Sens. Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) and Hutchison (R-Tex.) introduced legislation this week that would expand the FCC’s authority over indecency into cable and satellite TV and sweep violent programming into the FCC’s indecency regulations. Rockefeller’s bill also would raise the fines for indecency violations to $500,000, with a cap of $3 million. The FCC could double fines for egregious incidents, such as when indecent material is scripted. The bill would require the FCC to study the V-chip, viewed by some senators as inadequate blocking technology, and have the FCC identify more effective means of blocking. Broadcasters would have to double the amount of children’s programming it offers, to 6 hours from 3. The bill would encourage NAB to reestablish its voluntary code of conduct and would instruct the FCC to assess and report the effectiveness of TV ratings. The FCC would have to assess and report to Congress the feasibility of more rigorous rating systems from nonindustry sources such as advocacy organizations. Local broadcasters would also have more leeway to refuse indecent and violent content from networks. “Congress has been reluctant to take on the issue of violence because defining decency is difficult. I understand that these are hard lines to draw, but just because they are difficult doesn’t mean that we should sit by and do nothing,” Rockefeller said. Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) has also recently said that more must be done to help parents protect children from indecent programming on cable, though he has emphasized an industry solution over legislation. But during a breakfast address Wed., Stevens said he was interested in Rockefeller’s bill and would consider expanding indecency definitions to include violence. (CD March 17 p4)
Privacy, cost and environmental concerns “are real ones” facing the radio frequency identification (RFID) industries, said Sen. Leahy (D-Vt.) on Wed. Addressing the RFID Technology Exhibition & Policy Primer on Capitol Hill, Leahy said technology isn’t a partisan issue. “It’s not a Democratic or Republican concern,” Leahy said. Sen. Burns (R-Mont.) called the Congressional Internet Caucus, which hosted the event, the “most active caucus in Washington.” Burns said “the new [RFID] technologies will be a part of our lives in some way or another,” and legislation to check potential abuses isn’t off the table.
U.S. promoters of ultra wideband (UWB) are closely watching developments in the U.K., as regulators there complete work on rules governing the technology. Controls the U.K. establishes could prove significant since UWB chip makers are likely to pursue rollout of products worldwide that will meet limits in as much of the world as possible.
The federal govt.’s firm commitment to broadband over power line (BPL) is demonstrated by the “unprecedented” attendance of 2 key officials at the FCC meeting at which rules for the technology were approved, said Bruce Franca, deputy chief of the Commission’s Office of Engineering & Technology. Franca said having NTIA Administrator Michael Gallagher and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission members at the meeting was a strong statement. Franca said the FCC worked especially closely with Gallagher, and when it got him on board “we really did take that to heart… That is not NTIA’s traditional position on Part 15 devices.” That agency rarely “finds a Part 15 device they like,” Franca told an FCBA BPL seminar last week in San Francisco. All in all, “We're in pretty good company with our enthusiasm for BPL.”
Japanese-based Vodafone K.K. said it will introduce and promote with FeliCa Networks IC-card technology in Japanese mobile handsets in conjunction. Vodafone said it wants to introduce mobile phone handsets with IC chips in Japan by Oct. and to ship about a million handsets immediately thereafter. FeliCa Networks, founded by Sony and NTT DoCoMo, licenses and develops smart card chips for mobile phones using Sony technology.
