The FCC should proceed with caution as it considers the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), balloon-mounted systems and other aerial base stations that could be quickly dispatched to disaster areas to keep communications alive when other systems falter, CTIA said. The Public Safety Bureau sought comment about low-altitude aerial telecommunications systems in a Jan. 28 public notice. Many of the responses were posted by the FCC Tuesday.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has issued a final rule, effective May 2, 2011, to enhance the hazardous materials safety compliance and enforcement activities conducted by PHMSA, FAA, FMCSA, and FRA inspection personnel.1 The new rule allows these DOT agents to investigate shipments of hazardous materials during transport and take tougher enforcement action against companies shipping in an unsafe manner.
On March 1, 2011, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative posted to its website the President’s 2011 Trade Policy Agenda and 2010 Annual Report, which contains information on his trade priorities, including exports, free trade agreements, trade preferences, intellectual property rights, and enforcement.
Washington, D.C.-based Pepco’s response to the snow emergency that cut off power to thousands of its subscribers in January shows the utility isn’t keeping up with technology, Maryland State Sen. Brian Frosh (D) and former FCC official Blair Levin wrote in an op-ed piece in the Montgomery Gazette. Levin told us the objections tie back to the national purposes section of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan. “The recent snowstorm raises the following question: What century does Pepco think its customers are living in?” they wrote. “Pepco’s emergency response system is both more expensive and less efficient than it should be, because it is based not on the technology of today, not on the technology of the last decade, but on the technology developed in the 19th century: voice communications.” Attempting to report an outage electronically is impossible, with the system unable to handle e-mail, the editorial said. Pepco also does not have an application available to make a report using a smartphone. “Decision-making becomes more efficient, more effective and more precise” when new technologies are used, they said. “The system can handle an unlimited number of reports (because it is not necessary to hire emergency operators to take the reports), and resources can be spent on responding to, instead of just collecting, information."
A major challenge for public, educational and governmental (PEG) channels is figuring out how to “deliver significant content to many platforms and reach many consumers through many media,” said Michael Wassenaar, executive director of the St. Paul (Minn.) Neighborhood Network. ESPN is a good example of how different platforms can work together, he said during a National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors webinar. ESPN is “a very successful content provider that works with huge audiences across the country” using different platforms that reinforce one another, instead of replacing one another, he said. Developing mobile applications for PEG content is labor-intensive and the biggest problem is investing in research and development, he added. To help PEG channels obtain a mobile presence, PEG advocates suggested holding government apps contests for developers. “There has to be a direct constituent benefit rather than an app that benefits the government,” said Karen Neuman, an attorney who represents PEGs at St. Ledger-Roty Neuman. She outlined the policy implications that must be considered by PEGs that want to use social media and mobile platforms. Organizations should create terms of service that clearly articulate the government’s purpose, she said. Privacy policies must clarify any data collecting entity and explain links to third party policies, she said. The Cable Act and other communications laws “have not kept up to speed with emerging technologies,” she said.
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has announced the conclusion of a joint International Radiological Assistance Program Training for Emergency Responders (I-RAPTER) conducted with the government of Malaysia this week, to ensure integration of the Malaysian Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) with port and customs personnel responsible for activities associated with the Megaports Initiative.
The growing popularity of smartphones and devices like the iPad are creating a new challenge for the nation’s cybersecurity, General Keith Alexander, commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, said Sunday on a National Governors Association panel. Alexander and other federal speakers emphasized the big role the states have to play in making the Internet safer.
The growing popularity of smartphones and devices like the iPad are creating a new challenge for the nation’s cybersecurity, General Keith Alexander, commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, said Sunday on a National Governors Association panel. Alexander and other federal speakers emphasized the big role the states have to play in making the Internet safer.
Feb. 26-March 1 National Religious Broadcasters convention, with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, Nashville -- www.nrbconvention.org
On February 25, 2011, the President sent a letter to Congress announcing that the national emergency declared with respect to Cuba and the emergency authority relating to the regulation of the anchorage and movement of vessels set out in Proclamation 6867 as amended by Proclamation 7757, is to continue in effect beyond March 1, 2011.