Eric Chamberlin of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, an industry analyst in the FCC Wireless Broadband Division for nearly nine years, died Dec. 2 of colon cancer. He was 38. Chamberlin worked on RF licensing. Survivors include his wife, Justina; two daughters, Avary and Mia; and his parents, Kenneth and Sharon.
EU negotiators OK'd rules Friday night governing the use of AI, subject to final approval by the EU Council and European Parliament. Before the AI Act becomes effective, the European Commission will launch a voluntary AI Pact to help companies prepare, the EC said. Policy, consumer, digital rights and tech organizations met the political agreement with skepticism.
Nexstar and Cox Communications have reached a multiyear distribution agreement covering 38 Nexstar-owned television stations in 23 markets, Nexstar's NewsNation cable news network and its digital networks Antenna TV and Rewind TV, the broadcaster said Tuesday.
Aeronet told the FCC it can abide by restrictions NTIA proposed in a filing on future use of the 70, 80 and 90 GHz bands. The FCC Wireless Bureau subsequently asked for a record refresh, including comments on the NTIA letter (see 2310180039). “Aeronet is confident that going forward it will be possible to coordinate in less restrictive ways than the NTIA proposed rule text,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 20-133: “Aeronet recommends that whatever rules the Commission adopts make clear that direct coordination between service providers in the 70/80 GHz bands and federal users is permitted and even encouraged. As new services are rolled out, direct coordination between users will enhance service delivery, ease overly conservative requirements, and ensure that federal spectrum usage remains protected.” Comments were due Wednesday. AT&T said it generally supports changes to the rules, including modifications to the link registration and antenna standards rules “as those modifications will promote spectrum efficiency and support 5G expansion.” The carrier also supported technical changes “to support 5G services across the nation.” The FCC “should modify its antenna rules to increase the maximum beamwidth from 1.2 degrees to 2.2 degrees, reduce minimum antenna gain from 43 dBi to 38 dBi, and reduce co-polar and cross-polar discrimination requirements for 70/80 GHz antennas,” AT&T said: “These rule changes would enable the development of smaller, lighter antennas that are more adaptable for 5G backhaul deployments in diverse settings.” Tech company Sierra Nevada asked that any use of the spectrum doesn't “undermine” proposals separately made to the FCC to allocate the 90 GHz band to enhanced flight vision system radar (see 2203250061). “Allowing that use could greatly enhance aviation safety by enabling pilots to have an additional visual-like reference to surrounding terrain, obstacles, buildings, and the airport environment,” the company said. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) asked the FCC to examine adjacent-band protections for radioastronomy operations at 76-81 GHz. “Radio astronomy is not allocated in the spectrum band at 71-76 GHz so the use case of radio astronomy operations immediately above 76 GHz must be discussed separately, and this is missing,” NRAO said.
The cable industry's distributed access architecture deployment cycle -- with DAA deployments enabling DOCSIS 3.1 upgrades and eventually a DOCSIS 4.0 rollout -- is still in its early days, with most of the upgrade work likely to happen between 2024 and 2027, Dell'Oro Group's Jeff Heynen blogged Friday. Comcast and Cox today account for 38% of the DAA node or module market, but purchases by Charter and other cable operators will also drive significant equipment purchases, he said.
The FCC committed nearly $38 million in additional Emergency Connectivity Fund support Wednesday. The new funding supports about 220 schools and school districts, two library systems and four consortiums from the third application filing window, said a news release.
California legislators supported drafting a digital equity bill of rights. The Assembly voted 69-0 Thursday to concur with Senate amendments to AB-414. It passed the Senate unanimously Tuesday (see 2309070042) and goes next to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). Also Thursday, the Senate voted 38-0 to pass AB-41, which aims to tighten digital equity requirements in the state’s video franchise law but is opposed by a public interest group (see 2308170044). The Assembly must concur with Senate amendments. Assembly members voted 89-0 Thursday for SB-60, which would require social media platforms to remove posts on illegal drug sales. The Senate must concur with Assembly edits.
On average, 85% of the drones state agencies purchased from 2010 to 2022 were made in China, and the typical state devoted 76% of its drone spending to Chinese drones, said a report Thursday by the Foundation for American Innovation. “From 2010 to 2022, states spent at least $5.3 million on Chinese drones, and at least $8.1 million on drones overall” and 66% of spending was on Chinese drones, the report said: “Thirty-two states devoted at least half their drone spending to Chinese drones. In 38 states, the majority of drones used by state agencies are Chinese.” Concerns over Chinese drones surfaced on Capitol Hill (see 2303160048) and at the FCC (see 2110190051). Commissioner Brendan Carr warned that China-based DJI has more than half the U.S. drone market. DJI disputes that it's a threat to U.S. security (see 2205120027). With the DOD, “members of Congress, and the Biden administration all expressing concerns about the use of Chinese drones, there is growing political will to reduce dependence on Chinese drones and improve U.S. cybersecurity,” the foundation said.
The FCC hasn’t made an effort to meet the four-year due date for its 2018 quadrennial review, and its arguments that Congress didn’t specify a deadline (see 2308080062) are “a recipe for eternal stasis” and would “justify perpetual delay,” said NAB in a response filing in its mandamus proceeding at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (docket 23-1120) (see 2304250029). “It is unreasonable for the Commission to have sat on its hands for years.”
Leaders of the 5G for 12 GHz Coalition hope for FCC action by year-end on rules to allow fixed-wireless use of the lower 12 GHz band. Comments were due Wednesday on a Further NPRM, which commissioners approved 4-0 in May, examining fixed-wireless and unlicensed use of 12.2-12.7 GHz spectrum (see 2305180052). That FNPRM was part of a complicated series of items addressing the 12 and 13 GHz bands.