BOSTON -- Sonos made a public overture to custom integrators this spring when it joined the Azione Unlimited buying group (see 1805150036), and it disclosed last week at a media day event what it described as a broader commitment to the installer channel covering product, infrastructure and technology. Custom dealers who take much of the credit for Sonos' early success have long complained of being invisible to the multiroom audio company.
GCI customers can now receive wireless emergency alerts on mobile devices, the carrier said. GCI launched an alerts app in 2011 and did a test Aug. 15 that confirmed subscribers in WEA service areas can get alerts. “For the past year, GCI has been working to implement network and device updates that will enable Alaska customers to receive enhanced messages directly to their device through the national WEA system,” GCI said Saturday.
GCI customers can now receive wireless emergency alerts on mobile devices, the carrier said. GCI launched an alerts app in 2011 and did a test Aug. 15 that confirmed subscribers in WEA service areas can get alerts. “For the past year, GCI has been working to implement network and device updates that will enable Alaska customers to receive enhanced messages directly to their device through the national WEA system,” GCI said Saturday.
GCI customers can now receive wireless emergency alerts on mobile devices, the carrier said. GCI launched an alerts app in 2011 and did a test Aug. 15 that confirmed subscribers in WEA service areas can get alerts. “For the past year, GCI has been working to implement network and device updates that will enable Alaska customers to receive enhanced messages directly to their device through the national WEA system,” GCI said Saturday.
The FCC should modify its biennial report on the 21st Century Communication and Accessibility Act to recognize that more progress is needed on the costs of unlimited data smartphone plans for the hearing impaired and to acknowledge that text-to-911 is critical to allow accessibility in emergencies, said a joint filing in docket 10-213 by a host of consumer groups for the hearing impaired, including Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the National Association of the Deaf, and the Cerebral Palsy and Deaf Organization. “Deaf and hard of hearing users disproportionately use data for daily and routine communications out of necessity,” the filing said. The FCC report should also note the progress made on real-time-text technology, the filing said. “We emphasize the importance of incorporating RTT into the native phone capabilities of smartphones as Apple has done, rather than prolonged use of separate apps,” the filing said. The National Federation of the Blind in separate comments said few blind Americans can afford smartphone and data plan costs, and the report should put more emphasis on those cost prohibitions rather than chalking it up to being personal preference. It also said the FCC should create at least one additional secondary audio programming channel for simultaneous broadcast of foreign language and descriptive services and that the agency should institute rules requiring the audio description of live programming.
The FCC is examining some changes in light of the lessons learned during the 2017 hurricane season with its succession of powerful storms, said a Public Safety Bureau report released Friday. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said the report falls short. “Let’s not kid ourselves -- releasing this report 85 days into the current hurricane season and as an historic storm gets closer to Hawaii’s shores, is simply too little, too late,” she said. After Katrina, the FCC “established an independent panel that brought to bear a broad background of public safety and industry experiences, including first-hand knowledge of the devastation wrought,” she said. “We didn’t do that here. After Hurricane Sandy, this agency convened a series of field hearings to help inform recommendations and action to improve network resiliency. Again, we didn’t do that here.” The report notes that high cost and severity of last year’s storms. “All told, it was the most expensive hurricane season in United States history, almost doubling the cost of the 2005 hurricane season that included Katrina,” the bureau said. “According to initial estimates, the combined storms caused over $200 billion in damages in the United States and its territories.” Among its recommendations, the report called for “increased engagement” between the FCC and critical infrastructure players. “Cross-sector dependencies greatly affected communications services, which are often highly dependent on electric power, fuel distribution (in the absence of electricity), and transportation at the local level (for access to sites and facilities) and regional level (for transportation of restoration crews and equipment),” the report said. The bureau said the FCC also should encourage backhaul providers to participate in the carriers’ wireless resiliency cooperative framework. The availability of wireless service is sometimes difficult to gauge and the report backed more use of a third-party smartphone app that senses the presence of RF signals in commercial wireless bands. “While initial distribution would be limited to authorized emergency responders deployed to a particular disaster area, the app could ultimately be made available via application stores so that it can be distributed widely,” the bureau said. The report also stressed the importance of over-the-air (OTA) information collection during disasters. Last year, the FCC used “over-the-air technologies such as the National Shared Remote Equipment Network and its High-Frequency Direction-Finding network to collect situational awareness information about emergency communications, including alert system operations,” the report said. This information was then shared with other federal agencies. The bureau “is now considering developing more integrated reporting from the various OTA observation systems which might increase reporting speed and free Roll Call teams for additional scans, analysis and reporting.” The FCC uses Roll Call equipment to examine the spectrum and identify disaster-related communications outages.
The FCC, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Hawaii broadcasters and carriers were gearing up Thursday for landfall of Category 4 Hurricane Lane, we found. Though the storm isn’t expected to cause the same level of damage as Maria and Irma did last year to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, broadcasters and emergency alert officials are making extensive preparations, said Hawaii Association of Broadcasters President Chris Leonard in an interview. “We don’t take any of these things lightly.” Lane "will bring life threatening conditions across Hawaii through Saturday with damaging winds, dangerous surf, coastal storm surge and INTENSE FLOODING RAINS,” tweeted the National Weather Service.
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director nominee Kelvin Droegemeier outlined his vision for the office to maintain a leadership role on spectrum policy, cybersecurity and emerging tech issues during President Donald Trump's administration. He said during a Thursday Senate Commerce Committee hearing he aims to ensure “continued American leadership in science and technology.” Members' questioned Droegemeier on OSTP's future role in the administration, as expected (see 1808220036). Most of the interest was on the office's function in science policymaking.
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director nominee Kelvin Droegemeier outlined his vision for the office to maintain a leadership role on spectrum policy, cybersecurity and emerging tech issues during President Donald Trump's administration. He said during a Thursday Senate Commerce Committee hearing he aims to ensure “continued American leadership in science and technology.” Members' questioned Droegemeier on OSTP's future role in the administration, as expected (see 1808220036). Most of the interest was on the office's function in science policymaking.
California state lawmakers plan to probe Verizon slowing Santa Clara County firefighters’ service, at a hearing Friday, State Capitol offices said Thursday. At a Wednesday hearing, Assembly Communications Committee members advanced two net neutrality bills after discussing the throttling of public-safety service during the state's largest wildfire (see 1808220059). A lobbyist repeated the carrier’s defense that it was a customer service mistake that has nothing to do with net neutrality.