Triveni Digital will offer ATSC 3.0 starter kits for low-power TV stations at the April 23 LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition Repack Rally, the company said in a news release: They are "designed to bring broadcasters up to speed with the new broadcast television standard and ecosystem in a real-world environment." The kits include a quality assurance system, ROUTE/MMTP encoder and live source simulator. ”LPTV stations will play a big role in ATSC 3.0," said Triveni Vice President-Sales and Marketing Ralph Bachofen. "Whether an LPTV plans to share frequency as a light house or provide advanced local services, such as hyperlocal ads or emergency alert messaging, ATSC 3.0 will bring new life to broadcast.” Triveni Chief Science Officer Rich Chernock chairs ATSC's Technology Group 3, which is supervising the framing of ATSC 3.0.
“CTIA reiterated the wireless industry’s commitment to working with the Commission on use of" embedded clickable links in wireless emergency alerts, "but noted its concerns about implementing such functionality without adequate feasibility testing,” said a filing in docket 15-91 on a meeting with FCC Public Safety Bureau staff. “CTIA and its members continue to urge the FCC and other governmental stakeholders to be mindful of the potential limitations of embedded reference functionality beyond the control of wireless carriers.” The association said the National Hurricane Center’s website wasn't available for a period of time during Hurricane Matthew. The standards work is complete but “implementation by handset manufacturers and operating system providers will be necessary before consumers will be able to ‘click’ on embedded references,” the group said.
The FCC is rechartering its Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council for a new two-year term, though with apparently less focus on cybersecurity than the CSRIC under former Chairman Tom Wheeler. The last CSRIC met the final time in March (see 1703150058) and no top FCC official spoke. Early in his chairmanship, Ajit Pai rescinded two cybersecurity items issued under Wheeler -- a white paper on communications sector cybersecurity regulation and a notice of inquiry on cybersecurity for 5G devices (see 1702060059). Wheeler appointed David Simpson chief of the Public Safety Bureau in 2013 because of his cybersecurity expertise (see 1402190030), and Simpson spoke frequently at CSRIC meetings while he was at the FCC. “The issues to be considered may include, but are not limited to: (1) the reliability of communications systems and infrastructure; (2) 911, Enhanced 911 (E911), and Next Generation 911 (NG911); (3) emergency alerting; and (4) national security/emergency preparedness (NS/EP) communications,” the FCC said in a public notice. Nominations for membership are due at the FCC no later than April 24, the PN said. The new CSRIC will start work early in the summer, the FCC said.
There’s a “business upside” to ATSC 3.0 emergency-alerting capabilities, and the AWARN Alliance plans to explore that at an “executive breakfast presentation” April 26 during the NAB Show, the alliance said in a Wednesday announcement. Using ATSC 3.0, AWARN (Advanced Warning and Response Network) is “transforming the alerting landscape as man-made and natural disasters reveal the urgent need for new warning systems,” said the alliance. “AWARN is using the same features that will drive new revenue streams: geo-targeting, personalization, interactivity, deep indoor and mobile reception, and device wake up.”
Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and Dave Reichert, R-Wash., are circulating a letter among colleagues pressing for support of the FY 2018 funding for the CPB, Ready to Learn program and the public TV interconnection system. The closing date for the letter to House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee leaders is March 31 and its expected send date on the current draft is April 6. That subcommittee plans a hearing on the CPB budget Wednesday (see 1703080031). The appropriators should “strongly support” the funding for the CPB in FY 2018, the draft letter said. The draft devotes sections to the value leveraged in public broadcasting. The draft refers to the importance of the Warning, Alert and Response Network and the Wireless Emergency Alert message system. The subcommittee leaders have provided “steadfast support” for local broadcasting, and Congress has backed public broadcasting for years, it said. A House aide told us the lawmakers had 132 co-signers to a similar letter last year and expect similar support this year. Some anxiety has grown that the Trump administration may oppose funding CPB (see 1702240070). The White House is expected to release a broad FY 2018 budget proposal later this week.
The Trump administration hasn't contacted FCC Inspector General David Hunt and Commerce Department IG Peggy Gustafson about the possibility of removing them from their positions, they told Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., in letters dated from this week and provided to us Wednesday by a Nelson spokesman. But the administration told some IGs they would be held over only temporarily, some IGs told Nelson. Senate Commerce held a hearing focused on IGs Wednesday, with testimony from Gustafson, confirmed to the position in December, as well as Homeland Security Department IG John Roth, Transportation Department IG Calvin Scovel and National Science Foundation IG Allison Lerner.
The FCC will advance broadcasters closer to a new standard by considering a draft NPRM in docket 16-142 on ATSC 3.0 at commissioners’ Feb. 23 meeting, Chairman Ajit Pai announced Thursday. The FCC also will consider a draft order in docket 13-249 that would remove the 40-mile limit on where FM translators can be placed by AM stations. Though both items are still on circulation, Pai released the full text of the items as part of a “pilot program” intended to increase FCC transparency, he said. (see 1702020051).
President Donald Trump’s inauguration and the Women’s March on Washington placed big demand on wireless networks in the capital over the weekend, carriers reported. Some reported service problems. All four big carriers upgraded network capacity in preparation for big-league service usage (see 1701050059). Public safety didn’t use the wireless emergency alerts (WEA) system during the event, but the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency sent nine messages from Thursday to Friday to about 17,000 attendees who opted in for informational alerts, a DC HSEMA spokeswoman said.
The District of Columbia’s test of the wireless emergency alerts (WEA) system increased confidence in the critical communications system, said D.C. and industry officials last week. On the Sunday afternoon prior to Friday’s inauguration of President Donald Trump, the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (DCHSEMA) tested the WEA message system and city official email list portion of the federal Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). The FCC Public Safety Bureau gave DC HSEMA a waiver to do the test, which included cooperation from various federal agencies including the Secret Service (see 1701130066). Everbridge, a cloud-based communications software vendor that got a contract with the National Capitol Region in 2014, provided technical support during the test and in the District’s emergency operations center during Friday’s inauguration.
Cox Enterprises promotions include: Joey Lesesne to senior vice president-public policy and government affairs; for environmental sustainability Keith Mask as vice president and Steve Bradley for assistant vice president; Scott Leazer to assistant vice president-information technology business solutions; Barry Campbell is vice president-aviation; and Don Stryszko named vice president-risk management ... Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council adds author/lawyer Ananda Leeke, ex-Digital Sisterhood Network, as director-digital policy and engagement ... Aspen Institute names John Carlin, ex-DOJ who recently joined Morrison & Foerster (see this section of the Jan. 11 issue of this publication), chairman, cybersecurity and technology program.