WCA March 2016

From the Americas cable could be placed. “Legal uncertainties translate to financial exposure,” the NLR observed. “This likely contributed to US telecom companies deciding that the cost-benefit analysis at the time counselled against moving into Cuba.” December 2014 brought a turning point, with the announcement by the White House of its plan to renew diplomatic relations with Cuba after 53 years. This reinvigorated the effort to entice USA telecom companies to enter Cuba. In September 2015, Washington issued further revisions to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR) that give the telecoms much better guidance. In brief, a USA telecom company now may:  Establish a physical presence in Cuba, including through joint ventures with Cuban entities, to provide certain telecom and Internet-based services  Enter into licensing agreements related to, and to market, those services  Import Cuban-origin mobile applications into the USA and hire Cuban nationals to develop them  Provide certain services related to consumer communications devices exported to Cuba, including training related to their installation, repair and/or replacement These authorisations and clarifications of what USA telecoms may do in Cuba “seem to have worked,” wrote Mr Ferrer and Ms Fernandez-Acuña. Sprint was fastest off the mark, becoming the first USA wireless carrier to sign a direct roaming agreement with Cuba’s government-run Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba (ETECSA). This allows Sprint customers visiting the island to use their phones as they would at home, and reinforces the company’s position in the USA and its telecom presence in Cuba. Since June of last year Kansas-based Sprint also has had a long-distance interconnection agreement with ETECSA, enabling American customers to call Cuba directly.  While Miami’s tourism and hospitality industries expect to be the main beneficiaries of the USA’s loosening of restrictions on Cuba, the city’s telecom industry will be paying attention. According to two close observers at the National Law Review, “Cuba’s virtually uncharted telecom territory presents many opportunities for Miami’s Silicon Beach.” A tale of two cities: Seattle perceives – and resents – partiality to Philadelphia on the part of Comcast “The Seattle City Council was poised to renew a ten year franchise deal with Comcast on 7 th December but, after getting wind of what the cable giant was offering Philadelphia, city officials are delaying their vote and pressing the company for a better deal.” Sue Marek of FierceCable was reporting on a letter to Comcast from

Mayor Ed Murray and council member Bruce Harrell, of Seattle, in which the two officials expressed their indignation (they called it disappointment) at their city’s treatment vis-à-vis Philadelphia. (“Seattle to Comcast: We Want a Sweeter Franchise Deal,” 7 th December) As outlined by Ms Marek, Comcast’s franchise deal with Philadelphia was announced on 3 rd December after eight months of negotiations. Under its terms, Comcast will expand its subsidised broadband programme, Internet Essentials, to include seniors and will extend enrolment in the programme to low-income Philadelphians over the next five years at a cost to the company of $2.7 million. In addition, Comcast pledged $20 million over the next 15 years to support local public, government and educational programming channels: some $2 million over its original offer to Philadelphia. An MSO (multiple system operator of two or more cable TV systems), Comcast will moreover install a high-speed network in 200 locations throughout Philadelphia and pay its employees at least the city’s minimum wage of $12 an hour. The situation prompts the question, did Comcast – the world’s largest media company – not anticipate that, in 2015, news generated on the East Coast might reach the West Coast in four days? Or did it perhaps expect Seattle to concede the right of Philadelphia-based Comcast to confer a home-team advantage? If so, it was mistaken. Messrs Murray and Harrell served notice that approval of the Seattle-Comcast deal depended on whether or not the terms offered brought their city into parity with Philadelphia. They wrote: “Having seen [your] commitment toward equity and affordability in Philadelphia, we believe the people of Seattle deserve the same level of commitment.”  Ms Marek noted that the draft of Comcast’s deal with Seattle already requires the company to offer free cable service to city buildings and schools, as well as to allot $50,000 a year for the local TV channel. It also calls for Comcast to offer discounted cable service to low-income subscribers and free Internet service to qualifying non-profits. But Seattle intended to hold off on renewal of its franchise agreement with Comcast until the agreement “is significantly improved.” Comcast said it was open to discussing terms with Seattle.

Automotive

A long-time favourite brand in China, GM’s Buick will be the first Chinese-made light vehicle sold in the USA by one of the Big Three “After years waiting for an invasion of Chinese cars that never came, General Motors says it’s going to be the first of

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Wire & Cable ASIA – March/April 2016

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