More than three in every four U.S. vehicle owners with at least one connected car feature say such connectivity services will influence their next vehicle purchase, and more than half rate connected services as “very important” in guiding their next vehicle purchase, Parks Associates said in a report Tuesday (http://bit.ly/XaFeAM). More than 80 percent of U.S. broadband homes with a mobile phone service have a smartphone, “which is a gateway device for connected cars,” Parks said. “Smartphones have raised expectations of what connected devices can do, and Google and Apple are among the companies trying to build on those expectations in the connected car space.” The most common connected car feature is the ability to make phone calls using the car’s built-in Bluetooth connectivity, but the most desired feature is the ability to view maps or get directions, the report said. “Apple and Google are vying to be the consumer touch point for connected applications and services, and that competition has naturally extended to the automotive space.” Both iOS and Android “bring their mobile operating systems to the car through a ‘mirroring’ approach that lets the user control certain smartphone functions and apps through the car’s display, physical buttons, or voice control,” it said. Smartphone users are much more likely than non-smartphone owners to find connected car services appealing, it said. For example, 37 percent of current vehicle owners in U.S. broadband households are very interested in the ability to view maps or receive directions, it said. Among smartphone owners, the percentage of those interested increases to 48 percent, it said.
The Enterprise Wireless Alliance raised concerns about an application by Spectrum Networks Group (SNG) for an FCC waiver so subsidiary M2M Spectrum Networks can offer a third-party service providing machine-to-machine communications using 900 MHz Business/Industrial/Land Transportation channels. EWA said SNG offers only “bald assertions” on plans for the spectrum, but no “product development details, information regarding FCC certification for this 900 MHz data product, business plans, funding status to support a ‘nationwide network,’ or other relevant documentation that might provide credence in support of waiver relief.” The filing was posted by the FCC Tuesday in docket 14-100 (http://bit.ly/1labmKf). SNG filed a recent ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/1rYkuYd) saying it plans to offer “the first, dedicated, national, licensed, machine-to-machine communications network in the United States.” “M2M feels confident in its applications,” said Christopher Bjornson of Steptoe & Johnson, which represents the company. “It looks forward to addressing the issues raised by EWA.”
The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology sought comment on a 45-day public trial of a new system of registration procedures for Google’s TV bands database system. The test was completed on July 17, OET said Tuesday. The trial let the public “access and participate in the testing of Google’s new registration system to ensure that the system properly registers facilities entitled to protection and that Google’s database system as modified to incorporate its new registration system provides protection to such facilities as specified in the Commission’s rules,” OET said (http://bit.ly/1qh6khK). Comments are due Aug. 13, replies Aug. 19, in docket 04-186.
Installing a kill switch in mobile phones could save consumers up to $3.4 billion annually, concludes research from Creighton University professor William Duckworth released Tuesday. The kill switch would also kill a growing market for stolen smartphones, the report said. “Over the last few months, it has become very clear that Americans want the Kill Switch on their phones,” Duckworth said in a news release (http://bit.ly/1xvHxcw). “I believe an industry-wide implementation of the technology could significantly improve public safety and save consumers billions of dollars a year.” A bill by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., S-2032, the Smartphone Theft Prevention Act, would require the installation of a kill switch on mobile phones (CD Feb 26 p11). Jamie Hastings, CTIA vice president-external and state affairs, said CTIA cannot comment on the veracity of the study. “The wireless industry has already provided numerous anti-theft solutions, many for free, to consumers and they will continue to do so,” she said. “This is being done because the wireless industry is committed to providing tools to law enforcement to safeguard its consumers, their devices and their personal information.” CTIA noted that the wireless industry has created a stolen phone database, though only the FBI, New York City and Las Vegas have signed up for it to date.
The FCC Public Safety Bureau denied a request by Del Norte County, California, for a permanent waiver of the commission’s rule requiring the narrowbanding of all private land mobile radio licensees operating in the 150-174 MHz and 450-512 MHz bands. The county told the FCC it had completed the narrowbanding but as a result experienced a 40 percent loss of coverage in its operational area, the bureau said. Del Norte County told the commission it would have to build three to five towers to supplement its current two-tower system to restore its network to its previous capacity but doesn’t have the funding to do that. The county didn’t offer “sufficient facts” to justify a permanent waiver, the bureau said (http://bit.ly/1qHvon8). “We recognize the financial constraints Del Norte faces to construct additional towers, but this circumstance is not unusual or unique among licensees that have been subject to the narrowbanding requirement,” the bureau said. “While Del Norte’s financial constraints could weigh in favor of a temporary waiver to afford the County additional time to upgrade its system, they do not justify a permanent waiver.” The FCC has required licensees to use narrower channels to remedy congestion in the VHF and UHF bands.
