2/4. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its Order on Remand [185 pages in PDF] in its proceeding titled "In the Matter of Unbundled Access to Network Elements Review of the Section 251 Unbundling Obligations of Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers".

With this order, the FCC once again set rules regarding the unbundling requirements of ILECs, pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 251. The previous three were overturned in part by the federal courts.

The FCC adopted, but did not release, this order at its December 15, 2004 meeting. See, story titled "FCC Adopts Unbundling Order" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,039, December 16, 2004, and story titled "Reaction to FCC Unbundling Order" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,041, December 20, 2005.

This order is FCC 04-290 in WC Docket No. 04-313 and CC Docket No. 01-338.

2/4. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its 11th annual report [151 pages in PDF] on the status of competition in the market for the delivery of multichannel video programming. See also, FCC release and summary [6 pages in PDF].

The FCC also released a document [37 pages in PDF] titled "Report on Cable Industry Prices". See also, FCC release [PDF].

This MVPD competition report concludes that "Today, almost all consumers have the choice between over-the-air broadcast television, a cable service, and at least two DBS providers. In some areas, consumers may also choose between other traditional (e.g., broadcasting, cable, DBS) and emerging (e.g., use of digital broadcast spectrum, fiber to the home, video over the Internet) delivery technologies as well. Increased competition in the market for the delivery of video programming since our first Report has led to improvements in cable television services, including more channels of video programming and more service options, but generally not lower prices. In addition, through the use of advanced set-top boxes and digital video recorders, consumers are now able to maintain more control over what, when, and how they receive information." (Parentheses in original. Footnotes omitted.)

This report also states that "cable subscribership is remaining relatively stable as the MVPD market grows; thus, cable’s share of the MVPD market is declining. In contrast, DBS subscribership continues to increase at nearly double-digit rates of growth, and its share of the marketplace is increasing. The second and fourth largest MVPDs are both DBS operators. In addition, other delivery technologies continue to serve small numbers of subscribers in limited areas. LECs, who have partnered with DBS providers to offer video service over the last year, have recently announced plans to enter the video distribution market with fiber facilities."

Moreover, it finds that "consumers today have viable choices in the delivery of video programming, and they are exercising their ability to switch among MVPDs. We do not believe that the fact that large numbers of consumers continue to subscribe to cable service indicates a lack of choice."

The FCC's cable prices report states that "the average monthly rate for cable service increased by 5.4 percent, from $42.99 to $45.32, over the 12 months ending January 1, 2004. This increase is lower than the 7.8 percent increase for the year ending January 1, 2003, and the 7.5 percent 5-year average annual rate of change over the period beginning July 1, 1998 and ending on January 1, 2004."

It also states that " The average number of channels on basic and expanded basic increased from 67.5 to 70.3 channels, a 4.1 percent increase for the year ending January 1, 2004, which is lower than the 6.3 percent 5-year average."

Also, the average price per channel "increased by 1.2 percent, from 65.2 cents per channel to 66.0 cents per channel, compared with the 5-year average of 0.4 percent."

The report concludes that "The monthly cable rate consists of both programming and equipment charges and the measured annual rate of increase reflects individual changes in these components."

The cable prices report also discusses internet access and telephony. It states that "The nature of cable service has changed significantly in recent years with the emergence of digital cable, Internet access, and telephony as important new services so that these new services now represent significant sources of cable system revenues and costs. A substantial portion of these costs are incurred to support all system services jointly and, therefore, cannot be attributed directly to basic and expanded basic cable service. In the absence of a uniform system of accounts and cost allocation standards, there is no uniform way to allocate these joint costs to specific lines of business or service for purposes of statistical analysis. Moreover, to provide a complete picture, it would be necessary to take into account revenue changes that might offset increases in costs. Thus, from a survey of this nature, there is no way to determine which costs are driving rate increases."

FCC Chairman Michael Powell wrote in a statement [PDF] about the MVPD competition report that "today's video marketplace is the most competitive and diverse in our nation’s history", and that the "continued proliferation of emerging broadband digital platforms and services promise a future of more competition, diversity, localism and personalization in the video marketplace".

