12/2. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released the agenda [PDF] for its event titled "Open Meeting", scheduled for Friday, December 9, 2005. There are currently two items on the agenda.

First, the FCC will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) pertaining to 47 U.S.C. § 254(b) and the opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals (10thCir) in Qwest v. FCC, which is also known as Qwest II, and a proposal by Puerto Rico Telephone Company, Inc. that the FCC adopt a non-rural insular mechanism. This proceeding is CC Docket No. 96-45.

On February 23, 2005, the Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Qwest v. FCC, a case regarding the FCC's mechanism for providing universal service support subsidies to non-rural telecommunications carriers under Section 254. This case is Qwest Communications, Inc. v. FCC and USA, et al., U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, App. Ct. Nos. 03-9617, 04-9518, and 04-9519, petitions for review of a final order of the FCC. See also, story titled "10th Circuit Rules in Qwest II" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,090, March 8, 2005.

Second, the FCC will consider a NPRM and Order regarding modifications to the rules for unsolicited fax advertisements to implement S 714, the "Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005". The President signed S 714 into law on July 9, 2005. It is now Public Law No. 109-21. It amends 47 U.S.C. § 227. S 714 mandated this rule making proceeding. This is CG Docket No. 02-278.

This event is scheduled for 9:30 AM in the FCC's Commission Meeting Room, Room TW-C305, 445 12th Street, SW. The event will be webcast by the FCC. The FCC does not always take up all of the items on its agenda. The FCC does not always start its monthly meetings at the scheduled time. The FCC usually does not release at its meetings copies of the items that its adopts at its meetings.

12/2. The Department of Justice (DOJ) released a Plea Agreement between the DOJ and Samsung in which Samsung agreed to plead guilty "at arraignment to a one-count Information to be filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California."

On October 13, 2005, the DOJ charged Samsung by criminal Information filed in the U.S. District Court (NDCal) with fixing the prices of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) sold to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1.

Section 1 provides, in part, that "Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal. Every person who shall make any contract or engage in any combination or conspiracy hereby declared to be illegal shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine ..."

The DOJ also announced in October that Samsung had agreed to plead guilty. The just released plea agreement is dated October 13, 2005. The just released document also indicates that it was filed with the U.S. District Court on November 30, 2005. And, the DOJ Public Affairs Office stated that Samsung pled in open court on November 30.

See also, story titled "DOJ Charges Samsung with DRAM Price Fixing" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,233, October 14, 2005.

11/28. Maksym Vysochanskyy, aka Maksym Kovalchuk, pled guilty in U.S. District Court (NDCal) to criminal copyright infringement in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2319(a), trafficking in counterfeit goods in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2320(a), and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957(a).

There are two notable attributes of this case. First, he committed his crimes abroad, but was extradited to the U.S. Second, law enforcement authorities located him by monitoring his e-mail.

These charges arose out of his distribution of counterfeit computer software over the internet from December 2000 to May 2003. Vysochanskyy, who is from Ukraine, was extradited from Thailand to the U.S. Sentencing is scheduled for February 13, 2006 at 1:30 PM.

John Wolfe, of the Business Software Alliance (BSA), stated in a release that "Using pirated software harms the legitimate market worldwide, costing billions of dollars each year. This case demonstrates that law enforcement agencies’ around the globe are cooperating to seek out offenders no matter where the incident occurs -- whether here in the U.S. or abroad. They can run, but they can't hide."

A Department of Justice (DOJ) release states that "Vyschanskyy's overseas arrest was made possible when U.S. agents monitoring his email traffic observed him make travel plans from Ukraine to Thailand, and flew to Bangkok to meet him."

12/1. Albert Foer, President of the American Antitrust Institute (AAI), wrote a paper [28 pages in PDF] titled "Half-Time at the Antitrust Modernization Commission", in which he criticizes the AMC. He wrote that the Antitrust Modernization Commission (AMC) is "dominated by people whose recent backgrounds strongly suggest a defense orientation". He complained that there is no representation of the "plaintiffs' bar".

