The idea of mapping telephone numbers to Internet Protocol addresses on the public Internet flopped but e-numbering (ENUM) technology is evolving into a key -- and lower cost -- way for mobile and fixed telecom carriers to route calls, sources said. The plan to have telephone numbers resolve in e.164.arpa faltered for several reasons, but carriers increasingly use ENUM telephone number translation to send calls within their own networks or to other providers’ networks, they said.
Europe must speed development of applications for its global navigation satellite systems, the European Commission said Monday. With the worldwide downstream market for space applications worth around $123 billion, European industry must be in position to take full advantage by using satellite navigation systems Galileo and the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System, the EC said. EGNOS, which paves the way for Galileo, has been in service since October, offering enhanced satellite navigation signals up to 10 times more precise than GPS, it said. The EC’s 2010-2013 action plan adopted Monday calls for additional funding for a range of research proposals on GNSS applications, promoting Galileo- and EGNOS-enabled chips and handsets, and starting an application forum where users, developers, infrastructure managers and systems providers can exchange ideas on the evolution of the GNSS project, it said. Uptake of GNSS applications has been slow in Europe, an EC spokesman told us. One reason is that the GNSS market originates from the U.S., giving American companies an advantage, he said. Galileo and EGNOS have been restricted to civil use, but one of Galileo’s five services will be the “public regulated service” based on encrypted signals, the spokesman said. The Galileo project remains controversial because of questions about its costs and funding and the need for another GPS system. Three of the six key contracts for construction of the system have been awarded, and work under them has started, the spokesman said. The other three will be awarded later this year, he said. The first four satellites that are to form a mini test constellation will be sent into orbit in 2011, he said. The next 14 will arrive at a steady pace, beginning in 2012, until the initial constellation of 18 is completed by 2014, when the first services will be made available, he said.
Progress toward a single European telecom market is “disappointing,” Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said Tuesday. The 15th annual European Commission report on the state of the electronic communications sector showed consumers and businesses are missing out on the benefits of a unified and competitive market because telecom rules are applied inconsistently, the EC said. There are also questions about the independence and effectiveness of some national regulators and major differences in wholesale and retail prices across Europe, it said.
A new digital agenda is the “first flagship that is leaving the port” in Europe’s effort to jump-start its economy and catch up with global competitors, Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said Wednesday. Part of the EU 2020 strategy, the plan focuses on seven priorities, including the promise of broadband for all by 2013 and access to increased online content through changes in copyright licensing and online payment regimes. It won praise, and a few complaints, from industry and rights groups.
Ireland’s High Court cleared the way for a constitutional attack on EU Internet and telephony traffic data-storage rules, saying Wednesday that Digital Rights Ireland can pursue a challenge to national law in the European Court of Justice on the grounds that the data retention directive violates fundamental rights. The move, which follows decisions against data retention in Germany and Romania, has implications for data storage across Europe, said DRI Chairman TJ McIntyre. Meanwhile, a preliminary European Commission assessment of the directive shows wide divergence among national laws, and concerns from civil society and telecom providers.
EU countries that allocate spectrum from the digital switchover to wireless services must comply with new rules to avoid harmful interference, the European Commission said Thursday. The decision requires all governments that decide to make the 790-862 MHz spectrum band (the “digital dividend") available for services other than broadcasting to apply the same technical rules to ensure that radio communications equipment can be used for wireless broadband networks such as Long Term Evolution and WiMAX without harmful interference, the EC said. As with every new service, additional live testing and final coordination among applications may be needed when the infrastructure is deployed, it said. The decision doesn’t require countries to make the band available for non-broadcasting services, but the EC said it’s considering such a proposal.
Publication of the current draft of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement may end rumors and speculation about the controversial document but won’t relieve concerns over its scope, sources said Tuesday. Although the EU said recently that the agreement won’t call for “three-strikes” regimes against Internet piracy, there’s no final agreement on whether and how it will treat digital copyright, they said. German Minister of Justice Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger welcomed the publication, saying that’s “the only way to prevent unfounded speculation and concerns.” Addressing the concerns from ACTA critics about Internet cutoffs for repeat infringers, she told us: “It is highly important to note that there are no plans for Internet cutoffs in ACTA. Such cutoffs would be an absolutely wrong approach to fight copyright violations.” The head negotiator for Switzerland, Juerg Herren of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, said: “While there is not final agreement about what kind of infringements should be covered, the negotiating parties acknowledged that infringements of rights in the digital world are a huge challenge that the parties want to address.” A request to limit ACTA’s scope had also been made recently by the European Parliament, which has to agree on the final text. While the document is far from final, Kimberlee Weatherall of the Australian Centre for Intellectual Property said there are no statutory damages and injunctions against intermediaries to prevent infringement “even where the intermediary or ISP isn’t itself liable.” Electronic Frontier Foundation International Director Gwen Hinze said the EU’s proposal for criminal liability for “inciting, aiding and abetting” infringement “looks like an attempt to significantly increase the scope of secondary liability through the back door."
Eutelsat, Intelsat, SES, and BSkyB said they hadn’t heard of problems with their satellite signals due to the volcano eruption in Iceland. The Department of Homeland Security’s National Communications Systems, which often track communications services home and abroad, didn’t respond to a request for comment. Ash hasn’t affected Liberty Global’s ability to receive and distribute TV programming from satellites, said a spokesman for the cable operator which has systems across Europe. “On the programming side, we've not had any indication that there are issues.” Meanwhile, EU transport ministers videoconferenced Monday to discuss the situation. The European Commission is expected to meet Tuesday in Strasbourg. British Telecom’s conferencing service has seen a 35 percent increase in video meetings among multinational clients, and a 10 percent rise among U.K. companies and governments, a spokesman said. Organizations have come to realize over time, and with crises such as the volcanic eruption, that business continuity is critical and more prospective customers are asking about BT videoconferencing, he said. BT expects conferencing levels to drop to normal levels, he said. ISPs haven’t seen increased traffic on their networks, a spokesmen for the European Internet Services Providers Association said. The European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association said it wasn’t aware of higher network usage.
Net neutrality is becoming as much a political, economic and social issue as a technical one in Europe, a French government official said Tuesday at a summit on net neutrality held by her country’s telecom regulator, ARCEP. France started a public consultation on the topic last week, the European Council of Ministers will meet soon for an informal discussion, and the European Parliament is developing a position, said Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, the French secretary of state for strategic analysis and the development of the digital economy. The European Commission will begin its own public inquiry soon, said Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes.
The Comcast decision on net neutrality resonates in Europe, several sources said Wednesday. The ruling (CD April 7 p1) is a “nice reminder” that there’s a limit to what regulators can do, even in Europe, said Hogan & Hartson (Paris) telecom attorney Winston Maxwell. It could spark confusion over the connection between broadband and net neutrality regulation, said Innocenzo Genna, a Brussels telecom consultant. The issue of net neutrality is proving so important that French telecom regulator ARCEP plans a day-long conference on it this month. Among key topics is how to define it.