In the wake of Hurricane Francine, the FCC Wireless Bureau on Friday approved Google's request for a waiver of rules that require environmental sensing capability systems to protect federal incumbents in the citizens broadband radio service band from harmful interference. Francine has weakened to a tropical depression, according to NOAA. However, “the risk of heavy rainfall and flooding will continue across large portions of the Southeast through Saturday,” the bureau said. Google’s request for a waiver was also posted Friday.
NTIA wants comments by Oct. 15 on its Local Estimates of Internet Adoption (LEIA) project (docket NTIA-2024-0003), a new joint effort with the U.S. Census Bureau, said a notice for Thursday's Federal Register. The agencies will use Project LEIA to "develop model-based estimates of internet adoption for smaller populations than would typically be possible using survey data alone," it said. The project aims to fill a "key gap in our knowledge of digital equity challenges," said Rafi Goldberg, NTIA senior adviser-digital equity, in a blog Monday. The agencies released their first "set of experimental, single-year estimates of household wired internet adoption for every county" in the U.S., Goldberg said. The new model is based on 2022 American Community Service data "in combination with several variables related to subscribership levels," he said. Project LEIA was developed to "obtain feedback from stakeholders and enhance future estimates," said a Census Bureau news release. It used "small area estimation methods" and "restricted data" to produce a feasibility report, user guide and data files.
The FCC’s three-year, $200 million cybersecurity pilot program for schools and libraries will likely be highly competitive, with lots of interest nationally, Julia Legg, account manager at E-Rate Central, predicted on Wednesday during a Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition webinar. SHLB received dozens of questions about program details during the webinar. The FCC wants to fund as many eligible schools, libraries and consortiums as possible, including “those that include tribal entities, and a mix of large and small, urban and rural” programs, Legg said. All the details haven’t been published on reporting requirements, but a baseline report will be required in year one, with annual reports due within 60 days of the end of the year, she said. Applicants disagreeing with a decision have 30 days to appeal, half the time normally available for E-rate appeals, she said. Allison Baker, associate chief of the FCC Wireline Bureau, said the agency will accept applications from entities not participating in the E-rate program, but they must be eligible for it. Sue McNeil, chief of the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, warned potential applicants that failure to file a complete Part 2 application could mean being removed from the pilot and potentially being referred to the Enforcement Bureau: “Nobody wants that.” Some 30 questions raised in the webinar that weren't answered will be addressed during an Oct. 2 SHLB workshop, said John Windhausen, SHLB executive director. The FCC approved the pilot program 3-2 in June with Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissenting (see 2406060043). The initial window to apply for the program opens Sept. 17 and closes Nov. 1 (see 2409040036).
The FCC Wireless Bureau approved a waiver for Federated Wireless of rules that require environmental sensing capability systems to protect federal incumbents in the citizens broadband radio service band from harmful interference as Hurricane Francine hits the Gulf Coast. The waiver “only applies to periods where the subject ESC sensors are unable to communicate with the Federated [spectrum access system] due to a power outage or backhaul outage,” said the order in Wednesday's Daily Digest. The waiver expires either on Sept. 24 “or when commercial power and backhaul service is restored to the subject ESC sensors,” the bureau said.
Former FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief David Simpson stresses the importance of finding a terrestrial alternative to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) in a new paper. “A day without accurate and available PNT services is a scenario the U.S. cannot afford,” Simpson argues. The paper comes amid broad opposition to NextNav’s pursuit of an NPRM examining using the 902-928 MHz band for PNT (see 2409060046). Terrestrial PNT “utilizes ground-based infrastructure, making it less susceptible to jamming and spoofing attacks targeting space-based systems” and combined with GPS would “create a more robust and resilient PNT ecosystem, minimizing the impact of single-point failures,” said Simpson, also a former Navy rear admiral, now a professor at Virginia Tech. A terrestrial system would “eliminate the confusion GPS receivers often encounter in urban canyons, difficult geographies and indoors” and “eliminate the asymmetric advantage an adversary might seek from an attack on our space assets.” The paper was prepared in part with the support of NextNav but reflects his personal views, Simpson said.
