Roy Mark

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Sept. 22 more than $144 million in funding is available from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the electric power sector, including $44 million in awards to state public utility commissions and $100 million in funding for smart grid work force training programs.Speaking at the GridWeek conference in […]

With key provisions of the Patriot Act set to expire at the end of 2009, some U.S. senators hope to amend the controversial law by repealing the retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies approved by Congress in 2008. The law forgives telecom companies that spied on U.S. citizens’ e-mail without a proper warrant. The JUSTICE (Judicious […]

The last time the term “network neutrality” caused this much stir on Capitol Hill, former Sen. Ted Stevens was lecturing his fellow lawmakers on how the Internet was a series of pipes that were somehow sacrosanct and above government regulation. Stevens and his fellow Republicans won that day in 2006, blocking an amendment that would […]

Just hours after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski proposed expanding the network neutrality authority of the agency Sept. 21, Senate Republicans moved to block the initiative. Using an appropriations bill as a vehicle, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison introduced an amendment that would deny the FCC any funds for developing or implementing new Internet regulations.“I […]

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski proposed Sept. 21 new network neutrality rules that would require carriers to deliver broadband in a non-discriminatory manner and to disclose their network management policies in a transparent manner. Genachowski also said the FCC would explore whether to extend network neutrality rules to mobile carriers.Genachowski said his proposals would […]

For a bill that has yet to have a public hearing, much less faced a single vote, the Cybersecurity Act of 2009 (S. 773) remains the most controversial technology-related legislation before the current Congress. Introduced by Sens. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, in April and redrafted late this summer, the bill would create […]

Japan’s first unmanned space freighter reached the International Space Station Sept. 17, marking another milestone in international space cooperation. Hovering approximately 30 feet away from the ISS, the Japanese cargo pod was grasped by a Canadian-built robotic arm with European and American astronauts at controls. The entire operation was overseen by a Russian commander. “It’s […]

Four operators of commercial communications satellites-EchoStar, Intelsat, SES and Telesat-are calling on the U.S. government to encourage private sector competition for space launches. Currently, the United Launch Alliance, which makes Atlas and Delta rockets, dedicates virtually all of its capacity to launching U.S.-owned satellites.The new Coalition for Competitive Launches, led by former U.S. Sen. John […]

U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, threw his support behind network neutrality legislation Sept. 17. Speaking before an oversight hearing of the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), Waxman said he would become a co-sponsor of Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Anna Eschoo’s (D-Calif.) Internet Freedom Preservation Act.The legislation would […]

The U.S. House voted Sept. 16 to extend another financial hand to the auto industry, approving $2.9 billion for green transportation research at the Department of Energy. The legislation (H.R. 3246) provides for long-term funding of public-private vehicle research, development, demonstration and commercial application activities in Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Program.The bill was approved on a […]