E-911 Bill: A House Telecommunications Subcommittee hearing on a proposed E911 bill was postponed to the 19th. HR-3403 was proposed by Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn) on August 3rd. It would grant VoIP providers access to 911 networks at the same rates, terms and conditions currently provided to commercial mobile services providers. Theoretically then, a VoIP provider would be able to order trunks to local PSAPs (assuming that PSAP was accepting VoIP traffic). The bill would also mandate that all 911 fees collected by states actually be used for 911 or other emergency services.
DOJ Against Net Neutrality Regulation: The Department of Justice filed comments at the FCC opposing any potential FCC regulations limiting providers' ability to prioritize Internet traffic. DOJ warned that failure to allow providers to act on bandwidth demand issues would ultimately dissuade investments in network upgrades. Supporters of regulations of net neutrality argued that DOJ's comments ignore the market failure that has resulted in a broadband duopoly. The logic follows that without a fully competitive market, there is little to stop an area's duopoly providers from prioritizing traffic in a discriminatory fashion.
Internet Tax Moratorium Set to Expire: With the Internet Tax Moratorium set to expire in November, lobbying on both sides has increased steadily. Pro-moratorium lobbyists are pressing for a permanent extension of the act. State tax officials would prefer the moratorium be allowed to expire at best, or at worst, that any extension last no longer than four years. Senate Commerce Committee Vice Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) has called this issue the "most pressing broadband issue" currently before Congress.
Do Not Call List Permanent: Legislation is being drafted by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Penn.) that would make permanent any consumer telephone number entry on the national Do Not Call list. Currently, numbers may be deleted after five years, meaning consumers who signed up in June 2003, could have their numbers scrubbed as early as next summer.
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