The FCC activated the disaster information reporting system and mandatory disaster response initiative for 30 parishes in Louisiana facing impacts from Hurricane Francine, a public notice said Wednesday. The alert includes Acadia Parish, Orleans Parish, St. Martin and others. Reports are due from communication providers starting Thursday. The FCC also issued public notices on priority communications services, FCC availability and emergency contact procedures for licensees that need special temporary authority. The Public Safety Bureau also issued a reminder for entities clearing debris and repairing utilities to avoid damaging communications infrastructure.
The growing pace of launches in the U.S. is stressing launch site capabilities, particularly Florida's Cape Canaveral, launch operators said Wednesday at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce aerospace conference in Washington. Meanwhile, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said SpaceX could pose a monopolistic threat in commercial space and that more competition is needed. In addition, the FAA was criticized for its launch regulatory regime.
The window for applying to be designated as a cybersecurity labeling administrator (CLA) or lead administrator under the new voluntary cyber-trust mark program will open Wednesday and close Oct. 1, the FCC Public Safety Bureau said Tuesday. The notice provides guidance on the application format, filing fees, selection criteria, the sharing of expenses, lead administrator neutrality and confidentiality and security requirements. The bureau declined imposing “selection criteria” beyond those in an order that commissioners approved 5-0 in March (see 2403140034). As discussed in the order, “authorizing one or more CLAs subject to Commission oversight to handle the routine administration of the program will help to ensure its timely and consistent rollout, and independent third-party CLAs will bring trust, consistency, and an impartial level playing field to the IoT Labeling Program and will provide the required expertise for the administration of the program,” the notice said. Applications will be treated as “presumptively confidential” and the FCC won't assess application fees “at this time,” the bureau said. CLAs will share the cost of a lead administrator, but the bureau declined to lay out how that would work. The commission will “rely on CLAs and the Lead Administrator to determine the sharing methodology, which should be reasonable and equitable and will be subject to ongoing oversight by the Commission,” the notice said. Each applicant must submit an “attestation that it already has created and implemented -- or upon selection will create and implement -- a cybersecurity risk management plan,” the bureau said: Each applicant must show it will comply with agency requirements, as well as demonstrate its “cybersecurity expertise and capabilities, knowledge of [the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s] cybersecurity guidance, and knowledge of federal law and guidance governing the security and privacy of information systems.” The program should be “narrowly tailored to cybersecurity so as not to dilute its effectiveness, confuse consumers, and deter manufacturer participation,” CTA and other groups said in a letter to the FCC. The letter warned against imposing a requirement on disclosures about IoT products and privacy. It was posted Tuesday in docket 23-239. “Expanding required disclosures from cybersecurity risks to privacy topics would dilute the effectiveness of the Mark, risk consumer confusion, and undermine the careful balance that the Commission has struck to provide simple and tailored educational cybersecurity information to consumers,” the filing said. Other groups signing the letter were CTIA, the Information Technology Industry Council and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association. The groups said the regulator should “treat as confidential” both cybersecurity label administrator and manufacturer applications to join the program.
The FCC and other parties that Standard General and founder Soohyung Kim accuse of participating in a racist conspiracy to torpedo the company's $8.6 billion purchase of Tegna (see 2404250059) are urging dismissal of Standard's suit. Multiple defendants argued in motions to dismiss Monday that Standard's suit before the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia is in the wrong court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in April denied a Standard/Tegna petition for writ of mandamus aimed at pushing the FCC to move on review and approval of the deal (see 2304210058).
Albedo Space is eyeing February for the launch of its initial commercial earth exploration satellite service satellite. It plans having a 24-satellite constellation in orbit by April 2031, it told the FCC Space Bureau in an application posted Monday. It said the constellation, capturing visible and thermal imaging, will operate in very low earth orbit of 320 km.