The FCC unanimously voted to extend the repack deadline for a Jacksonville TV station to Sept. 8, said an order released Thursday. The repacking is scheduled to be complete July 3, and the agency said the extension doesn’t apply to any other station. “Circumstances beyond the station’s control require additional time for the station to resolve interference concerns with land mobile operations on its new channel," said a release. “Absent the extension, WFOX-TV would have to go off the air.” The question of whether broadcasters that couldn’t meet the repacking deadline would be allowed to continue operating was raised repeatedly by broadcasters in the lead-up to the incentive auction. “We anticipate that the vast majority of remaining television stations will meet their July 3 deadline,” said Incentive Auction Task Force Chair Jean Kiddoo. “Of the 987 TV stations that were assigned to new channels, only 92 stations have yet to transition, and the Commission does not anticipate the need for more than a few other short extensions,” the release said.

The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet July 15, remotely, beginning at 1 p.m., CBP said in a notice. Comments are due in writing by July 14.

Team Telecom recommended the FCC deny OK for the portion of a Pacific Light Cable Network undersea cable system directly linking the U.S. to Hong Kong, DOJ announced Wednesday (see 2006170041). The interdepartmental body cited national security concerns; the commission declined to comment. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks tweeted Wednesday that the FCC "must protect" undersea cables because they are "critical to the future of cloud computing." He responded to our news of Team Telecom's recommendation. Starks added that it's the first Team Telecom committee recommendation. Team telecom found the application raised concerns PLCN would advance the Chinese government’s "goal that Hong Kong be the dominant hub in the Asia Pacific region for global information and communications technology and services infrastructure, which would increase the share of U.S. internet, data, and telecommunications traffic to the Asia Pacific region traversing [People’s Republic of China] territory and PRC-owned or -controlled infrastructure before reaching its ultimate destinations in other parts of Asia." But the DOJ, DOD and Department of Homeland body, formally called the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecom Services Sector, recommended the commission grant links of PLCN connecting the U.S. to Taiwan and the Philippines. That part lacks China-based ownership and is "separately owned and controlled by subsidiaries of Google" and Facebook, DOJ said. It would have a "condition that the companies’ subsidiaries enter into mitigation agreements." April 8, the FCC granted Google’s request for special temporary authority to commercially operate the segment of PLCN connecting the U.S. and Taiwan for six months. The other deployment "would have allowed for the highest capacity subsea cable connection between" the U.S. and Asia and "the first direct connection between" the U.S. and Hong Kong, Justice said Wednesday. "This raised national security concerns, because a significant investor in the PLCN is Pacific Light Data," which is part of Dr. Peng Group, China's No. 4 telecom services provider. Google has worked through established channels for many years to obtain cable landing licenses for various undersea cables, "and we will continue to abide by the decisions made by designated agencies in the locations where we operate,” a spokesperson emailed. Facebook looks "forward to working with Team Telecom and the FCC toward obtaining a full license that is consistent with this petition and the FCC’s views," a spokesperson emailed. China's embassy in Washington, PLCN and Dr. Peng Group didn't comment. There's heightened U.S. scrutiny of China and its trade and IP practices and threats over cybersecurity.

