority chief telecom counsel: “We're going to rely on the market to regulate these services and not have a heavy hand in govt. regulation. That’s what’s going to drive this legislation.”

A new dialing-plan bill in N.J. would require all local phone providers to implement new dialing plans that require “1” before the area code on intrastate toll calls. The Board of Public Utilities would oversee implementation. Backers said HB-543 would protect consumers from unknowingly incurring toll charges on calls they place to access the Internet. The bill would require phone providers to educate customers about when toll charges are imposed on intrastate calls. A 911 bill in N.J. would require municipalities to establish a “reverse 911” system, whereby emergency services could notify residents of neighborhood emergencies like brush fires, floods and jail escapes. The program would be funded by a $2 surcharge on traffic fines. N.J. also saw a “bikephone safety” bill (HB-184) that would bar cyclists from using handheld mobile phones while riding on public roads, on pain of a $100 fine.

The N.Y. PSC Thurs. urged an appeals court to overturn an FCC decision preempting state oversight of cable IP telephony -- which an FCC attorney at the hearing said hasn’t occurred yet. The issue arose Thurs. in an oral argument before the 8th U.S. Appeals Court, St. Louis, on challenges to a Nov. 2004 FCC order preempting state regulation of Vonage.

Senate Democrats and some Republicans hope to resume work amending waiver language in the E-911 bill unanimously passed by the Senate Commerce Committee in Nov. (CD Nov 3 p11), according to interviews with lobbyists and Senate committee staffers. The Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) seeks the amendment, calling the waivers a threat to public safety. But Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) is unlikely to be inclined to reopen the bill when the Senate reconvenes Jan. 18, sources said. Work on the E-911 bill died when Stevens fought for Arctic oil drilling provisions, a battle he lost.

More than 2/3 of Americans live in areas where wireless 911 calls provide emergency operators with basic enhanced 911 information, such as caller location and call back number, the National Emergency Number Assn. (NENA) said. Still, 57.3% of counties aren’t providing this information, said NENA. “Much work still needs to be done to provide this life-saving service in the significantly high number of counties, predominately rural, where it is still not available,” said NENA Pres. David Jones. “The public needs and deserves wireless E9-1, regardless of where they live or where they may visit or travel through.”

The Senate approved FCC nominees Comr. Copps and Deborah Tate by unanimous consent just before adjourning Wed. night for the holidays, after they were freed from holds imposed in a legislative rumpus. The approvals mean a balanced FCC, with 2 Democrats and 2 Republicans. Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) said recently he hopes the White House soon will name a candidate for the remaining 5th commissionership. The Copps/Tate approval uncorked a Thurs. gush of trade group plaudits. NENA hailed FCC Comr. Copps’s work on 911 issues, and said Tate has shown she see the importance of advanced communications technology. TIA praised Copps for his work on broadband issues, saying it looks forward to developing a working relationship with Tate. NAB and AT&T also sent out congratulatory statements.