CBP has issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of July 2, 2007. This report includes TRQs on various products such as beef, tuna, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cotton, cocoa powder, tobacco, certain BFTA, CAFTA-DR, JFTA, MFTA, NAFTA, SFTA, UAFTA (AFTA) and UCFTA (Chile FTA) non-textile TRQs, etc. Each report also includes the AGOA, ATPDEA, BFTA, CAFTA-DR, CBTPA, MFTA, NAFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA (Chile FTA) TPLs and TRQs for qualifying apparel and/or other textile articles, the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics, etc. (CBP's weekly TRQ/TPL commodity report, dated 07/02/07, available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/textiles_and_quotas/commodity/)
GENEVA -- Years-long research by corporate and government experts involved in ITU-R favors globally harmonizing broadcast frequencies for International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000). That was the message from a June 25-26 ITU-R study group (SG-8) meeting on mobile, radiodetermination, amateur and related satellite services. The group also gave preliminary approval to an international wideband and broadband communications standard for public protection and disaster relief, officials said.
Former FCC Chairman Charles Ferris will remain neutral on whether shareholders should approve Cablevision’s $22 billion buyout (CD May 3 p10). Earlier this year, Ferris joined other Cablevision board members in approving the merger, but when they urged public shareholders to adopt the buyout proposal he held back, said a preliminary proxy filed with the FCC. The board has approved the deal and the Dolans own a majority of the company, but for the deal to close Cablevision public shareholders must sign off on it. Ferris told the board he will stay neutral because shareholders are “well positioned” to make that decision for themselves, the proxy said. Besides a glimpse into Ferris’s mind, the proxy includes a rare look at internal Cablevision revenue and profit projections for the longer term. In April, Cablevision projected that sales would rise steadily to exceed $9.7 billion in 2011, up from a projected $6.7 billion this year. Likewise Cablevision predicts its free cash flow will more than double to $2.6 billion in 2011, as capital spending fluctuates. The company regularly develops such long-term forecasts but only uses them for internal planning keeps them private because they are not reliable. It published these predictions because the board got them while considering the Dolans’ buyout offer, Cablevision said.
GENEVA -- Years-long research by corporate and government experts involved in ITU-R favors globally harmonizing broadcast frequencies for International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000). That was the message from a June 25-26 ITU-R study group (SG-8) meeting on mobile, radiodetermination, amateur and related satellite services. The group also gave preliminary approval to an international wideband and broadband communications standard for public protection and disaster relief, officials said.
In its eighth week available, the PS2 version of Activision’s Spider-Man 3 was again the top-rented videogame in the U.S., according to Rentrak’s preliminary Home Video Essentials data for the week ended June 24. Nintendo’s Mario Party 8 for Wii was again number two, in its fourth week. The only SKUs new to the top 10 were the Xbox 360 and PS2 versions of Take-Two Interactive’s Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, at numbers nine and 10.
Members of an International Telecommunication Union radiocommunication (ITU-R) study group agreed Tuesday to expedite consideration of the 6th radio interface for IMT- 2000, but no vote was taken during the June 25-26 meeting, officials said. The ITU Radiocommunication Assembly (RA) will consider the IEEE 802.16/WiMAX variant radio interface for final approval during its October 15-19 meeting. The RA can consider the matter more expeditiously than if it were to remain in the study group, an official said. Preliminary approval was given by an ITU-R working party 8F during a May 23-31 in Kyoto, Japan. Some countries are still opposed to the radio interface, an official said. Working party 8F will meet August 29-31 in Korea to finalize preparations for the RA. Exactly where has not been decided.
Members of an International Telecommunication Union radiocommunication (ITU-R) study group agreed Tuesday to expedite consideration of the 6th radio interface for IMT- 2000, but no vote was taken during the June 25-26 meeting, officials said. The ITU Radiocommunication Assembly (RA) will consider the IEEE 802.16/WiMAX variant radio interface for final approval during its October 15-19 meeting. The RA can consider the matter more expeditiously than if it were to remain in the study group, an official said. Preliminary approval was given by an ITU-R working party 8F during a May 23-31 in Kyoto, Japan. Some countries are still opposed to the radio interface, an official said. Working party 8F will meet August 29-31 in Korea to finalize preparations for the RA. Exactly where has not been decided.
The second Young Engineers Satellite (YES2) finished testing and is set for September launch, said the European Space Agency (ESA). “The experiment has completed an intensive verification campaign, involving vibration testing, thermal-vacuum and electromagnetic testing,” said Roger Walker, YES2 project manager. YES2 will test a 30 km tether, the longest deployed in space. Students from ESA member states, the U.S., Japan, Canada and Australia worked on YES2 -- 500 on the preliminary design and 60 on development and construction, ESA said.
The District of Columbia backed Fairfax County, Va., as it petitioned to have until July 29, 2010, to reband its 800 MHz channels. The completion deadline is June 26, 2008. Other area cities and counties are rallying behind Fairfax. The extension should apply to the entire national capital region (NCR), whose jurisdictions are “inseparable if the existing and necessary interoperability of NCR- jurisdiction public safety radio system is to be maintained,” D.C. said. “The past 20 years, these 14 national capital regional licensees have built one of the most advanced public safety radio systems in the United States, in terms of interoperability,” the city of Manassas, Va., said. “That interoperability will be interrupted unless the NCR licensees can coordinate the rebanding of these systems with due care and reasonable planning.”
Samsung will decide by year-end whether to field a full line of front projectors, building on an existing base of two models, Christopher Franey, vice president of marketing for commercial sales, told us. Franey, who joined Samsung last year from projector supplier Viewsonic, said the company has to fill out its line to compete. Samsung shipped a 1.5-pound micro-projector ($699) three months ago with a 0.55-inch DLP chip with 800x600 resolution, 25 lumens and 1000:1 contrast ratio, extending a line that included the SP-H710AE 710 home theater projector ($3,499). The SP-H710AE 710, shipped last October, sports a single 0.6-inch DLP chip with 1,280x720p resolution, 700 lumens, 2,500:1 contrast ratio and 250-watt lamp. The micro-projector uses six LEDs sourced from Osram. “Right now we're just getting feedback as far as what we need to do to have a more robust roadmap,” Franey said. “The company is serious about being in the projector marketplace and is working extremely hard in engineering. By CES, we will either be ready to play or not ready to play in terms of having a pretty focused lineup.” A Samsung preliminary product roadmap for projectors “fills in the gaps quite well,” Franey said. That Samsung is not introducing a deep line of front projectors is “largely a matter of priorities,” as the company has emphasized TVs, cellphones, storage, memory and semiconductors, Franey said. Meanwhile, LG has no immediate plans to debut in the U.S. a micro-projector it is expected to ship in Korea next month, said Ronald Snaidauf, vice president of commercial products. LG’s projector, with a 0.55-inch DLP chip, is said to deliver 100 lumens using Osram LEDs.