Vermont lawmakers proposed legislation that would allow police officers to search a driver's cellphone during a traffic stop. The bill, H-527, was introduced by Rep. Martin LaLonde (D) and would allow law enforcement officers to see a driver's phone or other electronic device to determine if it was being used. LaLonde’s bill is an amendment to the state's 2014 ban on using hand-held devices while on highways.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wants New Yorkers to report to him what he calls “cell phone dead zones” and plans to transmit that data to the relevant carriers. “Cell phones are essential for New Yorkers, but what good is a cell phone unless you have good coverage?” Schumer, a member of Democratic leadership, said in a news release Tuesday. “New Yorkers are using wireless carriers far more than landlines to keep in touch with loved ones and to place important calls and so, our wireless carriers need to make sure our cell phone coverage is uninterrupted. I’m urging New Yorkers from all over to submit dead zone locations to my website so that wireless carriers can make sure they are fixed.” The form on his website asks New Yorkers to rate the coverage 1-5 in quality and asks for precise information on where these dead zones exist.
During consultation meetings in 2015, FirstNet received many accounts of how first responders throughout the country prepare for and respond to emergencies of all sizes to improve communications, coordination and situational awareness during emergency response operations, FirstNet said in a Tuesday blog post. Many consultation meeting participants provided case studies about how mobile broadband technology is assisting law enforcement and how a dedicated nationwide public safety broadband network would help them with timely and efficient responses to emergencies, it said. Over the past year and a half, FirstNet said it's engaged with the public safety community in 55 states and territories, giving the network in-person feedback from almost 4,000 public safety representatives. "Each state and territory is different, and we strive to be accessible, flexible, and adaptable to account for their unique characteristics and needs," the post said. "In addition to briefing law enforcement agency representatives directly, FirstNet increased its federal outreach and briefed the leadership of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers," which it said trains most U.S. federal agencies.
After a Jan. 5 accident in southern Florida, some of AT&T's buried cables were cut by another company, and wireline, Internet and video service to about 600 people was knocked out, said a company spokeswoman. Services for 911 were fine, she said. About 70 customers remained without service on Friday, but AT&T hopes to remedy that by early this week, she said. The damage to AT&T's equipment was extensive, and the repair team had to rebuild the infrastructure before it could start reestablishing connectivity, the spokeswoman said.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) unveiled a cybersecurity initiative, in his state of the state address Thursday. The state has crystalized plans to create the National Cybersecurity Intelligence Center in Colorado, he said. "This center can be the country’s foremost authority on cybersecurity research and development, training and education," Hickenlooper said. "It will provide real time response capability for businesses to detect, prevent, remediate and recover from threats and hacks." The governor is proposing to build the center in Colorado Springs because the region has a concentration of assets, private sector interest and connection to the University of Colorado Colorado Springs cybersecurity program, he said.
The California Public Utilities Commission's new website went live this week, a CPUC release said. The site aims to improve user interface and navigation, provide better functionality, improve its design and create a more consistent online presence, the agency said Monday. The CPUC released a reformatted Consumer Information Center designed to make it easy for consumers to get information about utility services, file a complaint and comment on CPUC proceedings.
AT&T plans to hire about 300 people to fill available jobs in Kansas and Missouri, a Thursday news release from the company said. The positions are primarily technicians and retail support jobs, AT&T said. More than half of the available jobs in Missouri and Kansas are in the Kansas City metropolitan area, it said. AT&T employs roughly 12,000 people in the two states, the company said.
Stanley County, North Carolina, is between two of Google's upcoming gigabit cities, but because of how sparsely populated it is, the county will likely not be the next to receive gigabit service, said a blog post from the Coalition for Local Internet Choice (CLIC) in North Carolina. CLIC says it represents public and private interests that support the authority of local communities to make broadband Internet decisions that are important for economic competitiveness. To keep the county's young people and businesses, county officials need to be creative to develop broadband opportunities without breaking the state law that limits local governments' authority to do so, CLIC said. County officials chose to build rather than lease a public safety tower because "aerial space like that is good real estate for multiple purposes," the CLIC said. Connecting the tower with fiber could provide needed backhaul that would help private carriers and provide leasable connections for a private-sector partner, it said. It will help fill in the region’s middle mile gap, CLIC said.
The FCC should rely more on the efficiency measures it adopted in 2014 for state and local governmental decision-making on tower-siting applications, Gregory Vogt said Monday in a blog post for the Free State Foundation. The Montgomery County v. FCC decision (see 1512180045) in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the FCC's 60-day "deemed granted" remedy was constitutional and a "reasonable interpretation of ambiguous provisions" contained in Section 6409(a) of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, the blog post said. Adoption of time limits for reaching decisions in proceedings and "deemed granted" solutions are an important part of achieving more efficient government processes, Vogt said. The "deemed granted" remedy for tower siting applications is laudable, and this type of mechanism would work especially well in proceedings where the original policy issues have already been substantially resolved, such as routine license applications and waiver petitions, he said. "Either Congress, or the FCC itself, should expand upon the FCC's laudable step, now upheld in court, in speeding state and local government antenna siting decisions to encompass speeding up a number of the FCC's own processes," the post said. "This will permit the Commission at all levels to come closer to acting with the speed of business for the ultimate benefit of consumers."
The FCC released its annual Report to Congress on State Collection and Distribution of 911 and Enhanced 911 Fees and Charges for public comment in docket 09-14, said a Friday public notice from the commission. The report covers the collection and distribution of 911 and E-911 fees and charges for the calendar year ending Dec. 31, 2014, and was submitted to Congress Dec. 31, 2015, the notice said. Eight states reported diverting or transferring 911/E-911 fees for purposes other than 911/E-911, the report said. Of those, five -- California, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Virginia and West Virginia -- used a portion of their 911/E-911 funds to support other public safety or emergency response-related programs, it said. Three -- Illinois, New York and Rhode Island -- diverted a portion of their 911/E9-11 funds for either nonpublic safety, or unspecified, uses, it said. The total amount of 911/E-911 funds diverted by all reporting jurisdictions in calendar year 2014 was $223.42 million or about 8.8 percent of total 911/E-911 fees collected, the survey said. Fourteen states reported collecting 911/E-911 fees at the state level, nine reported collecting fees at the local level and 24 states collected fees at both the state and local level, it said. Fees and charges collected on a per-state basis ranged from a low of $8.16 million by Delaware to a high of $213.98 million by Illinois, the report said. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia reported spending 911/E-911 funds on next-generation 911 (NG-911) programs in calendar year 2014, it said. The total amount of reported NG-911 expenditures from the fees was $227.57 million or about 9 percent of total 911/E-911 fees collected, it said. Forty-eight states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, the Navajo Nation and three Bureau of Indian Affairs offices responded to the report year’s data request, the report said. Comments are due Feb. 8, replies March 9.