Every household in Alaska should have access to 100 Mbps of connectivity by 2020, said the Alaska Broadband Task Force blueprint outlined on Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1exUbhG). The report calls for extending the “full benefits of broadband technology to every Alaskan.” A 1 percent increase in broadband adoption in Alaska could grow the state’s economy by $67.7 million, the report said. In a study commissioned by the task force, the University of Alaska-Anchorage’s Institute of Social and Economic Research found broadband infrastructure to reduce costs, increase market access and lead to job creation and growth in total employment. Private ownership of the infrastructure would be encouraged to “minimize the impact on the state budget,” the report said. To pay for the $1.2 billion project, the task force recommends a matching grant program for proposed infrastructure projects by the state starting in fiscal year 2015. It recommended a state broadband equalization subsidy to make urban and rural rates comparable in price and service level, and a state grant for organizations that provide digital literacy, workforce development and broadband adoption programs, said the task force. It would also consider a $250 million loan from the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority to finance the project. The task force seeks public comments which can be made on its website (http://bit.ly/15k9kxB).

The FCC Media Bureau granted TiVo’s request for a waiver of the commission’s analog tuner requirements for DVRs that can receive digital broadcast and digital cable and those that can receive just digital cable, said an order Friday (http://fcc.us/17cGZMs). The waiver comes with a condition requiring TiVo to “clearly state on consumer and retail education materials” that the DVRs can’t receive certain channels -- analog over-the-air broadcast, analog cable, or in some cases any over-the-air broadcast. The waiver will “enhance competition” in the set-top box market because it will allow TiVo to build cheaper DVRs that use less power and “can better compete” with the devices leased by cable operators, said the bureau. TiVo’s waiver petition (CD March 20 p17) was unopposed, said the order.

If the FCC Media Bureau doesn’t grant Samsung an analog tuner waiver (CD June 24 p17) for its new Internet-enabled retail set-top box by Sept. 15, the company won’t be able to offer the device for sale in 2013, Samsung said in an ex parte filing Friday (http://bit.ly/136cPgL). If the waiver is granted in time, a “major retailer” has agreed to offer the Smart Media Player (SMP) on its shelves in time for the 2013 holiday season, Samsung said. The SMP allows users to access digital cable content and over-the-top Internet content through a programming guide without charging a monthly guide fee. “By eliminating both the equipment rental fee and a monthly guide charge, Samsung expects that the SMP will pay for itself from the consumer’s perspective well within the product’s expected life cycle,” Samsung said. Since the SMP is intended to be used with digital cable, it doesn’t need the analog tuner required by the FCC, Samsung said. “Mandating inclusion of a tuner not only would fail to benefit consumers ... but actually would harm consumers by raising the cost of production.” Since the bureau didn’t receive any objections during the comment cycle -- which closed two weeks ago -- the commission should grant the waiver in time to make the retailer’s deadline, Samsung said.

The FCC will hold two webinars on the application process for a new low-power FM license during the Oct. 15-29 filing window. LPFM advocates have been busy telling would-be applicants about the process, too (CD July 22 p9). The first FCC webinar will be held Aug. 20, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., and the second webinar is planned for early October, said the commission in a news release (http://bit.ly/13TQ1Mf). The first webinar will address using the commission’s LPFM Channel Finder, creating a consolidated database system account and filling out Form 318, it said. The presentations will stream live at www.fcc.gov/live, it said.

Rogers Communications and Swisscom launched bilateral LTE mobile roaming services, said Rogers in a Friday news release. Starting July 31, customers of both providers traveling with a 2600 MHz device can access LTE wireless Internet in Canada or Switzerland, it said. Rogers also offers roaming LTE speeds in Hong Kong and South Korea and plans to launch more services in other countries this year, it said.

The U.K. Office of Communications wants input on spectrum sharing in the mobile broadband and machine-to-machine (M2M) sectors, it said in a consultation begun Friday (http://xrl.us/bpm79s). Spectrum is expected to become scarcer in those sectors due to continued, and potentially increased, demand for wireless services and connectivity, it said. One way to meet the demand is to clear spectrum to make way for mobile broadband services, and there are initiatives under way in that area, it said. In the long run, it will become harder to find significant amounts of additional spectrum to clear, and spectrum sharing could be a partial solution, it said. The consultation addresses four main spectrum sharing issues: (1) Supporting future Wi-Fi use. The issue is whether more spectrum in the 5 GHz band may be needed to provide higher speed connections to match those offered by rollout of fixed superfast broadband and to support the growing use of Wi-Fi to offload mobile data and create indoor networks. (2) Boosting the future supply of spectrum for mobile broadband and M2M using spectrum shared on a geographic basis. Geographical access to unused spectrum in some existing bands could be well suited for use by the increasing number of small cells likely to be needed in high-demand urban areas. Sharing spectrum there could give access to more than several hundred MHz of additional spectrum in highly desirable bands below 6 GHz. (3) Using dynamic spectrum access to improve sharing between devices. Advances in dynamic spectrum access technologies could let devices make more intelligent decisions about how to operate in a given location to minimize interference. (4) Shorter-term access to shared spectrum to support research and development. Ofcom currently makes spectrum available under R&D licenses on the basis of specific requests, it said. But R&D sharing arrangements could be agreed upon with current users of the applicable spectrum, allowing spectrum to be accessible by, for example, a geolocation database, it said. Comments are due Nov. 9 -- http://bit.ly/198kPgs.

