The biggest news on the C-band front was that, despite the “noise,” Verizon and AT&T were able to turn on the band in key markets, New Street’s Blair Levin told investors Thursday. “The last 72 hours probably had more press stories about spectrum than any 72-hour period in history,” including a question at President Joe Biden’s news conference (see 2201190064), he said. “The dispute will leave a problematic residue in terms of spectrum policy but the important thing for investors is that AT&T and Verizon were able to begin 5G transmissions, the constraints on the service will not affect their ability to attract subscribers, and the battle did not cause a delay that would have materially worsened their competitive position relative to T-Mobile,” Levin said. Verizon and AT&T had to agree to new conditions to “placate” the FAA because they need to play catch up with T-Mobile, Mark Giles, lead industry analyst at Ookla, blogged Thursday. “It was critical for both telcos that the delay to their C-band launch was only temporary,” he said: With the C band, “the margin of difference” with T-Mobile “will be substantially reduced, and then it will largely come down to how many 5G cell sites each operator deploys, and when they can turn on additional spectrum resources -- the race is on.” The FAA said Thursday it had cleared 78% of the U.S. commercial fleet to do low-visibility landings at airports near C-band deployments, including some regional jets. That’s up from 62% Wednesday. “The FAA is working diligently to determine which altimeters are reliable and accurate where 5G is deployed,” the agency said: “We anticipate some altimeters will be too susceptible to 5G interference. To preserve safety, aircraft with those altimeters will be prohibited from performing low-visibility landings where 5G is deployed because the altimeter could provide inaccurate information.”
China imposed phytosanitary requirements for any fresh pears exported from South Africa, the General Administration of Customs said, according to an unofficial translation. The new standards include requiring that packaging plants and cold storage vessels shipping the pears to China must be registered with South Africa's Ministry of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and also approved by China's General Administration of Customs. The requirements also lay out a list of eight pests for which, if detected, a fresh pear shipment will be quarantined.
The biggest news this week on the C band is that, despite the “noise,” Verizon and AT&T were able to turn on the band in key markets, New Street’s Blair Levin told investors Thursday. “The last 72 hours probably had more press stories about spectrum than any 72-hour period in history,” including a question at President Joe Biden’s news conference (see 2201190064), he said. “The dispute will leave a problematic residue in terms of spectrum policy but the important thing for investors is that AT&T and Verizon were able to begin 5G transmissions, the constraints on the service will not affect their ability to attract subscribers, and the battle did not cause a delay that would have materially worsened their competitive position relative to T-Mobile,” Levin said. Verizon and AT&T had to agree to new conditions to “placate” the FAA because they need to play catch up with T-Mobile, Mark Giles, lead industry analyst at Ookla, blogged Thursday. “It was critical for both telcos that the delay to their C-band launch was only temporary,” he said: With the C band, “the margin of difference” with T-Mobile “will be substantially reduced, and then it will largely come down to how many 5G cell sites each operator deploys, and when they can turn on additional spectrum resources -- the race is on.” The FAA said Thursday it has cleared 78% of the U.S. commercial fleet to do low-visibility landings at airports near C-band deployments, including some regional jets. That’s up from 62% Wednesday. “The FAA is working diligently to determine which altimeters are reliable and accurate where 5G is deployed,” the agency said: “We anticipate some altimeters will be too susceptible to 5G interference. To preserve safety, aircraft with those altimeters will be prohibited from performing low-visibility landings where 5G is deployed because the altimeter could provide inaccurate information.”
ATSC 3.0's backers need to focus on attracting consumers, advertisers and consumer tech OEMs to the new technology, said executives from E.W. Scripps, Sinclair, Nexstar, and BitPath in a virtual panel Thursday. “A lot of these OEMs need to understand in a much deeper way what’s in it for them,” said Kerry Oslund, Scripps vice president-strategy and business development. If broadcasters don’t ensure that ATSC 3.0 early adopters see “a tangible difference,” 3.0 “will be 3DTV all over again.”
CBP was to require proof of full vaccination for COVID-19 from noncitizens and nonpermanent residents coming into the U.S. through land ports of entry from Canada and Mexico beginning at 12 a.m. EST Jan. 22, it said in two notices. Limited exceptions would apply, including for minors and travelers with valid nonimmigrant visas, including B-1 business visas, who are citizens of a country with limited COVID-19 vaccine availability. Truck drivers and rail operators aren't exempt, CBP said.
ATSC 3.0's backers need to focus on attracting consumers, advertisers and consumer tech OEMs to the new technology, said executives from E.W. Scripps, Sinclair, Nexstar, and BitPath in a virtual panel Thursday. “A lot of these OEMs need to understand in a much deeper way what’s in it for them,” said Kerry Oslund, Scripps vice president-strategy and business development. If broadcasters don’t ensure that ATSC 3.0 early adopters see “a tangible difference,” 3.0 “will be 3DTV all over again.”
CBP will require proof of full vaccination for COVID-19 from non-citizens and non-permanent residents coming into the U.S. through land ports of entry from Canada and Mexico beginning at 12 a.m. EST on Jan. 22, it said in a notice. Limited exceptions will apply, including for minors and travelers with valid non-immigrant visas, including B-1 business visas, who are citizens of a country with limited COVID-19 vaccine availability. Truck drivers and rail operators are not exempt, CBP said.
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
President Joe Biden defended Wednesday his administration’s role in addressing claimed aviation safety implications of commercial wireless operations on the C band amid pushback from FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and top Republicans on the House Commerce and Transportation committees. AT&T and Verizon launched C-band operations Wednesday but are deferring around some airports amid frustration with FAA (see 2201180065). AT&T started to turn on its C-band spectrum in these areas Wednesday, a spokesperson emailed: Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Jacksonville and Orlando. AT&T expects to reach 200 million people this year, the spokesperson said.
AT&T and Verizon plan to start turning on their C-band operations Wednesday, despite a push by major airlines to delay the start. Both said Tuesday they will defer the launch around some airports and expressed frustration with the FAA.