The commercial wireless division of the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau allowed the Friends of the Earth and the Forest Conservation Council to withdraw a petition that claimed a tower being built by SBA Towers Inc. violated the National Environmental Protection Act. The petition is one of several the two groups have filed as part of a campaign against towers in an effort to get the Federal Communications Commission to conduct a nationwide environmental impact study on the impact of towers on the environment. Thirty-two petitions are still pending.
The Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said businesses involved in prepaid phone card sales might be involved in money laundering or other illicit financial activity. Some firms identified with suspicious activity, according to FinCEN, sell pagers, cell phones, fax service, lottery tickets and travel tickets.
The Telecommunications Industry Association signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Agency for International Development, which will make USAID’s Global Technology Network available to TIA communications and information technology companies nationwide. GTN assists U.S. firms seeking access to emerging overseas markets by matching the needs of companies in developing countries with appropriate technology solutions of U.S. companies. TIA said the deal will increase the awareness of GTN services and will increase the volume of new business leads and business deals in emerging markets.
A new report rates California, Texas, New York, Massachusetts and Florida as the nation’s top employers of high-tech workers. The study, sponsored by the American Electronics Association and the Nasdaq, listed Washington, California, Massachusetts, Virginia and New Jersey as top cyber states in terms of wages. California, Texas, Massachusetts, Florida and New York led the nation in high-tech exports in 2000. The report also said the high-tech industry grew last year at its slowest rate-4.6 percent-since 1994-1995.
Compiled from various news sources.
