Spectrum and numbering resources are critical to the development of IoT services but don't require any special attention at this point, regulators said at a webcast workshop. Panelists Wednesday from the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and Europe's Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) said they're monitoring IoT developments, but have no specific concerns about spectrum availability or numbering. "Our duty is to understand" the new, innovative, international environment before making rules, said BEREC Chairman Sébastien Soriano from French telecom regulator ARCEP (Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques et des postes).
Spectrum and numbering resources are critical to the development of IoT services but don't require any special attention at this point, regulators said at a webcast workshop. Panelists Wednesday from the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and Europe's Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) said they're monitoring IoT developments, but have no specific concerns about spectrum availability or numbering. "Our duty is to understand" the new, innovative, international environment before making rules, said BEREC Chairman Sébastien Soriano from French telecom regulator ARCEP (Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques et des postes).
More GOP lawmakers weighed in about President Donald Trump's executive order curtailing immigration at least temporarily from seven Muslim-majority countries. Among them were House Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D.
More GOP lawmakers weighed in about President Donald Trump's executive order curtailing immigration at least temporarily from seven Muslim-majority countries. Among them were House Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D.
Comments to the House Judiciary Committee and the Library of Congress on Copyright Office-related issues are widely expected to present a continuation of existing divisions between content-side, the tech sector and others on copyright policy matters, stakeholders said in interviews. Comments were due after our deadline Tuesday on a legislative proposal by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and committee ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich., on the Copyright Office’s operational and IT issues. They included giving the office more autonomy from the Library of Congress (see 1612080061 and 1612220048). The LOC is collecting feedback through a SurveyMonkey online poll to get input on qualifications for the next register of copyrights. The survey drew content-side stakeholders’ criticism amid perceptions it could lead to a bigger conflict with the House and Senate Judiciary committees over the register’s role (see 1612160053).
More GOP lawmakers weighed in about President Donald Trump's executive order curtailing immigration at least temporarily from seven Muslim-majority countries. Among them were House Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D.
Comments to the House Judiciary Committee and the Library of Congress on Copyright Office-related issues are widely expected to present a continuation of existing divisions between content-side, the tech sector and others on copyright policy matters, stakeholders said in interviews. Comments were due after our deadline Tuesday on a legislative proposal by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and committee ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich., on the Copyright Office’s operational and IT issues. They included giving the office more autonomy from the Library of Congress (see 1612080061 and 1612220048). The LOC is collecting feedback through a SurveyMonkey online poll to get input on qualifications for the next register of copyrights. The survey drew content-side stakeholders’ criticism amid perceptions it could lead to a bigger conflict with the House and Senate Judiciary committees over the register’s role (see 1612160053).
T-Mobile asked the FCC to “act quickly” to dismiss an application for review by the Rural Wireless Association of 700 MHz buildout rules for Montana. In December, the Wireless Bureau provided a waiver to Bresnan Communications, which plans to assign three licenses, covering parts of Montana and Wyoming, to T-Mobile (see 1612210038). The RWA sought review, saying that “the Waiver Letter stands in conflict with FCC regulation, past precedent, and public policy, and establishes a harmful precedent which should be overturned.” Steve Sharkey, T-Mobile vice president-government affairs technology and engineering policy, said he spoke with Roger Noel, chief of the bureau’s Mobility Division, and Rachel Bender, aide to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. The RWA objection “is without merit and merely reiterates arguments correctly rejected” by the bureau, said a Monday filing by Sharkey. “Finality in this proceeding is critical because T-Mobile has already begun to expend significant resources to meet the aggressive performance requirements” in the letter decision, he wrote, “delivering much needed competition for wireless services to rural areas in Montana.” RWA’s application for review raised “serious” issues “not properly addressed in the Bureau’s decision,” emailed Caressa Bennet, its counsel. “While RWA understands T-Mobile’s desire for certainty, the public interest demands enforcement of the FCC’s construction requirements to prevent spectrum warehousing. ... T-Mobile has sat on other spectrum in Montana and could have used that spectrum to build out Montana." AT&T, Verizon and "several rural carriers already provide LTE service in Montana," she continued, making T-Mobile the third or fourth competitor.
Historical practice suggests that a full legislative repeal process could be necessary to change the current domestic implementation of NAFTA, should the Trump administration renegotiate the statutorily binding elements of the deal, according to a Congressional Research Service “legal sidebar” (here). The paper seeks to shed light on the issue of whether the president has exclusive authority to domestically implement legal changes pursuant to any NAFTA amendments between parties, as authorized by the agreement. There's been some debate recently on the legal authority the executive branch has to make tariff changes (see 1612150045 and 1611150035).
Qualcomm is likely to still face multiple tough legal challenges to the company’s licensing of its patents for baseband processors used in cellphones and other products, even if a new forthcoming Republican majority FTC chooses to reverse course on its antitrust complaint, said industry and public interest lawyers in interviews. The FTC claimed in a complaint filed this month that Qualcomm “engaged in exclusionary conduct that taxes its competitors' baseband processor sales, reduces competitors' ability and incentive to innovate, and raises prices paid by consumers for cell phones and tablets” (see 1701170065). Apple filed a lawsuit last Monday seeking $1 billion in damages on claims Qualcomm overcharged the smartphone manufacturer “billions of dollars” for patent licenses (see 1701230067).