The Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee (TEITAC) met at the National Science Foundation in Arlington , Va. on July 16-18 for a full committee meeting. TEITAC's report and discussion on telecommunications took place Tuesday afternoon and focused on real-time text; interactive voice response; caller status and information; and how VoIP will be affected by these recommendations in light of the uncertainty of its regulatory classification.

In preparation for the meeting, the subcommittees meet via conference call weekly and the subcommittees came together every three months to report on their working drafts to the whole committee.

he final report is expected in late 2007. TEITAC will use these suggestions to make recommendations to the Access Board on updates of accessibility standards issued under section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and guidelines under section 255 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 .  However, these are only recommendations and the Access Board does not have to accept them (nor does the FCC).  It is thought likely, however, that both agencies will rely heavily on the recommendations.

TEITAC, organized July 6, 2006 by the U.S. Access Board is tasked with providing recommendations for updates of accessibility standards issued under section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and guidelines under section 255 of the Telecommunications Act . Committee members represents more than 40 industry, disability groups and standard-setting bodies in the United States and abroad, and government agencies, among others. TEITAC is composed of several sub-committees and taskforces, including a Telecommunication Subcommittee; TIA is represented by Mary Brooner of Motorola and Fred Lucas of FAL Associates.

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The FTC released a staff report on Broadband Connectivity Competition Policy this week. Its conclusions, based on the FTC Broadband Access Workshop held in February 2007, support the TIA position on this issue – a “hands off” regulatory approach.

The report also detailed all facets of the many positions in the debate over network neutrality, dedicating entire sections to the many arguments. Ultimately, however, the FTC decided, rightly, that the United States doesn't need net neutrality regulation. FTC Chairman Deborah Majoras later told an audience in Washington that Congress should proceed with “caution, caution, caution” before it moves to pass laws that limit network management. The FTC is “unaware of any significant market failure or consumer harm” caused by broadband providers, Majoras continued.

This represents a big breakthrough in TIA's efforts to keep networks under the control of network operators. Especially rewarding is the similarity of the FTC's findings to our own comments filed for the February workshop. It seems the FTC paid attention.

A copy of the report can be found at: http://www.ftc.gov/reports/broadband/v070000report.pdf

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The Senate Commerce Committee recently passed the Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Act (S. 1650). TIA supports the legislation, as it will provide investment in wireless and digital technologies for minority serving colleges and universities.

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Representatives of U.S. and Indian tech and telecom industries met during the second industry-to-government bilateral dialogue between the countries, held last week. As the chair of the telecom subgroup for the ICT Dialogue, TIA is working with the U.S. Departments of State and Commerce, the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi , the Foreign Commercial Service and the U.S. Trade Representative to assist with ongoing policy efforts.  The Dialogue last week was very productive and yielded positive results.

In December 2006, TIA led a delegation to New Delhi for the working group's first industry-to-government meetings. During the discussion, TIA presented its views on a range of issues, including Indian market access impediments. Since the December meeting, there has been significant progress on a number of issues. India has increased the level foreign direct investment in the telecommunications sector to 74 percent, and it has resolved the remote access issue. Additionally, in June, India 's regulatory agency issued its notification on cable landing stations, which will become effective upon publication in the Official Gazette .

In April, TIA met with officials from India 's Department of Telecommunications to discuss U.S. practices with respect to standards and spectrum allocation. We also provided Department of Transportation and representatives from Indian industry information on U.S. spectrum auctions.

Remaining impediments, some of which were discussed in December, were the subject of discussions during last week's “bilat” – bilateral dialogue. Those discussions focused on encouraging further liberalization of the Indian market, leading to more competition, network deployment and spectrum policy reforms. In addition, the telecom subgroup discussed India 's VoIP policies, which directly impact sales for TIA members; market access issues, including high capitalization requirements; and long distance and international licensing.  U.S. and Indian industry reached consensus on all the areas presented, issuing joint recommendations to the governments on each agenda item.

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