1. Monthly archive
  2. April 2015

April 2015

Open Meeting

Federal Communications Commission
October 22, 2015
10:30 AM - 12:30 PM EDT
http://www.fcc.gov/events/open-commission-meeting-october-2015

The FCC will consider:

  1. A Report and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would adopt comprehensive reform of intrastate, interstate, and international Interstate Inmate Calling (ICS) calls to ensure just, reasonable and fair ICS rates, and seek comment on additional measures the Commission could take to ensure that interstate and intrastate ICS are provided consistent with the statute and public interest.
  2. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would streamline the foreign ownership review process for broadcast licensees and applicants, and standardize the review process for broadcast, common carrier and aeronautical licensees and applicants.
  3. A Report and Order addressing when and in what areas 600 MHz Band wireless licensees will be deemed to “commence operations” for the purposes of establishing when the secondary and unlicensed users must cease operations and vacate the 600 MHz Band in those areas.
  4. A Third Report & Order and First Order on Reconsideration that adopts rules to govern interservice interference between broadcast television stations and wireless licensees in the 600 MHz Band following the incentive auction and sets out protection criteria for television stations and wireless operations in the band.
  5. A Second Order on Reconsideration to provide additional flexibility to broadcasters interested in the incentive auction channel sharing option by clarifying that “back-up” channel sharing agreements are permitted under the rules and providing more time for successful incentive auction bidders to transition to shared facilities after the auction.
  6. A Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on whether to modify, in part, the four-year compensation rate plan for video relay service (VRS) and whether to adopt measures that may enhance the functional equivalence of VRS. In the same item, the Commission will consider an Order to modify, in part, the currently applicable VRS compensation rates pending action on the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
  7. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes to create new flexible use service rules in certain bands above 24 GHz to support multiple uses, including mobile wireless.

Open Meeting

Federal Communications Commission
September 17, 2015
10:30 AM - 12:30 PM EDT
http://www.fcc.gov/events/open-commission-meeting-september-2015

Modernizing Contest Rules -- The FCC will consider a Report and Order to provide broadcasters greater flexibility in their disclosure of contest terms.

Submarine Cable Reliability -- The FCC will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes to require submarine cable licensees to report outages.

Deletion of Consent Agenda Items: http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2015/db0917/DOC-...


Open Meeting

Federal Communications Commission
August 6, 2015
10:30 AM - 12:30 PM EDT
http://www.fcc.gov/events/open-commission-meeting-august-2015

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the August Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 6, 2015:

Emerging Wireline Networks and Services: The FCC will consider a Report and Order, Order on Reconsideration, and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that will advance longstanding competition and consumer protection policies on a technologically-neutral basis, and further the technology transitions underway in our Nation’s fixed communications networks
that offer the prospect of innovative and improved services to consumers and businesses alike.

Ensuring Continuity of 911 Communications: The FCC will consider a Report and Order that would protect consumers through the transitions from legacy copper networks to modern networks by adopting rules to ensure that consumers have options, and sufficient information about those options, to maintain 911 communications at home during power outages.

Mobile Spectrum Holdings: The FCC will consider an Order on Reconsideration addressing petitions for reconsideration of certain aspects of the Mobile Spectrum Holdings Report and Order.

Incentive Auction Procedures: The FCC will take the next step to commencing the incentive auction in the first quarter of 2016 by considering the Procedures Public Notice, which adopts a balanced set of auction procedures that will ensure an effective, efficient, and timely auction. The Public Notice establishes and provides information on final procedures for setting the initial spectrum clearing target, qualifying to bid, and bidding in the reverse and forward auctions.

Unlicensed Operations in TV Bands and 600 MHz Band: The FCC will consider a Report and Order that adopts technical and operational rules for unlicensed services, including wireless microphone operations, in the broadcast television bands and in the post-incentive auction 600 MHz band. The rules are intended to maximize unlicensed access to spectrum while ensuring
that licensed services are protected from harmful interference.

Wireless Microphones: The FCC will consider a Report and Order that adopts a plan to accommodate the long-term needs of wireless microphone users by providing new opportunities for their use in the broadcast television bands and in several other frequency bands.


Open Meeting

Federal Communications Commission
July 16, 2015
10:30 AM - 12:30 PM EDT
http://www.fcc.gov/events/open-commission-meeting-july-2015

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the July Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, July 16, 2015:

[POSTPONED] Incentive Auction Procedures -- The FCC will take the next step to commencing the incentive auction in the first quarter of 2016 by considering the Procedures Public Notice, which adopts a balanced set of auction procedures that will ensure an effective, efficient, and timely auction. The Public Notice establishes and provides information on final procedures for setting the initial spectrum clearing target, qualifying to bid, and bidding in the reverse and forward auctions.

[POSTPONED] Mobile Spectrum Holdings -- The FCC will consider an Order on Reconsideration addressing petitions for reconsideration of certain aspects of the Mobile Spectrum Holdings Report and Order.

Competitive Bidding -- The FCC will consider a Report and Order, Order on Reconsideration, Third Order on Reconsideration and a Third Report and Order that provides meaningful opportunities for small businesses, rural telephone companies, and businesses owned by members of minority groups and women to participate in the provision of spectrum-based services, and also strengthens the FCC's rules to protect against unjust enrichment to ineligible entities.


