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Telecommunications Reports presents.... TR DAILY June 4, 2001 -------------------------------------------------- PLEASE NOTE: This electronic publication is copyrighted by Telecommunications Reports International. Redistribution or retransmission of any part of this electronic publication -- either internally or externally -- is strictly prohibited. Violation will be cause for immediate termination of your subscription and liability for damages. You may print out one hard copy for your personal use. If you are interested in having this publication sent to colleagues at your company, additional authorized recipients may be added to your subscription for a fee. Call Subscriber Services, at (800) 822-6338, or send an e- mail to customerservice@tr.com for more details. If you prefer not to receive TR Daily, please reply to customerservice@tr.com. -------------------------------------------------- Table Of Contents Click here for the full issue: http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td060401/index.htm HOLLINGS FAVORS SMALLER COMMERCE COMMITTEE; INOUYE SET TO RETAKE COMMUNICATIONS GAVEL http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td060401/Td060401.htm TECH COALITION BACKS BUSH's CALL TO EXTEND CHINA's TRADE STATUS http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td060401/Td060401-01.htm HEALTH RESEARCHERS TO SETTLE LAWSUIT OVER USE OF PRIVATE CELLPHONE RECORDS http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td060401/Td060401-02.htm CLEC ASKS FCC TO STAY RECIPROCAL COMPENSATION ORDER http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td060401/Td060401-03.htm NEWS IN BRIEF http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td060401/Td060401-04.htm *************************************************************** HOLLINGS FAVORS SMALLER COMMERCE COMMITTEE; INOUYE SET TO RETAKE COMMUNICATIONS GAVEL It's still too early in the Senate transition game to tell which issues -- telecom related or not -- will come to a head under a Democratic-led Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. But incoming Chairman Ernest F. Hollings (D., S.C.) already has singled out one item for immediate attention -- downsizing the Commerce Committee. The panel gained two seats for a total of 22 at the outset of the 107th Congress. Under a Senate "power-sharing" pact that went into effect last January, all the committees were drawn up to reflect the Senate's 50-50 split between Democrats and Republicans (TR, Jan. 15). But with Sen. James Jeffords's (R., Vt.) departure from the GOP expected to take effect this week, Democrats are pushing a new reorganization plan that would give them a one-seat advantage on each committee. For the Commerce Committee, Sen. Hollings prefers trimming a Republican from the panel rather than adding a Democrat, his spokesman said. "He feels the Commerce Committee is starting to get too large and plans to work with [incoming Majority Leader Thomas A.] Daschle [D., S.D.] to come up with a final determination," the spokesman told TR today. It is too early to discuss specific Commerce Committee agenda items for the remainder of the year, the Hollings spokesman said. But before he begins pushing an agenda, Sen. Hollings will confer with current Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R., Ariz.), he added. "While the committee's priorities have yet to be determined, the style in which they work won't be changing," the spokesman said. "Clearly, Sens. McCain and Hollings have a long-standing, working relationship. . .and cover issues that transcend party lines. They pride themselves on moving things out of that committee in bipartisan fashion, and that isn't going to change," he added. On the telecom front, Sen. Hollings is in line to become chairman of the communications subcommittee, but he's not expected to assume that post. Instead, the subcommittee's gavel likely will return to Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (Hawaii), who last held the top spot there in 1994. A Hollings-Inouye pairing would be good news for those who don't want Congress to overhaul the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Earlier this year, Sens. Inouye and Hollings were two of four senators who called on FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell to maintain the "strict adherence and strong enforcement" of the local market-opening mandates spelled out in sections 251 and 271 of the Act (TR, April 30). Sen. Inouye also has pressed the FCC for quick action on Northpoint Technologies Ltd.'s applications to operate in the Ku- band (TR, May 28), and he was an original cosponsor to a bill, S 414, to set up a new telecom program to be administered by the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (TR, March 5). For current communications subcommittee Chairman Conrad Burns (R., Mont.), the loss of the gavel shouldn't disrupt the rollout of his "tech seven" agenda of telecom and Internet issues, his spokeswoman said. "It's still his top priority," she said. Sen. Burns "enjoys a good working relationship with [Sen.] Hollings and feels they'll