Additional broadcasting, consumer and tech industry groups urged DOJ not end or change the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees, in comments the department published Friday. Almost 900 entities commented on the consent decree review. They reflected divisions between industries evident in filings we reviewed in August (see 1908120045).
Additional broadcasting, consumer and tech industry groups urged DOJ not end or change the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees, in comments the department published Friday. Almost 900 entities commented on the consent decree review. They reflected divisions between industries evident in filings we reviewed in August (see 1908120045).
ATSC 3.0 offers “super-advanced emergency alerting” beyond what's available on most platforms, FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly told the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Emergency Number Association Thursday. “No one is quite sure how ATSC 3.0 will develop, if at all, or whether it will be a smashing success,” he said: “While a number of the larger broadcast station groups have embraced the technology and see the benefits that it can bring, the technology remains in the testing phase.”
FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly wants a U.S. unified nonemergency wireless number. Keep 911 for emergencies, yet "streamline the myriad of existing wireless numbers that are used in many parts of the country to report critical situations that do not rise to the level of true emergencies,” he told the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Emergency Number Association Thursday. “These calls offload routine incidents and other non-emergencies, usually to the state police or highway patrol, while preserving 9-1-1 for more serious purposes.” Many states have a number, including #77 in Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey for dangerous driving, he said. “If you live close to state lines, jurisdictional boundaries, or travel extensively, good luck remembering all of the different short codes,” he said. O’Rielly also highlighted the work he did to fight 911 fee diversion and that colleagues of both parties are against such fee shifting. ATSC 3.0 offers “super-advanced emergency alerting” beyond what's available on most platforms, he said. “No one is quite sure how ATSC 3.0 will develop, if at all, or whether it will be a smashing success,” he said: “While a number of the larger broadcast station groups have embraced the technology and see the benefits that it can bring, the technology remains in the testing phase.”
The White House and Congress likely will wrestle for several years over ways to reduce regulatory burdens on getting into space, Venable policy adviser Jared Stout said at an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics briefing Wednesday on low earth orbit commercialization. Mike French, Aerospace Industries Association vice president-space systems, said the expected LEO communications satellite boom and the promise it holds in lowering launch costs and increasing the number of launch companies should benefit other LEO space commercialization efforts if rules are adequate on issues like orbital debris and space traffic management. A burden for LEO commercialization is aged regulatory regimes that don't fit well with emerging technology, Stout said. He said space launch regulation is "trying to catch up from three decades of neglect." He said there's uncertainty on what agency's in charge of emerging on-orbit activities. Stout said space-based commercialization needs a "holy grail" application that's more affordable to be done in space than on Earth, or has better results in space, and that will accelerate commercialization efforts and investment. He said Congress will have to start deciding how to better use the International Space Station for commercial opportunities, and what comes after it. Making money in space is a question as investors typically want a five- to seven-year return on investment and space ventures can carry a 10- to 20-year horizon, French said. Near term, the biggest opportunities are in supporting human activity in space, he said. Longer term, possible markets include specialty materials manufacturing and in-orbit satellite assembly, he said. NASA has been particularly active in recent months trying to gin up commercial LEO activity by issuing a price list for ISS hosting astronauts and releasing appendices on revenue generation opportunities, French said. Venture capital won't start flowing until there's a clear product or service, said Cindy Martin-Brennan, director-stakeholder management, ISS National Lab. She advocated coordinated, multi-agency funding and better intellectual property assurance to businesses that want to do such space-based R&D.
Critics of Ligado's planned broadband terrestrial low-power service aired their concerns in meetings with aides to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and the regular commissioners, said a docket 12-340 ex parte posting Monday. They said federal agencies and private stakeholders are concerned about harmful interference to GPS, and FCC rules allow mobile satellite service operators to provide an ancillary terrestrial service, not a stand-alone one like Ligado seeks to operate. They said Ligado hasn't shown sufficient protection for other satellite services. Meeting with the aides were representatives of the National Emergency Number Association, Airlines for America, Iridium, Aviation Spectrum Resources, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, and Lockheed Martin. Ligado told us the critiques are a rehash and ignore the FAA study of its plans that saw the agency sign off on the company's proposed power levels. It said 5G manufacturers outlined how its low-power service will be part of fifth generation.
