Caller ID “spoofing,” in which wrongdoers change the data displayed in a caller ID box to gain access to someone else’s personal information, is the next big threat to wireless and wireline carriers, Sprint Nextel warned Wed. during a D.C. Bar Assn. seminar on Internet and cellphone privacy.
Howard Buskirk
Howard Buskirk, Executive Senior Editor, joined Warren Communications News in 2004, after covering Capitol Hill for Telecommunications Reports. He has covered Washington since 1993 and was formerly executive editor at Energy Business Watch, editor at Gas Daily and managing editor at Natural Gas Week. Previous to that, he was a staff reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Greenville News. Follow Buskirk on Twitter: @hbuskirk
A proposal by the Alfred Mann Foundation (AMF) that the FCC allocate spectrum beyond the 5 MHz planned for a new MedRadio band was supported by other medical institutions in comments filed at the agency. In July, the FCC proposed a new service for medical devices in the 401-406 MHz band, adding 2 MHz to that already allotted to the medical implant communications service (MICS) band. AMF said more spectrum would help stroke and other patients gain the benefits wireless wideband microstimulator systems designed to work as an artificial nervous system (CD Nov 3 p5).
Operators still face heavy time pressures despite the FCC extending to 2010 from 2007 a buildout deadline for wireless communications service (WCS) operators, said Paul Sinderbrand, counsel to the Wireless Communications Assn. (WCA). Before buildout can begin, however, the FCC must release long-awaited rules for digital audio radio service (DARS) repeaters used by XM and Sirius to extend their reach, WCA said. Satellite radio operators and WCS licensees occupy adjoining frequencies.
The Bush Administration rebuffed efforts to participate in the current ITU Plenipot by industry officials who gave to Democrats, multiple sources said. The Bush White House had relaxed pressure to exclude Democrats on such international delegations, but that pressure revived as the election neared, the sources said. Administration insistence on political purity of participants in a nonpolitical conference likely will be the subject of Hill oversight as Democrats resume control of Congress next year.
MSTV asked the FCC to make changes to its Oct. 12 order clearing Qualcomm to offer high quality video on licenses it owns in the 700-MHz band through subsidiary MediaFLO. The filing continues a longstanding conflict between Qualcomm and broadcasters over use of channel 55. Qualcomm declined to respond Thurs., but a company source said it would answer MSTV next week in a filing.
Verizon Wireless is pushing the FCC to move up the starting date for the 700 MHz auction, which could effectively kill a Cyren Call proposal for a wireless broadband network serving public safety using 700 MHz spectrum, sources said. Meanwhile, even though the FCC had held it cannot reallocate the spectrum without Congressional action, the agency has been inundated with comments in recent days in support of the Cyren plan.
Comr. McDowell expects to be able to work with the new Democratic leadership of Congress, he said, admitting the majority control change “affects everything.” McDowell spoke Wed. to an FCBA luncheon, breaking little new ground. FCBA attendees had only one question for McDowell in Q&A: His view of the Democratic takeover of Congress. “I had originally written a little piece about that in my speech and cleared a joke that my staff made me take out,” he said: “Certainly, a changeover in both houses of Congress affects everything in Washington and we'll take it one step at a time. I've always gone out of my way to work on a bipartisan -- really, nonpartisan -- basis, and I look forward to working with the new leadership in Congress regardless.” Afterward, he had no comment for reporters on the status of his recusal on the AT&T-BellSouth merger.
FCC Chmn. Martin will have to take a fresh approach to his office and faces much more oversight - from hearings to phone calls and letters from Capitol Hill demanding answers, former FCC Chmn. Reed Hundt said, commenting on the Democratic takeover of Congress.
FCC Chmn. Martin hesitates to act on the AT&T-BellSouth merger until he meets with key Democratic members on the Hill to get their views, regulatory sources said Mon. No meeting has occurred, but FCC staff members reportedly made informal contact last week with staffers for incoming House Commerce Committee Chmn. Dingell (D-Mich.) and were assured Dingell isn’t calling for a delay on the merger vote.
Despite 12 years of GOP dominance in Congress and control of the White House since 2001, most of the communications sector’s trade associations and companies won’t be caught completely flat-footed by the Democrats’ reemergence as the party in charge in the House and Senate, sources said.