FCC commissioners are expected to OK a public notice designating new innovation zones for experimental licenses in Raleigh and Boston 4-0 Thursday. The PN hasn’t been controversial and is said to be likely to be approved largely as circulated by acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The draft notice also proposes to expand the New York City zone.
Reza Sarhangpour Kafrani, an Iranian national living in Montreal, was indicted by a grand jury July 30 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for illegally exporting laboratory equipment from the U.S. to Iran, the Department of Justice said. Kafrani co-owned Prolife Global, based in Canada, where he sought to purchase spectrometry equipment to ultimately ship to Iran, DOJ alleged. After failing to get one U.S. company to ship the equipment to Montreal, Kafrani found a second American company that sent the merchandise to Canada, DOJ said. Kafrani then sent the equipment to the United Arab Emirates, then reexported it to Iran, it said.
Reza Sarhangpour Kafrani, an Iranian national living in Montreal, was indicted by a grand jury July 30 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for illegally exporting laboratory equipment from the U.S. to Iran, the Department of Justice said. Kafrani co-owned Prolife Global, based in Canada, where he sought to purchase spectrometry equipment to ultimately ship to Iran, DOJ alleged. After failing to get one U.S. company to ship the equipment to Montreal, Kafrani found a second American company that sent the merchandise to Canada, DOJ said. Kafrani then sent the equipment to the United Arab Emirates, then reexported it to Iran, it said.
Providers asked for greater flexibility in notification times and type of information relayed to public safety answering points in response to the FCC’s NPRM to harmonize 911 outage reporting, in comments posted Monday in docket 15-80. Comments were due Friday (see 2106290046). PSAP notifications should be triggered by “reportable outages,” said T-Mobile. It said requiring originating service providers to notify PSAPs about commercial outages would “increase the volume of notifications received by PSAPs significantly” and “not provide information that could be used by PSAPs to mitigate the impact.” T-Mobile said providers should be given more than 30 minutes to send “actionable information." AT&T, Verizon and Lumen agreed. Keep the “as soon as possible” standard to prevent over-notification, AT&T said. The proposed timing “would risk confusion and miscommunication between service providers and PSAPS,” Verizon said. Lumen said the timing should be “more flexible to avoid publicizing unvetted facts that may confuse the public.” The National Emergency Number Association said to prioritize electronic notifications because voice communication “comes with significant limitations surrounding sharing, recording, analysis, and continuity.” ATIS said providers won’t know the root cause or extent of an outage within 30 minutes and “additional burden to the industry and potential confusion would outweigh the benefits.” CTIA said it would be “extremely difficult for that provider to verify the other material information the proposal requests within that timeframe.” The Competitive Carriers Association agreed and said carriers “risk supplying PSAPs with incomplete or inaccurate information.” APCO disagreed and said notifications “should occur as quickly as possible.” Requiring notification no later than 15 minutes from discovery “would provide a stronger incentive for service providers to automate their notifications,” it said. Lumen opposed including geographic information systems data instead of descriptions of areas affected. USTelecom said smaller providers would “have no way of immediately providing this type of information” because they don't collect it in real-time.
The Biden administration is working behind the scenes on plans to name Mozilla Foundation Senior Adviser Alan Davidson its nominee for NTIA administrator, former government officials and communications sector lobbyists told us. The White House is facing increased pressure to quickly fill the post since the agency is on course to administer the bulk of $65 billion in broadband money if Congress enacts an infrastructure spending package that a bipartisan Senate group formally filed Sunday. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., swiftly filed amendments aimed at addressing anti-digital redlining and consumer protection provisions in the broadband title he sees as a potential back door to rate regulation, as expected (see 2107300054).
FCC commissioners are expected to OK 4-0 an order on secure telephone identity revisited (Stir) and signature-based handling of asserted information using tokens (Shaken) rules and an NPRM on certification requirements for VoIP providers seeking numbering access. They could potentially have tweaks sought by Commissioner Brendan Carr, said industry and agency officials in interviews last week. Both are set for a vote at Thursday’s meeting (see 2107150066).
The Biden administration should expand the Bureau of Industry and Security, establish a clear definition for critical technologies and improve information sharing to boost corporate due diligence as part of a national technology strategy, national security experts said. BIS specifically has a larger role to play to protect the U.S. technology supply chain, which should extend beyond just export controls, the Center for a New American Security said in a July 29 report.
Provisions in the $65 billion broadband title in a developing infrastructure spending package weren't completely finalized Thursday, a day after the Senate cleared an initial test cloture vote 67-32 on proceeding to a shell bill (HR-3684). A bipartisan group of senators agreed Wednesday on the outlines of the package (see 2107280065). The Senate will vote Friday on the motion to proceed to HR-3684. Telecom-focused senators in both parties told us through Thursday that the thorniest broadband issue -- the extent of pricing transparency and digital redlining language -- remained in flux.
Provisions in the $65 billion broadband title in a developing infrastructure spending package weren't completely finalized Thursday, a day after the Senate cleared an initial test cloture vote 67-32 on proceeding to a shell bill (HR-3684). A bipartisan group of senators agreed Wednesday on the outlines of the package (see 2107280065). The Senate will vote Friday on the motion to proceed to HR-3684. Telecom-focused senators in both parties told us through Thursday that the thorniest broadband issue -- the extent of pricing transparency and digital redlining language -- remained in flux.
Iranian nationals Alireza Shavaroghi Farahani, Mahmoud Khazein, Kiya Sadeghi and Omid Noori were indicted July 13 in New York federal court for attempting to commit kidnapping, sanctions violations, bank and wire fraud, and money laundering, the Department of Justice said. The four allegedly conspired to kidnap a Brooklyn, New York, journalist for “mobilizing public opinion in Iran and around the world to bring changes to the regime's laws and practices,” DOJ said. Farahani, an Iranian intelligence officer, along with the other three, all Iranian intelligence assets, allegedly plotted to lure the journalist to a third country and kidnap the victim. Niloufar Bahadorifar, an Iranian living in California, allegedly provided financial and other services to support the plot, and faces additional charges. All are charged with a conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.