Team Telecom recommended the FCC deny OK for the portion of a Pacific Light Cable Network undersea cable system directly linking the U.S. to Hong Kong, DOJ announced Wednesday (see 2006170041). The interdepartmental body cited national security concerns; the commission declined to comment. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks tweeted Wednesday that the FCC "must protect" undersea cables because they are "critical to the future of cloud computing." He responded to our news of Team Telecom's recommendation. Starks added that it's the first Team Telecom committee recommendation. Team telecom found the application raised concerns PLCN would advance the Chinese government’s "goal that Hong Kong be the dominant hub in the Asia Pacific region for global information and communications technology and services infrastructure, which would increase the share of U.S. internet, data, and telecommunications traffic to the Asia Pacific region traversing [People’s Republic of China] territory and PRC-owned or -controlled infrastructure before reaching its ultimate destinations in other parts of Asia." But the DOJ, DOD and Department of Homeland body, formally called the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecom Services Sector, recommended the commission grant links of PLCN connecting the U.S. to Taiwan and the Philippines. That part lacks China-based ownership and is "separately owned and controlled by subsidiaries of Google" and Facebook, DOJ said. It would have a "condition that the companies’ subsidiaries enter into mitigation agreements." April 8, the FCC granted Google’s request for special temporary authority to commercially operate the segment of PLCN connecting the U.S. and Taiwan for six months. The other deployment "would have allowed for the highest capacity subsea cable connection between" the U.S. and Asia and "the first direct connection between" the U.S. and Hong Kong, Justice said Wednesday. "This raised national security concerns, because a significant investor in the PLCN is Pacific Light Data," which is part of Dr. Peng Group, China's No. 4 telecom services provider. Google has worked through established channels for many years to obtain cable landing licenses for various undersea cables, "and we will continue to abide by the decisions made by designated agencies in the locations where we operate,” a spokesperson emailed. Facebook looks "forward to working with Team Telecom and the FCC toward obtaining a full license that is consistent with this petition and the FCC’s views," a spokesperson emailed. China's embassy in Washington, PLCN and Dr. Peng Group didn't comment. There's heightened U.S. scrutiny of China and its trade and IP practices and threats over cybersecurity.

Commenters opposed to allowing TV broadcasters to use Longley-Rice studies of signal strength as a substitute for Nielsen data to qualify for “significantly viewed” status don’t appreciate how low the FCC’s bar for viewership is, said Gray Television in replies posted to docket 20-73 Tuesday. Commenters such as Nielsen argued signal strength isn’t a stand-in for information demonstrating actual viewership (see 2005150062). Gray said the agency’s viewership threshold for significantly viewed status is lower than the threshold to be considered financially viable. The FCC “can reasonably presume that, if Longley-Rice shows a station’s signal is available to at least 25% of the land area or population of a county, that station would satisfy the minimal viewership requirements,” Gray said. “A predictive model cannot tell anyone whether a station is viewed at all, let alone how much or how often it is viewed,” said Nielsen. “The premise underlying this Notice -- that Nielsen has made changes that make getting data on over-the-air viewing more difficult -- is mistaken.” NCTA and AT&T and Dish Network said there's no reason to change the status quo. Gray said broadcasters seeking significantly viewed status should be credited for translators, and low-power TV stations and Class A's should be able to qualify for inclusion on the significantly viewed list and receive network nonduplication and syndicated exclusivity protections.

Nanosys applied June 9 to register “XQDEF” as a U.S. trademark for an international class of “chemicals, films and plastics,” Patent and Trademark Office records show. Nanosys landed the “QDEF” trademark July 1, 2014, and has been marketing quantum dot enhancement films for years under that trade name. It risks having PTO cancel QDEF if it doesn’t file the required declaration of use statement on the trademark’s sixth anniversary or ask for a six-month deadline extension. Nanosys has "nothing to announce just yet in terms of product details" but plans to use XQDEF "alongside" QDEF, emailed Director-Marketing Jeff Yurek Monday.

Nanosys applied June 9 to register “XQDEF” as a U.S. trademark for an international class of “chemicals, films and plastics,” Patent and Trademark Office records show. Nanosys landed the “QDEF” trademark July 1, 2014, and has been marketing quantum dot enhancement films for years under that trade name. It risks having PTO cancel QDEF if it doesn’t file the required declaration of use statement on the trademark’s sixth anniversary or ask for a six-month deadline extension. Nanosys has "nothing to announce just yet in terms of product details" but plans to use XQDEF "alongside" QDEF, emailed Director-Marketing Jeff Yurek Monday.

Unmanned aerial systems are seeing a push due to COVID-19, speakers said on an FCBA webinar Monday. During a second panel, speakers said spectrum issues remain, with the FCC looking at the best airwaves for drones.

Unmanned aerial systems are seeing a push due to COVID-19, speakers said on an FCBA webinar Monday. During a second panel, speakers said spectrum issues remain, with the FCC looking at the best airwaves for drones.

Unmanned aerial systems are seeing a push due to COVID-19, speakers said on an FCBA webinar Monday. During a second panel, speakers said spectrum issues remain, with the FCC looking at the best airwaves for drones.