Telecom
FCC Nominees Laud Universal Service Fund
     Tennessee regulator Deborah Tate and FCC member Michael Copps were careful to praise the $6 billion universal service fund during a confirmation hearing this week on their appointments to be agency commissioners. Preserving the fund, which subsidizes telecommunications service to low-income and rural areas, is a top priority for Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska. "What an incredible -- not just program -- but national issue that it's been," Tate said of universal service at the Senate Commerce hearing. "Universal service is so central to the future of this country," said Copps, adding, "I think we've got to fix that system." In other news, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said Internet telephone companies that are unable to comply with the 911-dialing requirements because they lack emergency numbers and lines can become regulated telephone carriers to get them.

Lobbying
Tech Firms Push Hard For Last-Minute DTV Deal
     Technology companies say they are not worried that snares in passing budget legislation this year would derail the transition to digital television. Still, they are making a last-minute push for Congress to complete the transition this year. The Senate and House have yet to name legislators to a conference committee that will merge versions of budget legislation. Language to set a "hard date" for the end of analog broadcasting is attached to the bill. One key difference is that the House would allocate about $1 billion in subsidies for digital-TV converter boxes, whereas the Senate would allocate $3 billion. The House also set the cut-off date for analog broadcasting at Dec. 31, 2008, while the Senate wants April 7, 2009. "We urge Congress to continue its process, through the House-Senate conference committee, to send a final version of the DTV transition bill to the president's desk by year's end," 11 industry groups said in a letter to lawmakers.

Digital Television
Advocacy Groups Seek More TV Consumer Choice
     A coalition of religious and watchdog groups representing millions of Americans demanded that the cable industry offer consumers more choice in programming and urged Congress to intervene if necessary. The demands by Concerned Women for America, Consumers Union, the Parents Television Council and 35 other groups come only days after the cable industry -- under pressure from Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska -- said six major operators voluntarily will offer family-friendly tiers. But the coalition is pressing for an a la carte plan that would let consumers subscribe to specific channels. In other news, Reps. Jane Harman, D-Calif., and Curt Weldon, R-Pa., urged House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., to force some television broadcasters to relinquish their spectrum immediately to emergency responders.

E-Commerce
Senate Commerce OKs Bill Against Foreign-Sent Spam
     The Senate Commerce Committee quickly approved legislation to give the FTC broader powers to pursue schemes involving unsolicited commercial e-mail that originate abroad. Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, said the measure, S. 1608, would give the agency the ability to chase "cross-border spam" and would broaden reciprocal agreements with foreign law-enforcement agencies. He said there is no more bothersome crime than spammers who "deceive and defraud U.S. consumers" and operate outside of the United States, hampering efforts to catch them. In other news, a House Judiciary subcommittee approved a bill, H.R. 1956, that would exempt Internet sellers from paying taxes on net income and other business activities to states where they lack a physical presence.

Cyber Security
Group Gives Policymakers Poor Grades On Cyber Issues
     Congress and the Bush administration this year have failed to enact laws and regulations that would help protect sensitive information on the Internet, an official with the Cyber Security Industry Alliance said. The group gave policymakers failing grades on seven of 12 recommendations CSIA made last year to protect against cyber attacks. "We urge the government to show both leadership and execution on information security issues," Paul Kurtz, CSIA's executive director, said at a news conference. Congress and President Bush received D's on the calls to promote information sharing among agencies and with the private sector; collect data from the private sector to protect critical information systems; determine costs associated with cyber attacks; increase research and development funding for cyber security; and adequately fund cyber-security efforts. They gave the government an F for not improving the quality of software to combat cyber attacks.

Campaigns
ITAA's Miller Reportedly Will Seek Virginia Senate Seat
     The head of the Information Technology Association of America likely will run for U.S. Senate next year, challenging Republican Sen. George Allen of Virginia, according to senior industry sources. Harris Miller became president of ITAA in 1995 and is one of the few Democrats leading a major tech trade association. The group represents 350 technology companies -- including Boeing, Booz Allen Hamilton, IBM and MCI -- and others geared primarily toward government systems integration. Miller declined to comment for this story, but executives at other trade groups said he has told them he will challenge Allen, who many observers consider a potential presidential candidate in 2008. "I'm convinced he's definitely running," one industry source said. "He will counter Allen effectively."

Broadband
Maine Struggles To Make High-Speed Connection
     In an era when technology can hardly keep pace with rising consumer expectations, the state of Maine is having the opposite problem. Maine has the third-highest demand for high-speed Internet service. But with sparse population, a sputtering economy, a lack of data, and hit-or-miss cooperation from telecom providers, the state is struggling to deliver on the promise of Connect ME, its rural broadband initiative. Gov. John Baldacci unveiled the effort in May, and it seeks broadband access for all state residents by 2010. The problem is not the lack of Internet access, but most connections in the state are dial-up. In a 2004 report to the Legislature, the Maine Public Utilities Commission acknowledged that while "market forces are already achieving significant improvement ... it also seems clear that, for the many rural areas of Maine, market forces alone may be insufficient to achieve full [broadband] availability and coverage in the near term."