Open Meeting

Federal Communications Commission
June 18, 2015
10:30 AM - 12:30 PM EDT
https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-333693A1.pdf

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda:

  1. Direct Access to Numbers for Interconnected VoIP Providers: The FCC will consider a Report and Order that will facilitate innovative technologies and services by establishing a process to authorize interconnected VoIP providers to obtain telephone numbers directly from the Numbering Administrators, rather than through intermediaries.
  2. Lifeline Reform and Modernization: In order to comprehensively restructure and modernize the Lifeline program to efficiently and effectively connect low-income Americans to broadband, strengthen program oversight and administration, and take additional measures to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, the FCC will consider a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Order on Reconsideration, Second Report and Order, and Memorandum Opinion and Order.
  3. Protecting Consumers Against Unwanted Robocalls: The FCC will consider a Declaratory Ruling and Order reaffirming the Telephone Consumer Protection Act's protections against unwanted robocalls, encouraging pro-consumer uses of robocall technology, and responding to a number of requests for clarity from businesses and other callers.

Federal Communications Commission
Thursday, June 11, 2015
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-15-498A1.pdf


How Google and Facebook are finding victims of the Nepal earthquake

As the death toll from the April 25 7.8-magnitude Nepalese earthquake inches higher, help in finding and identifying missing persons has come from an unusual source: Silicon Valley tech giants. Both Google and Facebook deployed collaborative, cellphone-based tools to help track victims of the earthquake. In the midst of both company’s big push to bring Internet to the developing world, it’s an important illustration of exactly how powerful that connectivity could be. And yet, in a country like Nepal -- where there are only 77 cellphone subscriptions per 100 people versus 96 in the US and 125 in the UK -- it’s also a reminder of how very far that effort still has to go.

Facebook’s Safety Check essentially lets users do two things, depending on where they are. Users in an area impacted by a natural disaster can log onto the site and mark themselves as “safe.” Meanwhile, users around the world can log into the site and check if any of their friends are in the impacted area. Like Safety Check, Google Person Finder is intended to connect people in a disaster area with friends and family around the world. Google’s five-year-old project also operates on a larger scale, however: It basically provides a massive, open platform to collaboratively track missing persons’ reports. Previously, Google’s deployed the tool to help victims in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan and the Boston bombing. That raises an interesting question about the whole Silicon Valley-saves-the-world complex: How useful are these services, really, if most people can’t access them?

ITU deploys emergency communication equipment in Nepal

International Telecommunication Union has deployed emergency telecommunication equipment in Nepal following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the country on 25 April 2015. The emergency equipment includes 35 satellite mobile phones and 10 satellite Broadband Global Area Network terminals along with solar panels and laptops to support relief coordination efforts.

“I would like to express my deepest condolences to the people and the Government of Nepal following loss of life even as the toll continues to rise and widespread devastation across the country,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. “The emergency communication equipment sent by ITU will help restore vital communication links that are essential to coordinate relief and rescue efforts.” “Emergency telecommunications play a critical role in the immediate aftermath of disasters,” said Mr Brahima Sanou, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau. “They ensure timely flow of information that is much needed by government agencies and other humanitarian actors involved in rescue operations.”

ESPN sues Verizon over skinnier, cheaper cable offerings

ESPN filed suit against Verizon on April 27 for creating cheaper, smaller cable offerings that included the sports operator's channels, allegedly without permission. The lawsuit intensifies the battle between networks and providers that erupted in the face of market pressures, as more consumers cut the cord to the traditional cable bundle in favor of online streaming options. Earlier in April, Verizon announced its FiOS cable service would offer "Custom TV," which are slimmer and less expensive packages of channels grouped by genres, such as sports or kids entertainment, to appeal to potential cord cutters.

"ESPN is at the forefront of embracing innovative ways to deliver high-quality content and value to consumers on multiple platforms, but that must be done in compliance with our agreements. We simply ask that Verizon abide by the terms of our contracts," the company said. An ESPN spokesperson added that the disagreement was not primarily about money, but about sending a message that cable partners can't "unilaterally change deals" without permission. The spokesperson added that ESPN and several programmers negotiated for more than one year with Dish Network to carry programs on a new streaming service called SlingTV and that the network expects the same approach to new packages by FiOS and other distributors. Deirdre Hart, a spokeswoman for Verizon, responded: "Consumers have spoken loud and clear that they want choice, and the industry should be focused on giving consumers what they want. We are well within our rights under our agreements to offer our customers these choices."

Libertarian groups press Sen McConnell on surveillance reform

A group of conservative and libertarian groups sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) opposing his proposal to reauthorize portions of the Patriot Act without attaching surveillance reform. The coalition said avoiding reform would leave Congress “subordinate to the administration’s creative reinterpretation” of the law. "Today’s domestic surveillance programs are just the tip of the iceberg compared to how the [National Security Agency] could use its current authority to spy on Americans’ communications on the Internet and future technologies we haven’t even imagined,” the group wrote in the letter to Majority Leader McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).

The letter was signed by 13 groups, including TechFreedom, R Street Institute, FreedomWorks and the Competitive Enterprise Institute. The letter advised the Senate “not to renew the expiring Patriot provisions, especially Section 215, without significant reform.” They argued the domestic surveillance program violates constitutional values, has proven costly and unnecessary, and hurts US technology business abroad.

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