Advocacy organizations and industry groups welcomed an FCC notice of inquiry seeking ways to expand access to the Lifeline and affordable connectivity programs for survivors of domestic and sexual violence (see 2207140055). Some sought additional flexibility in providing eligibility documentation for survivors, in comments posted Friday in docket 22-238.
FirstNet is expected to file soon an application for renewal of the nationwide 700 MHz license it received in 2012, which expires Nov. 15, government officials told us. FirstNet Authority officials say renewal of the license is a top priority for the public safety network, being built by AT&T (see 2208170043). Industry experts said renewal likely won’t be a problem, though it would make sense for FirstNet to apply as soon as possible.
A new report out of Europe by Digital Power China (DPC) questions whether open radio access network deployments are really the answer to network security and preventing Chinese domination of the network equipment market. The report comes amid developments at Mavenir and Parallel Wireless, two leading O-RAN companies.
Industry disagreed whether the FCC should impose additional requirements on certain voice service providers to combat illegal robocalls (see 2207150053). Some agreed with a proposal to impose additional measures on intermediate providers, in comments posted Thursday in docket 17-97. Others sought flexibility as providers continue to implement Stir/Shaken caller ID authentication.
Tech and antitrust staffers on the Senate Commerce and Senate Judiciary Committees top the list of potential successors to FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips, former officials and industry representatives told us.
State broadband offices are adapting to much larger sums of cash than they had in years past, due to recent federal laws, said a Tennessee official at a virtual Broadband Breakfast event Wednesday. Building broadband “to and through” anchor institutions can sometimes be the best option to reach rural communities, said New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI) and the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition in a Wednesday report.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., ranking member Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and six other senators urged the FCC Wednesday to “stay and reconsider” its April 2020 approval of Ligado’s L-band plan, the latest renewal of their longstanding opposition to the action (see 2004160030). A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine panel, meanwhile, plans to soon release “an independent technical review” of the FCC’s Ligado order.
The FirstNet Authority Board approved a $358 million budget Wednesday for FY 2023, which includes $190 million for investments in building a better network. The in-person meeting was closed to the public but streamed from Los Angeles. FirstNet acting CEO Lisa Casias warned of one looming concern -- the need for the FCC to renew FirstNet’s spectrum license.
ASPEN, Colo. -- Governments’ prioritization of data localization turns out to be a bad idea in times of crisis, with vital government data one of the early Russian targets in its invasion of Ukraine, tech security experts said Tuesday at the Technology Policy Institute’s Aspen Forum. A panel on Ukrainian connectivity focused repeatedly on the need for rebuilding the country's communications networks to use providers not controlled by authoritarian regimes. Ruth Berry, acting deputy assistant secretary, State Department's Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, said there's wide agreement there's not enough diversity and resilience in the telecom network supply chain, which is why Open RAN is such an imperative.
Communicating with the public through 10-digit long codes (10DLC) remains complicated, with many pitfalls for groups that consider it a way to reach the public, speakers said during a virtual Coalition for Open Messaging meeting Tuesday.