The Bureau of Industry and Security received 41 public comments on its December 2010 proposed rule to add a new License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization (STA). Commenters expressed concerns that the proposed exception is too conservative and will not benefit many companies, and provided recommendations for new licensing mechanisms.
TIA said it strongly supports an FCC proposal to reduce regulatory barriers and create “innovation zones” aimed at increasing the efficiency of spectrum use. The FCC should consider allowing for-profit companies to do research under new experimental licensing rules, the association said in a filing at the commission. “TIA’s members operate research campuses and labs where radio frequency is effectively contained, but like colleges, universities, and non-profit research organizations, face the burdensome and inefficient process of applying for multiple licenses to conduct research that drives innovation,” said Danielle Coffey, TIA’s vice president for government affairs. “Excluding for-profit companies from the FCC’s proposals will chill innovation, investment, job creation, and economic growth.” CTIA said it supports the use of experimental licensing to spur development of new technologies, but licensed wireless operations must be protected from harmful interference. The FCC “should make research program licenses available to wireless vendor and carrier laboratories, make innovation zone licenses available to single entities, and make medical program licenses available for testing all devices with a general medical purpose,” the association said. But Marcus Spectrum Solutions questioned whether changing the experimental licensing rules would have much benefit. “The present Part 5 Experimental License System is not a major obstacle to innovation and given the expected tightening of resources at FCC due to the budget situation it is questionable whether the proposals here have really significant enough impact on innovation to justify the diversion of staff effort from larger impact issues,” the company said. Proposed modifications to FCC rules could mean a flood of “uncertified, and potentially interfering and irretrievable, equipment,” said the Satellite Industry Association in an FCC filing. Controls are necessary before equipment is sold or leased in connection with a market trial, said SIA. While it “generally endorses” the proposed rules for experimental licenses, safeguards are needed, the association said. For instance, the scope of the program licenses should be clarified to prevent experiments “that are too far-flung,” said SIA. The spectrum available for the licensees should exclude safety-of-life services as well as fixed, mobile and broadcast satellite service spectrum ,because it can be hard to locate interference in those bands, said SIA. Experimental license applications should be granted within 14 calendar days of submission, unless objected to by NTIA, said the association.
The terrestrial use of dynamic radios in satellites bands isn’t “technically feasible and would pose a serious threat of harmful interference to satellite networks,” the Satellite Industry Association said in comments on the FCC. The SIA was responding to a notice of inquiry on increasing efficient use of spectrum through dynamic use technologies. Neither real-time databases nor spectrum sensing technologies could fully protect satellite services from interference, the group said. Blanket-licensed earth stations, receive-only dishes and mobile satellite transceivers couldn’t be protected by a real-time database because accurate location information is necessary, said SIA. Spectrum sensing technologies also couldn’t protect downlinks because a dynamic radio’s “proximity to an earth station has no impact on the aggregate noise that the receiver” on a satellite receives, the association said.
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.
Provisions in the EPA’s recent greenhouse gas reporting rules will hit the U.S. semiconductor industry, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said in a petition for reconsideration filed with the agency. The association also filed a petition for review of the rules with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. “The SIA supports GHG reporting for our industry and we stand ready to work constructively with the EPA to develop a revised rule that achieves our shared environmental goals in a more balanced, cost-effective and less burdensome manner,” said association President Brian Toohey.
The FTC is reviewing comments from more than 250 organizations and individuals in its privacy report proceeding. Some trade groups and industry folks in the online advertising and geospatial sectors asked for more focused definitions regarding practices that deem a company exempt from seeking consumer consent to collect data. Comments are due Friday.
FCC action in developing rules for efficient use of V-band spectrum will help allay the shortage of feeder link spectrum for broadband use but it should move forward with a “light hand,” the Satellite Industry Association said in comments on the FCC’s proposed rulemaking for the band. The FCC is working toward making rules meant to increase the sharing of 37.5-42.5 GHz spectrum by terrestrial and satellite services. The agency should “embrace a flexible regulatory approach that does not impinge unnecessarily on satellite operators” that are designing systems to work with international and FCC spectrum frameworks, said SIA.
While it doesn’t take a position on net neutrality, the Safe Internet Alliance said the FCC vote Tuesday on net neutrality raises several consumer issues. The commission said in its order that ISPs should disclose accurate information regarding their network management practices sufficient for consumers to make informed choices on Internet service. But ISPs should also undertake network management practices to protect consumer privacy and safety, said SIA President Linda Criddle. For example, some network management information would be useful to hackers, she said. Also, the FCC said ISPs should not block lawful content. But slowing some content in favor of others could be important for consumers, such as giving video streaming for remote medical assistance a higher priority than entertainment, she said. The FCC also defined network management that’s acceptable as technical management of a service, providing consumers with safety tools to manage their own content and managing network congestion. Other categories may be necessary, said Criddle.
While it doesn’t take a position on net neutrality, the Safe Internet Alliance said the FCC vote Tuesday on net neutrality raises several consumer issues. The commission said in its order that ISPs should disclose accurate information regarding their network management practices sufficient for consumers to make informed choices on Internet service. But ISPs should also undertake network management practices to protect consumer privacy and safety, said SIA President Linda Criddle. For example, some network management information would be useful to hackers, she said. Also, the FCC said ISPs should not block lawful content. But slowing some content in favor of others could be important for consumers, such as giving video streaming for remote medical assistance a higher priority than entertainment, she said. The FCC also defined network management that’s acceptable as technical management of a service, providing consumers with safety tools to manage their own content and managing network congestion. Other categories may be necessary, said Criddle.
Industry players on all sides expressed general support for FCC efforts to add spectrum for wireless backhaul. But reply comments on proposals to change FCC rules (CD Aug 6 p5) expressed reservations about several of the measures, especially one to allow fixed service (FS) operations to share several spectrum bands now used by the Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS) and the Cable TV Relay Service. Several of the proposals grew out of the National Broadband Plan.