Before opening the 5.850-5.925 GHz band for Wi-Fi, as proposed by the FCC in February, the commission should first assemble an advisory panel to look at how unlicensed use of the spectrum will affect dedicated short range communications (DSRC) technologies, said the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in reply comments filed at the FCC. The Intelligent Transportation Society of America said in its comments that the Department of Transportation and original equipment manufacturers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to make crash-avoidance technologies a reality.
Before opening the 5.850-5.925 GHz band for Wi-Fi, as proposed by the FCC in February, the commission should first assemble an advisory panel to look at how unlicensed use of the spectrum will affect dedicated short range communications (DSRC) technologies, said the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in reply comments filed at the FCC. The Intelligent Transportation Society of America said in its comments that the Department of Transportation and original equipment manufacturers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to make crash-avoidance technologies a reality.
Political resolve rather than money or a dearth of other suitable federal spectrum is the major impediment to clearing the 1755-1780 MHz band of federal users, said FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai in a broad-ranging speech Thursday in Pittsburgh. Pai also called for a firm schedule for the incentive auction of broadcast TV spectrum.
Consumers International names Amanda Long, executive at U.K. co-operatives, director general effective in January, following retirement of Helen McCallum … Calient Technologies optical circuit switching technology company hires Jag Setlur, ex-July Systems, as chief financial officer … FreedomPay payment systems company hires Rodney Bowen-Wright, ex-Microsoft, as chief business development officer … IDC Financial Insights hires James Wester, ex-Mobile Payments Today, to lead Worldwide Payment Strategies practice … National Emergency Number Association names Lisa Hoffmann, San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, as Western regional director on NENA’s executive board, and Jim Shepard, 911 Datamaster, co-chairman of NENA’s Development Steering Council … Lobbying registrations: Gila River Telecommunications, Akin Gump, effective May 23 … TechNet, Bay Bridge Strategies, effective June 5 … BlackBerry, Comcast, NCTA, Time Warner Cable and Cablevision, Capitol Counsel, effective July 1 … Network Designs cybersecurity company, Dentons US, effective June 1.
Few details emerged Tuesday as lawmakers pressed Gary Epstein, chair of the FCC’s Incentive Auction Task Force, for information on the commission’s work to structure the spectrum incentive auctions authorized by the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act. Epstein told lawmakers during a House Communications Subcommittee oversight hearing that the commission has made “no final determinations” and has sought to engage “with all interested parties in an open and transparent process.” Epstein said he couldn’t confirm whether the auction would take place in 2014, but said “we will do everything we can in the commission to make that happen."
DENVER -- Phone numbers will have a place for the next 20 years or more, FCC Chief Technology Officer Henning Schulzrinne predicted on a panel at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners meeting. He participated by phone: “Travel money is tight around here,” he explained. Phone numbers will remain important, if less visible to consumers and fraught with new problems of security and inefficiency. Schulzrinne emphasized that there are still numbers available but there will be new certification needs to avoid the ID spoofing and robocall problems that have emerged. There is a danger of phone abuse becoming worse than email spam due to changing technologies, he said.
Few details emerged Tuesday as lawmakers pressed Gary Epstein, chair of the FCC’s Incentive Auction Task Force, for information on the commission’s work to structure the spectrum incentive auctions authorized by the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act. Epstein told lawmakers during a House Communications Subcommittee oversight hearing that the commission has made “no final determinations” and has sought to engage “with all interested parties in an open and transparent process.” Epstein said he couldn’t confirm whether the auction would take place in 2014, but said “we will do everything we can in the commission to make that happen."
911 call center consolidation is critical, speakers said during a panel on the next generation-911 transition at the NARUC meeting in Denver Monday. “Folks, it’s time for us to begin to look at how we can do consolidations and be more effective in our operation of” public safety answering points, said Jim Anderson, CEO of El Paso-Teller 911 Authority. He recently completed an NG-911 contract and talked about the purchase of a phone switch that would have cost about $500,000 per site. “I bought one,” he said. “I'm running eight of those 10 sites on one switch, with the capability of doing all of southern Colorado out of my phone switch.” Technology is moving faster than 911 call centers, he said. National Emergency Number Association CEO Brian Fontes said that “inevitably, consolidation is going to occur.” He cited economic and technology reasons. “Consolidation is going to happen -- it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s going to be a reduction in the labor force,” said Fontes. Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials President Terry Hall agreed on the need for consolidation, noting the expense of NG-911 equipment. Fontes said leadership will be needed from the state utility commissions during the transition.
The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council’s Broadband Working Group Friday sought public safety and industry volunteers to work on a new task group “to help determine the requirements and definition for the phrase ‘Public Safety Grade,'” with an eye on the new FirstNet. “The phrase ‘public safety grade’ has been used in several Statement of Requirements (SoR) documents relating to broadband systems and services,” the group said. “The intent of the PSG terminology is to convey the need for design choices that support a greater overall network reliability and resiliency to network disruptions compared to commercial networks. The goal is for the [public safety broadband network] to be equivalent to public safety land mobile radio (LMR) systems that support law, fire, and emergency medical service (EMS) operations and are commonly referred to as ‘mission critical systems.'"
July 21-24 NARUC summer meetings, Sheraton Denver Downtown -- http://bit.ly/123Joc5