NAIROBI -- The U.S. data protection situation took some hits during several sessions on security, privacy and openness at the U.N. Internet Governance Forum. Customers with privacy-sensitive data should think twice about using the services of U.S. companies, said U.S. security and privacy researcher Christopher Soghoian, a former technical consultant to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, on a panel that included Google evangelist Vint Cerf.
The FTC needs to commit more resources to understand rapidly evolving technologies, despite the trend of heightened fiscal scrutiny, said former Commissioner Bill Kovacic in an exit interview Wednesday. His term, a Republican slot, ended Sept. 25 after five years on the commission, including a year as chairman from March 2008 to March 2009. Kovacic returns to his former job as a law professor at the George Washington University Law School in Washington.
Increased government efforts to shut so-called pirate radio have put a dent in the prevalence of unlicensed FM stations, industry executives and FCC officials told us. The agency has shut down 97 such stations in 2011, commission officials said. That number surprised both foes and proponents of such operations, who said the actual number of stations that have ceased all operations seems smaller. They nonetheless agree that enforcement activity has been vigorous, but still not enough to end all unauthorized radio transmissions in the U.S.
The FCC delayed the October meeting until Oct. 27 largely at the urging of staff working on universal service/intercarrier compensation, so they'd have more time to work out the details on a final order, agency officials said. Officials said they would prefer not to let a vote slip until Nov. 30, the Wednesday after Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, state members of the Federal/State USF Joint Board are not expected to make any additional recommendations before the October meeting date and have many continuing concerns about proposals now before the agency, especially the America’s Broadband Connectivity Plan.
Senate Republicans resumed their effort to reject the FCC’s December net neutrality order, after the rules were published in the Federal Register on Friday. Publication meant they will take effect Nov. 20 and started a 60-day shot clock under the Congressional Review Act for Senate Republicans to move their joint resolution of disapproval (SJ Res 6). The House passed its own joint resolution (HJ Res 37) earlier this year. But it could be difficult for Republicans to overcome a veto threatened by the White House. Meanwhile, Verizon and MetroPCS are expected to file challenges in coming days to the rules now that they're taking effect. Other legal challenges are also expected.
It makes sense for the FCC to research the diversity of media ownership because a rule targeted at women and people of color was sent back to the agency, officials said Friday. The head of the FCC’s Office of Communications Business Opportunities and an aide to Commissioner Michael Copps said the agency may have to do more research in light of July’s remand of media ownership rules. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia sent back an eligible entity rule, and OCBO Director Thomas Reed said his office is working on the issue. Joshua Cinelli of Copps’ office said his boss hopes there will be more studies than the 11 the agency already has done for its current ownership review, with at least one on diversity.
The FCC should start a notice of inquiry by the end of the year to address the use of small, easily deployable aerial modules to get communications back online in affected areas 12-18 hours after disaster strikes, Public Safety Bureau staff said in a report released Thursday (http://xrl.us/bmd64h). The NOI should examine such issues as interference to terrestrial systems, spectrum coordination, cost-effectiveness of aerial systems and operational procedures, the report said. Staff also suggested an FCC workshop on deployable aerial communications architecture (DACA) solutions by year’s end. The commission should also coordinate with other interested agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Aviation Administration and examine “which issues have international ramifications, working with the State Department and other appropriate federal agencies, and determine appropriate next steps,” the report said. Several iterations already exist, including small, unmanned aerial vehicles that rely on battery power and hover about 500 feet above the ground; repeaters that dangle from weather-balloons; suitcase-sized repeaters attached to airborne aircraft and high-altitude long distance unmanned vehicles, the report said. “The DACA vision for disasters involves an aerial capability that is deployable within the first 12-18 hours after a catastrophic event to temporarily restore critical communications, including broadband, for a period of 72-96 hours,” the report said. “This capability would be useful in situations where the power grid may be inoperable for 5-7 days, depleting back-up power supplies and resulting in an almost complete failure of landline, cellular, land mobile radio, broadcast, and cable transmissions, as well as Wi-Fi and Internet services.”
The FCC is examining rules that would allow wireless subscribers to reach 911 even when wireless networks can’t process the flood of calls after an emergency, such as last month’s earthquake in Virginia. The commission will ask questions as part of a rulemaking approved by the agency 4-0 at its September meeting. The notice examines “nonregulatory and regulatory” approaches for updating 911 communications so call centers can process emergency texts and other data.
The FCC proposed that captions be as good online as shown on TV. The proposal came in a rulemaking notice implementing Internet Protocol captions under the 21st Century Communications Video and Accessibility Act. The commission took industry concerns into account in not proposing the quality be better, it said in a notice released Monday night. It asked, as expected (CD Sept 9 p7), about adopting recommendations from an FCC panel on the act, proposing to require industry to set deadlines to caption various types of IP programming along the lines of what the Video Programming Accessibility Advisory Committee sought.
The FCC has yet to act on nearly 30 waiver requests from local governments that hope to build out early public safety networks using 700 MHz spectrum. Among the applicants is New Orleans, where public safety communications became a major focus six years ago during and after Hurricane Katrina. Other major cities that asked for waivers but have yet to receive them are Chicago and Philadelphia. States including Florida, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma also have sought waivers from the FCC.