Media reports on mass surveillance by telcos “have demonstrated a misunderstanding of the basic facts of European, German and UK legislation and of the legal obligations set out within every telecommunications operator’s licence,” said Vodafone UK in a written statement Friday. It responded to Privacy International’s (PI) threat of legal action against providers that have allowed the U.K.’s Government Communications Headquarters and U.S. spy program Prism to tap into undersea fiber cables (CD Aug 9 p10). Cables carrying international communications traffic pass through multiple jurisdictions, Vodafone said. Within the EU, the legal protections and obligations regarding those communications are defined under relevant EU law as well as the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), it said. Vodafone complies with the laws of all its countries of operation, including, in the case of its European businesses, the EU privacy and data retention directives, it said. Its U.K. branch complies with national measures derived from the EU directives and subject to the ECHR, it said. In all countries, operators must meet the legal obligations set out in their licenses by national governments, said the company. “Whilst Vodafone must comply with those obligations (as must all operators), we do not disclose any customer data in any jurisdiction unless legally required to do so.” Questions on national security are a matter for governments, not telecom operators, it said. Verizon Business, also named, declined to comment on PI’s statement.

CEA responded to urging from Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for the TV industry to jointly address what he sees as security concerns in smart TVs (CD Aug 6 p4). “We appreciate Sen. Schumer’s concerns about consumers’ safety and privacy as they realize the many benefits of ’smart’ televisions, specifically those TVs equipped with embedded microphones and cameras,” said CEA President Gary Shapiro in a written statement Wednesday. “The consumer technology industry takes these issues seriously and constantly strives to ensure consumers have the opportunity to maximize and individualize control over their privacy and security as they use our industry’s products and services.” The industry has to “move carefully in this area,” Shapiro said, to consider all concerns “and to strike the appropriate balance between allowing consumers to have control over their privacy and providing them with full access to useful product functions and features.” Eliminating video recognition from TVs, for example, “could impair a wide range of useful features such as gesture and facial recognition, interactive gaming and video communications,” he said. CEA is reviewing the issues and Schumer’s request in more detail, said Shapiro.

Several Republican Congress members pressed the FCC to speed review procedures affecting rail safety technology deployment. Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa., Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Chairman Jeff Denham, R-Calif., expressed these concerns in a Thursday letter (http://1.usa.gov/1cy8Xs8) to acting FCC Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn. Rail antenna construction must comply with FCC environmental and historic review procedures, the representatives said, saying the procedures may impact how railroads move forward with installing positive train control. Congress mandated such PTC installations in 2008 as part of the Rail Safety Improvement Act, with a deadline for the end of 2015. “PTC antenna installation activities by the railroads have been essentially put on hold until the FCC staff advises the railroads that they can start again,” the letter said. “The delay caused by this freeze and the FCC’s environmental and historic review processes adversely affects the railroads’ ability to deploy PTC and delays implementation of safety systems mandated by Congress.” They asked the FCC to advance these procedures and provide updates.

ViaSat is charging $19.99 monthly for its VoIP service for the first six months with no up-front cost, said a company spokeswoman. Subscribers to ViaSat’s Exede 12 satellite-based broadband service can receive Exede Voice throughout the continental U.S. except Alaska and Hawaii, she said. Exede 5 subscribers in the western U.S. not served by the ViaSat-1 satellite along with WildBlue customers can’t get Exede Voice, she said. To get service, Exede customers need to attach a VoIP adapter to the satellite modem. The first installations of ViaSat’s broadband service on United Airlines airplanes will “immediately follow” JetBlue, said the spokeswoman. ViaSat’s broadband agreement with United is limited to the former Continental Airlines fleet, she said. United acquired Continental in 2010. ViaSat is providing the complete ground system for NBN’s proposed broadband service in Australia, including 10 satellite gateways, subscriber terminals, back office systems and network management, the spokeswoman said. Space Systems Loral is supplying Ka-band satellites to NBN, which is planning to launch them in 2015.