The FCC’s Technological Advisory Council today received updates from its working groups on progress they are making on a myriad of issues, such as ways to prevent the theft of smartphones and efforts to secure “Internet of things” consumer devices. The panel also held off authorizing a proposed ad hoc group to begin work in earnest to study the RF noise floor and interference.
During today’s meeting at the FCC’s headquarters, the TAC got updates from its eight working groups on their progress toward studying a variety of issues.
For example, Brian Daly, director-core & government/regulatory standards at AT&T Labs and co-chair of the mobile device theft prevention working group, said an interim report is expected be done by next month and a final report is expected to be ready for the December TAC meeting on stolen phone databases. He also reported industry progress in this area, including work by the GSM industry on best practices.
Mr. Daly also said that consumer outreach regarding stolen devices is fragmented and not all consumers report to police when their devices are stolen. Also, some smaller carriers don’t utilize the database, he said.
Regarding device theft prevention features, Mr. Daly said that CTIA is considering updating its voluntary commitments in response to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s call that any features be installed on phones in a default setting, forcing consumers to disable them if they don’t want them.
Preliminary recommendations of the working group include more study by industry into calls for more consumer use of anti-smartphone theft solutions, as well as an industry investigation into whether the greater anti-theft functionality on devices will increase future consumer use, Mr. Daly said.
A working group on unlicensed services plans in the fourth quarter of this year to submit (1) recommendations for additional spectrum between 5 gigahertz and 50 GHz, (2) an updated statement on etiquette, and (3) recommendations regarding the spectrum that should be used for life-essential services, according to Mark Bayliss, co-chair of the working group and president of Visual Link Internet.
He said that local governments that use unlicensed spectrum for traffic control services should consider using licensed spectrum or fiber or their applications “could just stop working at any time” due to interference to unlicensed bands.
The cybersecurity working group is looking at the following issues: (1) simplifying smartphone security, (2) applying security to IoT consumer products, and (3) securing software-defined networks.
Among the recommendations concerning smartphone security are (1) getting mobile operating system vendors involved, (2) preparing a consumer questionnaire, (3) defining a vetting approach so people can trust app stores, and (4) providing a security checker, said Paul Steinberg, the working group’s co-chair and chief technology officer for Motorola Solutions, Inc.
Regarding IoT devices, Tom McGarry, vice president of Neustar, Inc., who is helping lead a sub working group, said that industry is working on securing IoT devices but it’s unclear what progress has been made. There is no industry certification program for IoT devices, he said, and a “potential recommendation” would be to create an industry IoT certification process, although he stressed that there is no consensus yet on such a recommendation.
The co-chairs of the spectrum and receivers working group recommended that the TAC approve the establishment of an ad hoc group to study RF noise floor and interference.
But there was little support for the suggestion that the ad hoc group begin its work in earnest at this time. Instead, the TAC suggested that spectrum and receivers working group members scope out the issues with the expectation that it will do more work next year.
Pierre De Vries, a consultant and TAC member, said that while the RF noise floor and interference are critical issues to explore, he noted the current work that TAC members are already tackling, saying the panel is already “beyond the breaking point as a functional body.”
Dennis Roberson, the chairman of the TAC and vice provost and research professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology, directed the spectrum and receivers group to scope out the issues using resources outside the TAC that have been identified.
Lynn Claudy, senior vice president-science and technology for the National Association of Broadcasters and co-chair of the working group, said the initial work of the ad hoc group should include researching RF noise floor literature, the FCC’s rules, test data, and other areas.
Mr. Claudy also updated the TAC on the current work of the spectrum and receivers working group.
He said it is updating a “straw man” proposal and preparing preliminary recommendations for a comprehensive system engineering study. He also described various proposed principles for new band allocations, which the group plans to present along with a white paper at the December meeting. Among other things, the principles state (1) that receivers, systems, and transmitters all have responsibilities; (2) that there are benefits of disclosing to the FCC operating characteristics; and (3) that the use of interference limits are helpful to distinguish harmful interference.
The next meeting of the TAC is scheduled for Dec. 9 from 12:30-4:30 p.m. – Paul Kirby, paul.kirby@wolterskluwer.com
Courtesy TRDaily