The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) approved Japan-based SoftBank’s bid to buy 70 percent ownership of Sprint Nextel, the two carriers confirmed Wednesday (http://bit.ly/117byQ5). The multi-agency committee decided there were no unresolved national security issues related to the deal, despite recent concerns voiced by lawmakers and another company competing for control of Sprint. The FCC’s review is the deal’s remaining regulatory barrier -- which Medley Global Advisors analyst Jeffrey Silva predicted will be removed “within days."
The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) second workshop to develop the Cybersecurity Framework, set to begin Wednesday, will delve deeper into actually creating the framework, officials said. NIST and the Department of Homeland Security are working with industries considered to be components of the U.S.’s critical infrastructure to draft the voluntary framework as directed by President Barack Obama’s cybersecurity executive order (WID Feb 14 p1). Participants are expected to begin creating the initial set of standards, best practices and procedures that will be included in the draft version of the Framework that’s expected to go public in October (http://1.usa.gov/Z5zzJD).
The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) second workshop to develop the Cybersecurity Framework, set to begin Wednesday, will delve deeper into actually creating the framework, industry officials said. NIST and the Department of Homeland Security are working with industries considered to be components of the U.S.’s critical infrastructure to draft the voluntary framework as directed by President Barack Obama’s cybersecurity executive order (CD Feb 14 p1). Participants are expected to begin creating the initial set of standards, best practices and procedures that will be included in the draft version of the Framework that’s expected to go public in October (http://1.usa.gov/Z5zzJD).
The World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum (WTPF) ended last week with a consensus among participants on a set of non-binding documents on Internet-related issues(WID May 17 p3). The consensus at WTPF was in contrast to the rancorous end to the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai in December. Industry insiders and experts told us it’s unclear if future binding talks on Internet governance issues will produce a consensus as easily.
The World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum (WTPF) ended last week with a consensus among participants on a set of non-binding documents on Internet-related issues (CD May 17 p3). The consensus at WTPF was in contrast to the rancorous end to the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai in December. Industry insiders and experts told us it’s unclear if future binding talks on Internet governance issues will produce a consensus as easily.
Cisco is hopeful the FCC’s Wireline Bureau will decide “quickly and properly” that the Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC) was incorrect in determining that audio communication portions of Cisco’s WebEx conferencing service should be considered a telecommunications service, Jeffrey Campbell, Cisco’s vice president-government affairs, told us.
Cisco is hopeful the FCC’s Wireline Bureau will decide “quickly and properly” that the Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC) was incorrect in determining that audio communication portions of Cisco’s WebEx conferencing service should be considered a telecommunications service, Jeffrey Campbell, Cisco’s vice president-government affairs, told us.
Delegates to the World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum (WTPF) Thursday adopted by consensus a non-binding report by ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré and six opinions from the ITU-initiated Informal Experts Group (IEG) on Internet-related issues. That ended the conference after extensive debate on governments’ role in Internet governance. Delegates chose not to act during the conference on a seventh opinion, introduced by Brazil but also containing controversial Internet governance language from an earlier Russian Federation contribution, because they couldn’t reach a consensus in the allotted time. Touré told delegates at the end of the conference that he would send that opinion to the ITU Council Working Group on international Internet-related public policy issues (CWG-Internet), which will decide on the best forum for continuing the debate.
Delegates to the World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum (WTPF) Thursday adopted by consensus a non-binding report by ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré and six opinions from the ITU-initiated Informal Experts Group (IEG) on Internet-related issues. That ended the conference after extensive debate on governments’ role in Internet governance. Delegates chose not to act during the conference on a seventh opinion, introduced by Brazil but also containing controversial Internet governance language from an earlier Russian Federation contribution, because they couldn’t reach a consensus in the allotted time. Touré told delegates at the end of the conference that he would send that opinion to the ITU Council Working Group on international Internet-related public policy issues (CWG-Internet), which will decide on the best forum for continuing the debate.
The FCC’s upcoming incentive auctions will continue to be one of the Office of Engineering and Technology’s top priorities during the agency’s leadership transition, said OET Chief Julius Knapp Wednesday during a National Spectrum Management Association (NSMA) conference. The FCC would work on the incentive auctions “no matter who the chairman is” because the auction preparatory process involves statutory requirements, he said. The FCC and OET will remain as dedicated as ever to making more spectrum available for use, and there is “every reason to expect” that will continue under new leadership, Knapp said. The Obama administration is also hoping to make additional spectrum available by freeing up a total of 500 MHz of federal spectrum by 2020.