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Wireless Takes Stage on Capitol Hill

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Author: WildC@rd

The wheels of the federal government turned for the wireless industry yesterday, as it moved to ease spectrum concerns while whipping up concern about wireless security. While a Congressional hearing drew industry and government heavyweights to testify on how laws concerning wireless customer information should be protected, Congress was moving to approve a budget bill measure that contained hard dates for broadcasters to leave the 700 MHz spectrum band. After broadcasters clear the spectrum by Feb. 18, 2009, it eventually will be sold off to commercial wireless providers and provided to emergency service providers. The Congressional Budget Office has predicted the spectrum could bring in $12 billion from bidders. The wireless industry immediately applauded the move. "This is a significant public policy victory, as there is little doubt it will make our nation more secure and technologically advanced. I applaud Congress for passing this bill and encourage the President to sign it into law," stated CTIA President and CEO Steve Largent. Meanwhile, at the House Commerce Committee's hearing on wireless phone bill "pretexting" concerns, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said his agency was opening up a rulemaking procedure aimed at setting a single date on which all telecommunications carriers would file a certification that they meet customer proprietary network information (CPNI) protection rules. He added that a 1999 federal court ruling that made it more difficult for telecommunications consumers to keep their information out of the public eye should be re-examined. He also recommended Congress approve a law that specifically makes fraudulently accessing a wireless customer's bill illegal. It's currently a vague area, as no law specifically mentions the practice as being illegal. He also asked that the FCC's enforcement rules concerning carrier protection for CPNI be strengthened. The FCC already has proposed $100,000 fines for Alltel and AT&T for not having certification on file showing they meet the commission's CPNI requirements. The FCC asked carriers to provide that certification by Feb. 6. Verizon Wireless late yesterday clarified its position in providing the sensitive CPNI certification document to the public. Companies are required by the FCC to make the certification public, but Verizon Wireless had asked the commission to clarify exactly how that should be done. The company now says it will make it available to those who visit its offices in Warren, N.J.
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