The FCC should let network operators decide the best way to mitigate interference on the 3.5 GHz band, said a carrier, high-technology firms and other companies commenting on spectrum access systems for use on the 3550-3650 MHz band. SAS shouldn’t “directly control different aspects of the network,” T-Mobile said Monday (http://bit.ly/1ddo1fJ). Google and Microsoft also filed papers with the FCC on the technical aspects of the SAS in advance of a Jan. 14 workshop being hosted by the Wireless Bureau and the Office of Engineering and Technology. The FCC has targeted the band for shared commercial use.
The yet-to-be-introduced Cybersecurity Recruitment and Retention Act “aims to give [the Department of Homeland Security] hiring and retention authorities for cybersecurity professionals that are comparable to the ones allowed to the Department of Defense so that DHS can strengthen its workforce and more effectively carry out its cybersecurity mission,” a Senate Homeland Security Committee aide told us. The committee postponed a planned Dec. 18 markup of the bill and has not set a new timeline for action on the measure (CD Jan 6 p2). Committee Chairman Tom Carper, D-Del., and ranking member Tom Coburn, R-Okla., “hope to move a bipartisan measure, including legislation to enhance the ability of DHS to recruit and retain the cyber workforce it needs to protect the department and our nation, in the new year,” the committee aide said.
The yet-to-be-introduced Cybersecurity Recruitment and Retention Act “aims to give [the Department of Homeland Security] hiring and retention authorities for cybersecurity professionals that are comparable to the ones allowed to the Department of Defense so that DHS can strengthen its workforce and more effectively carry out its cybersecurity mission,” a Senate Homeland Security Committee aide told us. The committee postponed a planned Dec. 18 markup of the bill and has not set a new timeline for action on the measure (WID Jan 6 p2). Committee Chairman Tom Carper, D-Del., and ranking member Tom Coburn, R-Okla., “hope to move a bipartisan measure, including legislation to enhance the ability of DHS to recruit and retain the cyber workforce it needs to protect the department and our nation, in the new year,” the committee aide said.
After Congress ended 2013 without enacting any major legislation to bolster cybersecurity, industry observers told us in interviews they see limited prospects for progress on such bills in 2014. Congress passed two spending bills that included some cybersecurity language, but did not complete consideration of marquee legislation addressing the issue, including the House-passed Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (HR-624) and the Cybersecurity Act of 2013 (S-1353).
After Congress ended 2013 without enacting any major legislation to bolster cybersecurity, industry observers told us in interviews they see limited prospects for progress on such bills in 2014. Congress passed two spending bills that included some cybersecurity language, but did not complete consideration of marquee legislation addressing the issue, including the House-passed Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (HR-624) and the Cybersecurity Act of 2013 (S-1353).
U.S. civil society groups are in the early stages of deciding how they will participate in important ITU-led communications forums set to occur in 2014, industry experts told us. Federal agencies responsible for formulating the U.S. government’s position on ITU issues are continuing to prepare for the 2014 forums, which will culminate in the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference Oct. 20-Nov. 7 (CD Dec 23 p9).
U.S. civil society groups are in the early stages of deciding how they will participate in important ITU-led communications forums set to occur in 2014, industry experts told us. Federal agencies responsible for formulating the U.S. government’s position on ITU issues are continuing to prepare for the 2014 forums, which will culminate in the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference Oct. 20-Nov. 7 (WID Dec 23 p2).
U.S. officials are continuing to plan for the upcoming World Telecommunication Development Conference, although the ITU hasn’t announced a new locale for the conference. The WTDC, held every four years, sets the agenda and guidelines for the ITU’s Development Sector for the following four years. The WTDC had been set for March 31-April 11 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, but the ITU decided to move the conference because of continuing political instability in the country, an industry observer told us.
U.S. officials are continuing to plan for the upcoming World Telecommunication Development Conference, although the ITU hasn’t announced a new locale for the conference. The WTDC, held every four years, sets the agenda and guidelines for the ITU’s Development Sector for the following four years. The WTDC had been set for March 31-April 11 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, but the ITU decided to move the conference because of continuing political instability in the country, an industry observer told us.
The scope of the FTC’s proposed study of patent assertion entities is “far broader than necessary to serve the proper performance of the functions of the FTC,” said InterDigital in a filing to the FTC released Wednesday (http://1.usa.gov/1ho7tkd). The FTC voted in September to begin exploring a proposed PAE study, which it would launch using its authority under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act (CD Sept 30 p15). InterDigital said it doesn’t believe it’s a PAE as the FTC defined it in its study proposal, though many of the company’s critics have defined it as one. The FTC defined PAEs as “firms with a business model based primarily on purchasing patents and then attempting to generate revenue” by asserting their intellectual property rights “against persons who are already practicing the patented technologies.” Intellectual property groups and other companies often defined as PAEs also expressed significant concerns with the proposed study.