Federal Railroad Administration’s emergency notification system (ENS) is the key to getting information to the railroads in any emergency, FRA officials said Tuesday during a webinar by 911.gov. Blue ENS signs, with calling information and an 800-number to call, are located at every railway crossing in the U.S. with a unique number assigned to identify the crossing, explained Michail Grizkewitsch, FRA transportation specialist. “Everybody thinks they have to call 911,” Grizkewitsch said. “In reality, when we deal with railroads their dispatch centers can be 10 states away,” he said. CSX operates in 26 states, with a single dispatch center in Jacksonville, Florida, he noted. Grizkewitsch said when the ENS center is called, operators there can do everything necessary to stop trains from running to avoid an accident, stalled vehicle, or other emergency. ENS “is your quickest way to get to the railroad,” he said. FRA advises members of the public, in some cases, to call the ENS number before they dial 911, he said: “The reason being, calling this 1-800 number will get that train stopped in a matter of seconds. … It takes a mile or more to stop a train so our biggest and No. 1 priority is getting that train stopped.” Railroad emergencies are frequent, Grizkewitsch said. In the U.S., a vehicle is struck by a train every three hours and each year there are more than 3,000 railway crossing accidents and about 1,000 people attempt suicide by jumping in front of a train, he said.
Telecom and cable should "hold up reasonably well relative to other corporate sectors but it is still not completely insulated from an economic deceleration" and rising interest rates, S&P said Monday. It said wireless service revenue and subscriber growth will likely moderate in 2023. It said it had "a cautious outlook" for U.S. wireline operators, and issues including higher interest costs, elevated capital spending and supply chain constraints could mean higher debt, while capital market constraints could make it difficult to access funding for wireline. It said cable operators might need to cut back on shareholder returns.
President Joe Biden signed the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act (S-1541) and Low Power Protection Act (S-3405) into law, as expected (see 2212220075), the White House said Thursday. Congress passed both measures just before Christmas. S-1541 lead sponsor Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., hailed signing of her bill, which requires the FCC to factor industrywide average costs for telephone and advanced communication services, along with safety and security costs, in new correctional facility rate-setting cycles (see 2203220077). It will “help families stay connected with their incarcerated family members, reduce recidivism rates and save taxpayers’ money,” she tweeted. NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt praised Biden Friday for signing S-3405, which requires the FCC to open a window to allow low-power television stations to upgrade to better-protected Class A status (see 2206220070). It "will allow these local broadcasters to better serve their millions of viewers by hiring more journalists, investing in new equipment and transitioning to the ATSC 3.0 standard," LeGeyt said. S-3405 lead sponsors now-former Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., in December lauded passage of their measure.
Iridium will provide two-way messaging connectivity for Qualcomm's premium Android phones, Qualcomm said Thursday. Iridium said last week it had inked a smartphone service provider agreement (see 2301030041). Qualcomm said its Snapdragon Satellite service will allow messaging for emergency use and SMS texting. The service will start with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform, with emergency messaging via Snapdragon Satellite to launch in some regions in the latter half of 2023, Qualcomm said. It said Snapdragon Satellite can expand beyond smartphones to laptops, tablets, vehicles and IoT. It also said Snapdragon Satellite will support 5G non-terrestrial networks as those constellations become available, and Garmin will support Snapdragon Satellite.
