Colorado will be prepared to build its own radio access network (RAN) for the national public safety network and may reject FirstNet’s proposal if the federal plan doesn’t meet the state’s expectations, a state official said Tuesday at the live-streamed Mountain Connect conference in Keystone, Colorado. Brian Shepherd, broadband program manager for the governor’s IT office and Colorado’s single point of contact for the FirstNet project, described an ambitious state goal to cover 97 percent of the state’s mountainous geography. Shepherd expects to receive FirstNet’s federal plan in fall 2017, giving Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) 90 days to decide between the federal approach or the alternative state plan.
House Commerce Committee lawmakers may be able to tackle “a few things left on the table” before retreating from Washington for long recesses later this year, GOP counsel David Redl said Wednesday during a FCBA lunch. He and Democratic counsel David Goldman, who works for House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., agreed on several pieces of legislation they may want to find ways to advance in the remaining legislative days.
Negotiations between Senate offices over two contentious amendments to email privacy legislation (S-356), which is slated for a Thursday markup by the Senate Judiciary Committee, appear to have come to a standstill, possibly endangering the bill's advancement. Meanwhile, three dozen civil society, privacy, technology and industry organizations denounced the amendments -- one that would broaden FBI surveillance of Americans' online communications (see 1605260016) and another creating a warrant exception -- and said they would oppose an updated 30-year-old Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) if those amendments were included. They would be "real deal breakers," said Chris Calabrese, Center for Democracy and Technology vice president-policy, in an interview Tuesday.
Negotiations between Senate offices over two contentious amendments to email privacy legislation (S-356), which is slated for a Thursday markup by the Senate Judiciary Committee, appear to have come to a standstill, possibly endangering the bill's advancement. Meanwhile, three dozen civil society, privacy, technology and industry organizations denounced the amendments -- one that would broaden FBI surveillance of Americans' online communications (see 1605260016) and another creating a warrant exception -- and said they would oppose an updated 30-year-old Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) if those amendments were included. They would be "real deal breakers," said Chris Calabrese, Center for Democracy and Technology vice president-policy, in an interview Tuesday.
Rivada Mercury Tuesday unveiled a partnership, which includes still-unnamed wireless carriers, that submitted a bid last week to build FirstNet, discussing the proposal on a call with reporters. Also part of the Rivada team are engineering and construction firm Black & Veatch, Ericsson, Fujitsu Network Communications, public safety radio maker Harris, Intel Security and Nokia. A FirstNet official said Monday multiple bidders are contending for the FirstNet contract, expected to be awarded before Nov. 1 (see 1606060028).
The FCC plans at its June 24 meeting to consider an NPRM aimed at streamlining and increasing the transparency of executive branch reviews involving commission license/permit applicants with foreign ownership interests. The FCC also plans to vote at the meeting on an order to require undersea cable operator licensees to report communications network outages, said a tentative agenda issued Friday. Also on tap is an order on hurricane alerts.
There's a wide range of approaches among customs regimes for overseeing customs brokers around the world, said a World Customs Organization report on the subject released May 31 (here). "There are several practices in terms of regulatory/licensing requirements, roles and responsibilities, fees and charges, cooperation mechanism between Customs and brokers," the report's summary said. The report also includes some "suggested policy and organizational considerations on Customs Brokers regime and a model checklist for licensing/regulating brokers," the WCO said in a news release (here).
Top 911 associations are seeking to raise awareness about state 911 fee diversion, in which some states use 911 fees on consumer bills to pay for things not directly related. The FCC estimated diversion led to $223.4 million of 911 fee revenue going to other purposes in 2014. In Part I of this report, we found that the three states said to do the most diversion seemed unlikely to quit the practice soon (see 1605270020). In interviews last week, emergency response leaders said achieving 100 percent usage of 911 fees for 911 service is critical to maintaining emergency response service quality, adequately staffing 911 centers, and funding upgrades to Next-Generation 911 so people can send multimedia to emergency responders.
The three states said to divert the most 911 fee revenue for non-911 purposes look unlikely to quit the practice soon, we found last week after surveying state officials including legislators and bodies that lobby for emergency operations. At least two states -- New York and Rhode Island -- have pending legislation to require that 911 fee revenue fund only 911 services. Passage could be difficult because the bills are written by members of political minority parties and state governors won’t say 911 fee diversion is a problem, said those we interviewed. In New Jersey, a bill requiring an upgrade to next-generation 911 raises 911 fees, despite FCC estimates that the state diverts nearly 90 percent of its fund. In 2014, eight states diverted $223.4 million, or 8.8 percent of all 911 funds, said the FCC's most-recent report to Congress about 911 fee collection (see 1601080057).
A Kansas editorial board sided with the American Civil Liberties Union in advocating additional privacy protections for the Kelsey Smith Act (HR-4889). Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kan., sponsored the legislation, especially popular among the Kansas delegation. Kelsey Smith, the murdered woman for whom the bill is named, was abducted in Kansas. That bill failed in a House floor vote Monday under suspension of the rules, a process that required a supermajority. Despite a majority of House lawmakers favoring the bill, several Democrats and Republicans voted against the measure due to what they considered insufficient privacy protections (see 1605240061). The Topeka Capital-Journal editorial board backs “judicial review of all cases in which emergency location data was accessed by law enforcement,” it said. “If this is part of the bill, it will deter law enforcement officials from abusing the emergency disclosure requirement (the ACLU cites cases in California, Texas, New York and Maryland where this has happened). Moreover, individuals should be able to seek judicial redress when their location data is wrongfully accessed. The Kelsey Smith Act could save many lives, but it should only be passed if extensive safeguards are in place.” Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., sponsor of the Senate companion, has tweeted about the measure all week responding to National Missing Children's Day Wednesday. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., became the bill’s third Senate co-sponsor this week. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., became the second earlier this month, joining Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan. No new floor vote for the House measure has been scheduled.