A Tuesday House Oversight National Security Subcommittee-House Armed Services Intelligence Subcommittee hearing on internet infrastructure security aims to “ensure that departments and agencies have harmonized and deconflicted” programs and policies, the House Oversight Committee said Monday in a memo. Acting NTIA Administrator Diane Rinaldo, Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Assistant Director-Cybersecurity Jeanette Manfra and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense-Cyber Policy Ed Wilson will testify at the hearing, set for 2 p.m. in 2118 Rayburn (see 1909040075). Their written testimony wasn’t available Monday. House Armed Services and House Oversight also want the hearing to “encourage a whole-of-government approach to securing internet architecture” instead of “the current practice of dividing responsibilities among departments and creating stovepipes and seams in jurisdictions.” No “single government agency or entity is responsible for maintaining the security and reliability of the internet,” with the role currently being divided among three departments -- Commerce, Defense and Homeland Security -- and at least five other agencies, including the FCC, the memo said. “The complexity of overlapping mandates and jurisdictions has led departments and agencies to focus narrowly on discrete components or pieces of securing internet architecture.” That “overlooks the nature of the internet as a single ecosystem or system of systems, which given its’ [sic] importance to the nation, requires dedicated attention,” the memo said. House Oversight said a range of “recent incidents ... demonstrate the potential threats and vulnerabilities to U.S. internet architecture,” including a January DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency emergency directive that “warned federal agencies about a global [domain name system] hijacking campaign that included attackers redirecting and intercepting web and mail traffic. According to CISA, the campaign affected domains owned by multiple Executive Branch agencies.” U.S. military officials note "increased Russian submarine activity around undersea data cables in the Atlantic Ocean,” House Oversight said.
A Tuesday House Oversight National Security Subcommittee-House Armed Services Intelligence Subcommittee hearing on internet infrastructure security aims to “ensure that departments and agencies have harmonized and deconflicted” programs and policies, the House Oversight Committee said Monday in a memo. Acting NTIA Administrator Diane Rinaldo, Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Assistant Director-Cybersecurity Jeanette Manfra and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense-Cyber Policy Ed Wilson will testify at the hearing, set for 2 p.m. in 2118 Rayburn (see 1909040075). Their written testimony wasn’t available Monday. House Armed Services and House Oversight also want the hearing to “encourage a whole-of-government approach to securing internet architecture” instead of “the current practice of dividing responsibilities among departments and creating stovepipes and seams in jurisdictions.” No “single government agency or entity is responsible for maintaining the security and reliability of the internet,” with the role currently being divided among three departments -- Commerce, Defense and Homeland Security -- and at least five other agencies, including the FCC, the memo said. “The complexity of overlapping mandates and jurisdictions has led departments and agencies to focus narrowly on discrete components or pieces of securing internet architecture.” That “overlooks the nature of the internet as a single ecosystem or system of systems, which given its’ [sic] importance to the nation, requires dedicated attention,” the memo said. House Oversight said a range of “recent incidents ... demonstrate the potential threats and vulnerabilities to U.S. internet architecture,” including a January DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency emergency directive that “warned federal agencies about a global [domain name system] hijacking campaign that included attackers redirecting and intercepting web and mail traffic. According to CISA, the campaign affected domains owned by multiple Executive Branch agencies.” U.S. military officials note "increased Russian submarine activity around undersea data cables in the Atlantic Ocean,” House Oversight said.
The FCC deactivated the disaster information reporting system Saturday “at the request of the Department of Homeland Security, National Coordinating Center for Communications, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” said a public notice in Monday's Daily Digest. The final DIRS report for Hurricane Dorian Saturday reflected only affected counties in the Carolinas, and showed no public safety answering points down. Plus 2.1 percent of cell sites in North Carolina were out of service, as were 0.9 percent in South Carolina. Cable and wireline subscriber outages in South Carolina improved to 48,484 subscribers from over 106,000. North Carolina’s out-of-service subscribers increased to 53,000 from 40,999. South Carolina had one TV station and two FM radio stations inoperative.
U.S. export controls are confusing, burdensome and often place U.S. companies at a disadvantage compared with foreign competitors, the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai said in an Aug. 29 report.