move the tech seven agenda." *************************************************************** TECH COALITION BACKS BUSH's CALL TO EXTEND CHINA's TRADE STATUS A coalition of groups representing telecom equipment and high- tech companies today said Congress should extend normal trade relations (NTR) status with China for another year. The U.S. High-Tech Industry Coalition said it "strongly endorsed" President Bush's call for such an extension. Extending China's normal trade status would "protect current U.S. high-tech investments and businesses in China, thus enhancing opportunities for increased market access once China formally joins the World Trade Organization," the coalition said. China is "moving toward completing" all of its accession procedures for joining the WTO, it added. The coalition includes the AeA (formerly the American Electronics Association), the Computer & Communications Industry Association, Information Technology Association of America, Information Technology Industry Council, and the Telecommunications Industry Association. *************************************************************** HEALTH RESEARCHERS TO SETTLE LAWSUIT OVER USE OF PRIVATE CELLPHONE RECORDS The group that led a six-year, $27 million industry-funded effort to study the health effects of mobile phones has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit. The suit was filed in 1995 on behalf of mobile phone users who claimed their privacy was invaded. Their phone records were reviewed without their permission as part of the research project, the plaintiffs said. Wireless Technology Research LLC has agreed to turn over the remaining $1.4 million of a $2 million insurance policy that the wireless industry purchased for it in the wake of the litigation. As part of the settlement agreement, $250,000 of those funds will be set aside to fund a voluntary, surveillance registry to assess whether there is a link between mobile phone use and illnesses. The registry will be run by WTR Chairman George L. Carlo, who had a falling out with the wireless industry after he accused it of failing to act on research that he said indicated a link between mobile phone use and adverse health effects. The settlement also reserves $150,000 for future legal expenses of Mr. Carlo and WTR. In addition, mobile phone subscribers included in the class would get a 50% discount on a book Mr. Carlo co-authored last year, "Cell Phones: Invisible Hazards in the Wireless Age." Attorneys for the plaintiffs in "Jerald P. Busse et al. v. Motorola, Inc. et al." (case no. 95 CH 10332) have asked the Cook County, Ill., Circuit Court to hold a hearing Thursday on the proposed settlement. If the court approves the agreement, WTR would be dropped from the lawsuit, but other defendants from the wireless industry would remain. An aide for Mr. Carlo told TR today he couldn't discuss the settlement until it is finalized. Michael F. Altschul, senior vice president-policy and administration and general counsel for the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, which is a defendant in the case, also declined to comment, saying industry attorneys were reviewing the proposed settlement. *************************************************************** CLEC ASKS FCC TO STAY RECIPROCAL COMPENSATION ORDER Competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) Core Communications, Inc. (CoreTel) has asked the FCC to stay the effectiveness of a recent order overhauling reciprocal compensation rules. The new rules are designed to phase out payments received by carriers for connecting calls to Internet service providers (ISPs). CoreTel said the order could force it to abandon some of its markets. CoreTel took issue with two provisions of the order in Common Carrier dockets 96-98 and 99-68 (TR, April 23). One is the ban on carriers' receiving reciprocal compensation for terminating calls to ISPs in any new markets entered after the adoption of the order. The other is the "growth cap" provision, which limits annual increases in a carrier's reciprocal compensation revenue. The order allows CLECs that already are operating in a particular geographic area to continue receiving reciprocal compensation revenues up to the limit set by the growth cap, while hampering new CLECs, CoreTel noted. That situation puts new CLECs entering those markets at an "extreme competitive disadvantage," it said. "The business that CoreTel will lose as a result of these new rules and the competitive advantage they confer on established CLECs is incalculable and irremediable at some later date," CoreTel said. It will suffer "irreparable harm" if the provisions aren't stayed pending judicial review, the company added. *************************************************************** NEWS IN BRIEF New FCC Cable Bureau Chief Kenneth Ferree has announced that senior legal advisor Clint Odom has left his staff and that Thomas Horan, an attorney in the FCC consumer protection and competition division, has succeeded Mr. Odom. Mr. Odom was a legal adviser to former FCC Chairman William E. Kennard before joining the Cable Bureau.... President Bush has signed an executive order