CTIA raised concerns about two California bills responding to controversial incidents involving wireless carriers: Verizon throttling traffic of Santa Clara County firefighters during the Mendocino Complex Fire last year (see 1808220059) and carriers selling customers’ real-time data location (see 1904180056). But at a Wednesday hearing, the Assembly Communications and Conveyance Committee widely supported both measures. The panel also supported a bill to require text-to-911 across the state.
The FCC routinely released public safety and emergency communications documents in the evening, outside the time frame that experts recommend. This trend, seen on many other issues at the commission over more than a decade, possibly deprived stakeholders from being fully and timely informed on important issues. From Jan. 1, 2018, until Oct. 25, when Communications Daily filed a Freedom of Information Act request and the practice ceased, four such items were made public later than 5:30 p.m. Eastern when the commission's business hours end. That's according to results from the FOIA request and our database.
The FCC routinely released public safety and emergency communications documents in the evening, outside the time frame that experts recommend. This trend, seen on many other issues at the commission over more than a decade, possibly deprived stakeholders from being fully and timely informed on important issues. From Jan. 1, 2018, until Oct. 25, when Communications Daily filed a Freedom of Information Act request and the practice ceased, four such items were made public later than 5:30 p.m. Eastern when the commission's business hours end. That's according to results from the FOIA request and our database.
Public safety issues rarely dominate the agenda of any FCC chairmen, as in 2004 when one of the biggest focuses of then-Chairman Michael Powell was the 800 MHz rebanding, aimed at protecting safety users from interference. Four years later, then-Chairman Kevin Martin pushed through a failed plan to reallocate the 700 MHz D block for public safety. The main contender, Frontline, dropped its pursuit of the band, which went unsold at auction but now is part of FirstNet. Every chairman since has focused on a few public safety issues.
Public safety issues rarely dominate the agenda of any FCC chairmen, as in 2004 when one of the biggest focuses of then-Chairman Michael Powell was the 800 MHz rebanding, aimed at protecting safety users from interference. Four years later, then-Chairman Kevin Martin pushed through a failed plan to reallocate the 700 MHz D block for public safety. The main contender, Frontline, dropped its pursuit of the band, which went unsold at auction but now is part of FirstNet. Every chairman since has focused on a few public safety issues.
The Maine Public Utilities Commission should execute its plan to adopt the FCC cable rate formula for pole attachments, but not stop pole owners and attachers from negotiating their own rate agreements (see 1903220061), commented cable, wireless and other pole riders Friday in docket 2019-00028. Local governments raised concern with a proposal to retain a municipal exemption for fees for make-ready work but remove the exemption from costs of replacing poles for a municipal attachment.
With a federal decision on T-Mobile/Sprint likely close, the deal's fate is anything but certain. T-Mobile/Sprint also must pass state review, which some analysts see as a potential sticking point. Both stocks were down Wednesday after The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that DOJ staffers told the two companies the deal's unlikely to be approved as structured (see 1904160036). T-Mobile closed at $72.46, down 2.2 percent; Sprint at $5.64, down 6.16 percent. Analysts said the transaction's still alive, even if it’s in trouble.
Proposed California pilot programs meant to expand service for low-income households drew concerns from industry and consumer groups, in comments this week at the California Public Utilities Commission. The CPUC scheduled votes April 25 in its consent agenda on proposed decisions (PD) to establish a $5 million California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) line extensions program pilot and to authorize state LifeLine pilot programs by Boost Mobile and iFoster (see 1903270011 and 1903260051). The agency plans to vote the same day on proposed changes to the California Teleconnect Fund for schools and libraries that also got opposition (see 1904120037 and 1904110032).
Officials in President Donald Trump's administration and the FCC spoke optimistically about the U.S. path forward on rural broadband and spectrum policy during a Monday NTCA event, citing 2018 successes and actions slated for this year. The FCC's plans to follow up the USF Connect America Fund with a new $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (see 1904120065) received some attention at the event, but more focus was on upcoming spectrum auctions and ways to increase rural broadband deployments.
The federal Bureau of Prisons last week tested micro-jamming technology to determine if micro-jamming could prevent wireless communication by inmates using contraband cellphones, DOJ said Friday. The pilot test was conducted at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina, and follows earlier tests at a federal corrections facility in Cumberland, Maryland (see 1801180054). “Contraband cellphones have been used to run criminal enterprises, distribute child pornography, and facilitate the commission of violent crimes -- all while inmates are incarcerated,” said DOJ, noting that only federal agencies, not state or local prisons, can obtain authorization to jam the public airwaves. NTIA authorized the test, which was coordinated with the FCC. NTIA will analyze the data and prepare a report.