The FCC gave Harris County, Texas, authority to continue its work on a public safety broadband network in the 700 MHz band. The Public Safety Bureau order, signed by Chief David Turetsky, was posted Friday (http://bit.ly/VuH38q) and extended the network’s special temporary authority (STA) by another six months, until Aug. 28. The FCC gave the Texas network a six-month authorization last fall. The state has partnered with the Harris County Information Technology Center to use 20 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band for public safety for, as the FCC authorized, 14 sites in Harris County. The county was among 21 entities granted waivers to operate in the 700 MHz band initially and had planned for such a network since 2009. It’s now slated to be folded into the proposed national FirstNet public safety network.
The Internal Revenue Service should change the outdated way it considers whether media get tax-exempt status, a group of journalists, foundations and news websites said in a report that was partly backed by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. Rules dating from the 1970s that require organizations seeking 501(c)(3) status to primarily engage in education have led to months- and sometimes years-long delays in websites obtaining such status, said the study. Written under the auspices of the Council on Foundations and led by Steve Waldman, who wrote the commission’s study on the future of media when he was an aide to Genachowski, Monday’s report said some news websites have folded while their applications were pending. “Unnecessary obstacles seem to be getting placed in the way of nonprofit news outlets attempting to educate their communities,” Genachowski said.
"Instead of focusing on meaningless operational distinctions, the IRS should evaluate whether the media organization is engaged primarily in educational activities that provide a community benefit,” the report said. It said that’s “as opposed to advancing private interests.” The agency should also review whether an applicant is “organized and managed as a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization,” said the study. It was backed (http://bit.ly/105QwWp) by the heads of 11 journalism schools and programs, including at Columbia and Syracuse universities and the universities of California at Berkeley, Maryland, Missouri and North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The IRS had no comment.
The government and broadcasters are working to improve the delivery and efficiency of emergency alert system messages using wireless capabilities, broadcasters and some FCC and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said Monday during an emergency alert system meeting in Washington. The meeting was organized by NAB and the National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations. Making the system more effective will involve improving cybersecurity and keeping pace with advancements in broadcast technology, they said.
The EU is a strong player in the global market for telecommunication satellites and services but faces growing competition from emerging industries in countries such as China and India, the European Commission said Thursday. To address the challenges, it proposed a new industrial policy for the space sector (http://bit.ly/VQd9dZ) and a surveillance and tracking system to avoid satellite collisions. The European space industry differs from its chief rivals because its budget is smaller, it relies more on commercial sales, the part of military expenses is smaller, and synergies between civil and defense sectors are less well developed, the EC said. In addition, unlike the U.S., Europe’s downstream satellite navigation and earth observation markets are only emerging. Among other challenges the European space industry faces are higher subsidies in other countries, and the fact that the satellite communication industry accounts for almost 60 percent of Europe’s space manufacturing sector, it said. While Europe has a world-class satellite communication sector, it’s facing increasing global competition as well as technical and political roadblocks due to scarcity of radio spectrum, it said. Moreover, Europe needs to position itself in the emerging markets for navigation and Earth observation, it said. The EC proposed several actions to raise Europe’s game: (1) Legislation at the EU and national level that addresses legal issues such as insurance obligations, sanctions, and environmental issues. (2) Monitoring the impact on the space industry of the export control system for dual-use goods. (3) Investigating how best to take into account future spectrum needs for satellite communications, and preparing to defend EU interests at the next ITU World Radiocommunication Conference. (4) Pursuing development of European space standards. (5) Ensuring that the specificities of the space industry are taken into account in trade negotiations, to promote a level playing field. (6) Supporting research and innovation to foster development of satellite navigation applications using Galileo. The EC also said it wants to make sure that space data from existing and future European missions is used extensively by scientists, the public and the commercial domain. It also proposed a space surveillance and tracking service to protect space infrastructures.
