The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) slammed the FCC for suggesting that it may prohibit sale or use of 121.5 MHz emergency locator transmitters (ELTs), radio beacons that alert search and rescue personnel that an aircraft has crashed and help locate the downed aircraft and any survivors. “The FCC should immediately abandon its proposed rule changes and continue to defer to the Federal Aviation Administration on matters of aviation safety,” AOPA said (http://bit.ly/13Pbrzj). “The FCC’s proposed ban on 121.5 MHz transmitters will have a negative impact on aviation safety, imposes unjustified costs of $500 million on general aviation aircraft owners and operators, and conflicts with federal aviation safety laws and regulations in that ELTs which transmit on 121.5 MHz are specifically authorized by law.” The FCC raised questions in a January further NPRM (http://bit.ly/YR65yU).
Verizon and the city of New York formed a one-year fiber micro-trenching agreement, the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications said Tuesday. The city’s Department of Transportation also signed the agreement. The telco will install fiber in multiple pre-approved locations, with other providers potentially able to use excess capacity, the department said. Micro-trenching is the “process of installing small conduits within the edges of the sidewalk to house fiber optic cabling,” it explained (http://on.nyc.gov/104dD0H). “A quick, low-impact deployment method, fiber optic cabling is inserted into a small slot-cut trench without damaging or disrupting existing infrastructure.” This pilot will last through November and expand and improve broadband access, the city said. Verizon will report to the city on the effectiveness of the pilot once it’s done, as the city contemplates a more widespread application of the process, according to the formal agreement (http://on.nyc.gov/14LsQIM).
The FCC Media Bureau denied a joint request from Bond Broadcasting and East Kentucky Broadcasting for a declaratory ruling on Auction 83 rules. The licensees wanted a notice and comment proceeding to allow changes to FCC Form 175 applications of noncommercial educational applicants (CD March 29 p16). The petitioners provide no support “for the unfounded proposition that the commission must follow rulemaking procedures to waive a rule,” the bureau’s Audio Division said in an order (http://bit.ly/Z4FgKy). The bureau finds the request “frivolous, repetitive and not warranting consideration by the commission,” it said.
Verizon Wireless scooped up the parts of Arizona’s Mohave Cellular it didn’t already own, buying out portions held by Frontier Communications and Rio Virgin Telephone, Verizon said. “This transaction will expand Verizon Wireless’ footprint in northwest Arizona” covering 203,000 POPs, the company said. Plans are to integrate Mohave’s network into Verizon’s network and deploy 4G LTE “in the near future,” Verizon said (http://vz.to/14CEIMB).
Tech Valley Communications said it agreed to buy TelJet Longhaul’s fiber network, collocation facility and other assets. The purchase will create “one of the largest and most dense fiber networks in Upstate New York and Northern New England,” Tech Valley said in a news release. The completed network will include more than 190,000 miles of fiber and almost 1,100 lit buildings; the network will run through New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, and will reach Canada, Tech Valley said. TelJet’s assets “are complementary to our existing footprint,” Tech Valley CEO Kevin O'Connor said in the release. The deal is to close within 90 days (http://bit.ly/Z6BoBI).
A coalition of activists representing more than a dozen public interest groups and organizations told lawmakers Tuesday they oppose a “dangerous” draft bill aimed at reforming the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), according to a letter sent to the chairmen and ranking members of the House Judiciary Committee and its Crime Subcommittee (http://bit.ly/10w9wIm). “The draft under discussion is a significant expansion of the CFAA at a time when public opinion is demanding the law be narrowed,” the letter said. “It is unreasonable to expand CFAA penalties when the statute already makes illegal so much of what Americans do with computers every day.” The letter was sent to House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va.; Ranking Member John Conyers, D-Mich.; Crime Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis.; and Ranking Member Bobby Scott, D-Va. Last week Judiciary Committee staffers circulated a discussion draft of the bill which would increase criminal financial penalties and jail time for those found guilty of certain computer crimes (CD March 27 p5). The letter urged committee members to reject the bill or amend it in a way that would “bring the CFAA into the 21st century, with sensible fixes that will protect the ordinary Internet user, while addressing the serious problem of malicious computer attacks.” The groups specifically opposed language in the draft proposal aimed at increasing penalties for many computer violations to 20 years or more imprisonment, and bringing CFAA violations under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the letter said. Among the signatories of the letter were representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Democracy and Technology, Electronic Frontier Foundation, TechFreedom, Heritage Foundation, FreedomWorks and Demand Progress, an Internet advocacy group founded by the late activist Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide during his prosecution for CFAA violations. A House Judiciary aide told us the discussion draft of the bill “is just the beginning of the process,” in an email Tuesday. “In fact, this afternoon our staff met with the staff of several of the groups who signed that letter. They had a productive meeting and are continuing to work with us on the discussion draft.”
Two developers will share the FTC’s $50,000 prize for providing the best solutions to illegal prerecorded calls, the FTC announced Tuesday (http://1.usa.gov/YZnMcm). The commission announced the “Robocall Challenge” in October, and promised that the winner would become “a national hero” (CD Oct 19 p9). Both winning proposals, by Serdar Danis and Aaron Foss, focus on intercepting and filtering out the illegal calls by using technology that blacklists known robocaller phone numbers, while letting through calls from other phone numbers. Both proposals would use a “CAPTCHA” style challenge-response test to stymie unwanted robocalls from reaching the user. The winning entries “have the potential to turn the tide on illegal robocalls, and they show the wisdom of tapping into the genius and technical expertise of the public,” said Charles Harwood, acting director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. The agency also gave a “technology achievement award” to a proposal that would use crowd-sourcing to block callers flagged as a spammer by other users.
The North Dakota Legislature passed its VoIP and IP study bill. Senate Bill 2234 was signed by the speaker of the House and president of the Senate Monday after receiving approval from both legislative bodies. It passed the House 88-5 and the Senate 47-0. The bill once would have actively restricted state regulation of VoIP and IP, like many bills introduced in states around the country (CD April 1 p7), but was pared down into a study bill in its latest draft: “During the 2013-14 interim, the legislative management shall consider studying voice over internet protocol service and the effect of this service and other technologies on the telecommunications industry, including any desired changes in regulation and taxation,” the bill reads. “The legislative management shall report its findings and recommendations, together with any legislation required to implement the recommendations, to the sixty-fourth legislative assembly.”
The Senate Commerce Committee announced witnesses in a news release Tuesday for the April 9 hearing on rural communications. Scheduled to testify are: John Strode, vice president-external affairs at Ritter Communications; CenturyLink Executive Vice President Steven Davis; Patricia Jo Boyers, CEO of Boycom Cablevision; and LeRoy Carlson, CEO of Telephone and Data Systems. The hearing will be at 10:30 a.m. in 253 Russell.
The California Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications voted unanimously Tuesday to advance Senate Bill 129. The bill would continue the funding for California’s Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Service for the next decade, if passed, dealing with the relevant surcharge for the program. The California Public Utilities Commission staff supported the bill in a February memo (CD Feb 19 p11). The surcharge, which this bill would extend until 2024, isn’t to exceed one-half of 1 percent of the bill total.