Telecom
House Committee Easily Approves Telecom Overhaul
     The House Energy and Commerce Committee this week approved telecommunications legislation considered favorable to the Bell telephone companies after rejecting two key Democratic amendments to increase regulations on those firms. The bill would make it easier for Bell companies to compete with cable television providers and would allow industry giants to offer premium Internet tiers. Committee members approved the legislation 42-12. Fifteen Democrats voted for it, while 11 Democrats opposed it. Only one Republican, Heather Wilson of New Mexico, voted against the bill. AT&T and Verizon Communications, which would directly benefit from relaxed video-franchising requirements in the legislation, applauded the action. The panel rejected, 22-34, an amendment that some Democrats touted as a last-chance opportunity to ensure equal treatment for all high-speed Internet content. The committee also defeated, 22-33, an amendment to require new video programmers to offer service to their entire communities.

Telecom
Legislation Likely Headed To House Floor Next Week
     House telecom legislation approved is likely headed for a floor vote May 4, said aides to Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. The vote would put the bill before the Rules Committee on Wednesday. The timetable presumes that parliamentarians will rule against an expected effort by the House Judiciary Committee to seek referral of the bill. That move would delay a floor vote. Energy and Commerce Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, has been cautious in rejecting amendments and drafting text to avoid Judiciary jurisdiction over his measure. "We are going to review the final bill that came out of Barton's committee on Monday," Judiciary spokesman Terry Shawn said. If Judiciary is denied a referral, sources said, the key question for the Rules Committee is whether to allow a floor vote on forcing dominant Internet providers to treat the delivery of all high-speed Internet content equally.

Telecom
Senate Panel's Leaders Catch Heat For Telecom Strategy
     Senate Commerce Committee leaders Ted Stevens and Daniel Inouye of Hawaii are under fire from colleagues and staff for their approach to revamping the nation's telecom laws. Most of the criticism is directed at Chairman Stevens, R-Alaska. He has been accused of crafting major communications legislation in a manner that critics characterize as secretive and autocratic. Sources revealed discontent over a process they say is more suited to the Appropriations Committee Stevens used to helm. Observers said Stevens appears to be garnering support by letting key members include language on specific issues, as he did with annual spending earmarks. Stevens' defenders said the committee has met with the offices of members who have authored related bills that might be melded into the panel's legislation. Inouye, the top Democrat, has been blasted by other Democrats for being too chummy with Stevens. The senator's spokesman said Inouye is working to give committee members time to review all proposals and raise issues important to them.

Telecom
Sen. Smith Advocates Streamlined Telecom Bill
     Sen. Gordon Smith recommended that the Senate Commerce Committee move streamlined telecom legislation and not a more comprehensive measure, as advocated by panel Chairman Ted Stevens. "My own view is that a targeted bill is better than a more comprehensive bill and has a greater chance of success," Smith, R-Ore., said after announcing a streamlined measure he plans to offer this week. "The bigger it is, the more comprehensive it is, the more likely it is to get bogged down and to delay technological deployment." The Smith legislation would provide regulatory relief for new entrants into video programming, and it would let municipalities offer low-cost, high-speed Internet service. The measure further would let unlicensed service providers offer wireless broadband on unassigned or unused broadcast television spectrum called "white space." And it would revamp the $7.3 billion fund that subsidizes certain telecom services.

Privacy
House Votes Unanimously To Protect Phone Records
     The House passed a bill designed to protect the records of telephone customers. The vote was 409-0. The bill, H.R. 4709, would create criminal penalties for the fraudulent sale or solicitation of cellular phone records. It "provides consumers with important new protections for the confidentiality of their calling records without compromising the legitimate lawful interests of law enforcement, emergency services and cellular telephone service providers," House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., said on the floor. According to Sensenbrenner, scandalous Internet companies use deception to obtain individuals' phone records using a tactic known as "pretexting." They then sell the data to third parties. The measure would impose prison sentences of up to 20 years plus fines. Extra prison time could be added for using such information against federal officials, law enforcers or victims of domestic violence.

Antitrust
Microsoft Lawyer Questions Merits Of European Case
     Microsoft's legal counsel told a European court that the region's antitrust body has "failed to demonstrate" that the U.S. company has unlawfully tied its media-player software application to Microsoft's Windows computer-operating system. Lawyer Jean-Francois Bellis told Europe's second-highest court that a 2004 judgment by the European Commission to force Microsoft to sell a stripped version of Windows should be reversed. The commission also had imposed a record $613 million fine on Microsoft and ordered it to give competitors access to Windows code to build compatible applications. In the appeal, Bellis told the Court of First Instance that there is little or no demand in the marketplace for computers without a pre-installed media player.

Television
FCC Democrats Want Conditions On 'Must Carry'
     Cable systems should not have to carry broadcasters' multiple digital programs unless the broadcasters agree to a quantifiable set of obligations to the viewing public, two Democrats on the FCC said at a broadcasters' convention in Las Vegas. Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps said they could not support a multicast "must carry" rule without significant changes in broadcasters' programming. "We have to have a real vigorous debate about what public-interest obligations" broadcasters would agree to meet, Adelstein said. Two examples are requirements to air children's television and to refrain from airing indecent material from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Deborah Tate, a Republican and the newest commissioner, offered no opinion on the subject. Earlier, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin had expressed a willingness to reconsider and reverse the agency's February 2005 must-carry decision if he has the votes to do so.

E-Government
Maker Of Voting Machines Faces Threats By States
     As state and local election officials make last-minute preparations for spring primaries this month, a leading voting-machine supplier will be fighting a coast-to-coast legal battle. Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury last Thursday filed a lawsuit against Election Systems & Software, accusing the company of breaching its contract with the state to provide voting machines for the disabled. Bradbury's suit is the latest in a string of legal setbacks for ES&S. A group of Pennsylvania voters and the advocacy group People for the American Way earlier this month filed a joint suit against federal and state election officials over the approval of machines they claim have not proven to be accurate or reliable. Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita also is threatening ES&S. He held a hearing last week to determine whether the company should be fined for violating election laws. The company faces civil penalties up to $300,000 per infraction.