Wireless needs to be part of the broadband equation as the government awards money to build infrastructure approved under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (see 2204180045), said CTIA in a statement. “Fixed wireless is emerging as a consumer favorite for home broadband, and those same 5G signals can connect school buses, farm tractors, first responders and an array of mobile solutions,” the group said: “When you factor in the cost and speed of deployment, we’re confident that NTIA and the states will recognize that a truly connected nation requires a mix of technologies, including wireless.”
A notice of inquiry on receiver standards and a Further NPRM on wireless emergency alerts are expected to be approved Thursday with only minimal changes from what was circulated by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel (see 2203310065). There have been some discussions about both items among the commissioner offices, but only the WEA FNPRM provoked concerns, industry and FCC officials told us. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and FCC staff recommended a few questions to be added to the receiver NOI, which were added to the item, officials said.
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Wireless carriers balked at a California Public Utilities Commission staff plan to restrict subscribers from combining state low-income support with federal affordable connectivity program (ACP) benefits for mobile plans. The CPUC received comments Thursday in docket R.20-02-008 on interaction among California LifeLine, federal Lifeline and ACP. The plan “is inconsistent with and preempted by applicable federal law, violates California law governing the state’s LifeLine program, and ignores relevant facts regarding subscribers’ wireless data needs,” said the National Lifeline Association.
The FCC Wireline Bureau granted limited waivers of the affordable connectivity program's non-usage rules and a requirement that participating providers apply the monthly benefit to all plans, said an order Friday in docket 21-450. The bureau denied several requests to extend the “all plans requirement” to all participating providers. Providers were required to comply with these rules by Friday (see 2202110055).
The U.S. should redouble efforts to control emerging and foundational technologies, establish a new outbound investment screening regime and create a new multilateral export control forum with close allies, said Emily Kilcrease, an economic statecraft expert with the Center for a New American Security. A new multilateral regime could be challenging to stand up, Kilcrease said, but is “imperative” to prevent proliferation of sensitive technologies to adversaries, including China and Russia.
The Commerce Department this week announced its National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee, whose AI experts will provide recommendations on AI policy. The 27-member committee, which will hold its first meeting May 4, includes industry and academic officials from Google, Microsoft, Cornell University and Stanford University. The NAIAC's formation comes amid Commerce's efforts to propose new export controls on a range of emerging technologies, including AI and AI-powered products.
Keeping pace with China on standards-setting for 5G and telecom in general is becoming more challenging, with the U.S. failing to keep up with huge investments China is plowing into standards work, speakers said during an FCBA webinar Wednesday. Congress and the Joe Biden administration are focused on ensuring strong U.S. participation in standards-setting work, but the U.S. isn’t catching up, they said.
The U.S. should be careful not to impose strict export controls on quantum technologies that risk hampering academic research and domestic innovation, quantum tech experts told the Center for Strategic and International Studies April 14. They also said the U.S. should allow for an open academic environment that encourages foreign researchers to enter and stay in the U.S. or risk losing those researchers to other countries, such as China.
Virgil Griffith, a U.S. citizen, was sentenced to 63 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to aid North Korea in evading U.S. sanctions via cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said. Griffith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.