Month: June 2017

Aviation Interests Reiterate Ligado Concerns

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Representatives of the aviation and aerospace communities have reiterated concerns with Ligado Networks LLC’s proposal to deploy a nationwide LTE network. An ex parte filing in IB dockets 11-109 and 12-340 reporting on a meeting with FCC officials and representatives of Aviation Spectrum Resources, Inc., Airlines for America, Helicopter Association International, and the Aerospace Industries Association said the industry participants “countered the false notion raised in recent filings by Ligado, most recently its June 5, 2017, ex parte, that all opposition to its proposed modifications have been fully addressed and consensus reigns. The Representatives underscored that the issues the aviation and aerospace communities raised earlier in their earlier comments and ex parte submissions in these matters regarding Ligado’s proposals have largely gone unresolved since last summer.

The Representatives explained that they are not opposed to the sort of services that Ligado wants to provide per se – indeed, they recognize the prospective value of the solutions that Ligado claims it will offer to even the aviation and aerospace industries – but noted that, because of the paramount importance of safety of flight, the aviation and aerospace industries maintain grave doubts about Ligado’s chosen location in the radio frequency spectrum and how Ligado plans to offer its services. The open issues turn on the serious potential for spectrum incompatibility affecting safety of flight between Ligado’s proposed operations and certified aviation and non-certified precision GPS receivers on aircraft, aviation safety satellite communications (‘SATCOM’) in adjacent 1600 MHz bands, and reception of weather satellite date broadcast in and adjacent to the 1675-1680 MHz band.”

Courtesy TRDaily

 

FTC Offers Advice to NTIA Group Looking at IoT Security Patching

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The best way to ensure the security of Internet of things devices would be for manufacturers to provide “secure products that receive automatic security updates during the device’s reasonable lifespan,” the Federal Trade Commission said today. Manufacturers that instead decide to allow consumers to choose whether they want security upgrades “should carefully evaluate the effectiveness of their disclosures,” the FTC said in comments submitted to a multistakeholder group examining IoT security upgradability that was convened by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

“Providing consumers with certain security-related information can empower their purchasing and use decisions,” the FTC told the NTIA multistakeholder group.  “At the same time, we note that effective notification is difficult to get right.  Poor disclosures, including overly extensive disclosures, can actually impede consumers’ ability to make informed choices.” Continue reading →

Supreme Court Declines to Review VoIP Patent Dispute Case

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The Supreme Court today declined to review an appellate court ruling in favor of Sprint Communications Co. LP in a VoIP (voice-over-Internet protocol) patent dispute with Cox Communications, Inc. The high court’s ruling in “Cox Communications, Inc., et al. v. Sprint Communications Co. et al.” (case 16-1106) leaves in place a 2016 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (case 16-1013 at the Federal Circuit), which reversed a federal district court ruling.

The patents dealt with the hand-off between narrow-band or circuit-switched networks and broadband or packet-switched networks using a “processing system,” and the dispute revolved around whether that term is definite enough to make the extent of the claims clear.  The Federal Circuit had held that, “read in light of the specification and the prosecution history,” the phrase does not prevent the claims “from informing those skilled in the art about the scope of the invention with reasonable certainty.”

Courtesy TRDaily

High Courts Denial of Cert Leaves SpectrumCo Licenses with Verizon

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The Supreme Court today declined to review an appellate court ruling that rejected NTCH, Inc.’s challenge of two FCC orders approving the transfer of spectrum licenses from the cable consortium SpectrumCo to Verizon Wireless. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. did not take part in the consideration or decision regarding the NTCH petition.

NTCH had argued that approving the license sale would have anti-competitive effects on small carriers by eliminating SpectrumCo as a potential national force in the wireless service market and thus reducing the pressure on Verizon Wireless and AT&T, Inc., to offer reasonable roaming rates to other carriers. NTCH had sought to block the sale or to have the FCC impose conditions on its approval to ameliorate the transaction’s harms, such as requiring Verizon Wireless to offer reasonable roaming rates. Continue reading →

Andy Seybold’s Public Safety Advocate, June 19, 2017

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Spectrum Wars Intensify As engineers have discovered how to make spectrum in the higher reaches of our radio spectrum useful for purposes no one had thought possible, public safety, along with others who needed it, were assigned some of the spectrum, but by no means enough to satisfy the needs of everyone. Now it seems decisions to re-allocate spectrum are being made more and more by attorneys and other officials with no understanding or regard for the implications of their actions. When FirstNet was established by Congress in early 2012, the public safety community was forced to accept a give-back of the television spectrum then being used by both public safety and business radio users in eleven major cities and their suburbs.

