The National Spectrum Consortium (NSC) said Wednesday it’s launching the Partnering to Advance Trusted and Holistic Spectrum Solutions (PATHSS) Task Group, to collaborate with DOD “to explore sharing solutions to make more mid-band spectrum available for commercial 5G, specifically in 3.1-3.45 GHz.” The band is considered one of the next FCC targets for 5G. PATHSS “will provide a forum for industry and the Defense Department to exchange sensitive and classified information on current and projected military and commercial requirements in these bands,” NSC said. “The group will identify and develop use cases based on a shared understanding of federal and commercial needs.” It's a “first-of-its-kind industry and government collaboration” that will “create a new model to drive spectrum sharing outcomes,” said NSC Chair Lizy Paul.
The Copyright Office readopted “existing exemptions” under Digital Millennium Copyright Act Section 1201, the agency announced Wednesday with a final rule in its triennial review (see 2010150030). That included a right-to-repair exemption for smartphones and other digital devices. NTIA, in an Oct. 1 letter, recommended expanding right-to-repair exemptions for diagnosis, maintenance and repair of all software-enabled devices.
It was July 2020 when the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California OK'd a June 2019 motion for receivership for radio stations owned by Edward Stolz (see 2110130057).
Commissioners voted 4-0 Thursday to revoke China Telecom Americas’ domestic and international authorities under Communications Act Section 214. The FCC launched an investigation in December (see 2012100054). The new order directs the company “to discontinue any domestic or international services that it provides pursuant to its section 214 authority within sixty days following the release of the order,” the FCC said, citing the agency's responsibility for national security. The vote “is an important step forward, but the FCC must remain vigilant to the threats posed by the Communist Party of China,” said Commissioner Brendan Carr, who urged that China Telecom be added to the agency’s “covered list” for gear suppliers. The company didn’t comment.
Last year's White House cybersecurity space policy directive (see 2009040042) helped raise awareness of the issue, but public sector and government implementation has been lagging, said George Washington University Space Policy Institute Director Scott Pace on a CompTIA panel Tuesday. CompTIA Senior Director-Public Sector David Logsdon said the National Cybersecurity Center's Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center plans to report in November on perceived gaps in the space policy directive. Pace said he had hoped space agencies would have started talking more explicitly in acquisitions and requests for proposals about cybersecurity expectations. Until such principles start being part of competitive considerations in acquisitions, "it's hard to get companies to start taking that seriously," he said, noting interagency discussions are needed. He said government should be more aggressive in industry outreach with Department of Homeland Security threat briefings, and more active in international engagement via standards bodies. Added Logsdon, “If we don't do it, the Chinese will." The space policy directive deliberately took "a soft approach" instead of a prescriptive one, to get grassroots buy-in, said Lockheed Martin Vice President-Technology Policy and Regulation Jennifer Warren. She said there's more to be done in adoption and implementation, but the directive had some success in raising awareness about the need to think of cybersecurity beyond just satellites to the broader ecosystem including earth stations and supply chains. Timelines for implementation should be aspirational, with voluntary steps companies could take "to get that gold star." A lot of focus has been on technical issues like standards and nomenclature, but more thought should go to nontechnical issues of personnel security and insider threats, Pace said. "Every traitor in prison had a security clearance." Viasat Government Systems Chief Technology Officer Phil Mar urged paying more attention to smaller, emerging space companies, where cybersecurity often is a last-minute concern.
The FTC restored a “long-established practice of routinely restricting future acquisitions for merging parties that pursue anticompetitive mergers,” the commission announced Monday. Commissioners Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson dissented in the 3-2 vote approving a prior approval policy statement. The statement “puts industry on notice” that merger enforcement orders will “require acquisitive firms to obtain prior approval from the agency before closing any future transaction affecting each relevant market for which a violation was alleged, for a minimum of ten years,” the agency said. A 1995 policy statement rescinded in July (see 2107210061) “had fueled consolidation by preventing the agency from imposing these merger restrictions,” the agency said.
The next World Radiocommunication Conference is still on for Nov. 20-Dec. 15, 2023, the ITU confirmed Monday “following a consultation with the ITU Member States around the world.” The location will be either Abu Dhabi or Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. “The COVID-19 pandemic has proven the essential nature of digital technologies and services," said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao: “Yet challenges persist in efforts to connect the other half of the world's population by 2030. ITU Member States will use WRC-23 to pave the way for new, more innovative ways to connect the world using both terrestrial and space-based communication technologies."
