He stated that "This is a robust agenda, but also very realistic. We are already well underway in building a consensus within Committee that will lead to swift passage of many of these priorities." Sen. Burns also sponsored a collection of technology related bills in the 106th Congress, which he called the "Digital Dozen". Many of those bills became law.

Spam. Sen. Burns (at right) said that "SPAM is the Trojan Horse for E-Commerce. When consumers begin to feel their personal information has become a commodity for out-of-control marketers they will turn away from shopping online." See, release.

He sponsored a bill in the 107th Congress to regulate spam. S 630, titled the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2002, or the CANSPAM Act, was approved by the Senate Commerce Committee, but not by the full Senate. He has not yet introduced a spam bill in the 108th Congress.

His bill in the 107th Congress would have done two things. First, it criminalized sending spam with false header information. Second, it required the spam sender to provide a return e-mail address, and then criminalized sending more spam to someone who opted out of receiving further messages.

Specifically, S 630 provided that "Any person who initiates the transmission, to a protected computer in the United States, of an unsolicited commercial electronic mail message, with knowledge and intent that the message contains or is accompanied by header information that is materially false or materially misleading shall be fined or imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both, under this title."

It also provided that "It is unlawful for any person to initiate the transmission to a protected computer of an unsolicited commercial electronic mail message that does not contain a functioning return electronic mail address or other Internet-based mechanism, clearly and conspicuously displayed, that (i) a recipient may use to submit, in a manner specified by the sender, a reply electronic mail message or other form of Internet-based communication requesting not to receive any future unsolicited commercial electronic mail messages from that sender at the electronic mail address where the message was received ..."

And finally, S 630 provided that "If a recipient makes a request to a sender, using a mechanism provided pursuant to paragraph (3), not to receive some or any unsolicited commercial electronic mail messages from such sender, then it is unlawful (A) for the sender to initiate the transmission to the recipient ..."

Sen. Burns stated that "I am confident America will see the SPAM bill leave the Senate before the summer."

Spectrum Allocation. Sen. Burns stated that he "is committed to moving away from the failed current auction model, which has resulted in numerous bankruptcies at companies and failed promises for consumers", and "will examine potentially revolutionary ideas, such as using a royalty based approach."

He has not yet introduced a spectrum reform bill. However, he added that he "will work on a draft bill as soon as the second half of the GAO report is released at the end of this month dealing with the experiences of other countries."

The General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report [77 pages in PDF] titled "Telecommunications: Better Coordination and Enhanced Accountability Needed to Improve Spectrum Management", on September 30, 2002. See, story titled "GAO Reports on Spectrum Management", in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 520, October 1, 2002.

E-911. Sen. Burns, who sponsored the original enhanced 911 bill, which became law in 1999, stated that he plans to "ensure rapid deployment of E-911 technologies, addressing PSAP readiness, and the lack of a unified funding structure in addition to carrier action on meeting E-911 mandates."

He also stated that a new E-911 Caucus is scheduled to begin on February 24. He and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) will be the Co-Chairs.

Broadband Expensing. Sen. Burns, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), and others, have already introduced S 160, the Broadband Expensing Act. This bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow the expensing of certain broadband Internet access expenditures. It is similar to S 88 (107th), the bill introduced in the previous Congress by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). However, Sen. Burns' bill would allow certain broadband deployment expenditures to be expensed, rather than provide tax credits. See, story below.

Online Privacy. Sen. Burns has promoted -- unsuccessfully -- privacy legislation in the past. He stated that in the current Congress he will "continue to support strong protections for consumers in the digital environment." He stated that his proposal, which has not yet been introduced, "adopts a ``two-tiered´´ approach, requiring an opt-in consent for sensitive information and opt-out for everything else. The bill also preempts inconsistent state laws or regulations."

Sen. Burns is the incoming Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications. This is a tax bill. Hence, it was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. However, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), who is a cosponsor of the bill, is the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), a senior Republican on the Finance Committee, is another cosponsor.

Sen. Burns stated in the Senate that his bill would "provide tax incentives to accelerate the deployment of ``broadband´´ high-speed Internet access across the country." See, Cong. Record, Jan. 14, 2003, at S 302-3.

He continued that "Although many urban and suburban areas now have access to a broadband connection, many rural areas still do not. And that places rural areas at a disadvantage in a number of ways in terms of economic development, educational opportunities, health care and numerous other applications. By creating a financial incentive to encourage broadband providers to extend their networks into rural and other underserved areas, we can help overcome that disadvantage."