Congress explained that in order to have spectrum for broadband, the public safety community would be required to give back some of its spectrum. However, as I a wrote in an earlier Advocate, this requirement will place a burden on the public safety and business communities now using that TV spectrum. It appeared as though Congress honestly believed what one vendor reportedly was telling it, and that is that push-to-talk over LTE is only a few years away, therefore it won’t be a problem to relocate these agencies to FirstNet by 2022. Read the entire article here Continue reading →

Lawmakers, Witnesses Debate How to Give Investigators Cross Border Data Access

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U.S. Justice Department and United Kingdom national security officials today urged House lawmakers to pass legislation to clear the way for U.S. law enforcement agencies to obtain data relevant to criminal investigations that is stored abroad, and for foreign government agencies to obtain data relevant to public safety needs that is stored in the U.S.

“To address the first issue, we recommend a simple legislative fix to make clear that [Stored Communications Act] warrants can be used to obtain data under a provider’s custody or control, even if it is stored abroad. To address the needs of foreign countries and providers facing a conflict of laws, we recommend a new bilateral data-sharing framework that would protect both American and foreign citizens’ privacy interests,” Richard Downing, acting deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said in his written testimony for today’s hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. Some lawmakers questioned whether agreements between countries should be left to law enforcement agencies, or whether they should be adopted through a formal treaty process.  Some committee members also suggested that the proposed legislation should have a provision requiring a congressional vote of approval or allowing for a congressional veto of intergovernmental agency agreements, but Mr. Downing said that such a provision could be found unconstitutional under existing court precedents. Continue reading →

Supporting our Public Safety Heroes, June 1, 2017 – 2:00 pm, By Ajit Pai | FCC Chairman

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You may never need them, but if you do, they’ll be there.

It’s that bedrock promise of protection that makes our public safety officials the unsung heroes that they are.  Whether it’s police officers, firefighters, first responders, or 911 dispatchers, many dedicated Americans work long hours, and often in difficult conditions, to make sure that when someone’s in need, they can help.

One of the reasons why Congress created the FCC—a reason it embedded in the very first section of the Communications Act of 1934—was “for the purpose of promoting safety of life and property through the use of wire and radio communications.”  At our next public meeting on June 22, the FCC will aim to meet this charge by considering three ways to help law enforcement and first responders do their jobs.  We will recognize and support these often-unsung heroes during Public Safety Month at the Commission. Continue reading →

FCC’s Connect2Health Task Force Updates Mapping Broadband Health in America

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The Federal Communications Commission’s Connect2Health Task Force has announced updates to its platform (available at www.fcc.gov/health/maps).  The 2017 platform now reflects the latest complete annual fixed broadband dataset from the Commission and updated health data from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s County Health Rankings.  As telehealth, telemedicine, and other cutting-edge mHealth initiatives gain momentum across the country, this web-based mapping platform enables more efficient, data-driven decision making at the intersection of broadband and health.   “As a famous writer once said, ‘data are just summaries of thousands of stories,’” said Michele Ellison, Chair of the Connect2HealthFCC Task Force.  “This critical update to the Task Force’s mapping platform unpacks the broadband health realities faced by communities nationwide and makes them easily accessible to the public and decision-makers.”

For example, understanding the data is the first step in better leveraging broadband to help manage chronic health conditions for seniors in Giles County, Tennessee, access lifesaving specialty care in Harlan County, Kentucky, reduce post-surgical pain through Virtual Reality applications in Barbour County, West Virginia, or connect a veteran to virtual rehab in Warren County, Pennsylvania. That is why the mapping platform is an interactive experience, enabling detailed study of the intersection of connectivity and health for every state and county in the United States.  The data update reinforces many of last year’s key findings, including sizeable and persistent rural/urban gaps.  Notably, counties that need broadband for health the most, tend to have it the least.  Forty-two percent of rural “critical need” counties, representing over 2 million people, had worsening broadband and health metrics.

“We recognize that the upturn in closures of rural hospitals and medical facilities, highlighted in recent research at the University of North Carolina, is of great concern to many,” added Ms. Ellison. “The mapping platform shines a critical spotlight on the need for broadband health solutions in rural and digitally-isolated counties where physician shortages are more than double the national average.  It also demonstrates the importance of initiatives to promote broadband infrastructure deployment.”

