The National Emergency Number Assn. (NENA) Board approved the “interim” VoIP architecture for E-911, as i2. NENA said adoption of the interim standard is a “migratory step” toward a more long-range solution under which all E- 911 will be IP-based. One VoIP operator source said the development provides “further stability” for the industry. Patrick Halley, govt. affairs dir. at NENA, said the plan provides the basic standard for “how you connect an IP- enabled voice service into the legacy 911 system, which is all analog, circuit-switched technology.” Many VoIP providers have already adopted parts of the standard as they developed plans for complying with FCC requirements they make their systems E-911 compliant, and now they may be more likely to adopt the entire standard, Halley told us. Most of the leading VoIP providers and all the major VoIP position companies like Intrado participated in development of the standard, he said. Halley predicted that parts of the emergency system will be modernized quickly. “In the near future a lot of the stuff we're talking about can be implemented,” he said. “NENA’s vision since the development of the 911 Future Path Plan in 2001 has been, and continues to be, to modernize E- 911,” said Billy Ragsdale, chmn. of the NENA Technical Committee: “The interim solution standard is the first major step to support VoIP E-911 and to redesign E-911 for present and future needs.”
Only part of Cingular’s network integration with AT&T Wireless is done and the work probably will continue through 2006, Cingular CEO Stan Sigman said during a BellSouth presentation to analysts Tues. Cingular closed the AT&T Wireless merger in Oct. 2004. Sigman also announced that Cingular has launched its HSDPA-based 3G service to 52 communities in 16 markets.
Verizon confirmed Mon. it’s seeking a buyer for its directories publishing unit -- Verizon Information Services (VIS). Based on some reports, the division could be worth 10 times EBITDA or $17 billion, the biggest such deal recorded. Verizon didn’t discuss potential value in a press release.
ANNAPOLIS -- The ITU and its World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), scheduled to convene next in 2007, should be refocused to better address the needs of industry for direction in some areas, while avoiding other areas where an extended WRC debate would do little good, said Mike Goddard, dir.-spectrum policy & international for the U.K.’s Ofcom and a leading candidate to chair the 2007 meeting. Veena Rawat, chmn. of the 2003 WRC, agreed, telling a Defense Spectrum Summit dinner Thurs. night that WRC must change to take into account industry convergence.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- NTIA will oversee testing this month that will help bring online 255 more MHz of spectrum in the 5.470-5.725 GHz band for unlicensed use via dynamic frequency selection (DFS), NTIA Dir. Michael Gallagher told the Defense Spectrum Summit, which started here Mon.
The FCC released a public notice Fri. asking interested parties to comment within 10 days on all the issues raised in ex parte filings since the 800 MHz rebanding order was released Aug. 6. The notice also extends some deadlines contained in the order. Meanwhile, Nextel CEO Timothy Donahue said Fri. his goal is “final resolution” of the order by the end of 2004.
The Justice Dept. released remedy merger guidelines late Thurs. holding explicitly that structural remedies, including the sale of assets, are preferable to “conduct” remedies. Several attorneys with antitrust and telecom expertise were reviewing the guidelines Fri. The release comes as the Dept. nears the release of its order on the Cingular-AT&T Wireless merger, which may be just days away. Among the principles DoJ endorses is that the remedy should promote “competition, not competitors” and that all remedies must be enforceable: “A defendant will scrupulously obey a decree only when the decree’s meaning is clear, and when the defendant and its agents know they face the prospect of fines or imprisonment if they disregard the decree.” The guidelines are consistent with a stance taken by FCC Chmn. Powell that in general structural remedies, such as asset sales, are preferable to behavioral remedies. The guidelines state that “conduct” remedies are appropriate in limited cases, such as when a “full- stop prohibition” of the merger would “sacrifice significant efficiencies and a structural remedy would also sacrifice such inefficiencies or is infeasible.” Hewitt Pate, asst. attorney gen.-Antitrust Div., said the guidelines provide more clarity for all involved in mergers. “Effective antitrust enforcement requires remedies based on sound legal and economic principles and closely related to the identified competitive harm,” Pate said. “Once we have determined that a merger may substantially lessen competition, the division will insist upon relief that fully restores competition to the market… The Remedies Guide provides the tools needed to more quickly identify critical legal and economic issues regarding merger remedies and devise a remedy specifically tailored to the competitive harm.”
The Multi-band OFDM Alliance Special Interest Group (MBOA- SIG) told the FCC approval of its petition seeking a waiver from FCC radio frequency rules for its “frequency hopping” ultra- wideband technology is a matter of providing consumers with choice. The group, supported by Intel and Texas Instruments, among other high-tech players, is promoting one of the 2 leading UWB technologies. “MB-OFDM, more than any other UWB modulation scheme, has inherent spectral shaping capabilities to mitigate unforeseen interference situations,” the group said. Granting the waiver will “level the UWB playing field” and “permit consumers, rather than Commission rules” to decide winners and losers. The group took dead aim at its main competitor, Freescale, formerly a Motorola division. “Freescale’s objections are baseless,” the alliance said. “Although they purport to be grounded in Freescale’s own, lengthy technical study, they are wildly off the mark. Indeed, they appear to be designed solely to ‘muddy’ the technical record in this proceeding and delay Commission action.” The Alliance accused Freescale of trying to ensure a “first to market advantage.” Robert Aiello, CEO of Staccato Communications, another member of the group, told us Fri. he hoped the FCC would move the issue “to the marketplace where it belongs, not the regulatory arena… We recognize this is a new wave form that wasn’t anticipated by the rules. We have proven conclusively that this wave form doesn’t interfere more than other waveforms approved under the rules.” Freescale had its own spin, arguing MBOA’s rationale for the waiver and its noninterference claims “fail under close examination.” Freescale said what MBOA has requested isn’t a matter of providing a level playing field. “Far from giving MB-OFDM parity with other forms of UWB, the waiver would instead bestow on MB-OFDM a unique regulatory benefit,” Freescale said.
Bill Owens, the former U.S. admiral brought in to lead Nortel only last year, will leave the firm, to be replaced by former Motorola executive Mike Zafirovski. Analysts voiced surprise at the turn. Owens hands off to Zafirovski Nov. 15. Zafirovski, 51, quit as Motorola pres. in Jan. after being passed over as CEO. Under him, Motorola’s once-struggling mobile division developed its popular Razr phone. He joined Motorola in June 2000 after leaving GE, where he ran the lighting division. Owens, 65, was CEO 19 months and by most accounts enjoyed the job. Seaboard analyst Brian Sharwood told us Owens’ departure seemed linked to the surprise exit of Gary Daichendt, a former Cisco executive who was pres. and COO fora few months. But Sharwood, a specialist in the Canadian telecom sector, said that just as Daichendt’s resignation is a mystery, the full story on Owens’ exit may remain a riddle. “Like with all Nortel things, we all scratch our heads and wonder what the hell happened,” Sharwood said.
Senate Finance Committee Chmn. Grassley (R-Ia.) is open to requests by Senate Finance Committee members that BellSouth and other telecom firms get a multi-year tax break to help defray costs of rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina, he told us Thurs. Senators disagreed on the likelihood telecom carriers will get tax relief.