Sen. Sununu (R-N.H.) and Rep. Pickering (R-Miss.) are hoping their VoIP bills will move this year, their aides said Wed. at a VoIP workshop sponsored by CompTel/Ascent in Washington. “We are pushing for passage [of HR-4129] this year,” said Mike Hurst of Pickering’s office. But he said that could be delayed because of the presidential elections. “Our intent [is] if not passage this year, [then] at least laying the ground[work]” he said, saying in that case he expected the bill to be passed “when Congress returns.” Mike O'Reilly of Sununu’s office said he was “very optimistic we are going to [move] the bill [S-2281] this year. We anticipate a hearing at some point soon.” No hearings have been scheduled on either bill.

Broadband over powerlines (BPL) seemed to capture the interest of House Telecom Subcommittee members Wed. during a hearing on new communications technologies and their “convergence.” In a hearing where many witnesses shied away from policy questions, the members saw presentations of cell phones that receive TV, devices that record video and operate seamlessly with laptops, and wireless broadband. But several members directed their questions toward BPL and the promise it will carry VoIP, the other hot new technology for members.

Rep. Eshoo (D-Cal.) urged the “other body” to act on E911 legislation. Eshoo -- co-sponsor of E911 legislation that passed the House last year (HR-2898) and co-chmn. of the Congressional E911 Caucus -- told the House Tues. that cell phones account for more than 25% of calls made to 911. “With so much weighing on these calls, we have to do everything we can to accelerate the deployment of this lifesaving technology,” she said. The Senate Commerce Committee passed S-1250, co-sponsored by Senate Communication Subcommittee Burns (R-Mont.) and Sen. Clinton (D-N.Y.), but sources said the $500 million price tag on the bill -- $400 million more than the House bill -- has stalled the legislation.

Communications problems figure huge in a 26-page staff report to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the U.S. on emergency response, released as the commission met in Manhattan Tues. to take testimony on emergency response. The report described a series of communications breakdowns during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center, including between police officers and firefighters. Former Sen. Gorton, a member of the commission, said one of the most distressing parts of the report was the failure of 911 services: “Calling 911 on Sept. 11 was a pointless exercise. They didn’t know as much as someone at home watching television.”

FCC Wireline Bureau Senior Deputy Chief Jeffrey Carlisle called for using VoIP as an opportunity to reexamine existing telecom regulations. “VoIP provides the last best chance to re-examine the federal and state regulatory structures in place, and we'll be fools if we don’t take this opportunity,” he told a VoIP workshop sponsored by CompTel/Ascent in Washington Tues. “Why do we continue to do the same things over and over again when we know many of the [regulatory] requirements make little sense, at least when applied to the majority of small providers and certainly as applied to innovators who might want to get into the market?” he asked: “Why do we do this when we also know that the primary economic beneficiaries of these activities are lawyers and paper companies?”

The issue of state govts. diverting money from wireless E911 funds for other state purposes may be heating up again as states try to balance their 2004 budgets. The latest attempt is in the form of Mich. legislation to authorize a 2nd diversion of wireless E911 funds this fiscal year. Stopping such draws may be hard at the state level. A state bill in N.Y. to ban such diversions has remained stuck in the legislature despite a seemingly strong case for passage.

Two members of the Cal. PUC offered alternatives to a staff proposal for a telecom consumer bill of rights. The matter is on the PUC meeting agenda for May 20. Comr. Susan Kennedy proposed largely doing away with the staff proposal in favor of a simplified bill of rights aimed at ensuring consumers get the information they need to make informed decisions. She called for PUC rules that would require all telecom carriers to disclose the full range of available service options. That would include options that don’t require contract commitments, including prepaid and month-to- month plans. Kennedy’s proposal calls for mandatory 14-day trial periods, during which customers can cancel service without a termination penalty. If a carrier makes material changes to a service contract’s rates or terms, consumers would get notice and a reasonable opportunity to cancel without penalty. Other provisions would require a $25 automatic credit for missed service appointments, written confirmation of service within 7 days, and a requirement that disconnected lines remain capable of making calls to 911. An alternate proposal by Comr. Geoffrey Brown would amend the staff proposal. Brown would defer to a later docket the provisions regarding customer account privacy and drop a series of advertising-related provisions. His proposal would bar carriers from requiring rights waivers as a condition of service, require a 30-day trial period for new services when customers could cancel without penalties and a 30-day window for cancelling a contract after the provider makes material changes. Brown’s proposal would peg applicability of particular rules to a customer’s circumstances rather than a type of carrier. Carriers would have to publish their tariffs on a public Internet Web site. Brown would exempt from the bill of rights business customers with more than 20 voice-grade lines or more than one T-1 line. Both proposals would prohibit listing any fee as a tax if the money doesn’t go to a govt. agency and bar imposition of late charges on disputed bill amounts. The bill of rights became controversial after wireless carriers objected to being covered, on grounds cellular competition protects consumers.

The Maine PUC opened an inquiry to determine whether it should create a special class of public telephone service for phones that can dial only 911. The PUC decided this after it dismissed a complaint by 17 Durham residents protesting Verizon’s charging their town the standard business rate for public safety phones that dialed only 911. The PUC said Verizon’s tariffs clearly stated that standard rates apply to public emergency telephones. But the PUC also conceded that the Durham residents may have a point when they said high business rates could discourage towns from installing 911- only telephones in public places. The PUC said its inquiry will consider whether the public interest dictates creation of a special reduced statewide rate for “public safety” telephones. The docket (Case 2004-19) will involve all the state’s local exchange providers.

BMW of N. America told the FCC it supported Mobile Satellite Ventures’ application to deploy ancillary terrestrial component (ATC): “If approved, MSV’s ATC application would contribute to ensuring that wireless coverage is available not only in the urban areas where ATC would principally operate, but also in the rural areas that lack the population density sufficient to support traditional terrestrial networks where telematics users nonetheless travel.” BMW said the ATC network would also support emergency response and 911 situations.

Rep. Shimkus (R-Ill.), co-chmn. of the Congressional E911 Caucus, took to the House floor Wed. to urge Congress to pass Enhanced 911 legislation this year. The House has passed an E911 bill, HR-2898, introduced by Shimkus. While the Senate Commerce Committee has moved S-1250, introduced by Senate Communications Subcommittee Chmn. Burns (R-Mont.), it hasn’t received attention on the Senate floor, and some industry and Hill sources speculate the Senate won’t address it this year.