Powell (at right) added that "The digital migration in the video distribution market is also bringing new players into the market. The major incumbent local exchange carriers have announced plans to offer video service over new, fiber-based distribution platforms. Broadcasters such as Emmis and USDTV are leveraging their digital assets to offer low-cost pay-television services to several communities across the country. Continuing advances in broadband Internet speeds and compression technologies are allowing thousands of channels to emerge on the Internet".

In contrast, the FCC's two Democratic Commissioners, Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein, wrote in a joint statement [PDF] about the MVPD report that the FCC engaged in insufficient data analysis in preparing this report. They conclude that "this year's competition report continues to serve mainly as a recitation of the record rather than providing an in-depth analysis of the status of competition."

One of their complaints is that the report contains no multivariate regression analysis of issues such as factors that influence rate increases.

On January 27, the FCC did release a paper [PDF] titled "Competition between Cable Television and Direct Broadcast Satellite -- It's More Complicated than You Think", which includes regression analysis of DBS penetration, and the effect of cable prices on consumers' decisions to switch to DBS.

Robert Sachs, the outgoing P/CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), commented in a release that "With direct broadcast satellite companies having grown from zero to 25 million customers over the past ten years, and accounting for one in four video subscribers, competition in the video marketplace is an indisputable reality."

Sachs added that "Marketplace competition has spurred the cable industry to invest $95 billion since 1996 to improve customer service, upgrade its technology and launch new services such as digital cable, High-Definition TV, Video-On Demand, Digital Video Recorders, high-speed Internet and local telephone service."

The name of the MVPS competition proceeding is "In the Matter of Annual Assessment of the Status of Competition in the Market for the Delivery of Video Programming". The report is FCC 05-13 in MB Docket No. 04-227. The FCC is required, pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 548(g), to make this annual report to the Congress.

The name of the cable prices proceeding is "In the Matter of Implementation of Section 3 of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 Statistical Report on Average Rates for Basic Service, Cable Programming Service, and Equipment". The report is FCC 05-12 in MM Docket No. 92-266.

2/3. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), the new Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, stated in a news conference for members of the Alaska press corps that his Committee is examining SBC Communications acquisition of AT&T. He said that the Committee will hold a closed briefing on the transaction. See, transcript.

On January 31, 2005, SBC and AT&T announced that the two companies have agreed that SBC will acquire AT&T and that they expect the deal to close by the first half of 2006. See, story titled "SBC to Acquire AT&T" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,067, February 1, 2005.

Sen. Stevens (at right) said that "We have asked that AT&T and SBC brief us in sort of a briefing session rather than a hearing to determine whether a hearing would be required. We will have such a meeting in the near future. That will be a meeting that Senator Inouye and I will conduct and we'll invite the members of the Full Committee because we've kept communications at the Full Committee level. That is an inquiry, a briefing. We have those."

He continued: "Now the question is whether bigness is bad per se in communications. We don't know that, literally. That was the presumption of the judge in the AT&T situation where he required AT&T to be divested of certain functions and that led to the creation of what we called the Baby Bells at that time."

He also stated that "I don't have a feeling that consolidation is per se bad. The question is, what’s it affect on consumers, what's its affect on future investment for improvement of the system, for research, what does it really affect in terms of the job market. How does it really impact the overall economy of the country? And, beyond that, anti-trust is not our jurisdiction, but the anti-trust concept does come into play, as to whether or not it's eliminating competition. Those are very serious questions. That is why we are going to get briefed to see what really is going to happen. I understand that they will divest themselves of some elements of one company or the other and we need to know more about that."

Sen. Stevens also referenced possible institutional changes at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). He said that "they can't complete everything they’ve got to do". He then said that "One of the things we have to do is look at the FCC and find a way that it can do functionally and in a reasonable period of time the problems that Congress assigns to it. Because, with the diversification of so many different functions in communications, they just can’t keep up with the world right now."

He also mentioned that the Senate Commerce Committee recently held a closed briefing on voice over internet protocol (VOIP). Moreover, he said that "We're going to have a series of briefings on various other technologies as we go forward, but I do think that that's something that we ought to be better informed on."