He stated that while the AMC has been holding public hearings, "very little if any ``new´´ information has thus far been provided at the hearings. They are primarily occasions for well-informed advocates to promote previously developed positions relating to the matters before them."

He noted that this is merely a commission, and that "The history of blue ribbon antitrust commissions in general does not suggest that the AMC's final report will generate immediate legislative action."

However, he reviewed what some of the major recommendations might be.

He suggested that the AMC might recommend changes regarding the authority of states. He wrote that "Based on questioning by Commissioners, one could surmise that most at risk may be the States' jurisdiction over mergers that impact on more than one State, which is to say, most mergers."

He also expressed concern regarding awards of treble damages in private antitrust actions. He wrote that "Among the ideas on the table of the AMC are reduction of the circumstances under which treble damages are mandatory (e.g., applying them only to hard core per se cases such as horizontal price fixing; allowing the court to decide after trial whether to multiply damages); whether to eliminate joint and several liability and the no-contribution rule (thereby reducing plaintiffs' leverage to gain favorable settlements); and whether to seek fee-shifting, so that the loser will pay the attorneys' fees for both sides (as opposed to the current rule that the liable defendant pays the plaintiffs’ attorneys fees)." (Parentheses in original.)

Foer also addressed what the AMC might recommend regarding merger reviews. He wrote that "While not taking on major questions about the purpose or effectiveness of the anti-merger laws or even whether industrial concentration itself should still be the basis of legal presumptions, the Commission appears to be particularly interested in matters of process and administration. One major philosophical question may sneak in, however: the question of what role should be played by efficiencies in a merger antitrust case."

Foer also stated that the AMC might make recommendations regarding single firm conduct. He wrote that "Section 2 of the Sherman Act deals with monopolization and attempted monopoly. In recent years, a variety of cases, headed by the Microsoft litigation and the Supreme Court’s decision in Trinko, have inspired much conversation and literature concerning the question of what strategies by a single firm, acting alone, should be considered illegitimate. While it seems unlikely that the AMC will propose legislative revisions, it could attempt to provide expert guidance to courts and enforcers on standards for applying Section 2." (Footnote omitted.)

Also, on November 28, 2005, the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that they will hold a series of joint hearings on the implications of single firm conduct. See, story titled "Antitrust Division and FTC to Hold Hearings on Single Firm Conduct" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,262, November 30, 2005.

The AMC is scheduled to hold another in its series of hearings at 1:00 PM on Monday, December 5, 2005 at the Federal Trade Commission Conference Center. The topic will be "Antitrust in Regulated Industries". The witnesses will be Scott Alvarez, Ellen Hanson, Rob McKenna, Mark Cooper, Harold Furchtgott-Roth, Diana Moss, and John Thorne.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) currently conducts proceedings related to the mergers of some companies that hold FCC licenses that are redundant of the merger review proceedings of the DOJ or FTC. One of the witnesses, Furchtgott-Roth, is a former FCC Commissioner who opposed such proceedings during his tenure on the FCC. See for example, TLJ story titled "Commissioner Says FCC Extorts Companies with Non-existent Merger Review Authority", July 23, 1999.

See also, AMC notice and notice in the Federal Register, November 16, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 220, at Page 69511.

12/2. The U.S. Court of Appeals (2ndCir) issued its opinion [21 pages in PDF] in Omnipoint v. White Plains, a cell tower construction case. The City of White Plains refused Omnipoint permission to build a tower on a golf course. Omnipoint filed a complaint in U.S. District Court (SDNY) against White Plains alleging violation of 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7). The District Court, finding that the denial was not based upon substantial evidence, granted summary judgment to Omnipoint. The Court of Appeals reversed. This case is Omnipoint Communications, Inc. v. The City of White Plains, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, App. Ct. No. 04-3286-cv, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

12/2. The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) submitted comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding several of its Special 301 out of cycle reviews. See, comments submitted regarding the reviews of Russia [PDF], Indonesia [PDF], Philippines [PDF], and Canada [PDF].