Sen. Burns also explained the expensing provision of his bill. "The bill will create a temporary tax incentive for providers in the form of ``expensing,´´ allowing an immediate deduction of a capital expenditure in the first year of service rather than depreciating that investment over time. In the case of ``current generation´´ broadband investments in rural and underserved areas, the bill will allow 50 percent expensing of the investment, with the rest to be depreciated according to normal depreciation schedules. And where providers build out ``next generation´´ broadband networks, which are typically more expensive, the bill will provide for 100 percent expensing."

He continued that "it provides 50 percent expensing for investments in rural and underserved areas of ``current generation´´ broadband technologies, which are defined as those delivering at least 1.0 megabits per second of information downstream to the subscriber, and at least 128 kilobits per second upstream from the subscriber."

"It provides 100 percent expensing for investments in ``next generation´´ broadband technologies, which are defined as those delivering at least 22 megabits per second of information downstream to the subscriber, and at least 5 megabits per second upstream from the subscriber. It is technology neutral, it makes no difference if you are using as your medium copper wire, coaxial cable, optical fiber, terrestrial wireless, satellite or something else. If you deliver the threshold speeds, you are eligible for the benefit. And it sunsets in 5 years. The intent is not to provide a permanent benefit to the telecom sector, but rather to provide incentive to build out new infrastructure within a short time period", said Sen. Burns.

Sen. Burns also said that his bill "generally mirrors the broadband tax credit legislation" that Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced in the 107th Congress. See, S 88 (107th) and HR 267 (107th). Sen. Burns added that "The only difference in that bill and the one we are introducing today is the form of the incentive, expensing rather than tax credits." Rep. Phil English (R-PA), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, introduced HR 267 earlier this month. It is substantially identical to HR 267 in the 107th Congress, and S 88 (107th).

Sen. Baucus (at right) also spoke in the Senate in support of the bill. He said that "The Broadband Expensing Act will allow businesses to depreciate their capital investment quicker, allowing them to deploy next generation networks at a faster pace. In short, the benefits are two-fold: businesses will benefit by receiving an incentive to roll out their network into rural areas. And customers will benefit by being able to send and receive massive amounts of data much faster than before." See, Cong. Record, Jan. 14, 2003, at S303.

Sen. Baucus also said that this bill will "help us move to the ``next generation´´ of broadband state of the art systems that carry much greater amounts of data than copper wire and coaxial cable."

Sen. Orrin Hatch also spoke in support of the bill. He said that "Our major metropolitan areas, of course, have access to high-speed Internet services. But the connections to most homes and many businesses have not been upgraded, meaning that data signals hit a bottleneck there and slow down dramatically. Consequently, many wonderful Internet applications, such as video conferencing, large file sharing, telemedicine, and distance learning, are ineffective or unavailable. And this is certainly true outside the metropolitan areas of Utah, in the rural communities that are found all over the State." See, Cong. Record, Jan. 14, 2003, at S303-4.

1/16. Qwest filed Section 271 applications with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to provide in region interLATA services in the states of Michigan and Nevada. See, Michigan release and Nevada release.

1/16. The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) announced its agenda for 2003. It includes six issues: "1. the protection of intellectual property  2. increased deployment of broadband  3. the removal of barriers to e-commerce 4. 21st Century competition policy  5. effective trade policy and fair  6. growth-oriented fiscal policy". See, release.

1/21. David Barron was named Assistant VP Federal Relations / National Security in BellSouth's Washington DC, Governmental Affairs office.

1/16. Dick Parsons was named Chairman and CEO of AOL Time Warner. See, release.

Sen. Edwards (at right) stated that this bill would "establish higher standards for Federal Government computer safety. The National Institute of Standards and Technology would establish the standards after individual agencies conduct comprehensive tests of their network systems and report on their weaknesses. These procedures will strengthen our government's resistance to cyber attacks and will demonstrate to the business community the tremendous value in conducting comprehensive security tests and monitoring new developments." See, Cong. Record, Jan. 16, 2003, at S1079.

He also elaborated on the need for the bill. He said that "I introduce this bill because our Nation's computers and networks are increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks." He then discussed the Nimda and Code Red attacks.