Cable, satellite, wireless, wireline and interconnected VoIP providers could face 988 outage reporting requirements that the FCC will consider at commissioners' Jan. 26 open meeting, per a draft NPRM released Thursday. Commissioners also will consider a series of orders on rate determination rules for the rural healthcare telecom program. In the 988 draft NPRM, the FCC proposes that along with network outage reporting system requirements, covered providers would need to notify the 988 Lifeline administrator, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Veterans Administration about outages that could affect a 988 special facility. The NPRM asks whether cable, satellite, wireless, wireline and interconnected VoIP providers should be considered covered providers and required to do likewise. It also asks about what outage threshold the agency should require. The NPRM is in response to a Dec. 1 988 outage lasting several hours, it said. The series of rural health telecom program orders would rescind rules about calculating program support using a database and change the process for invoicing. It also contains an NPRM proposing a means for newly eligible health care providers to participate. The database "was deficient in its ability to set adequate rates," the draft item said, and restoring previous rural rate determination rules "is the best available option pending further examination." Applications for review of guidance on the rates database would also be dismissed as moot. A draft order would also require invoice submissions after services are provided instead of a health care provider support schedule, amend the internal cap application and "prioritize rules to promote efficiency," said a fact sheet. Also under consideration is an NPRM to revise rules for determining rural and urban rates for the telecom program and reinstate the satellite services support cap, and a proposal to make funding available to healthcare providers sooner. An Enforcement Bureau action and Media Bureau adjudicatory matter also are on the agenda.
988 outages could be subject to reporting requirements similar to those for 911 outages, under a draft proposal to be voted on at the Jan. 26 FCC commissioners' meeting, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel blogged Wednesday. Also on the agenda will be a set of proposals for the agency's rural healthcare program, an Enforcement Bureau action and Media Bureau adjudicatory matter, she said. Those 911 outage reporting rules helped the commission identify system vulnerabilities and improve its reliability, Rosenworcel said. "We want to be able to do the same" with the suicide and mental health crisis hotline, she said. The draft telehealth item would "make it easier for health care providers to receive support, reduce delays in funding commitments, and improve the program’s overall efficiency," she said.
Average household income is a strong predictor of broadband costs, with subscribers in high-income states paying less on average than those in low-income states, BroadbandNow said Wednesday. That probably reflects more competition among providers in high-income areas, it said. In 10 lower-income states -- Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Montana, Kansas, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska and Wyoming -- less than half the population has access to a low-priced broadband plan of $50 or under per month, it said. It said Delaware, Hawaii, Connecticut and Washington, D.C., have 100% availability of such plans.
Stir/Shaken is just getting started, but early signs are it’s helping curb illegal robocalls, the FCC said in a Friday report to Congress required by the Traced Act. “STIR/SHAKEN implementation is in its early stages,” the report said: “Voice service providers were just required to implement and begin using STIR/SHAKEN 18 months ago, with the exceptions of non-facilities based voice service providers, which were not required to implement STIR/SHAKEN until six months ago, and facilities-based small voice service providers, which will not be required to implement STIR/SHAKEN for another six months.” The data on its efficacy is “currently limited, but will increase as voice service providers’ experience with the technology and the providers using it expands.” The FCC noted it sought comment as it prepared its first triennial assessment on use of Stir/Shaken. “No commenter submitted substantive comments suggesting that the technology is itself deficient for that purpose, but some express concern that providers may be applying its technical requirements inconsistently,” the agency said. “There is general agreement in the record, however, that when applied as designed, the technology used in the STIR/SHAKEN framework effectively allows providers to identify calls with illegally spoofed caller ID information.” The technology relies on technical standards and protocols developed by ATIS, the report said: “Those commenters that express concern about the STIR/SHAKEN reaching its full potential as a tool to combat illegal spoofing generally do so on the basis that providers may be applying the standards inconsistently or incorrectly.” Comments were filed at the FCC in October (see 2210240062).
Posing in a photograph as he shook the hand of incoming ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, outgoing Secretary-General Houlin Zhau tweeted Friday he was "pass[ing] the baton to the new leadership team."
President Joe Biden signed the FY 2023 appropriations omnibus package (HR-2617) Thursday night, formally extending the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through March 9. Capitol Hill passed the short-term reauthorization after the leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees weren’t able to attach the Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act (see 2212190069), a package of modified language from the upper chamber's version of the Spectrum Innovation Act (S-4117) and other related measures, to the omnibus. Senate Commerce leaders are divided on whether they will be able to advance the legislative package largely in its December form in the next Congress (see 2212270029). The omnibus includes increases in federal funding for the FCC, FTC, NTIA, other Commerce Department agencies, the DOJ Antitrust Division and CPB (see 2212210077).