12/2. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) released the latest issue of its report titled "ICANN Update".

Tech Law Journal publishes a free access web site and subscription e-mail alert. The basic rate for a subscription to the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert is $250 per year. However, there are discounts for subscribers with multiple recipients. Free one month trial subscriptions are available. Also, free subscriptions are available for journalists, federal elected officials, and employees of the Congress, courts, and executive branch. The TLJ web site is free access. However, copies of the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert are not published in the web site until one month after writing. See, subscription information page.

Contact: 202-364-8882.
P.O. Box 4851, Washington DC, 20008.

Privacy Policy
Notices & Disclaimers
Copyright 1998 - 2005 David Carney, dba Tech Law Journal. All rights reserved.

The House will next meet on Tuesday, December 6, 2005.

The Senate will next meet on Monday, December 12, 2005.

9:00 AM - 12:30 PM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will host an event titled "Symposium on E-Rulemaking in the 21st Century". The opening speakers are Cary Coglianese (Harvard University) and Karen Evans (Administrator for Electronic Government and Information Technology at the Office of Management and Budget). The first panel is titled "Current Progress on E-Rulemaking". The panelists are Don Arbuckle (OMB), Oscar Morale (Director, eRulemaking Initiative, Environmental Protection Agency), Rick Otis (EPA), Barbara Brandon (University of Miami), Orice Williams (Government Accountability Office). The second panel is titled "Current and Future Research on E-Rulemaking". The panelists are Steve Balla (George Washington University), Stuart Shulman (University of Pittsburgh), Cornelius Kerwin (acting President of American University), and Jeff Lubbers (American University). The closing speaker is Sally Katzen (formerly with OMB). Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

1:00 - 5:00 PM. The Antitrust Modernization Commission (AMC) will meet. The topic will be "Antitrust in Regulated Industries". The witnesses will be Scott Alvarez, Ellen Hanson, Rob McKenna, Mark Cooper, Harold Furchtgott-Roth, Diana Moss, and John Thorne. See, AMC notice and notice in the Federal Register, November 16, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 220, at Page 69511. Location: Federal Trade Commission, Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

The House will return from its Thanksgiving recess at 2:00 PM. It will consider numerous non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Republican Whip Notice.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB). The agenda includes the following items: (1) Privacy Act framework effort, (2) status reports on ISPAB work plan items, (3) briefing on NIST Next Generation Internet Protocol (IPv6), (4) briefing on NIST National Vulnerability Database Project, (5) NTIA Information Security Outreach Briefing, and (6) discussion of NIST's Cryptographic Hash Function Workshop. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 18, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 222, at Pages 69953 - 69954. Location: Doubletree Hotel and Executive Meeting Center, 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD.

8:30 AM - 4:30 PM. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee will meet. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff is scheduled to speak at 8:30 AM. See, agenda [PDF]. Location: JW Marriott Hotel, Capitol Ballroom (E&F), 1331 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

9:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee will hold a partially closed meeting. The agenda includes a discussion of the BIS's deemed export rules. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 23, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 225, at Page 70784. Location: Room 3884, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Cable Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Regulatory Issues & Developments in the Media". The speaker will be Donna Gregg, Bureau Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Media Bureau. RSVP to Ben Golant at ben at golant at fcc dot gov Location: Willkie Farr & Gallagher, 1875 K Street, NW.

5:00 - 7:00 PM. The Public Knowledge will host an event titled "celebration of the season". RSVP by December 1, 2005 to aoliverio at publicknowledge dot org or 202 518-0020. Location: Suite 650, 1875 Connecticut Ave., NW.

5:30 PM. The House Rules Committee will meet to adopt a rule for consideration of HR 4340, the "United States-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act". Location: Room 309, Capitol Building.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. It may consider several non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. It may also consider, pursuant to a rule, HR 4340, the "United States-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act". See, Republican Whip Notice.