Along with the data update, the Task Force has released new priority lists of “critical need” counties in broadband and health—the Priority 2017 and Rural Priority 2017.  The Task Force also introduced a new analytical product―the Positive Trend Counties inventory—that compares broadband and health data year on year (e.g., comparing broadband data from December 2014 to December 2015).  This new inventory identifies priority counties that the data shows have made progress on broadband and/or health measures to a greater or lesser extent, no longer meeting the thresholds as “critical need” counties in broadband and health.

Other key findings include:

  • The number of people living in “double burden” counties has increased. Almost half of U.S. counties have high burdens of chronic disease (e.g., diabetes) as well as a need for greater broadband connectivity.       That translates to over 36 million people who live in counties with a “double burden” of need—an increase of 1 million between 2014 and 2015.
  • Over 60% of rural Americans live in “double burden” counties, while less than 5% of urban America falls into the same category. The rural/urban gap holds true even if the benchmarks are set at 80%, 70%, or 60% broadband access.
  • There are 214 counties―175 of which are majority rural – that have broadband access below 50% and diabetes and obesity rates above the national average. These digitally-isolated counties are home to nearly 7 million people.
  • Preventable hospitalizations (i.e., hospital stays that could have been avoided with appropriate care) are 150% higher in the least connected counties compared to other counties.
  • Some counties did experience significant positive trends in broadband access, such as Upshur County, Texas, and Monroe County, Georgia, both reporting broadband access increases of 60% or more.

The fixed broadband data in the mapping update was released in December 2016 covering data submissions as of December 2015.  The health data is drawn from the 2017 release of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation County Health Rankings & Roadmap. This map data update provided the Task Force with an opportunity to look at broadband and health data between years.

To review this year’s data products (the Priority 2017, Rural Priority 2017, Positive Trend Counties, Key Findings), our sample maps and a tutorial on how to use the platform, please visit www.fcc.gov/health/maps.

In the coming months, the Task Force will continue to focus on rural and underserved communities and will work to catalyze public-partnerships in these counties. Parties interested in these efforts may contact the Task Force at engagec2h@fcc.gov.

The Connect2HealthFCC Task Force also welcomes suggestions and feedback as it continues to enhance the mapping platform.  Comments or additional data concerning enhancements to the mapping platform can be submitted in response to the Public Notice on Broadband-Enabled Health Care Solutions and Technologies (GN Docket 16-46), available at https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-seeks-comment-accelerating-broadband-health-tech-availability.

To learn more about the Connect2HealthFCC Task Force, please visit www.fcc.gov/health.

FEMA Announces FY 2017 Preparedness Grants Notices of Funding Opportunities Due June 22

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On June 2, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Preparedness Grants Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFO). The NOFOs are available at: http://www.fema.gov/preparedness-non-disaster-grants.

There is a quick turn-around on grants this year—Applications are due on June 22, 2017.

 State Administrative Agencies (SAA) should following application submission instructions on Grants.gov. Note, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant NOFO has not yet been released and will be awarded on an ongoing basis throughout FY 2017. OEC prepares a summary of FY 2017 DHS Preparedness Grant Programs to assist in developing proposals that align with DHS funding priorities for emergency communications.

Stakeholders are strongly encouraged to read this summary and the SAFECOM Guidance on Emergency Communications Grants before submitting emergency communications proposals for funding. Please note that OEC is not the administrator for these grants. OEC prepared this summary as a courtesy to its stakeholders. Direct any questions on this summary to OEC at oec@hq.dhs.gov. Questions on FEMA grant programs can be directed to FEMA’s Centralized Scheduling and Information Desk by phone at (800) 368-6498 or by e-mail at askcsid@fema.gov, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST.

Andy Seybold’s Public Safety Advocate, June 15, 2017

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The Art of Opting In to FirstNet Introduction On or about June 19 (next week), the state Single Points of Contact (SPOCs) will be given access to a web portal where they will find the state plan proposals as provided by the FirstNet/AT&T team. This is the first step in the opt-in or opt-out process and the SPOCs will have 45 days to provide FirstNet and AT&T with the state’s questions, comments, and suggestions. FirstNet has made it clear that if a state is happy with the state plan as delivered it can opt in right away and start making use of the AT&T network with priority access (pre-emptive priority to follow at the end of the year), and taking advantage of the cost savings promised during the SPOC meeting last week in Dallas. At the PSCR meeting in San Antonio this week I attended for only two days and I heard rumors there is a race to see which state will be first to opt in. Even so, most states will want to take the entire 45 days and hopefully involve the customers of the network, the public safety community within that state. Read the entire article . Continue reading →