The FCC Wireless Bureau extended the deadline for reply comments on rules for spectrum sharing in the 3.5 GHz band from Aug. 1 until Aug. 15, said a Monday public notice. Various industry groups, starting with the Satellite Industry Association, had asked for a delay, the bureau noted. “We agree that an extension of time to file reply comments is warranted to ensure that the Commission obtains a complete and thorough record,” the bureau said (http://bit.ly/1tTOC6w).
Despite the FCC’s recent crackdown on Lifeline fraud, more work needs to be done to rein in the growth in spending of a program that’s more than doubled in five years, Commissioner Ajit Pai told Citizens Against Government Waste Monday. Pai proposed setting an annual budget for Lifeline to “increase incentives to eliminate fraud and improve accountability within the program.” A cap on Lifeline spending would “prevent any future explosion in spending without direct Commission accountability,” he said. The FCC could prohibit Lifeline wireless carriers from giving free service for the program, Pai said, to remove the incentive for recipients to improperly sign up for more than one account. “Requiring some skin in the game would align the Lifeline program with our other universal service programs, each of which requires some contribution by recipients to cut down on waste, fraud and abuse,” he said. The FCC could empower states to play a stronger enforcement role by clarifying that states are free to take steps to ensure the program’s integrity, Pai said. Another option would be to lower the $9.25 monthly subsidy to “cut both the incentive for fraud and the phone bills for consumers who pay into the USF,” he said. The FCC should also begin requiring Lifeline carriers to keep proof of consumer eligibility for the program, Pai said. Companies that violate Lifeline regulations should be subject to forfeitures, he said.
The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council and the Canadian Interoperability Technology Interest Group (CITIG) said Friday they're seeking volunteers for a new working group to examine cross-border voice and data communications issues. The working group is to prepare a report for a presentation at CITIG’s Canada-U.S. Bi-National Cross Border Interoperability Workshop Oct. 20-22 in Windsor, Ontario, the groups said in a news release.
The government should issue “strong, enforceable rules -- not voluntary best practices -- that protect the privacy rights of American citizens” from commercial drone use, said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., in a letter Thursday to President Barack Obama (http://1.usa.gov/1ny613b). Politico reported Thursday the White House was planning to issue an executive order telling the NTIA to develop a multistakeholder privacy code of conduct for commercial drone use (http://politi.co/1jWfIJq). The NTIA has overseen the creation of a voluntary mobile privacy code of conduct and is now facilitating the creation of a facial recognition technology code of conduct (CD July 25 p14). Originally, it was thought that privacy issues in the deployment of small commercial drones would fall under the Federal Aviation Administration’s jurisdiction in a rulemaking due this fall (CD July 23 p13). “We believe only strong, enforceable rules will force potentially bad actors to respect privacy,” said the letter. Drone privacy rules should require commercial drone operators to disclose their data collection, sharing, use and deletion plans, the duo said. Law enforcement should also be required to obtain a warrant before using drones, and a public website should list all drone flight plans, said the lawmakers. The recommendations are mostly in line with corresponding House and Senate bills, the Drone Aircraft Privacy and Transparency Act (HR-2868 and S-1639) (http://1.usa.gov/1lDFv4k). The White House had no comment.
The Public Interest Spectrum Coalition, the Utilities Telecom Council and the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association jointly asked the FCC to delay for two weeks the reply comment deadline on rules for the 3.5 GHz band. Industry commenters raised concerns about the FCC’s proposals for dedicating the band to a three-tiered system for sharing in the initial comment round (CD July 16 p4). The groups asked the FCC to extend the deadline until Aug. 15. Some 60 comments were filed and many raised “new and novel positions” that take time to digest, the groups said. “Many of the comments address complicated technical issues related to the size of federal and earth station exclusion zones, the requirements for the proposed Spectrum Access System and other interference and network management challenges.” The filing (http://bit.ly/1pkG7NI) was posted Friday in docket 12-354.