2/4. The Cato Institute released a paper [20 pages in PDF] titled "Who Killed Telecom? Why the Official Story Is Wrong". It is an historical analysis of the nature and causes of the bust in the telecom sector in 2000. The author is Lawrence Gasman, who is a Senior Fellow at Cato, and President of Communications Industry Researchers, Inc.

Gasman argues that the "official story" regarding the cause of the telecom bust is that "a bunch of greedy carpetbaggers, perceiving that there was something to all this Internet and “information age” stuff, jumped into the telecom market, hyped it out of all proportion, and misled investors in order to boost stock values. Then, at the last moment, as the market began to acknowledge the hype and fraud, these crooks got out with their own large personal fortunes mostly intact."

Gasman argues too that this "official story" is wrong. Rather, the cause was the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as implemented by the misguided policies of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

He states that the FCC "was determined to crowd as many firms as possible into the telecom sector. That strategy was to be achieved by lowering barriers to entry and, in particular, by giving newcomers low cost access to the networks of the carriers."

Then, "When it became obvious that the market was top heavy with competitors, the telecom bust occurred." It was Reed Hundt's fault, according to Gasman. See, also, brief summary.

2/2. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a notice in the Federal Register stating that it has suspending Inter-tel Technologies, Inc. from participating in the FCC's e-rate subsidy program for schools and libraries. This notice also sets February 22, 2005 as the deadline for submitting opposition requests. See, Federal Register, February 2, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 21, at Pages 5447-5449.

2/3. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice in the Federal Register in which it stated that it has renewed the charter for the Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) System Oversight Committee. See, Federal Register, February 3, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 22, at Page 5691.

2/2. The Department of Defense (DOC) and the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) published a notice in the Federal Register requesting public comments on the National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP) and security flaws in commercial software products. The deadline for comments is March 4, 2005. Submit comments to NIAPReview@ida.org at The Institute for Defense Analyses, 4850 Mark Center Drive, Alexandria, VA 22311, Attention: NIAP Review. See, Federal Register, February 2, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 21, at Page 5420.

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

The House will not meet. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM. It will begin consideration of S 5, the "Class Action Fairness Act of 2005".

The Supreme Court is in recess until February 22, 2005.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DC) will hear oral argument in National Science and Technology Network, Inc. v. FCC, No. 03-1376. Judges Ginsburg, Henderson and Randolph will preside. This is an appeal of the FCC's cancellation of nine licenses to operate private land mobile radio stations in the Los Angeles, California area. See, FCC's brief [25 pages in PDF]. Oral argument is limited to 10 minutes per side. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute and the Discovery Institute will host a luncheon and panel discussion titled "The Telecom Act Nine Years Later: Why Reform Can't Wait". The speakers will be George Gilder (Discovery), Adam Thierer (Cato), John Wohlstetter (Discovery), and John Drescher (Discovery). Gilder is the author of Telecosm: The World After Bandwidth Abundance [Amazon]. Lunch will be served. The event is free. See, notice and registration page. Location: Room B-338, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.

1:00 PM. Nextel will hold a news conference. For more information, contact Melissa Marlette 212 994-3841 or mmarlette@westhillpartners.com. Location: Zenger Room, National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.

1:40 PM. Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property Steve Pinkos will hold a news teleconference on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) FY 2006 budget request. The USPTO notice states that "Reporters should call 1-888-592-9607, access code 68493, by 1:40 p.m. to participate." For more information, contact Brigid Quinn or Ruth Nyblod at 571 272-8400.

2:00 PM. Acting Secretary of Homeland Security James Loy and other officials of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will hold a news conference on the DHS FY 2006 budget request. Press contact: 202 282-8010. Location: Nebraska Avenue Complex, Building 21, 3801 Nebraska Ave., NW.

6:00 PM. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs will hold a business meeting to consider the nomination of Michael Chertoff to be Secretary of Homeland Security. See, notice. Location: Room S-207, Capitol Building.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Science Foundation (NSF) regarding its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding amending the NSF patents regulation to require grantees to use an electronic reporting and management system for inventions made with NSF assistance. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 9, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 236, at Pages 71395 - 71396.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) regarding its draft of SP 800-76. This is Special Publication 800-76, Biometric Data Specification for Personal Identity Verification [PDF]. Send comments and questions to DraftFIPS201@nist.gov.