The FCC for “way too long” hasn't accurately measured where broadband is and isn’t, said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel during a Marconi Society virtual symposium Friday. “The best time to update our maps was probably five years ago,” Rosenworcel said. The agency is “midstream” in securing a broadband serviceable location fabric, she said (see 2107160057). “I have lots of thoughts about it. It’s not fast.” Rosenworcel said she hopes “things are going to come together in the next few months” and would like to see the maps be used to understand the intersection of issues like broadband access and health outcomes. Some states have “really engaged in quality mapping projects because we know mapping at the federal level is not the strongest,” said Public Knowledge CEO Chris Lewis on a panel. The FCC also needs to be more “creative” with the use of spectrum, Rosenworcel said. “Getting the right mix” between licensed and unlicensed spectrum is “important,” she said, noting auctions for licensed spectrum need to be made more competitive. The federal government is sitting on a lot of unused spectrum, said telecom attorney Steve Coran: “There’s a lot of ways that folks can use spectrum more efficiently.” Tribal priority windows “should be a prerequisite for every spectrum change in the future,” said Chris Mitchell, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance's director-Community Broadband Networks Initiative. Addressing the digital divide requires a focus on both “deployment and affordability,” Rosenworcel said, touting the Emergency Connectivity Fund’s impact on addressing the homework gap, and said it’s “a distinct part” of addressing the digital divide. “There is no doubt that the beating heart of our post-COVID world will be digital,” said ITU Telecom Development Bureau Director Doreen Bogdan-Martin during a keynote: “Adoption is about making sure everyone can get online because that's when we get true digital inclusion.”
T-Mobile will delay shutting down CDMA by three months until March 31, the carrier said Friday. To build out the carrier's 5G network, "we need to sunset outdated CDMA technologies as soon as possible so every consumer, no matter their circumstances, will have access to the best connectivity and best experience," it said. "This is why we have aggressively executed on plans to take care of transitioning our impacted Sprint CDMA customers by the end of this year and provided our partners plenty of time and resources to take care of their customers as well. Recently it’s become increasingly clear that some of those partners haven’t followed through on their responsibility to help their customers through this shift. So, we’re stepping up on their behalf.” The postponement won’t have “material financial impact” to T-Mobile’s business, it said. T-Mobile and Dish Network are feuding over the 3G sunset in California and at the FCC (see 2110150012 and 2105060024). DOJ raised red flags in August (see 2105060024). DOJ declined to comment now. Dish, which got Boost prepaid wireless customers as part of a divestiture when T-Mobile bought Sprint, didn't comment by our deadline. Neither did the FCC or California Public Utilities Commission.
The FCC acted reasonably and within its responsibilities to ensure the best use of spectrum in dividing 5.9 GHz, with 45 MHz for Wi-Fi and 30 MHz for cellular vehicle-to-everything technology, industry and public service intervenors told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. ITS America and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials want the court to overturn the order (see 2106020076). “Unhappy” that the FCC “has decreased their spectrum bankroll, Appellants and Intervenors are trying to chase their losses to the Court,” said Public Knowledge and the Open Technology Institute at New America, posted Wednesday night in docket 21-1130. “But the Court cannot offer their desired relief because the FCC properly determined that the public interest called for reallocating our nation’s limited spectrum resource.” The FCC record “demonstrated that 30 megahertz is more than sufficient to deliver the public safety benefits promised” by intelligent transportation systems, they said. “Petitioners posit a fragmented scheme of spectrum-management authority that opens the door to conflicting agency judgments,” said CTIA: “The FCC’s spectrum-allocation decisions frequently touch on areas regulated by other agencies -- but that does not deprive the FCC of its preeminence in spectrum management.” Petitioners want “this Court to second-guess the FCC,” said NCTA and the Wi-Fi Alliance. “The Commission relied on its technical expertise, predictive judgment, and an extensive record to conclude that” changes to the band “will both improve wireless broadband and increase the likelihood that the automotive industry will finally deliver long-promised safety applications.” The agency “adopted conservative technical rules governing indoor operation of unlicensed devices in the lower 45 megahertz of the band to avoid any significant risk of interference between those devices and automotive-safety applications in the upper 30 megahertz,” the groups said. The 5G Automotive Association, which promotes C-V2X, said the order will “materially advance vehicular safety.”