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Group Criticizes Variation In VoIP Rules
by Chloe Albanesius
The patchwork of state regulatory action on Internet telephony demonstrates the need for fundamental reform of state laws governing communications regulation, according to a report released Thursday from the Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF).
"At this time, actions by federal and state regulatory bodies [related to voice-over-Internet protocol, or VoIP] can generously be described as uncoordinated," according to the report's authors, PFF President Raymond Gifford and research fellow Kent Lassman.
Gifford and Lassman oppose any regulatory barrier that would impede the proliferation of VoIP, but they concede that under state laws, it is currently the responsibility of state public-utility commissions (PUCs) to regulate the service. They urged reform of those laws, saying it is "unfortunate and harmful" for commissions to regulate a new service using an integrated, monopoly platform.
The authors believe that the Internet is inherently an interstate service and therefore should be a matter for the federal government. But "until fundamental changes to the nation's telecommunications laws are adopted, VoIP regulation will remain chaotic and the states will have their prerogatives," the report said.
The 23 states that currently have some form of VoIP regulation can be broken down into four categories, PFF concludes: states with investigations or open proceedings into the technology; states that are asserting their authority over VoIP; the California model, which has given its PUC full supervision of VoIP; and the Iowa model, which is employing its authority for allocating phone numbers to delay state VoIP deployment.
Wisconsin, Illinois Residents Eye Drug Imports
Since the launch last week of a program to allow Wisconsin and Illinois residents to purchase prescription drugs from Canada and Europe, more than 11,000 people have requested the program's enrollment form via Internet downloads and hotline calls, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced Tuesday.
The program, I-SaveRx, allows residents to purchase drugs from pharmacies in Canada, England, Scotland and Ireland for up to 50 percent less than what they would pay in the United States. Blagojevich, a Democrat, has been crisscrossing Illinois talking to seniors about the I-SaveRx plan, with visits to cities like Decatur, Peoria and Chicago.
Once an individual has submitted an application under the plan, program operators will scan the information for potentially dangerous drug interactions using software currently employed in Illinois pharmacies. Approved applications will be passed to a network physician who will review and rewrite the prescriptions for a network pharmacy. Following a final safety check, the drugs will be dispensed. Available drugs are limited to those that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States.
The governor criticized big drug companies for overcharging the nation's senior citizens. With I-SaveRx, he said, "you can buy the same prescription drugs you use today but for a lot less money. I ... know that overcharging senior citizens isn't right."
Connecticut Gets Database Grant For Driving Records
Connecticut has been awarded a $1.7 million Transportation Department grant to develop a database of driver and vehicle history, Gov. Jodi Rell announced Wednesday.
State motor-vehicle, court, transportation, police and safety officials will work together over the next two years to provide access to driver histories and vehicle information, electronic collection of data, electronic transmission of information among stakeholders, and online access to information on cases involving impaired driving.
"These funds will enable Connecticut law enforcement agencies to provide more complete and timelier reporting of [driving-while-intoxicated] offenses" to courts and the Department of Motor Vehicles, the GOP governor said in a statement. "Having a fully developed records program will be a powerful tool that should reduce the possibility of impaired drivers falling through the cracks of our enforcement and court system."
The Connecticut Impaired Driving Records Information System will build upon the existing Offender-Based Tracking System, which currently provides information on criminal offenses to law enforcement and justice agencies.
In other news, the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs this week announced the creation of a simplified, one-stop system to let residents register new businesses with multiple state agencies.
Meanwhile, city and county law enforcement agencies in Fort Collins, Colo., successfully integrated their computer systems last week, The Fort Collins Coloradoan reported. The $3.7 million software system -- funded by the Larimer Telephone Authority, the police department and Larimer County -- will allow for computer-aided dispatch, access to law enforcement records and jail-management components.
Louisiana Governor Touts High-Speed Network
Louisiana's efforts in high-speed, fiber-optic computing will put the state "on the cutting edge of modern research," Gov. Kathleen Blanco wrote in a Wednesday opinion column for the National Governors Association.
The Democratic governor pledged to commit $40 million over the next 10 years to the ongoing Louisiana Optical Network Initiative (LONI), which links mainframe computers at Louisiana research universities.
"By virtue of the National LambdaRail node that will be located in Baton Rouge, LONI researchers will be connected to computers at many of the most prestigious research institutions and technology-oriented companies in the nation," Blanco wrote. The effort will better position "to attract more of the kinds of researchers, research projects and federal research dollars that separate good universities from nationally competitive research powerhouses."
In other news, Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher last week unveiled a plan to provide high-speed Internet access to all state residents by 2007.
"While Internet access on its own is not a silver-bullet solution for prosperity, adequate access to the global marketplace through broadband infrastructure enables knowledge-based economic development and has the ability to enhance the lives of our citizens and businesses," the Republican governor said at the Kentucky League of Cities Convention.
ConnectKentucky, the state's technology-based economic development alliance, will lead the grassroots initiative, bringing together community leaders and citizens to identify applications and necessary infrastructure, Fletcher said.
Va. Companies Awarded Port Security Grants
The Transportation Security Administration awarded port security contracts to three Virginia-based companies, Sen. George Allen, R-Va., announced last week.
The companies will conduct "table top" transportation security exercises to evaluate security plans for the nation's largest seaports. They will work to develop security-incident scenarios, which might include simulation software and databases to monitor drills.
Alexandria-based Community Research Associates was awarded more than $550,000; McLean-based Booz Allen Hamilton's contract is valued at about $400,000; and Centreville-based UNITECH received $116,000.
Meanwhile, Illinois' Blagojevich on Tuesday announced that the Illinois State Police received two grants totaling $3.2 million from the Justice Department to clear the state's DNA backlog. The first grant, worth about $1.5 million, will be used to enhance DNA analytical capability and purchase new software and computer hardware. The second, a $1.8 million grant, will allow the state police to outsource some forensic biology and DNA cases.
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