Tuesday, April 2, 2019
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This Week's Events include Net Inclusion and a Markup of Save the Internet Act
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FCC Seeks Comment on Improving Wireless Resiliency Framework
Research: A business case for 5G
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This Public Notice is the third in a series that solicits input on the efficacy of the Wireless Resiliency Cooperative Framework. The Federal Communications Commission now seeks feedback on the implementation and effectiveness of each prong of the Framework, including responses to the letters sent by the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) and how to best monitor and document the framework's efficacy. The PSHSB Letters requested summaries of how each Signatory implemented the Framework with regard to the seven hurricanes that impacted the United States and its territories in 2017 and 2018 (Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, Nate, Lane, Florence, and Michael). The PSHSB particularly welcomes comments from cross-sector stakeholders with on-the-ground experience during a disaster in which wireless providers utilized the Framework. The PSHSB intends to use these experiences to help inform recommendations it may make to the FCC on measures to expedite service restoration efforts in the face of a storm or other disastrous event and to also inform the FCC’s ongoing review of the efficacy of the Framework. In addition to stakeholders in the communications and emergency response sectors, the PSHSB is interested in hearing from industry and government bodies at all levels, and particularly from consumers, including people with disabilities and those who may be disproportionately affected by communications outages, as well as from any other interested stakeholders.
PS Docket No. 11-60
Comment Date: April 29, 2019; Reply Date: May 20, 2019
This article studies the impact of different elements driving the business case of a 5G network. The study was performed within 3 boroughs of central London, UK, for the period 2020–2030. 5G-related costs and revenues were calculated to derive the business case. The results show that the business case for a 5G network providing mobile broadband services alone is positive over the time period 2020–2030 but has some risk in the later years of this time period. The business case is also particularly sensitive to assumptions on the revenue uplift and the rate of traffic growth which are inherently challenging to forecast. The sensitivity analysis shows that the return on investment becomes negative if both traffic and costs are significantly higher and revenues increase more slowly than our baseline forecasts. Network sharing helps to substantially improve the business case. Further research is needed to understand the business case on a regional or nationwide basis, and for a network that provides additional services beyond broadband.
Facebook now faces investigations into its business practices from a variety of federal agencies. Officials have opened inquiries into possible civil and criminal violations of laws related to privacy, corporate governance and discrimination. Facebook has largely denied wrongdoing in each of the investigations and said it was cooperating with regulators and law enforcement. Here are the agencies looking into Facebook, and some of the issues involved.
- Federal Trade Commission: potential privacy violations by the social network
- Securities and Exchange Commission: investigating how much Facebook knew about the data harvested by Cambridge Analytica and if executives of the social network properly disclosed its findings
- Department of Justice: investigating whether Cambridge Analytica improperly obtained data on Facebook users. It is also investigating if Facebook properly disclosed what it knew about data-sharing with Cambridge Analytica before news reports revealed the practice.
- Department of Housing and Urban Development: suing Facebook claiming that the company engaged in housing discrimination by allowing advertisers to restrict who is able to see ads based on race and other factors
US national security officials are planning for a future in which the Chinese firm Huawei will have a major share of the advanced global telecommunications market, and have begun to think about how to thwart potential espionage and disruptive cyberattacks enabled by interconnected networks. “We are going to have to figure out a way in a 5G world that we’re able to manage the risks in a diverse network that includes technology that we can’t trust,” said Sue Gordon, the deputy to the director of the US intelligence community. “We’re just going to have to figure that out.” Officials have not let up on their campaign to urge other countries to block Huawei — a firm with close ties to the Chinese government — from their burgeoning 5G networks, which will power everything from self-driving cars to military operations. But they are cognizant that many countries already use low-cost Huawei equipment and will probably continue to rely on it as they transition to the next generation of mobile telecommunications, which will be up to 100 times faster than current 4G platforms.
The Federal Communications Commission solicits nominations for membership on a new Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Job Skills and Training Opportunities Working Group of the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC). This new working group will assist the BDAC in providing advice and recommendations to the FCC and other stakeholders on ways to make more widely available and improve job skills training and development opportunities for the broadband infrastructure deployment workforce. The work of this new BDAC group will help further the FCC’s efforts to encourage the deployment of high-speed broadband to all Americans. Nominations for membership on the BDAC’s Job Skills Working Group should be submitted to the FCC no later than April 15, 2019. Nominees for membership on the BDAC need not reapply. The FCC will automatically consider these existing nominees both for membership on the BDAC and for membership on the new Job Skills Working Group.
Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org) and Robbie McBeath (rmcbeath AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.
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