Correction: The place Chad Weller died in March, after falling 180 feet off a tower, was Pasadena, Maryland 1410140094.
FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly urged the FCC to act to curtail the number of calls to 911 from cellphones that are no longer in service, but under agency rules must still be capable of calling 911. The FCC raised the issue in a 2013 notice of inquiry (http://bit.ly/1nmd1CE), five years after public safety groups asked the FCC to change its rules, citing the huge number of fraudulent calls to 911 from users who can’t be traced. In a Tuesday blog post (http://fcc.us/1sSQZbA), O’Rielly said public safety groups asked that the phones no longer be allowed to call 911, when they responded to the NOI. But the FCC has taken no further action, he said. O’Rielly said public safety officials have repeatedly brought the issue to his attention. “Public safety officials have told me that some consumers are inadvertently dialing 911, while others are intentionally prank calling 911,” he wrote. “Whether inadvertent or intentional, the Commission needs to review its existing rules to ensure that they do not enable unwanted 911 calls to emergency personnel.” Pocket or “butt-dialing” 911 has also emerged as a big issue, O’Rielly said. “While the full scope of the problem is not known, my visits to the New York City and Anchorage Public Service Answering Points suggest that roughly 70 percent of 911 calls are made by wireless devices and 50 percent or more are the result of pocket dialing,” he said.
Labor Secretary Thomas Perez and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler pledged to work together to curb fatalities among communications tower workers, the subject Tuesday of a workshop at the FCC 1410140083. The tower industry may be small, with 10,000-15,000 employees, “but it's quickly proving to be one of the most dangerous,” the two said in a Wednesday blog post (http://fcc.us/1oaTaag). “And if we don't do something now, the number of fatalities will grow as fast as the industry does.” Industry and the government must work together, they said: “We each have a role to play in stopping these senseless tragedies.”
The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment on a waiver request by RECCO to permit equipment authorization and licensing of RECCO’s avalanche rescue system, which uses spectrum at 902.85 MHz. The system uses a handheld detector and passive reflectors integrated into apparel, helmets, protection gear or boots, the bureau said Tuesday (http://bit.ly/11kjowyhttp://bit.ly/11kjowy). “The signal from the reflector is received by the detector and enables search and rescue personnel to home in on the location of skiers, snowboarders, and others buried in avalanches.” But a waiver is needed because FCC rules don't permit nonvehicular location services in the 902-904 MHz band, the bureau said. Comments are due Nov. 13, replies Nov. 28. RECCO says on its website the system is used by more than 700 rescue organizations worldwide to find buried avalanche victims (http://bit.ly/11kjowy).
Google filed an application at the FCC to do tests in the 3.5 GHz band in Mountain View, California, and in suburban Washington, D.C., consulting engineer Steve Crowley said in a blog post (http://bit.ly/1wB4X0H). “Google’s testing in the 3.5 GHz band isn’t a surprise, given its general support for the FCC’s proposed rules allowing commercial operation in the 3.550-3.650 GHz band,” Crowley said. Google also filed a second application to do tests in the 5.8, 24, 72, and 82 GHz bands in Mountain View and San Mateo County, California, Crowley said. Google requested confidential treatment of both applications.
CTIA and PCIA jointly asked the FCC to implement a “deemed granted” rule requiring local jurisdictions to act on eligible facilities requests (EFRs) within 60 days as part of changes to wireless siting rules set for a vote at Friday’s open meeting 1410060018. The FCC now requires action within 90 days. But the wireless associations said requirements in the 2012 spectrum law made a shorter time frame appropriate by mandating approval of Section 6409(a) EFR applications (http://bit.ly/ZY3SpP). “As a result of this action, local review can be completed in minutes versus months,” the groups said. When a local government receives a Section 6409(a) application, “it need only: Confirm that the application proposes to collocate new transmission equipment or replace existing transmission equipment, as defined by the Commission; Confirm that the application involves an existing wireless tower or base station, as defined by the Commission; and Confirm that the physical dimensions of the tower or base station would not substantially change, as defined by the Commission,” the groups said. The letter was posted Monday in docket 13-238.
France’s Iliad Group formally dropped its pursuit of T-Mobile Monday, after parent Deutsche Telekom made clear it wasn’t interested. Iliad made a play for the carrier at the same time Sprint was pursuing a deal 1408010016. But Iliad said Deutsche Telekom and board members of T-Mobile US “refused to entertain” its latest offer (http://bit.ly/1v8otDx). After T-Mobile rejected Iliad’s initial bid, the company said it put together a second offer of $36 per share to buy 67 percent of T-Mobile, a $15 billion offer. Iliad’s initial offer was $33 per share for 56.6 percent of the U.S. carrier. “Iliad had the ambition to accelerate T-Mobile US’ transformation, notably by saving more than US$2 billion of cost annually,” Iliad said. “This transaction would have created significant value for both Iliad's and T-Mobile US’ shareholders.”
The American Bankers Association asked the FCC to exempt certain time-sensitive informational calls, which are placed with no charge to the called parties, from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s restrictions on automated calls to mobile devices. The request came in a petition filed at the agency (http://bit.ly/1r4244b) Tuesday. ABA sought the exemption for calls about: “(1) transactions and events that suggest a risk of fraud or identity theft; (2) possible breaches of the security of customers’ personal information; (3) steps consumers can take to prevent or remedy harm caused by data security breaches; and (4) actions needed to arrange for receipt of pending money transfers,” said the petition. ABA President Frank Keating said the exemptions would ensure banks can protect consumers. “Effective fraud prevention requires the earliest possible contact with the customer,” Keating said.
Correction: Where Tamara Preiss is a vice president is at Verizon 1410140004.
The FCC Wireless Bureau approved a settlement Friday between Colorado CallComm and Snapping Shoals Electric Membership Corp. over call sign WPMI283. Colorado CallComm has agreed to modify its license for the call sign to eliminate two locations, while Snapping Shoals has agreed to dismiss its petition on the call sign, the Wireless Bureau said. Snapping Shoals’ petition sought FCC cancellation of Colorado CallComm’s authority to operate on channels 938/899.9875, 939/900.000, 939/900.9125, and 939/900.9250 MHz in the Atlanta area, which are associated with Locations 6 and 7 of the WPMI283 call sign. Colorado CallComm will submit an application to modify its license to delete Locations 6 and 7 from the call sign in the FCC’s Universal Licensing System, the Wireless Bureau said (http://fcc.us/ZiZNv9).