allowing the Information Technology Advisory Committee to operate for another two years, until June 1, 2003. Former President Bill Clinton established the panel by executive order in February 1997.... Robert A. Kaiser has been appointed president and chief executive officer at MobileStar Network Corp., a wireless broadband provider based in Richardson, Texas. He was CEO at WorldCom Broadband Solutions Group and before that was CEO and chief financial officer at SkyTel, Inc.... John Windolph has been named senior vice president-business development for the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association. Previously, he was executive VP and chief marketing officer for Lowe Lintas & Partners, an advertising agency, and VP-marketing communications for Iridium LLC. He succeeds George Shaginaw, who will become full-time president and chief executive officer of CIBERNET, a CTIA subsidiary.... Tayo Ogundipe has been promoted to vice president-finance at UbiquiTel, Inc. He joined UbiquiTel in April 2000 as finance director. Previously, he was with the wireless division of Southwestern Bell Corp. (now SBC Communications, Inc.) and Comcast Cellular Communications. UbiquiTel is a Sprint PCS wireless affiliate based in Conshohocken, Penn.... Deborah Edlund has been named vice president-U.S. sales for MCK Communications, Inc. She was VP-distribution sales at Fujitsu Business Communications Systems. MCK also promoted Marc Flynn to VP-international sales. He has held sales posts at Bell Canada, Memotec General Datacomm, and ADTRAN. MCK said that Jeff Dickerson, senior VP-worldwide sales, is leaving the company. Mr. Dickerson's plans were not revealed. MCK is a telecom network equipment provider based in Needham, Mass.... Kent Larsen has joined the Washington law firm of Bennet & Bennet PLLC as a senior communications consultant. He has more than 17 years of experience as a telecom industry consultant.... The FCC has begun a new e-mail service to tell consumers about developments at the agency, disseminate consumer information, and invite comments on FCC proposals. The service is operated by the consumer education office of the FCC's Consumer Information Bureau. To subscribe, send an e-mail to subscribe@info.fcc.gov, and write "subscribe fcc-consumer-info firstname lastname" in the subject line or body of the message.... Nortel Networks Corp. will issue new stock options to many employees whose options have been rendered worthless by the dip in Nortel's stock price, the company said today. As of May 31, about 333 million options to buy Nortel shares were outstanding. Around a third of those will be eligible for the exchange program, Nortel said. "This is an extraordinary step that is essential so we may continue to attract, retain, and reward our talent in a highly competitive labor market," said John Roth, Nortel's president and chief executive officer.... An alliance of information and communications technology companies is launching a global initiative to improve the environment and support sustainable development by saving energy, minimizing waste, and bridging the digital divide, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said today. The Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) is supported by the ITU and the United Nations Environment Program. It will help conduct research over the next two years on how communications companies can be more environmentally and socially responsible. Founding members include AT&T Corp., British Telecommunications plc, Cable & Wireless plc, Deutsche Telekom AG, LM Ericsson AB, Lucent Technologies, Inc., Telenor AS, and the European Telecommunications Network Operators Association. GeSI will be launched June 5 on World Environment Day in Turin, Italy. For more information, go to http://www.gesi.org.... The number of CDMA (code-division multiple-access) subscribers grew to 90 million in March, a 58% jump over the previous year, according to the CDMA Development Group. The Asia Pacific region remained the largest CDMA market, with nearly 40 million sub- scribers, while North America was second with 33.8 million subscribers. Latin America saw the fastest growth in CDMA usage, 144%, bringing its subscribership to 15.9 million. ******************************************************** TR DAILY Copyright 2001 Telecommunications Reports International, Inc., (ISSN 1082-9350) is transmitted weekdays, except for holidays. Visit us on the World Wide Web at http://www.tr.com. Published by the Business & Finance Group of CCH INCORPORATED. Associate Editor: Tom Leithauser Associate Editor: Ryan Oremland Associate Editor: Ed Rovetto Editor in Chief: Victoria A. Mason Publisher: Stephen P. Munro 1333 H Street, NW, 1st Floor-East Tower, Washington, DC 20005 Editorial Information: Telephone: (202) 312-6060 Fax: (202) 842-3047 Email: tleithauser@tr.com Customer Service: Telephone: (202) 312-6050 (877) 874-8737 Fax: (202) 842-3023 Email: customerservice@tr.com Federal copyright law prohibits duplication or reproduction in any form, including electronic, without permission of the publisher.=0F:
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