8:00 AM - 11:00 AM. The DC Bar Association's Intellectual Property Law Section will host a panel discussion titled "Trademark Office Speaks". The speakers will include Lynne Beresford (Commissioner for Trademarks), Sharon Marsh (Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy), and David Sams (Chief Administrative Trademark Judge, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board). The price to attend ranges from $25-$40. For more information, call 202 626-3463. See, notice. Location: Cosmos Club, 2121 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB). The agenda includes the following items: (1) Privacy Act framework effort, (2) status reports on ISPAB work plan items, (3) briefing on NIST Next Generation Internet Protocol (IPv6), (4) briefing on NIST National Vulnerability Database Project, (5) NTIA Information Security Outreach Briefing, and (6) discussion of NIST's Cryptographic Hash Function Workshop. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 18, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 222, at Pages 69953 - 69954. Location: Doubletree Hotel and Executive Meeting Center, 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property (CIIP) will hold an oversight hearing titled "International IPR Report Card -- Assessing U.S. Government and Industry Efforts to Enhance Chinese and Russian Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights". The hearing will be webcast by the HJC. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in MIT v. Abacus Software, No. 05-1142, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (EDTex) in a patent infringement case involving image editing software. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

8:00 AM - 6:00 PM. The Department of Commerce and the EU will jointly host an event titled "EU-US Safe Harbor". At 12:00 NOON Maureen Cooney (acting Chief Privacy Officer of the DHS) will speak on complying with data privacy legislation in multiple jurisdictions. Location: Department of Commerce, 14th St. & Constitution Ave., NW, Room 6057.

3:00 - 5:00 PM. The Brookings Institute will host a panel discussion titled "Software and Law: Is Regulation Fostering or Inhibiting Innovation?" The speakers will be Emery Simon (Business Software Alliance), Brian Kahin (Computer and Communications Industry Association), Daniel Ravicher (Public Patent Foundation), Kenneth Dam (Brookings), and Ben Clemens (Brookings). Location: Brookings, 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

3:30 - 5:30 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "Antitrust and the New Economy: Transatlantic Turmoil". The speakers will be Makan Delrahim (Brownstein Hyatt & Farber), Richard Epstein (University of Chicago law school), and Robert Pitofsky (Georgetown law school). See, notice. Location: AEI, Twelfth floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

4:00 - 7:00 PM. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host an event titled "DACA USF Conference". The PFF's Digital Age Communications Act (DACA) project is in the process of developing draft legislation. One of the topics that it is examining is Universal Service Fund (USF) reform. The keynote speaker will be Sen. John Sununu (R-NH), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee. There will be a panel presentation by the PFF's DACA Universal Service Working Group. The presenters will be Ray Gifford (PFF), Adam Peters (Kamlet Shepherd & Reichert), Michael Riordan (Columbia Business School), Robert Atkinson (Columbia Institute for Tele-Information), and Jerry Ellig (Mercatus Center, George Mason University). Then there will be a panel of industry representatives will provide reaction. The panelists will be Jonathan Askin (General Counsel, Pulver.com), Bob Blau (BellSouth), David Cohen (US Telecom), Gary Lytle (Qwest), John Nakahata (Harris Wiltshire & Grannis), and Joe Waz (Comcast). See, notice and registration pages. Location: Thornton Room, Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW.

7:00 PM. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a "holiday gala" that will include "libations". The PFF invites not only supporters of "telecom reform", but also "erstwhile advocates for commons, mandated ``openness´´ and regulatory interventions". Location: Thornton Room, Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW.

