After delivering warnings last week against the unsettling States' broadening their case to the extent that they would, in effect, be starting a new liability trial, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has cheered them considerably by allowing them to put forward information on new technologies and devices. This doesn't mean she is going to accept the States' pitch that the current and future generations of software should be taken into account, but it does mean she's going to think about it.
This isn't yet a defeat for Microsoft, but it's not particularly good news. Ideally, Microsoft wants the judge to rule out everything not specifically covered in the case so far, and to focus on narrow remedies for the shopping list of antitrust violations that have been established. As these generally relate to past wars rather than what's going on today, Microsoft can live with the associated raps on the knuckles without having its current business plans overly destabilised.
The States, on the other hand, want to secure far more forward looking remedies, meaning the inclusion of matters that weren't covered earlier and the production of associated witnesses. The judge's agreement to at least hear those witnesses, and her admission that she needs more "factual information," is therefore a step in the right direction for them. It will however lead to considerably more courthouse in-fighting as the two camps attempt to persuade the judge to rule particular pieces of evidence in or out.
News source: The Register - MS judge to weigh broadening of case
This isn't yet a defeat for Microsoft, but it's not particularly good news. Ideally, Microsoft wants the judge to rule out everything not specifically covered in the case so far, and to focus on narrow remedies for the shopping list of antitrust violations that have been established. As these generally relate to past wars rather than what's going on today, Microsoft can live with the associated raps on the knuckles without having its current business plans overly destabilised.
The States, on the other hand, want to secure far more forward looking remedies, meaning the inclusion of matters that weren't covered earlier and the production of associated witnesses. The judge's agreement to at least hear those witnesses, and her admission that she needs more "factual information," is therefore a step in the right direction for them. It will however lead to considerably more courthouse in-fighting as the two camps attempt to persuade the judge to rule particular pieces of evidence in or out.
News source: The Register - MS judge to weigh broadening of case
"We have a competition under way, not yet finalized, to put in such capability nationally that would have a much broader national footprint ... by the end of December and then a year later full operational capability," he said at the annual James Quello Communication Policy and Law Symposium.
He said about 45,000 individuals had priority access to the landline telecommunications network prior to the September attacks and that had grown to 60,000 since. Greene added that it will likely jump to hundreds of thousands over time.
The Federal Communications Commission has approved a waiver for VoiceStream Wireless, a unit of German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom, to offer such a priority system and the company is now waiting to complete the contract with the government, people familiar with the situation have said.
The system, which would be available immediately on a subscription basis and would be always available using a pre-programmed chip in the handsets until commercial handsets are available.
VoiceStream expects the new handsets will be available soon and they will be manufactured by a joint venture between Ericsson/Sony.
Calls by those with priority access authority would be queued up for the next available circuit on wireless networks and by those without priority access would only be bumped off the network if a call by someone with the access is moving from cell site to a cell site where all circuits are taken up.
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