The FCC adopted a Second Report and Order and Memorandum Opinion and Order (Second R&O) on May 3, 2006 enabling law enforcement access to certain broadband and VoIP providers. On May 12, the FCC released a ruling clarifying VoIP providers' obligations (http://www.fcc.gov/).  The First Report and Order, issued in September 2005, concluded that facilities-based broadband Internet access and interconnected VoIP providers were covered by Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). The Second R&O affirms that the CALEA compliance deadline will be May 14, 2007 and requires interim reports to be submitted to the Commission to ensure they will be CALEA-compliant by the deadline. It also requires all facilities-based broadband Internet access and VoIP providers to whom CALEA obligations were applied in the First Report and Order to come into compliance with the system security requirements in the Commission's rules within 90 days after the effective date of the Second R&O. The Second R&O allows third party assistance in meeting CALEA obligations to include services such as processing requests for intercepts, conducting electronic surveillance, and delivering relative information to law enforcement officials. However, third party assistance does not relieve the carrier of the responsibility for timely delivery of call-identifying information and call content information to law enforcement officials or for protecting subscriber privacy as required by CALEA. The Second R&O concludes that carriers are responsible for development and implementation costs and will not impose a national surcharge for CALEA enforcement. However, industry insiders anticipate a rate increase since carriers and providers who are not subject to rate regulations may pass along costs to consumers through surcharges or other legal means. The Second R&O permits the Commission to take separate enforcement action against carriers that fail to comply with CALEA. This action could be in addition to law enforcement remedies available through the courts and may include monetary penalties and cease-and-desist orders. A coalition of public interest, industry, and academic groups are challenging the FCC's expansion of CALEA. A three-judge U.S. appeals panel heard arguments May 5. The court's final decision is not expected for several months.   top    -News and Stuff

BPL Regulations Approved in California

California residents may soon have another option for gaining Internet access as a result of a recent decision by the California PUC.  Broadband over power lines (BPL), approved by the Commission in late April, uses the electric utilities' power lines to carry broadband signals into a consumer's homes, thus solving the "last mile" problem and increasing choice for consumers in Internet broadband providers.

"BPL has the potential to bring broadband Internet services to communities who do not have broadband service available today from the telephone companies or cable companies. In fact, in other communities that already have DSL and cable modem service BPL can provide a third broadband 'pipe' to customers, thereby increasing competition and consumer choice," said PUC President Michael R. Peevey.

BPL technology is evolving quickly, with a handful of pilot projects being run in the state. BPL systems deliver high-speed data over existing power lines. BPL data is transmitted at a much higher frequency than electricity, so the BPL signal can occupy the electric wires without interfering with electric transmission. This nascent technology is expected to have a number of hurdles to cross. Commissioner John Bohn said, "By removing unnecessary regulations from its path, we free BPL entrepreneurs to invest and take the risks they want, while protecting ratepayers from any downside."

Specific guidelines adopted by the Commission may be found at www.cpuc.ca.gov .

 

 

CDMA2000 Achieves Major Milestone

The CDMA Development Group (CDG) announced that the number of CDMA2000® 3G subscribers worldwide surpassed 250 million in the 1Q 2006. CDMA2000 operators added more than 25 million new users in the first three months of the year, driven by strong growth in the Americas and Asia. CDMA2000 1xEV-DO gained a record six million new subscribers to reach 30 million users.

"CDMA2000 is the fastest-growing technology among global wireless standards, and it leads in technology and service innovation, introducing new services and devices to the market faster than any other technology," said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG. "We see the CDMA2000 momentum continuing to grow across all markets, with acceleration brought on by market events such as the migration to mobile broadband, the growing introduction of all-IP and multimedia devices, and continued rapid expansion into frequencies such as 450 and 2100 MHz."

In the first five years of commercial introduction, CDMA2000 grew much faster than GSM and WCDMA. In the past seven months alone, CDMA2000 networks added more subscribers than WCDMA gained in the four years since it was first introduced. Solid performance, ease of migration, backwards compatibility and availability of a broad range of devices are a few of the factors that have contributed to its success.

CDMA has captured 42% of the North American market and 13% share in Asia and Latin America. It holds the dominant share of the 3G market. Analysts predict that the number of 3G CDMA users will continue to grow rapidly and CDMA will capture greater market share. By 2008, CDMA technologies are expected to have over 1.2 billion users and capture 40% market share.

