Radio broadcasters are at odds with one another and with NAB over whether the FCC should change FM booster rules to allow geotargeted radio broadcasts, in comments posted through Wednesday in docket 20-401. The NPRM “could open new doors for the marketing practices of small businesses,” said Emmis Communications. Dozens of smaller broadcasters submitted nearly identical comments supporting the proposal (see 2101270069), but NAB asked the FCC to hold off.
ITS America is pushing the FCC to drop plans to change how the 5.9 GHz band is allocated, as a working group released a plan Wednesday on how industry can use the 30 GHz still allocated to intelligent transportation systems, officials said during a webinar Wednesday. They cautioned that the 30 MHz will be usable only if it is protected from Wi-Fi in the other 45 MHz of the band and said some technologies are no longer viable.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau issued an advisory Thursday reminding emergency alert system participants of compliance obligations. The 2019 national EAS test identified several issues “that impair dissemination of EAS messages,” the advisory said. They include following up on messages that don’t meet EAS accessibility requirements, ensuring equipment is monitoring and transmitting, and complying with reporting procedures, the advisory said. “Failure to comply with the EAS rules may subject a violator to sanctions including, but not limited to, substantial monetary forfeitures.”
The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions proposed practices that would help carriers improve the geographic accuracy of wireless emergency alerts. The document was shared with shareholders but hasn’t been made public, an ATIS spokesperson said. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai praised the development Wednesday: WEAs “are a more powerful public safety tool than ever before, but I’ve been clear that more should be done to improve the geographic accuracy of these life-saving messages." Pai asked ATIS’ Wireless Technologies Systems Committee to develop the best practices in September (see 2009100010). A few weeks later, ATIS said it was preparing a white paper (see 2010010055). The report “presents a detailed explanation, accompanied by illustrations, of the broadcast characteristics and other factors that drive the results of the cell/sector selection by the Commercial Mobile Service Providers when building the broadcast for a given alert,” ATIS said. “The white paper is part of a robust standardization effort around WEAs that ATIS is leading.”
Iridium's maritime distress and safety system mobile satellite service is active. There's real-time emergency voice calling and a distress alert, the company said Tuesday. The FCC OK'd the service in 2019 (see 1912270041).
Hill conferees’ version of the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act retains some modified language from separate House- and Senate-passed versions of the measure (HR-6395/S-4049) aimed at hindering Ligado’s L-band plan rollout, as expected (see 2011230063). Ligado’s supporters and opponents aren’t completely satisfied with the language, though both sides spun it as a relative win. Some also believe it’s unlikely the FCC will act soon on the Ligado approval petitions for reconsideration pending before it (see 2005210043). The FCC didn't comment.
The Washington, D.C., Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency asked the FCC for a waiver to do a live wireless emergency alert system test Jan. 8, starting at 11 a.m., in preparation for the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration. The test “involves the use of the WEA text message and city’s official e-mail list portion of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System” and covers an area including the Capitol and White House, said a filing posted Monday in docket 15-91.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai pressured the wireless industry to step up work on geotargeting for wireless emergency alerts, in letters sent Thursday. Commissioners approved an order 5-0 in 2018 (see 1801300027) imposing a Nov. 30, 2019, deadline for carriers to more accurately “geo-target” wireless emergency alerts. Pai asked ATIS to task its Wireless Technologies Systems Committee “with producing best practices that refine … discretionary parameters to further improve enhanced WEA geo-targeting.” The best practices should include the recommended frequency for retransmitting WEAs, the recommended number of location checks devices should perform when determining whether to display an alert, the recommended time devices should wait to get a fix on their location during each check and “the recommended processes to ensure that WEA-capable mobile devices display WEAs received during active voice or data sessions when the device is located within the targeted geographic area,” Pai said. He asked for a document by Q2. A letter to CTIA asked for annual updates, beginning in July, on industry’s “estimates of current and projected market penetration rates of mobile devices that support enhanced WEA geo-targeting." Pai noted CTIA recently informed commission staff that some 18% of active smartphones now support enhanced WEA geotargeting. Pai sought a commitment by Oct. 1. A letter to Qualcomm noted “the availability of enhanced WEA geo-targeting is dependent upon the capabilities of the mobile device’s chipset, many of which are produced by Qualcomm.” Pai asked for a commitment by Oct. 1 that “all Qualcomm-enabled 5G devices currently sold, and to be sold, in the United States will support enhanced WEA geo-targeting -- as Qualcomm has communicated previously to FCC staff.” Public Safety Bureau Chief Lisa Fowlkes blogged that geotargeting is an important enhancement to WEAs, launched in 2012. “We expect the improvement to become more widely available over time, as consumers purchase new smartphones,” she said.
With the launch of FirstNet, and federal focus on interoperable communications, federal-local government relationships have improved markedly over the past 10 years, experts said Thursday on the final day of IWCE's virtual conference. Others said gaps remain.
A trio of House Communications Subcommittee Democratic members from California -- Vice Chair Doris Matsui, Anna Eshoo and Jerry McNerney -- is seeking an FCC briefing “as soon as possible” on the communications-related impacts of recent wildfires and rolling blackouts in that state. The wireless industry amid the wildfires has been seeking a rehearing on a California Public Utilities Commission order requiring 72-hour backup power in certain high-threat fire areas (see 2008200038). The communications impacts of the wildfires and blackouts are especially concerning because “these events are taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the three said in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “Communications outages mean that people are unable to call 9-1-1, let their loved ones know that they are safe, or receive lifesaving alerts, which may include information about alternative wildfire evacuation routes or other information specific to evacuations during the pandemic.” The lawmakers “strongly urge and expect your agency, which is charged with overseeing our nation’s communications networks to promote public safety, to be taking all possible steps to monitor the situation and help ensure that Californians stay connected during this time.” They want the FCC briefing to include information on wildfire and blackout-related outages in California reported to the agency since Aug. 14 and commission actions to monitor the situation and work with the state government and telecom providers. The Democrats also want to know about situations in which wireless emergency alerts were used to issue warnings and provide information on wildfires and the extent to which the FCC is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and others to ensure the WEA system is used “appropriately to protect the public” during the wildfires. The FCC didn’t comment.