SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Jobs are “an issue that is at the forefront of every single discussion that we have” on the subject of artificial intelligence, Michael Hayes, CTA senior manager-government affairs, told a workshop Tuesday at the CTA Technology and Standards Forum on the legislative implications of AI. CTA recently hired a vice president-U.S. jobs (see 1710110002) “to tackle this issue specifically,” said Hayes.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Jobs are “an issue that is at the forefront of every single discussion that we have” on the subject of artificial intelligence, Michael Hayes, CTA senior manager-government affairs, told a workshop Tuesday at the CTA Technology and Standards Forum on the legislative implications of AI. CTA recently hired a vice president-U.S. jobs (see 1710110002) “to tackle this issue specifically,” said Hayes.
Many communications outages may have been prevented during 2017 severe storms in California if wireline providers had more reliable cable facilities and wireless providers more widely used backup power, the California Public Utilities Commission reported. Staff analyzed carrier reporting data to examine causes of 911 call failures and network outages from January to February 2017, when California experienced the most rainfall in recorded history. Carriers said it was an unusually bad storm, and a former commissioner said companies must do better. Meanwhile, in the District of Columbia, the Office of the People’s Counsel (OPC) urged the Public Service Commission to reject Verizon’s dismissal of proposed rules for more detailed outage reporting.
CTIA and the Competitive Carriers Association will meet Monday as planned with technology providers and federal and state corrections officials to open the next round of discussions on contraband cellphones in prisons, industry and government officials told us. The closed-door meeting in Washington is expected to be the first of several and follows one at the FCC in February led by Chairman Ajit Pai. He wants more action on devices smuggled into prisons and in 2016 held a field hearing in South Carolina with then-Gov. Nikki Haley (R) (see 1604060058).
The FCC and the executive branch are looking at modifying "Team Telecom" reviews of foreign takeovers of U.S. communications assets, according to FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly and some industry representatives. O'Rielly last week suggested the FCC will soon revise its process for Team Telecom participation in commission reviews of foreign takeovers of U.S. communications companies and assets. It's up to others how Team Telecom -- DOJ, DOD and the Department of Homeland Security -- structures itself, but the FCC "can certainly decide how comments are going to be processed in our agency," he said at the American Enterprise Institute April 19 (see 1804190045).
Almost two-thirds of home security system owners believe wireless signals from their system are encrypted, though the practice isn't industry-standard, said a Wednesday Parks Associates report, sponsored by Qolsys. The same report said 64 percent of U.S. broadband households are concerned about security and privacy when using their connected devices.
The FCC and the executive branch are looking at modifying "Team Telecom" reviews of foreign takeovers of U.S. communications assets, according to FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly and some industry representatives. O'Rielly last week suggested the FCC will soon revise its process for Team Telecom participation in commission reviews of foreign takeovers of U.S. communications companies and assets. It's up to others how Team Telecom -- DOJ, DOD and the Department of Homeland Security -- structures itself, but the FCC "can certainly decide how comments are going to be processed in our agency," he said at the American Enterprise Institute April 19 (see 1804190045).
Emergency-number officials and providers sought one more week to file FCC replies to a notice of inquiry on location-based routing for wireless 911 calls (see 1803230023). Replies are due June 21. In a joint motion last week in docket 18-64, the National Emergency Number Association, CTIA and others said many key parties will be attending NENA’s national conference June 16-21 in Nashville.
Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., said he will seek to amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to add biotech and medicines to the list of sensitive products that should be subject to analysis on whether their sale to some countries would endanger U.S. national security. Yoho was speaking at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing April 17, where the bill passed unanimously out of committee. The last export control legislation expired in 2001, and the administration has continued an export control regime under emergency powers. The bill instructs the administration to maintain a control list, to update it as emerging technologies evolve, and to adjust the level of control of items as conditions change. It also says the maximum fine in a civil case can be twice the value of the exports that were sold to a party that was ineligible to import those items, but if the value was less than $150,000, the maximum fine can be $300,000. In criminal cases, the maximum fine could be $1 million.
Don’t cite state law to justify New York diversion of 911 fees for things not directly related to 911, an aide to FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said Monday. O’Rielly and Rep. Chris Collins (R) condemned New York diversion Friday while visiting the Niagara County Emergency Management Office public safety answering point in Buffalo. A New York department said it uses fee revenue for first responder communications and state tax law prevents the state from using the money differently. But Niagara County Sheriff James Voutour said the policy keeps 911 funding from counties responsible for handling many emergency calls.