After a disappointing Samsung Q3 earnings report, which saw mobile division sales plummet 74 percent (see 1410300033), the company announced Wednesday that effective Jan. 1 it's combining Samsung Electronics America and Samsung Telecommunications America into a single U.S. organization comprising consumer electronics, mobile and enterprise business. According to a statement, integrating the two organizations into a single Samsung Electronics America “will give customers and partners the advantage of a single point of contact.” In the new organization, Gregory Lee will continue as president and CEO of Samsung Electronics North America, and Tim Baxter has been named president and chief operating officer of the new, integrated Samsung Electronics America, Samsung said. The new organization will focus on “aggressive growth in new strategic initiatives,” Samsung said, and by bringing together all of the company’s branded consumer and enterprise business operations, it will “better serve” U.S. customers through “strengthened business operations and collaboration across market segments.” A single organization will provide “expanded career development and mobility programs for Samsung’s growing workforce,” the company said. U.S. offices in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey; Richardson, Texas; and San Jose, California, will continue to operate, it said. Questions to Samsung on possible layoffs, areas of focus for the new organization and any changes to Samsung's smartphone business weren’t immediately answered.
The FCC pushed back the comment deadline on an October notice of inquiry on the potential for the provision of mobile radio services in bands above 24 GHz. Comments were due Dec. 16, replies Jan. 15. The new deadlines are Jan. 15 and Feb. 17, said a notice in Tuesday's Federal Register. The FCC approved the NOI at its October meeting (see 1410170048).
The Federal Aviation Administration is streamlining its processes for Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs), which identify communications towers with extinguished or faulty lighting, the FCC said in a notice. Under FCC rules, tower owners are in general required to notify the FAA within 30 minutes of discovering a lighting outage or malfunction and they must take steps to repair the faulty lighting as quickly as practicable, the FCC said. “The planned change will enable tower owners to self-select the amount of time their NOTAMs remain active.” The FCC said the change is expected to take effect next month. Under the current system, NOTAMs last for 15 days, though some tower repairs take longer to complete, the agency said. By allowing longer NOTAMs the FAA will allow tower operators to avoid filing for repeated notices, the FCC said. “While the change will allow tower owners to self-select the repair deadline, every outage should be corrected as soon as possible, and the FCC and FAA will respond aggressively if they discover tower owners are abusing a system designed to protect aviation safety,” the FCC said.
The FCC Public Safety Bureau extended the comment period for a next-generation 911 location accuracy plan. Comments now are due Dec. 15, replies Dec. 24, the bureau said Tuesday in an order, instead of the original Dec. 10 for comments, Dec. 17 for replies (see 1411200043). The plan was developed by the four largest wireless carriers, the APCO and the National Emergency Number Association (see 1411190064). The bureau is granting a limited extension to give small rural carriers and others additional time to respond to the technical and timeline aspects of the road map, it said.
The FCC released a pleading cycle on a proposed deal in which T-Mobile and Verizon would trade various AWS-1 and PCS licenses as they balance their spectrum portfolios. The licenses involved cover 92 counties in all or parts of 41 cellular market areas, the FCC said Tuesday. “The Applicants indicate that the intra-market exchanges involve equal amounts of spectrum such that neither Applicant would increase its spectrum holdings in the particular market,” the FCC said. “The Applicants further assert that the inter-market exchanges, which would increase spectrum holdings in particular markets, would add capacity and improve data throughput speeds.” Petitions to deny are due Jan. 5; oppositions, Jan. 15; and replies, Jan. 23. The FCC also sought comment Tuesday on the proposed sale of a single 700 MHz A-block license in West Virginia from McBride Spectrum Partners to Hardy Cellular, a subsidiary of U.S. Cellular. Petitions to deny are due Jan. 20; oppositions, Jan. 30; and replies, Feb. 6.
The FCC issued a warning, posted on its main web page, against the illegal use of cell signal jammers. The FCC said jammers don’t just weed out annoying cellphone calls, they also block calls to 911. “We again warn the public that it is illegal to use a cell phone jammer or any other type of device that blocks, jams or interferes with authorized communications,” the Monday notice said. “This prohibition extends to every entity that does not hold a federal authorization, including state and local law enforcement agencies.”
T-Mobile US said Monday it's selling stock in an offering expected to raise $1 billion. The carrier said it will use the money for capital expenditures and spectrum purchases beyond the AWS-3 auction.
Extreme Networks will offer Wi-Fi connectivity to IMG-affiliated universities. IMG selected Extreme Networks to help provide a network infrastructure "that is consistent with networking solutions recently implemented for professional sports' teams and their stadiums," Extreme said in a news release. Extreme's Wi-Fi networks will be deployed to enable thousands of fans to access networks from their seats and common areas of sports facilities, it said. Its system is designed to support high-density requirements, like support of in-venue mobile application delivery, Extreme said.
The U.S. market for drones will reach $15 billion in 2020, said an Information Gatekeepers study released Monday. That’s compared with $5 billion in 2013, it said. Commercial applications for drones include agriculture, real estate and electrical utilities. The drone market is expected to have “significant growth” in 2015 after the Federal Aviation Administration rules on drone access for national airspace, it said.
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) raised objections to an application by Recco, which sought a waiver of FCC rules permitting the equipment authorization and licensing of Recco’s avalanche rescue system using spectrum at 902.85 MHz (see 1410140175). ARRL, which represents amateur radio operators, questioned Recco claims that device does not pose an interference risk. ARRL said its members make frequent use of the same spectrum. “ARRL is supportive of the use of the technology similar to that advocated by RECCO, provided that the system is compatible with incumbent licensed uses of the band,” the group said in a filing in docket 14-176. “However, there are questions relative to compatibility that are left unanswered by the RECCO Petition, and ARRL has concerns about the RECCO Petition that call for resolution before the Commission should grant a permanent waiver to RECCO.”