He then added that "According to cyber security experts, Federal computers have already been used as weapons in large scale cyber attack. There aren't just amateur teenage hackers. Terrorists, including al Qaeda operatives, have browsed Internet sites offering software that would help them take down power, water, transport and communications grids."

Finally, he stated that "One of the principal reasons that companies do not act to secure their systems is that the Federal Government does not act to secure its own systems. Unfortunately, Federal agencies continue to be among the worst offenders failing to protect themselves against cyber attack."

The bill was referred to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.

12:00 NOON. The Federalist Society will host a press conference titled "Federalism, Preemption & the Supreme Court". For more information, contact Julie Walker at 202 822-8138. Location: Holeman Lounge, National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.

12:30 PM. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) will speak at a National Press Club (NPC) luncheon. Location: Ballroom, NPC, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.

11:00 AM. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will hold a press conference to announce its Consumer Sentinel State Trends Report, which includes the top ten fraud complaint categories and fraud and identity theft complaint trends. See, FTC notice. Location: FTC, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Room 432.

5:00 PM. The FCBA's Diversity Committee and Young Lawyers Committee will host a Law School Outreach Program at the University of Baltimore for law students interested in practicing communications law.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The FCBA will host a CLE seminar titled "The Transition to Digital Television". The price to attend is $60 for FCBA members, $50 for government/law student members, and $80 for non-members. Registrations & cancellations are due by 5:00 PM on January 21. RSVP to Wendy Parish wendy@fcba.org. Location: Wiley Rein & Fielding Conference Center, 1750 K Street, NW, 10th Floor.

12:30 PM. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) will speak at a luncheon. Location: National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.

The Supreme Court will be in recess from January 27 through February 23.

Day one of a two day conference titled "First International Conference on the Economic
and Social Implications of Information Technology". The scheduled speakers include Secretary of Commerce Don Evans, John Marburger (President’s Science Advisor), Floyd Kvamme (Co-Chairman of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, or PCAST), Sam Bodman (Deputy Secretary of Commerce), Nancy Victory (NTIA Directory), Phil Bond (Under Secretary for Technology), and Bruce Mehlman (Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy). See, notice and schedule. The price to attend is $100, and $60 for government, academic, and nonprofit personnel. Location: Main Auditorium, Department of Commerce, 14th St. and Constitution Ave.

Day one of three day COMNET Conference & Expo. See, conference web site. Location: Washington Convention Center.

Extended deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) regarding the Report [73 pages in PDF] of the FCC Spectrum Policy Task Force (SPTF). The report recommends that "spectrum policy must evolve towards more flexible and market oriented regulatory models." See, original notice [PDF] and notice of extension [PDF].

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Inquiry regarding competition in the Commercial Mobile Services (CMRS) industry. The FCC seeks data and information for its Eighth Annual Report and Analysis of Competitive Market Conditions with Respect to Commercial Mobile Services. This is WT Docket No. 02-379. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 7, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 4, at Pages 730 - 740. For more information, contact Chelsea Fallon at 202 418-7991.

Tech Law Journal is instituting several new practices and procedures with the New Year. All of these changes have one central purpose -- protecting the rights of the author, David Carney.

The Tech Law Journal web site and the Tech Law Journal Daily E-Mail Alert (TLJ Alert) are both authored and published by David Carney. This is a business. The sole source of revenue for this business is subscription payments for the TLJ Alert. Yet, it is currently being widely infringed. This is undermining the financial viability of the business.

See, Letter from the Publisher, which summarizes the new practices and procedures.

See, Subscription Information page for price schedule, methods of payment, and related matters.

See, Memorandum regarding "E-Mail Monitoring".

See, Memorandum regarding "Disclosure of Information to Third Parties".

See, Memorandum to law students explaining why free subscriptions for law students will end after the January 17 issue.

See, Memorandum regarding "Termination of state officials' subscriptions" explaining why free subscriptions for state government officials will end after the January 17 issue.

See, Subscription Form and Contract (for firms, companies, groups, and other entities), or the shorter Subscription Form and Contract (for persons subscribing individually). These contracts are for new paying subscribers, and paying subscribers renewing their subscriptions. Persons receiving free subscriptions (journalists and government officials) should not sign a contract. Paying subscribers whose subscription term has not expired should not sign a contract, until their existing subscription term expires and they resubscribe.

And finally, see revised Privacy Policy.