The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions released two additional standards that address the future support of multiple languages, including Spanish, to send emergency alerts to wireless devices through the Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS). “The standards will allow users to select additional languages in which to receive CMAS alerts beyond English once a national policy is established and alert messages in additional languages are available and being broadcast in their geographic area to CMAS-compatible devices,” ATIS said (http://xrl.us/bnbodx).
The FCC approved on a 5-0 vote Wednesday changes to rules designed to push more widespread use of the 4.9 GHz band. The band, once set aside for federal operations, was reallocated to public safety a decade ago, but is little used today. Almost all public safety focus in recent years has been on its fight for a wireless broadband network in the 700 MHz band. Among proposals on which the agency will seek comment is whether to allow commercial use of the 4.9 band by utilities and other critical infrastructure providers and possibly other companies as well.
Storm warnings and other government alerts could go to search engines, online news feeds, social media and other Web outlets, broadcast and other industry officials said. They said that will be made possible when the Federal Emergency Management Agency soon starts a website for anyone to get real-time emergency alert system messages. Companies that don’t participate in EAS could get alerts from federal, state and municipal agencies that write them in a new FEMA format. Those websites could then distribute them online as narrowly or widely as they wish.
Storm warnings and other government alerts could go to search engines, online news feeds, social media and other Web outlets, broadcast and other industry officials said. They said that will be made possible when the Federal Emergency Management Agency soon starts a website for anyone to get real-time emergency alert system messages. Companies that don’t participate in EAS could get alerts from federal, state and municipal agencies that write them in a new FEMA format. Those websites could then distribute them online as narrowly or widely as they wish.
The satellite industry, government and military entities are working toward mitigating and managing space debris from satellites. While satellite operators have obligations for operating satellites and deorbiting satellites at the end of their lives, industry and U.S. and foreign governments are still addressing the need for a solution to prevent debris from accumulating, and for increased collaboration among nations operating in space, government agencies and satellite operators said.
U.S. and Mexican officials signed protocols covering 800 MHz and 1.9 GHz spectrum along the U.S.-Mexican border, the FCC said Friday. The signing of the protocol was a key step so the U.S. could wrap up the reconfiguration of the 800 MHz band, a process which has been stalled along the border (CD June 7 p7). “These actions will help support commercial broadband services and public safety mission-critical voice communications along the U.S.-Mexico border and throughout the United States,” the FCC said. The 800 MHz agreement allots band segments between the two nations, specifies technical parameters for operations within 68 miles of the border and creates a task force on the transition of incumbent operators along the border, the FCC said. The 1.9 GHz protocol allows Sprint Nextel to deploy CDMA service along the border. “These agreements with Mexico will unleash investment and benefit consumers near the borders by enabling the rollout of advanced wireless broadband service and advanced systems for critical public safety and emergency response communications,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.
A wide group of agricultural and farm interests support a reorganization of "trade-related agencies, programs and activities" and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, they said in a letter to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) The groups said the creation of new position, Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, would provide a "singular focus on trade and foster more effective coordination" of USDA trade policies.
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., said Wednesday he didn’t think there is enough political will for lawmakers to tackle music royalty performance rights this session. He'd prefer an industry-based solution rather than congressional intervention, he said: “Frankly you see a stalemate up here on these issues, and so it really is better done out in the marketplace,” he told us following a subcommittee hearing on the future of audio. He and other subcommittee members praised a recent Clear Channel agreement to pay performance royalties to the Big Machine Label Group and its artists.
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., said Wednesday he didn’t think there is enough political will for lawmakers to tackle music royalty performance rights this session. He'd prefer an industry-based solution rather than congressional intervention, he said: “Frankly you see a stalemate up here on these issues, and so it really is better done out in the marketplace,” he told us following a subcommittee hearing on the future of audio. He and other subcommittee members praised a recent Clear Channel agreement to pay performance royalties to the Big Machine Label Group and its artists (CD June 6 p12).
Public safety officials in many major U.S. cities remain concerned about a requirement that they vacate the 700 MHz T-band, Public Safety Spectrum Trust Chairman Harlin McEwen told the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council. Under spectrum legislation that became law in February, public safety got the 700 MHz D-block, but had to give up the T-band, heavily used in a number of major cities. Public safety is required to vacate the T-band within nine years, under the spectrum law. In April, the FCC Public Safety Bureau imposed an immediate freeze on applications for new stations and major modifications in the T-band.