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COPE (HR 5252) TO EXCEED UNFUNDED MANDATES THRESHOLD
[SOURCE: Congressional Budget Office, AUTHOR: Melissa Petersen, Sarah Puro, Philip Webre and Fatimot Ladipo]
H.R. 5252 would allow providers of cable service to apply to the FCC for a national franchise. National franchises would be substitutes for separate, negotiated agreements with states and localities regarding the provision of cable service to a local area. H.R. 5252 contains several intergovernmental mandates, as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). In particular, it would prohibit intergovernmental entities -- primarily municipal governments -- from charging certain fees to providers of cable service. The bill also would impose a variety of requirements and limitations on public safety access points (PSAPs). Further, the bill would preempt state laws that prohibit municipal governments from providing Internet access services and, if area cable providers receive a national franchise, would preempt state and local laws that address consumer protection, cable franchises, and the use of municipal rights-of-way. CBO estimates that the net direct costs of these mandates on state and local governments would grow over time, and would likely fall between $100 million and $350 million by 2011. Such losses would exceed the threshold established in UMRA in at least one of the first five years the mandates are in effect (the threshold is $64 million in 2006 and is adjusted annually for inflation).
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/71xx/doc7182/hr5252.pdf

COURT SKEPTICAL OF FCC ON BROADBAND WIRETAP ACCESS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Peter Kaplan]
On Friday the Federal Communications Commission faced tough questioning from a federal appeals court about whether the government can force broadband Internet service providers to give law enforcement authorities access for surveillance purposes. One of the three judges hearing the case called the government's rationale for the surveillance requirement "gobbledygook," and another also expressed reservations. "This is totally ridiculous. I can't believe you're making this argument," Judge Harry Edwards told a FCC lawyer. The issue before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is a decision by the FCC in August requiring facilities-based broadband providers and those that offer Internet telephone service to comply with U.S. wiretap laws. The FCC has set a May 14, 2007 deadline for compliance.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&story...

* Appeals court takes dim view of Net-tapping rules
http://news.com.com/Appeals+court+takes+dim+view+of+Net-tapping+rules/21...

BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT IS EXTENSIVE, BUT GAPS IN RURAL AREAS
[SOURCE: Government Accountability Office]
About 30 million American households have adopted broadband service, but the Federal Communications Commission’s data indicating the availability of broadband networks has some weaknesses. FCC conducts an extensive data collection effort using its Form 477 to assess the status of advanced telecommunications service in the United States. For its zip-code level data, FCC collects data based on where subscribers are served, not where providers have deployed broadband infrastructure. Although it is clear that the deployment of broadband networks is extensive, the data may not provide a highly accurate depiction of local deployment of broadband infrastructures for residential service, especially in rural areas. GAO recommends that FCC develop information regarding the cost and burden that would be associated with various options for improving the information available on broadband deployment and report this information to the relevant Senate and House committees to help them determine what actions, if any, are necessary. FCC provided technical comments on this report, but did not comment on this recommendation. (GAO-06-426)
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-426
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d06426high.pdf

THE NEXT TECH BATTLE: INTERNET SEARCHES ON CELLPHONES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Cassell Bryan-Low cassell.bryan-low@wsj.com and Kevin J. Delaney]
The push by the world's biggest Internet search firms to dominate what customers see when they turn on their cellphones has accelerated in recent months with Google, Yahoo and Microsoft Corp. all striking deals with service providers and others in the cellphone industry. The tech giants want their search engines and logos to pop up on cellphone screens, enabling people to also use their phones for other services the companies provide, such as downloading maps, or sending email and instant messaging, just as they do on their computers. The companies contend that even though only a small number of people currently use their phones to search for information online, there is a huge potential market with twice as many cellphones in use globally as PCs. And, as search engines become better at tailoring results to a user's location, mobile searching will become more attractive, they say. "The leading edge battleground between us and Google in local search really will come on the phone," predicts Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer. Internet searching in general is a huge market, with U.S. search-related advertising spending totaling $5.1 billion last year, according to research firm eMarketer Inc. But advertising on cellphones is still in its infancy, generating just about $100 million last year, analysts say. And, mobile searching generates little if any revenue.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114704408802546163.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
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