"I don’t want a new Digital Cold War!” EU Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said Thursday at a roundtable on the future of Internet governance at the European Parliament in Brussels. It took time for governments to realize the importance of the Internet, and because some don’t like its openness and transparency they'd prefer a more hierarchical and country-to-country governance, her written remarks said. Others complain that the current governance model is unduly dominated by the U.S. or excludes the poorest. They want bodies such as the United Nations to give them political power, she said. With distrust growing, now isn’t the time for a digital cold war, Kroes said. Europe doesn’t want governments or the ITU to control the Internet, and is fighting to keep it from being fragmented into national “intranets,” she said. What matters most is the “clear divide that has emerged between countries, and the mutual suspicion that someone is trying to unilaterally control a common resource.” Europe has been in a similar situation before, but it shouldn’t turn this into a struggle between civilizations. The Internet isn’t about Western cultural supremacy, but is what one makes of it, she said. In addition, the EU can get better at the multistakeholder model by improving relations with the information and communications technology and Internet communities and making the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers better, she said. She also wants Europe to work better with international partners to ensure nations don’t feel they're excluded from a rich members’ club. Moreover, it’s “time for diplomats to realise the importance of the internet,” she said. It’s important to understand why countries take the positions they do, and to engage with them on the merits of a distributed approach to online policymaking. Finally, Kroes said, Europeans must develop their vision for the Internet, defend their values, and challenge those who oppose European freedoms. Kroes said she'll focus on these issues in coming months.
The focus of the FCC in March is once again on public safety communications, with a rulemaking likely to force the agency to revisit whether to again impose backup power requirements on carriers. An NPRM for the March 20 meeting, which circulated late Wednesday, raises numerous questions following up on the commission’s January derecho report (CD Jan 11 p3).
"I don’t want a new Digital Cold War!” EU Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said Thursday at a roundtable on the future of Internet governance at the European Parliament in Brussels. It took time for governments to realize the importance of the Internet, and because some don’t like its openness and transparency they'd prefer a more hierarchical and country-to-country governance, her written remarks said. Others complain that the current governance model is unduly dominated by the U.S. or excludes the poorest. They want bodies such as the United Nations to give them political power, she said. With distrust growing, now isn’t the time for a digital cold war, Kroes said. Europe doesn’t want governments or the ITU to control the Internet, and is fighting to keep it from being fragmented into national “intranets,” she said. What matters most is the “clear divide that has emerged between countries, and the mutual suspicion that someone is trying to unilaterally control a common resource.” Europe has been in a similar situation before, but it shouldn’t turn this into a struggle between civilizations. The Internet isn’t about Western cultural supremacy, but is what one makes of it, she said. In addition, the EU can get better at the multistakeholder model by improving relations with the information and communications technology and Internet communities and making ICANN better, she said. She also wants Europe to work better with international partners to ensure nations don’t feel they're excluded from a rich members’ club. Moreover, it’s “time for diplomats to realise the importance of the internet,” she said. It’s important to understand why countries take the positions they do, and to engage with them on the merits of a distributed approach to online policymaking. Finally, Kroes said, Europeans must develop their vision for the Internet, defend their values, and challenge those who oppose European freedoms. Kroes said she'll focus on these issues in coming months.
FCC Managing Director David Robbins told FCC staff in a town hall meeting Thursday sequester may not mean furloughs for staff, at least initially. But Robbins didn’t provide much detail about what will happen next, agency officials told us. Robbins briefed FCC staff at FCC headquarters and the briefing was carried over the agency’s internal intranet. Staff for the FCC commissioners are to be briefed separately.
The FCC Wireless Bureau extended the deadline for filing comments on a further NPRM on the appropriate treatment of 121.5 MHz emergency locator transmitters under Part 87 of commission rules. Comments are now due April 1, replies May 2. The Airline Owners and Pilots Association, Experimental Aircraft Association, General Aviation Manufacturers Association, and National Air Transportation Association had asked for a 60-day extension of the comment deadline. “Due to a desire to conduct a prompt review of the record, we find that the requested 60-day extension is excessive, and instead we grant a 30-day extension of the comment deadline and a 45-day extension of the reply comment deadline,” the bureau said (http://fcc.us/15QRExA).