EU governments have apparently rejected a proposal by the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO) to add a “sending-party-network-pays” provision to ITU international telecom regulations (ITRs). The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) met last week in Istanbul to firm up a common EU position before December’s ITU World Conference on International Telecommunications in Dubai. CEPT hasn’t made its position public yet, but European Internet Services Providers (EuroISPA) board member Innocenzo Genna wrote on his blog (http://xrl.us/bnu2vh) that informal sources have said the ETNO proposal is out. ETNO Communications and Public Policy Director Thierry Dieu, however, said he expects a final decision from CEPT next week. The U.S. has already rejected the proposal.

Sprint Nextel quietly bought enough shares of Clearwire to give it a controlling stake, according to a filing Thursday at the SEC. The report came just three days after Softbank and Sprint announced a deal which will give the Japanese company a controlling interest in the U.S.’s No. 3 wireless carrier (CD Oct 16 p1). It’s unclear whether the move has any implications for FCC and Department of Justice review of Softbank/Sprint, officials said.

The FCC’s net neutrality rules are a good example of why too much regulation poses real risks for the economy, FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell said during a lunch sponsored by the Free State Foundation Thursday. McDowell spent more than an hour talking about the benefits and perils of regulation with Randolph May, president of the free-market-oriented group.

The system to alert Internet users when they are accessing infringing content through peer-to-peer sharing will be rolled out by ISPs “in the coming weeks,” the Center for Copyright Information (CCI) said Thursday (http://xrl.us/bnuwfz). Development of the Copyright Alert System (CAS), which provides up to six alerts and “mitigating measures” to Internet users with IP addresses connected to P2P piracy, started more than a year ago (CD July 8/11 p10) and will take effect after months of working “to make sure the program works well for consumers in every way, to ensure accuracy, protect customer privacy and offer resources that answer consumers’ questions,” said CCI Executive Director Jill Lesser in the announcement.

FCC staff members debated whether to “ram ... through” a review of LightSquared’s waiver for an integrated satellite-terrestrial communications network. The waiver that staff gave to the company then drew concerns from lawmakers and the GPS industry that the agency didn’t fully evaluate potential interference issues with the network. Our review of internal emails from FCC officials, released Tuesday by the House Commerce Committee (http://xrl.us/bnui2y), showed they discussed the potential for LightSquared to reap billions of dollars in a so-called windfall profit from the waiver (CD Oct 17 p2). The waiver, which the commission this year proposed to yank, would have let the now-bankrupt company that was led by hedge-fund investor Phillip Falcone use spectrum licensed to be used only with satellites for terrestrial use to start a wireless broadband service.

"Rachel from card member services” keeps calling, and industry officials are trying to figure out how to silence her nefarious rings. Officials gathered Thursday at the FTC’s “Robocall Summit” to deal with the issue, as “Rachel” became a kind of shorthand for the transnational networks of robocallers intent on manipulating the VoIP system. Until the industry implements new solutions as it transitions to an all-Internet Protocol network, filing a complaint with donotcall.gov is the “only viable option” for consumers who get unwanted robocalls, said FCC Chief Technology Officer Henning Schulzrinne. The FTC also announced a $50,000 prize for anyone who can provide a technical solution to block robocalls.

The FCC auction task force co-head said critics’ fears won’t likely be realized when the agency in 2014 auctions frequencies of TV stations volunteering to be paid to give up all or some spectrum. Gary Epstein said concerns that the auction will be too complex won’t be borne out, and the agency is sticking to its plan to finish voluntary incentive auction rules next year. Commissioners approved the notice of proposed rulemaking at their Sept. 28 meeting (CD Oct 1 p1), with Robert McDowell saying he’s concerned about the agency’s efforts to possibly impose a spectrum cap.

Public safety answering points (PSAPs) are getting their own Do Not Call list, as the FCC voted unanimously Wednesday to prohibit autodialing to 911 call centers. The move was directed by Congress in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. The new rules will impose penalties of up to $100,000 per unwanted call, and up to $1 million for disclosing the numbers contained in the registry. Chairman Julius Genachowski said he expects the order will save lives. “Getting a busy signal when calling 911 is simply unacceptable, and some telemarketers make that happen,” he said. “In emergency situations, minutes -- even seconds -- matter."

The U.S. delegation to the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) includes representatives from top U.S. technology companies, including AT&T, Apple, Facebook and Verizon, according to a list of 95 members of the delegation released at delegation leader Terry Kramer’s request (http://xrl.us/bnup6h). Delegates to WCIT, which is set to begin Dec. 3 in Dubai, will decide how to revise the treaty-level International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs), which have not been updated since they were first adopted in 1988.

The FCC approved on a 5-0 vote a settlement between AT&T and Sirius XM that opens the door for the carrier to deploy LTE in 30 megahertz of spectrum in the 2.3 GHz wireless communications service band. Wednesday’s order ratifies an agreement worked out by the two companies and unveiled in June (CD June 19 p1), on the sharing of the band between WCS and the satellite digital audio radio service.