TIME? The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will hold a presolicitaion conference regarding the draft RFP [154 pages in PDF] for remaking the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Platform. See also, SEC release, draft RFP cover letter [PDF], and story titled "SEC Seeks Contractor to Remake EDGAR" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,259, November 23, 2005. Location: __.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will begin its Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Service (MVDDS) auction (Auction No. 63). See, notice in the Federal Register, September 15, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 178, at Pages 54541 - 54555.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. It may consider several non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. It may also consider, pursuant to a rule, HR 4340, the "United States-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act". See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in CTIA v. FCC, No. 05-1008. This is a petition for review of the final order of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that adopted the "Nationwide Programmatic Agreement Regarding the Section 106 National Historic Preservation Act Review Process", which regulates tower and antenna construction. This order is FCC 04-222 in WT Docket No. 03-128. At issue is whether the FCC has authority under Section 106 of the NHPA, which is codified at 16 U.S.C. § 470f, to write these rules. See, stories titled "FCC Announces NPRM Regarding Communications Facilities and the National Historic Preservation Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 677, June 10, 2003, and "FCC Adopts Report and Order Re FCC Licensing and the National Historic Preservation Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 975, September 13, 2004. See also, brief [PDF] of the FCC. Judges Tatel, Garland and Griffith will preside. Location: Courtroom 20, Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Inpro II Licensing v. T-Mobile USA, No. 05-1233. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "19th Annual Chairman's Dinner". Location: Washington Hilton Hotel.

The House may meet. See, Republican Whip Notice.

RESCHEDULED FROM DECEMBER 15. 9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold a meeting. The event will be webcast by the FCC. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C05 (Commission Meeting Room). December 9 is Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy's last day at the FCC.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Semitool v. Dynamic Micro Devices, No. 05- 1299. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

11:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Advisory Committee for the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference will meet. See, notice and agenda [PDF] and notice in the Federal Register, October 19, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 201, at Pages 60840 - 60841. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, TW-C305, 445 12th Street, SW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding the operation, effectiveness, and implementation of and compliance with (1) the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements affecting market opportunities for telecommunications products and services of the U.S., (2) the telecommunications provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), (3) the U.S. free trade agreements (FTAs) with Chile, Singapore, and Australia, and (4) any other FTAs coming into effect by January 1, 2006. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 16, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 220, at Pages 69621 - 69622.

Deadline for the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to submit to the Congress is annual report on the People's Republic of China's compliance with its World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments. See, Section 421 of the U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000, Public Law No. 106-286).

The Senate will return from its Thanksgiving recess at 2:00 PM.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in EchoStar Satellite v. FCC, 04-1304. The proceeding pertains to an order of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopting rules implementing the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act of 2004, which is now Public Law No. 108-447. See, brief [PDF] of the FCC. Judges Tatel, Garland and Griffith will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Mass Media Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Meet the Trade Press". For more information, contact Ann Bobeck at abobeck at nab dot org. Location: National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), 1771 N St. NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) portion of the Order and FNPRM that provides that facilities based broadband service providers and interconnected VOIP providers are subject to requirements under the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). See, public notice [2 pages in PDF] and notice in the Federal Register, October 13, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 197, at Pages 59704 - 59710. The FCC adopted, but did not release, this item at its August 5, 2005, meeting. See, story titled "FCC Amends CALEA Statute" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,191, August 9, 2005. The FCC released the text [59 pages in PDF] of this item on September 23, 2005. It is FCC 05-153 in ET Docket No. 04-295 and RM-10865.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the the specific relocation procedures applicable to Broadband Radio Service (BRS) operations in the 2150-2160/62 MHz band, which the FCC previously decided will be relocated to the newly restructured 2495-2690 MHz band. The FCC also seeks comment on the specific relocation procedures applicable to Fixed Microwave Service (FS) operations in the 2160-2175 MHz band. This NPRM is FCC 05-172 in ET Docket No. 00-258. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 26, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 206, at Pages 61752 - 61762.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the petition for declaratory ruling (DR) filed by Grande Communications that seeks a DR regarding the treatment of traffic terminated through Grande to end users of interconnected local exchange carriers (LECs), in circumstances where customers of Grande have certified that the traffic originated in Internet protocol (IP) format. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 2, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 211, at Pages 66411 - 66412. See also, story titled "FCC Sets Comment Deadlines for DR Petition on IP Originated VOIP Traffic and Intercarrier Compensation" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,246, November 3, 2005. This proceeding is WC Docket No. 05-283.