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An Emergency Communications Safety Net: Intergrating 911 and Other Services

Description: The 9/11 Commission Report recommended that 911 call centers — also called Public Safety Answering Points, or PSAPs — be included in planning for emergency responses.1 Congress, which has since 1999 passed two bills to further the deployment of 911, is reviewing ways to expand 911 capabilities and make it more accessible and effective. Congress is also evaluating ways to improve emergency alerts2 and interoperable communications for public safety.3 Operational convergence of emergency communica… more
Date: May 5, 2006
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Spectrum Management: Auctions

Description: This report discusses the radio frequency spectrum that is used for all forms of wireless communications, including cellular telephony, paging, personal communications service, radio and television broadcast, telephone radio relay, aeronautical and maritime radio navigation, and satellite command and control.
Date: April 6, 2006
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Net Neutrality: Background and Issues

Description: As the 109th Congress continues to debate telecommunications reform, a major point of contention is the question of whether action is needed to ensure unfettered access to the Internet. The move to place restrictions on the owners of the networks that compose and provide access to the Internet, to ensure equal access and nondiscriminatory treatment, is referred to as “net neutrality.” There is no single accepted definition of “net neutrality.” However, most agree that any such definition should… more
Date: May 16, 2006
Creator: Gilroy, Angele A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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An Emergency Communications Safety Net: Integrating 911 and Other Services

Description: The 9/11 Commission Report recommended that 911 call centers — also called Public Safety Answering Points, or PSAPs — be included in planning for emergency responses.1 Congress, which has since 1999 passed two bills to further the deployment of 911, is reviewing ways to expand 911 capabilities and make it more accessible and effective. Congress is also evaluating ways to improve emergency alerts2 and interoperable communications for public safety.3 Operational convergence of emergency communica… more
Date: January 30, 2006
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Constitutionality of Applying the FCC's Indecency Restriction to Cable Television

Description: Various federal officials have spoken in favor of extending the Federal Communication Commission’s indecency restriction, which currently applies to broadcast television and radio, to cable and satellite television. This report examines whether such an extension would violate the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech.
Date: December 1, 2005
Creator: Cohen, Henry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Wireless Privacy and Spam: Issues for Congress

Description: Wireless communications devices such as cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) are ubiquitous. Some consumers, already deluged with unwanted commercial messages, or “spam,” via computers that access the Internet by traditional wireline connections, are concerned that such unsolicited advertising is expanding to wireless communications, further eroding their privacy. Congress continues to debate how to protect wireless subscribers further, and several bills were considered in the 108… more
Date: December 22, 2004
Creator: Smith, Marcia S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Wireless Technology and Spectrum Demand: Third Generation (3G) and Beyond

Description: Advances in wireless telecommunications technology are converging with Internet technology to foster new generations of applications and services. Presently, the United States and other countries are moving to third-generation (3G) and fourth-generation mobile telephony. The defining feature of these technologies is that transmission speeds are significantly faster than prevailing technologies. A related trend is the growth in use of Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) and WiMAX (an industry designation … more
Date: June 8, 2005
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Wireless Technology and Spectrum Demand: Advanced Wireless Services

Description: Advances in wireless telecommunications technology are converging with Internet technology to foster new generations of applications and services. Presently, the United States and other countries are moving to third-generation (3G) and fourth-generation mobile telephony. The defining feature of these technologies is that transmission speeds are significantly faster than prevailing technologies. A related trend is the growth in use of Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) and WiMAX (an industry designation … more
Date: January 20, 2006
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Al-Jazeera News Network: Opportunity or Challenge for U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East?

Description: This paper provides an overview of Al-Jazeera and explores the debate surrounding its objectivity. This report also analyzes Al-Jazeera’s coverage of events in the Middle East, specifically, its coverage of events in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Israel and the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The final section of this report discusses policy options regarding U.S. public diplomacy efforts in the Middle East region.
Date: July 23, 2003
Creator: Sharp, Jeremy M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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A Glossary of Selected Telecommunications Terms

Description: The following glossary provides short definitions and descriptions of selected telecommunications terminology, agencies, and organizations, as well as a listing of key laws and Federal Communications Commission regulations and decisions.
Date: January 1, 1984
Creator: Bortnick, Jane; Gilroy, Angele A. & Siddall, David
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Commerical Television Broadcasting: An Economic Analysis of Its Structure and Competitive Alternatives

Description: This report analyzes the economic structure of both the conventional commercial television broadcasting industry as well as the significant commercial competitive alternatives. Federal Communications Commission policies and their effect on the competitive structure and development of the television industry are also discussed.
Date: June 30, 1980
Creator: Gilroy, Angele A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Communications Act Revisions: Selected Issues for Consideration

Description: This report provides an overview of selected topics which the 109th Congress may address in its examination of telecommunications issues. The issues included in this report cover: broadband Internet regulation and access; broadcast indecency; digital television transition; Federal Communications Commission structure and reform; intercarrier compensation; media ownership rules; municipal deployment of broadband; public safety communications, the “savings clause” and monopoly issues; spectrum auc… more
Date: January 23, 2006
Creator: Gilroy, Angele A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Digital Television: An Overview

Description: Digital television (DTV) is a new television service representing the most significant development in television technology since the advent of color television in the 1950s. DTV can provide sharper pictures, a wider screen, CD-quality sound, better color rendition, and other new services currently being developed. A successful deployment of DTV requires: the development by content providers of compelling digital programming; the delivery of digital signals to consumers by broadcast television … more
Date: January 6, 2006
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Digital Television: An Overview

Description: Digital television (DTV) is a new television service representing the most significant development in television technology since the advent of color television in the 1950s. DTV can provide sharper pictures, a wider screen, CD-quality sound, better color rendition, and other new services currently being developed. A successful deployment of DTV requires: the development by content providers of compelling digital programming; the delivery of digital signals to consumers by broadcast television … more
Date: June 22, 2005
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Spectrum Auctions and Deficit Reduction: FY2006 Budget Reconciliation

Description: Congressional policymakers are seeking a way to accelerate the nation’s transition to digital television and to expedite the transfer of certain radio frequency channels from the broadcast industry to public safety and commercial users no later than 2009.
Date: October 31, 2005
Creator: Moore, Linda K. & Kruger, Lennard G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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