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

9:30 AM - 12:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Media Bureau will host an event titled "Low Power FM Forum". Press contact: Rebecca Fisher at 202 418-2359. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on the role of credit rating agencies in capital markets. Location: Room 538, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on President Bush's Fiscal Year 2006 budget. Secretary of the Treasury John Snow will testify. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

2:00 PM. The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on President Bush's Fiscal Year 2006 budget. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Joshua Bolten will testify. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

2:00 - 6:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Communications Law 101". Prices ranges from $125 to $275. See, registration form [PDF]. The deadline to register is February 2. Location: Wiley Rein & Fielding, 1776 K St., NW.

2:15 PM. The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on President Bush's Fiscal Year 2006 budget. Secretary of the Treasury John Snow will testify. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

5:00 PM. The House Rules Committee will meet to adopt a rule for consideration of HR 418, the "REAL ID Act of 2005".

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Advisory Committee for the Congressional Internet Caucus (ACCIC) will host a pre-conference reception. On February 9, the ACCIC will host an event titled "State of the Net Conference". Conference non-attendees RSVP to rsvp@netcaucus.org or 202 638-4370. Location: Thorton Room, Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW.

6:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host an event titled "Happy Hour". Location: Porter's, 1207 19th St. NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) in response to the further notice of proposed rulemaking (FNPRM) portion of its Report and Order and FNPRM regarding the former ITFS, MDS, and MMDS, now named the Broadband Radio Service (BRS) and the Educational Broadband Service (EBS), in the 2496-2690 MHz band. The FCC adopted this item at its June 10, 2004 meeting. The FCC released the text on July 29, 2004 (FCC 04-135), and then released a modified item on October 29, 2004 (FCC 04-258). This is WT Docket 03-66. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 10, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 237, at Pages 72019 - 72047. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts RO & NPRM Re ITFS/MDS Band" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 916, June 11, 2004.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM. It may take up HR 418, the "REAL ID Act of 2005", subject to a rule. See, Republican Whip Notice.

7:30 AM - 4:30 PM. The Advisory Committee for the Congressional Internet Caucus will host an event titled "State of the Net Conference". The speakers will include Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK). Registration is required. Prices range from free to $350. For more information, contact Danielle Yates at dyates@netcaucus.org or 202 638-4370. See, notice and brochure [PDF]. Location: Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "How Internet Protocol-Enabled Services are Changing the Face of Communications: A View from Technology Companies". The hearing will be webcast by the Committee. Press contact: Larry Neal or Jon Tripp at 202 225-5735. See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a brown bag lunch titled "When Bad Things Happen To Good Computers". The topics will be security threats, both technology based and human, for law offices' computers, computer networks, PDAs and cell phones, and potential liabilities for failure to protect the confidential information. The speakers will be Don Philmlee (Potomac Consulting Group) and Todd Haley (Spriggs & Hollingsworth). See, notice. Prices vary from $15 to $25. For more information, call 202 626-3463. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

5:00 - 7:00 PM. The Advisory Committee for the Congressional Internet Caucus will host a technology fair and reception. The exhibitors will be ComCare Alliance, Consumer Electronics Association, eBay, Entertainment Software Association, Ericsson, Federal Trade Commission, Freedom Calls Foundation, Fujitsu, GetNetWise, i-Safe & VeriSign, Kodak, Microsoft, NetSmartz Workshop, NTT DoCoMo USA, NTT/Verio, PivX, Pulver, Qualcomm, RSA Security & i-Mature, SAP, SBC, Sony Connect, SunRocket, Symantec, Symbol, TRUSTe, Verizon Wireless, Visa USA, and Vonage. Location: Room SDG-50, Dirksen Building.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM. It may take up HR 418, the "REAL ID Act of 2005". See, Republican Whip Notice.

8:00 AM. Under Secretary of Homeland Security Asa Hutchinson will speak at the Infrastructure Security Partnership breakfast. Press contact: 202-282-8010. Location: Army Navy Club, 901 17th St. NW.

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).

