Web advertisements may have a whole new look once self- regulatory principles from advertising groups are implemented. The Interactive Advertising Bureau, American Association of Advertising Agencies, Association of National Advertisers and Direct Marketing Association released rules for behavioral targeting Thursday. The Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) and DMA have agreed to implement “accountability programs” so the targeting universe of advertisers, ad networks, ISPs and others adopt the seven principles.
Drawback
A duty drawback is a refund by CBP of the duties, taxes, or fees paid on imported goods, which were imposed upon importation as prescribed in 19 U.S.C. 1313(d). More broadly, a drawback also includes the refund or remission of other excise taxes pursuant to other provisions of law.
BERKELEY, Calif. -- A Cisco executive said AT&T and BT are close to a TelePresence interconnection deal that will ignite both the international demand for the high-definition conferencing service and the supply of it. The carriers, the first two providing the service, should complete their deal this summer, after considerable haggling, said Randy Harrell, the product marketing director for Cisco’s TelePresence business unit. He spoke Friday at the Immersive Telecommunications conference.
AT&T and Sprint Nextel urged the FCC to abolish a telecom relay service rule requiring conventional Teletype TRS providers to automatically and immediately call the appropriate public safety answering point when they get a 711 emergency call from an interconnected-VoIP user. In separate comments last week at the FCC, AT&T and Sprint said such users make too few of the calls to justify the costs of building the system needed to comply. But consumer groups said “people with disabilities must have the same access to emergency services as any person without disabilities.”
To seek broadband grant and loans at the NTIA and the Rural Utility Service, states need structures and systems, officials said, and fierce deadlines and scarce resources may drive those lacking such mechanisms to adopt or adapt established models.
In a strategic shift, cable operators around the world are quietly taking a deeper, more comprehensive look at building all-fiber networks, after having largely dismissed the idea as too pricey, too disruptive and simply not necessary for many years.
The U.K. Office of Communications (Ofcom) will begin licensing mobile communications on aircraft (MCA) as soon as practicable, it said Wednesday. U.K. aircraft operators can seek licenses via a variation to their existing spectrum licenses, at no additional fee, the regulator said. MCA services should get non-geographic international mobile network codes issued by the ITU for such services, it said. During Ofcom’s inquiry on MCA, commenters cited passenger safety, the potential for “discomfort, anti-social behavior and ‘air rage,'” and the cost of in-flight mobile services among possible drawbacks, Ofcom said. No MCA services can be introduced without clearance from relevant aviation and transport authorities, it said. Ofcom act to ensure users know the costs of making in-flight mobile calls and will monitor the situation closely, it said.
Mobile satellite services companies are more valuable to Wall Street as spectrum plays than as companies that offer services via spacecraft, several speakers from Wall Street told the Satellite Finance Forum Monday. That should lead to transactions to take advantage of that value, the speakers said.
A global standard to help manufacturers design mobile phones, TVs, laptops and other audio and video products meet energy efficiency and reuse and recycling requirements has been released by the International Electrotechnical Commission in Geneva. The standard comes as regulators in Europe and the U.S. spotlight the energy use of electronics and ways to ensure safe disposal of discarded products.
Talks should start on an E.U.-South Korea free trade agreement, the European Information & Communications Technology Industry Association said Monday. It warned that “eliminating duties on all Korean products in the CE sector could put the non-Korean CE companies at a major competitive disadvantage.” Removing tariffs from industrial goods should be matched by elimination of non-tariff barriers, which have been “extremely effective in keeping European goods out of the Korean market,” the association said. The group believes that excluding “at least the most sensitive non-Information Technology Agreement (ITA) analogue/digital electronics products” from the FTA’s scope would be in the European CE industry’s best interest. The group wants “full application of the proposed ‘WTO Agreement on non-tariff barriers to trade related to electronics.'” Another solution would allow at least a seven-year phase-in of the tariff cuts on sensitive, non-ITA products, it said. Barriers besides tariffs on consumer electronics products should be eliminated completely during the transition, the European association said. The duty drawback for non-originating materials used in processing operations should be prohibited, it said.
Collaboration -- not IPTV -- is central to Qwest’s strategy, CEO Ed Mueller said in a Monday call updating investors on his strategic company review. Mueller’s review found no major fault with the previous management. “I see a solid foundation and vision,” he said. But he will “focus day to day on operations and seek opportunities to improve customer choice and drive revenue.”