"TECHNOLOGY FIRMS FLOCK BACK TO WASHINGTON WITH SECURITY PITCHES"
In the aftermath of the Sept.11 terrorist attacks, a high tech lobbying revival is sweeping through the nation's capital. .....
And technology heavyweight Qualcomm Inc. is pushing real-time video audio monitoring of airplane cabins and cockpits, and a variety of other products, including a global-positioning system for trucks that carry hazardous materials and state-of-the-art mobile phone telephones for policy makers. ......
But most of the lobbying campaigns are just getting up and running. Qualcomm - whose stock has fallen to $ 38.32 on Oct. 5 from its 52-week high of $107.81 on Dec. 6, but has since bounced back to $49.12 - is at the forefront of this movement, preparing an ambitious lobbying campaign to sell the Bush administration on several of its technologies. The company is pitching its repackaged "ViaWeb" global-positioning technology, which trucking companies use to monitor their fleets, to the Transportation Department as a way to track vehicles hauling hazardous materials. In the early days of the hijacking investigation, law-enforcement officials learned that some detainees had unlawfully obtained special hauling licenses for such materials, and feared terrorist might be prepared to ram trucks loaded with toxics into buildings and tunnels. Qualcomm is tweaking its technology so it could be used to alert authorities if a truck carrying hazardous material ventures too close to federal buildings, power plants, or other potential targets. Qualcomm officials plan to meet soon with Transportation Department officials to shop their product. Qualcomm has enlisted the lobbying firm headed by former Republican Rep. Tom Loeffler of Texas, a close friend and top-fundraiser for President Bush, for its broad campaign. With Mr. Loeffler's assistance, the company is also lobbying the FAA to approve its video- and voice-streaming technologies. Jonas Neihardt, the company's vice president of government affairs, said airlines could use the devices to beam real-time images and conversations from cabins and cockpits to Earth, potentially replacing the black-box recorders used in crash investigations. ....
----------
from marlenekoeppel on Rocket who adds:
"..I don't have a link but I read in yesterday's WSJ on page A22.."
post.clubs.yahoo.com |