TIA said Thurs. it supports congressional efforts to establish a date-certain deadline for DTV conversion. TIA said it would support the Dec. 31, 2006, deadline backed by House Commerce Committee Chmn. Barton (R-Tex.). Barton has said he will soon introduce DTV transition legislation, but it’s unclear if the bill’s deadline will be that early. One House source told us the bill isn’t expected to be introduced until May. Though TIA doesn’t represent broadcast entities, it does have interest in the 108 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band currently occupied by analog broadcasting. “The propagation characteristics of this particular spectrum band make it extremely desirable for new, innovative broadband applications and state-of-the-art first-responder communications,” TIA said. Some licensees of spectrum auctioned by the FCC “cannot deploy new wireless services on it until the DTV transition ends,” TIA said: “Additional auctions of this spectrum for licensed commercial services are on hold, and consumers in rural America must continue to wait for broadband access.” By setting a date certain for transition, TIA said, high-tech firms can begin to plan for the potential use of the spectrum band. The deadline would also help drive the market for digital products, TIA said. Grant Seiffert, TIA vp-external affairs, said a deadline would help force action by broadcasters and manufacturers to accelerate the transition. Seiffert also praised Barton’s efforts to push the deadline. “He’s leading, that’s what’s important,” Seiffert said. TIA isn’t the only association to support the deadline in hopes of using the spectrum. The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) also supports a hard-date deadline for broadcasters, primarily for the return of spectrum. Nick Kolovos, govt. affairs dir.-telecom issues, said its manufacturers need to know this year if there will be a deadline for return of the 700 MHz spectrum band, so they can plan on installing hardware and chips that can operate in the spectrum band. Without such a deadline, Kolovos said, it could be years before consumers reap the benefits of the spectrum. A deadline “is something needed this year for the return of this spectrum to benefit consumers,” Kolovos said.
Nokia will be adding radio-frequency ID (RFID) chips to cellphones so consumers can buy products or services by passing the mobiles over readers. The first implementation is planned with Visa this year, when consumers will be able to use their Nokia 3220 phones to pay for bus rides in Hanau, Germany, near Frankfurt. As a purchase is made, the phone sends encrypted data to authorize payment, for which the buyer is billed later. Consumers will register personal identification numbers with their telcos and Visa to protect against unauthorized charges if the phone is lost or stolen.
Broadcom demonstrated a multimedia processor at the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes, France, Tues. that it said would lower 2 barriers to high-quality video on handsets: High price and short battery life. The Cal. company designed its VideoCore BCM2705 chip to convert midrange phones that cost subscribers $100-$200 into TVs, camcorders and 4-megapixel digital cameras -- capabilities usually only found in much more expensive phones.
A plan to track school children using RFID tags is being challenged by civil liberties and privacy advocates. The ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) are gearing up campaigns against Brittan Elementary School Dist. in Sutter, Cal. As part of a test, the school recently issued its students RFID badges to check attendance.
Those that oppose CEA’s petition seeking clarification or reconsideration of V-chip rules for DTV have “completely mischaracterized” the nature of that petition, CEA told the Commission in reply comments. Contrary to statements by the Coalition for Independent Ratings Services that the CE industry wanted to undermine the flexibility in ratings systems the FCC seeks, CEA said its only aim was “to implement this flexibility while maintaining some semblance of usability.” CEA said its request to have the Commission specify the rating region code that activates V-chip operation has been confused by those who believe that CEA’s request would somehow limit the ratings systems that can be transmitted in the rating region table. “Specifying rating region codes in advance has always been the intended approach in the PSIP system” of DTV, CEA said. “Doing so allows the receiver to pull the correct rating information simply by knowing in what region the receiver is operating,” it said. It said DTVs that are compliant with the proposed rules in the U.S. will process 2 ratings codes -- one “locked” to existing V-chip specifications, the other “being completely flexible to process whatever rating region table is delivered in the transport stream.” As for the licensing of V-chip by patent holder Tri-Vision, CEA urged the FCC to accept Tri-Vision’s stated offer to “do whatever is necessary” to assure that license terms are fair and reasonable. TiVo, in separate comments supporting CEA’s petition, urged the FCC to go a step further in assuring that Tri-Vision doesn’t gain a patent windfall at the expense of consumers. It urged the Commission to confirm “that so long as a DTV product is able to process new ratings systems, it need not utilize the same technology or processes protected by the Tri-Vision patents.” TiVo said it believes it can design its own devices capable of accommodating any new ratings systems “that would render licensing of the Tri-Vision patents unnecessary.” It also urged that the FCC protect those companies that have no choice but to license the Tri-Vision patents. “If the Commission endorses a rule where only Tri-Vision legally can produce or license the right to produce compliant devices, the Commission has a special responsibility to ensure that all regulated entities have access to the license on roughly the same terms,” TiVo said.