Law Commons^™

Sweeten The Deal: Transfer Of Federal Spectrum Through Overlay Licenses, Brent Skorup

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The explosion in consumer demand for wireless services that began in the 1990s caught policymakers off guard. Demand for wireless services has only accelerated, as new cellular wireless technologies-such as broadband Internet via 3G and 4G LTE-permit services such as web browsing, video streaming, the Internet of things, and gaming, necessitating a steady influx of spectrum as an input.

The Limitations And Admissibility Of Using Historical Cellular Site Data To Track The Location Of A Cellular Phone, Aaron Blank

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Imagine someone has just committed a crime. Shortly thereafter, law enforcement responds and quickly apprehends a suspect on the scene or close by. In order to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the time and place of apprehending the suspect, combined with witness testimony or physical evidence, may be enough for the prosecution to meet its burden of proof.

Hidden Costs Of The Wireless Broadband Lifestyle: Comparing Consumer Protections In The United States, Canada, And The European Union, Renee Dopplick

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Spurred by relatively inexpensive and widely available retail equipment and increased residential Internet penetration, consumer demand for more wireless broadband options continues at a rapid rate. Now, with consumers increasingly looking for mobile Internet interconnectivity over greater distances and with greater flexibility, technology companies are pushing the next generation of wireless broadband technologies with the promise of freeing consumers from location-based Internet access. These newer technologies can provide robust video and audio capabilities, such as digital television, on-demand video, and VoIP on a variety of digital devices. Yet, the rise of wireless

broadband networks and the roll-out of new technologies …

A New Method For Regulatory Antitrust Analysis? Verizon Communications Inc. V. Trinko, James E. Scheuermann, William D. Semins

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

It is a commonplace to speak of the application of law to facts. Application is a practical art, and thus involves method. Curiously, there is a paucity of discussion of the various methods by which substantive legal standards are applied to facts. This omission is significant. Method is not outcome-determinative in all cases, but, at a minimum, it guides analysis, opening certain possibilities and foreclosing others.

Unleashing “Instant Messaging” From Regulatory Oversight, Fernando R. Laguarda

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

America Online, Inc. (“AOL”) and Time Warner Inc. announced their intention to merge on January 10, 2000. At that time, there was a great deal of excitement about combining these two companies and harnessing the power of an increasingly broadband Internet. In addition to the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”), more than one thousand local communities conducted their own reviews of the merger. The FTC identified “open access” to the Time Warner Cable platform as an issue meriting specific relief.

Telemarketing Sales Rule Commentary — Cox Enterprises, Inc.

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Cox Enterprises, Inc. (“CEI” or “Cox”) hereby submits these comments in response to the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking relating to the proposed amendment of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (the “TSR” or “Rule”). Cox welcomes this opportunity to comment on the proposed amended Rule, and strongly supports the efforts of the FTC to protect consumers from fraudulent and deceptive telemarketing.

The Do-Not-Call List’S Big Hang-Up, Jared Strauss

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

On October 1, 2003, the Federal Trade Commission’s National Do- Not-Call Registry was supposed to go into effect. By forbidding companies and telemarketers from making unsolicited calls to anyone who had registered their phone number on the list three months prior, this program culminated a decade’s worth of efforts to alleviate consumer frustration with unwanted sales calls. However, on September 27, 2003, the District of Colorado derailed the registry, holding that the rule made an unconstitutional distinction between commercial and noncommercial speech by covering commercial calls and exempting calls for charitable, religious, or political organizations.

Plaintiff’S Brief — Mainstream Marketing Services, Inc., Tmg Marketing, Inc. And American Teleservices Association

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

This case is a cautionary tale about what happens when federal agencies allow perceived political imperatives to override legal and constitutional concerns.

Plaintiff’S Reply Brief — Mainstream Marketing Services, Inc., Tmg Marketing, Inc. And American Teleservices Association

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The government’s assumption that commercial speech restrictions should be judged by the same standard as time, place or manner restrictions fails to accurately set forth the relevant burden of proof articulated in more recent commercial speech cases.

Protecting Children From Pornography On The Internet: Freedom Of Speech Is Pitching And Congress May Strike Out, Dawn S. Conrad

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The Internet provides the First Amendment’s “freedom of speech” with a world of opportunity. Any person with access to the Internet may take advantage of a wide variety of information and communication methods. This unique medium, known to its users as cyberspace, is located in no particular geographical location and has no centralized control point, but is available to anyone, anywhere in the world with access." In the past twenty years, the Internet, a network of connected computers, has experienced extraordinary growth. The number of “host” computers, or those that store information and relay communications, increased between the years of …

“Do-Not-Call-List” Testimony: Before The Senate Committee On Commerce, Science, And Transportation, James Guest

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to be here with you today. My name is Jim Guest, and I am President of Consumers Union, the independent, non- profit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine and ConsumerReports.org, with over ve million subscribers.

The Unfinished Business Of Breaking Up "Ma Bell:" Implementing Local Telephone Competition In The Twenty-First Century, Michael T. Osbourne

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Responding to the statutory deadline in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its first Local Competition Order (LCO), In Re Implementation of the Local Competition Provisions in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, First Report and Order, CC Docket No. 96-98 (FCC 96-325), on August 8, 1996. Designed to implement local competition nationwide, this Order in nearly 1500 pages promulgated detailed provisions regarding the relationship between the Regional Bell Operating Companies ("RBOCs") (traditional monopoly providers of local telephone service) and new entrants in local telecommunications. This article focuses on several key provisions in the first LCO …

Musical Works Performance And The Internet: A Discordance Of Old And New Copyright Rules, Stephanie Haun

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

I feel strongly that the great fundamentals should be discussed more in all public meetings, and also in meetings of schools and colleges. Not only the students[,] but also the faculty should get down to more thinking and action about the great problems[,] which concern all countries and all peoples in the world today, and not let the politicians do it all and have the whole say. I have often been told that it is not the function of music (or a concert) to concern itself with matters like these. But I do not[,] by any means agree. I think …

Affordable Internet Access For All Americans, Mark J. Maier

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

There are times in our history where new technologies burst onto the scene and have a major impact on our lives. We live in one such time. The Internet is revolutionizing how people and organizations interact with each other. Examples of these paradigm changes include how students are now being educated online with minimal face time with their teachers; governments are being forced to adapt to the new circumstance where once formidable geographical boundaries between countries are being lowered by information technology; and the military is realizing that it needs to harness this new technology or be defeated by it.

Federal Broadband Law, John Thorne, Michael K. Kellog, Peter W. Huber, Jeffrey A. Wolfson

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The authors of this book have brought together a vast and varied array of experience. Mr. Thorne is the Vice President & Associate General Counsel for Bell Atlantic; Mr. Huber is a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research; and Mr. Kellogg is a Partner at Kellogg, Huber, Hansen & Todd. A reader will find the occasional use of technical jargon, such as "domsats" (domestic satellites), "coax" (coaxial cable), and "syndex" rules (syndicated exclusivity rules to protect syndicated, non-network programming) to be somewhat confusing. "Telcos" and "cablecos" are telephone and cable companies, respectively. Overall, however, technical jargon is …