Commissioners 4-0 OK'd a public notice Thursday designating innovation zones for experimental licenses in Raleigh and Boston, while expanding New York City's, as expected (see 2108030052). Commissioner Geoffrey Starks urged the FCC to provide licensed spectrum for drones. The Raleigh zone is focused on unmanned aircraft systems.
Some FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction bidders that received letters allowing them to withdraw certain bids without penalties said in recent interviews they plan to keep their provisionally won bids (see 2107260044). One big RDOF winner, LTD Broadband, told us it may take up the agency on its request. Experts said RDOF Phase II may not start for months as a result.
The FCC Wireline Bureau Lifeline report (see 2107060056) highlights the need for commissioners to consider pausing increases in standards, stakeholders said in recent interviews. Some said the agency should delay the phase-down in voice-only support and consider increasing the subsidy amount, particularly amid the pandemic. The report released about two weeks ago said the formula for updating minimum service standards will "continue to yield increasingly high results." MSS increases have sparked concerns.
The FCC released an order and Further NPRM Tuesday requiring the disabling of contraband wireless devices detected in correctional facilities. The order addresses oversight, carrier liability and how 911 calls are handled. It was OK’d 4-0 Monday. It establishes a two-phase process for authorizing contraband interdiction systems (CISs) to detect contraband devices and establishes a “rule-based process” for disabling contraband devices. “Although wireless providers continue to prefer a court order process, more recently they acknowledged certain jurisdictions don't have the time or resources to issue court orders and that a rule-based framework could be designed in a way that is efficient, straightforward, and that replicates the accuracy and accountability of the court order process,” the order said. The framework provides rules for certifying CIS providers and for testing systems. The FCC said it decided against reporting requirements for stakeholders: “The two-step certification process we adopt … will provide the Commission with a substantial amount of information on the general operating design of CISs as well as the specific deployment plans for particular correctional facilities.” The FCC said carriers won't be reimbursed for disabling devices, as had been urged by T-Mobile, saying the costs should be minimal. The FNPRM asked about “quiet zones” in and around prisons “in which wireless communications are not authorized such that contraband wireless devices in correctional facilities would not receive service.” It asked about geofencing. It asked about the efficacy of using beacon systems to disable contraband devices. “Addressing this problem is not easy,” said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel: “The incentive to bring these devices into prisons and jails will not simply go away with better contraband interdiction." Commissioner Brendan Carr told reporters he witnessed “truckloads” of contraband devices pulled out of one prison. “Any time we’re making even any progress," he said, "it’s something that gets my support.” The wireless industry "has a longstanding commitment to collaborating with all stakeholders to find effective solutions," a CTIA spokesperson emailed. "An FCC process for terminating service to contraband phones can further that goal.”
The bulk of FCC staff won’t return to the office until the FCC completes negotiations with its employee union, but talks haven’t been scheduled, per the National Treasury Employees Union and an Office of Personnel Management memo. Other agencies said they're trying to figure out their own return to their headquarters.
Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Yvette Clarke, both of New York, led a letter with 26 other House Democrats urging the FCC to examine whether its past programs and policies caused harm to communities of color, “redress” those effects and “identify the affirmative steps the agency commits to taking to break down barriers to just media and telecommunication practices.” The lawmakers cited President Joe Biden’s Jan. 20 executive order encouraging federal agencies to conduct such reviews. “Historic federal policies are a primary reason why structural inequities exist in our nation’s media and telecommunication systems today,” the Democrats wrote acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “FCC policies, license decisions and inaction have had the result of effectively excluding people of color from media ownership opportunities. Our nation’s first radio and TV licenses were awarded ... during an era of Jim Crow segregation. The previous administration's efforts to consolidate the media marketplace limited ownership opportunities for people of color and women.” The “lack of affordable broadband has left too many households of color unable to use the internet to take care of the health and well-being of their families, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the lawmakers said. Rosenworcel “is committed to ensuring that FCC policies are equitable, fair, and transparent,” a spokesperson emailed. “While the FCC is an independent agency, it has been working diligently under her leadership to follow” Biden’s EO. “More work remains to be done,” the spokesperson said. “We are committed to working with those who sent this letter to do so.” The “current media system is unjust and the FCC must begin the process of repair,” said Free Press Senior Director-Strategy and Engagement Joseph Torres. “That starts with a thorough investigation of the history of racism in the agency’s policymaking.”
Wireless power-at-a-distance developer Ossia met with aides to FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Brendan Carr and Gregory Starks to stress the U.S. needs a “level regulatory playing field” to compete with Canada, China, Japan and EU on the technology, said a filing posted Friday in docket 19-226. Regulatory authorities of U.S. competitors are “rapidly moving forward” to approve wireless power at a distance, said Ossia. Other countries have taken “significant steps to embrace wireless power transfer,” it said, and China is “particularly active” through innovations from Huawei, Lenovo and Xiaomi. “It is no exaggeration to say that 5G and IoT cannot fully develop” without technology like Ossia's, it said. Billions of new 5G and IoT devices will need power, “and there are not enough batteries or electricians in the world to make that possible,” it said.
Wireless power-at-a-distance developer Ossia met with aides to FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Brendan Carr and Gregory Starks to stress the U.S. needs a “level regulatory playing field” to compete with Canada, China, Japan and EU on the technology, said a filing posted Friday in docket 19-226. Regulatory authorities of U.S. competitors are “rapidly moving forward” to approve wireless power at a distance, said Ossia. Other countries have taken “significant steps to embrace wireless power transfer,” it said, and China is “particularly active” through innovations from Huawei, Lenovo and Xiaomi. “It is no exaggeration to say that 5G and IoT cannot fully develop” without technology like Ossia's, it said. Billions of new 5G and IoT devices will need power, “and there are not enough batteries or electricians in the world to make that possible,” it said.
Wireless power-at-a-distance developer Ossia met with aides to FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Brendan Carr and Gregory Starks to stress the U.S. needs a “level regulatory playing field” to compete with Canada, China, Japan and EU on the technology, said a filing posted Friday in docket 19-226. Regulatory authorities of U.S. competitors are “rapidly moving forward” to approve wireless power at a distance, said Ossia. Other countries have taken “significant steps to embrace wireless power transfer,” it said, and China is “particularly active” through innovations from Huawei, Lenovo and Xiaomi. “It is no exaggeration to say that 5G and IoT cannot fully develop” without technology like Ossia's, it said. Billions of new 5G and IoT devices will need power, “and there are not enough batteries or electricians in the world to make that possible,” it said.
CTA raised concerns as FCC commissioners approved 4-0 Thursday an NPRM and notice of inquiry that would further clamp down on gear from companies deemed to pose a security risk in U.S. networks. Commissioners said several questions were added since a draft of the item circulated, as expected (see 2106090063).