Additional CDMA2000 and 1xEV-DO growth data available at: www.cdg.org

 

Verizon TEM Service

Verizon Business unveiled a new service that tracks and manages the communications costs of large business customers, identifying potential cost savings and enabling the customers to focus more time and resources on their businesses' core priorities. Integrated Telecom Expense Management Service is designed for expenditures associated with all communications services and related devices.  Verizon Business is one of the first service providers to offer an integrated platform to identify and assess both wireless and wireline communication assets.

The service features Symphony Services total Telecom Expense Management capabilities to manage assets and invoices for wireline services. The capabilities include inventory asset tracking, contract administration, invoice auditing and dispute resolution.

Verizon Business will assist its clients in identifying and compiling comprehensive inventories of wireline assets, including lines and circuits, customer premises equipment and telephony equipment and services. The company will also manage and track the provisioning of new and disconnected services, as well as perform general ledger financial allocations through electronic, or e-bonding, capabilities.

For wireless communications expenses, Verizon Business will manage the procurement of wireless services through a customer-established corporate catalog of approved services and analyze wireless plans to identify unauthorized usage and rogue devices. Advanced analytical capabilities will enable Verizon Business to compare a customer's wireless plans against a database of more than 35,000 national plans to determine cost-effective alternatives.

Financial management capabilities can be custom-tailored to meet an individual customer's needs and include invoice processing and validation and cost allocation.

To learn more visit: www.verizonbusiness.com

 

 

AOL Offers Free Phone Numbers

AOL launched AIM Phoneline in May which gives AIM users a free local phone number to receive unlimited incoming calls online through the AIM service as well as free online voicemail. Inbound calls can be received from landlines, mobile phones or other PCs. The number provides always-on voicemail delivered to the user's AIM Mail inbox and when the user is signed on, they can screen incoming calls with Caller ID, answer calls and talk as long as they like. There is also a mobile alert feature that notifies the user when they have a new voicemail. Outbound calling and extra features can be added with a monthly fee.

An upgraded version, AIM Phoneline Unlimited, includes unlimited calling in the US, Canada and more than 30 international destinations for a fixed monthly fee. Features include PC-based call management capabilities such as call blocking, Caller ID with an answering machine-like ability to interrupt a message and take the call or send it to voicemail and nomadic E911 support that enables users to reach emergency services regardless of their location.

Go to www.aimphoneline.com for service details.

 

 

Covad Gets Award - Customers Get Unlimited Minutes

Covad Communications' PBXi Plus business class VoIP product won the 2005 Product of the Year Award from Technology Marketing Corporation's Communications Solutions magazine.  Covad made the award winning service even better by providing its new and existing PBXi Plus customers with unlimited domestic monthly minutes, up to 101,000 minutes per month per site.

The PBXi is targeted to small businesses and distributed enterprises that have existing on-premises phone equipment. The product integrates with business phone systems enabling businesses to retain their original handsets, phone numbers and equipment. Covad provides installation and a Cisco 2431 router at no charge, requiring no upfront expense.

 

 

BellSouth and Samsung's  Broadband Partnership

BellSouth and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung) have made an agreement to explore opportunities to market and co-brand broadband-enabled devices in consumer and business markets.

Over the next year the companies will work to identify areas where the relationship between BellSouth's broadband platform and Samsung's devices could enhance broadband usage and benefit BellSouth's customers.

"This is a very strategic opportunity which dramatically advances our North American growth plans," said Dale Sohn, President of Samsung Telecommunications America. "By joining with one of the leaders in broadband deployment, we gain a significant presence in the United States. Our companies' strong commitments to deliver innovative broadband services will advance convergence and further enhance the customer experience."

Currently serving more than three million DSL customers, BellSouth continues to see tremendous growth in the wireline DSL market as more and more residential and business subscribers make the switch to broadband.

For more information please visit: www.bellsouth.com

 

 

SAS Revenue Assurance Solution

SAS, an industry leader in business intelligence, recently announced it has started shipping a new software called SAS Revenue Assurance for Telecommunications that gives communications providers the ability to better manage revenue streams and reduce revenue leakage. The new software is designed to minimize process inefficiencies and maximize revenue by applying data integration, analytics, storage and business intelligence capabilities.

It has a built-in knowledge component, enabling organizations to benefit from the experience SAS has gathered over the past 30 years. The software helps telcos identify and stop revenue leaks caused by business-process issues and technical issues that can account for up to 15 percent of a company's revenue.

This new SAS Telecommunications Intelligence Solutions enables organizations to implement effective business strategies, retain and expand customer accounts and execute more successful marketing campaigns without having to develop customized data architectures and analytical applications from scratch.

Visit www.sas.com for more information.

 

 

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