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled "Bankruptcy Reform". Press contact: Blain Rethmeier (Specter) at 202 224-5225 or Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202 224-2154. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The WRC-07 Advisory Committee's Informal Working Group 5: Regulatory Issues will meet. See, FCC notice [PDF]. Location: The Boeing Company, 1200 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Cable Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The speakers will be Lisa Sutherland (Chief of Staff, Senate Commerce Committee), Christine Kurth (Deputy Chief of Staff, Senate Commerce Committee), and James Assey (Minority Counsel, Senate Commerce Committee). For more information, contact Catherine Bohigian at Catherine.Bohigian@fcc.gov. Location: Mintz Levin, 701 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

12:30 - 1:30 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a program titled "Trade Secrets Damages: What Can a Successful Claimant Expect to Recover?". The speaker will be Carla Mulhern (Analysis Group, Inc.). See, notice. Prices vary from $10 to $30. For more information, call 202 626-3463. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding revisions to the rules of practice in patent cases to implement the Cooperative Research and Technology Enhancement Act of 2004 (CREATE Act). See, notice in the Federal Register, January 11, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 7, at Pages 1818-1824. This bill was S 2192 in the 108th Congress. President Bush signed it on December 10, 2004. See, story titled "President Signs CREATE Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,037, December 14, 2004.

TIME? The Judicial Conference of the United States (JC) will hold a public hearing on its proposed amendment to Civil Rule 5 regarding electronic filings. The JC has proposed amendments to Civil Rule 5, Appellate Rule 25, and Bankruptcy Rule 5005. Each of these proposed amendments would permit the applicable court, by local rules, to "permit or require papers to be filed, signed, or verified by electronic means" (or similar language). Current rules provide that the applicable court may "permit" filing by electronic means. See, JC notice [PDF] and notice in the Federal Register, Federal Register, December 2, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 231, at Page 70156. Location: undisclosed.

10:00 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) budget for FY06. See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Cable Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch and meeting with Senate Commerce Committee staff regarding legislation. The agenda includes Lisa Sutherland (Chief of Staff), Christine Kurth (Deputy Chief of Staff), and James Assey (Minority Counsel). For more information: Catherine.Bohigian@fcc.gov. Location: Mintz Levin, 701 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. This is for the USTR's Special 301 review, pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 2242. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 3, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 1, at Page 134.

Deadline to register for the Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) lunch, featuring Mel Karmazin, CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio. See, registration form [MS Word].

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) regarding its final public draft of SP 800-53. This is "Special Publication 800-53 (Final Public Draft), Recommended Security Controls for Federal Information Systems". Send comments to sec-cert@nist.gov.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding reserve prices or minimum opening bids and other procedures for Auction 60, the auction of five licenses in the Lower 700 MHz band C block (710-716/740-746 MHz), which is scheduled to begin on July 20, 2005. See, FCC's Public Notice numbered DA 05-171.

Day one of a four day event hosted by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) titled "2005 Winter Committee Meetings". See, notice. Location: Hyatt Regency Washington.

Day two of a four day event hosted by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) titled "2005 Winter Committee Meetings". See, notice. Location: Hyatt Regency Washington.

Extended deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice [4 pages in PDF] (DA 04-3891) of December 14, 2004 seeking comments on the report of Avatar Environmental, LLC regarding migratory bird collisions with communications towers. See, Public Notice [2 pages in PDF] (DA 04-4021) of December 22, 2004 extending deadlines. See also, notice in the Federal Register, January 3, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 1, at Pages 87-88. This proceeding is WT Docket No. 03-187.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding wireless services in rural areas. On September 27, 2004, the FCC released the text [137 pages in PDF] of its Report and Order and FNPRM. The FCC adopted this item at its July 8, 2004 meeting. This item is 04-166 in WT Docket Nos. 02-381, 01-14, and 03-202. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 15, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 240, at Pages 75174 - 75185.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. This NPRM proposes to permanently allow web site operators and online services to obtain verifiable parental consent for the collection of personal information from children for internal use by the web site operator through sending an e-mail message to parents coupled with additional steps. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 14, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 10, at Pages 2580 - 2582.

5:00 PM. Extended deadline to submit comments to Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in the Out of Cycle Review of the People's Republic of China, pursuant to Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974, 19 U.S.C. § 2242, which is also known as the Special 301 review. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 2, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 21, at Page 5500.