Huntington Beach and Fort Bragg, California, said the FCC should reject petitions by CTIA and the Wireless Infrastructure Association seeking further changes to wireless infrastructure rules (see 1909130062). “Local officials, government, and municipalities are best positioned to defend the interests of the people,” Huntington Beach said in docket 19-250. “Previous rule making and declaratory rulings of the FCC have reduced local agency input on the siting, construction, maintenance, and other matters involving wireless infrastructure and facilities to largely aesthetic matters and few highly limited land use matters,” Fort Bragg said, also posted Tuesday: The petitions “essentially remove the few remaining tools available to local communities to assist in the shaping of how wireless infrastructure and facilities can be successfully integrated into the community such facilities are intended to serve. Standards and requirements that work well for large urban cities, suburban towns, or agricultural regions are ill-fitted to a small, rural community located along a remote section of northern California coastline.”

Voxx had an $18.6 million sales decline in its fiscal Q2 ended Aug. 31, and 70 percent of that decrease was attributable to the company’s automotive OEM segment, said CEO Pat Lavelle on a Friday call. Though Voxx still expects new-car sales to decline year over year, it’s standing by forecasts of returning the company to an operating profit in the fiscal second half ending February, he said. Voxx narrowed its fiscal Q2 operating loss 33 percent to $7.7 million.

Areas of wide agreement among C-band users, satellite operators and other stakeholders are emerging, and with them issues that need resolution before the FCC acts or through an eventual order, experts and a policymaker said Tuesday. All agree that some frequencies will be repurposed for 5G, said FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly. "There is a broad consensus on at least a couple of points," said NAB Associate General Counsel Patrick McFadden: Spectrum will be repurposed, content delivery using the satellite band should be protected, and "end users should be held harmless."

The FCC intends to establish a Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the U.S. by Dec. 19, with authorization to operate for two years, says a notice for Friday's Federal Register. The agency took nominations in June and July (see 1906170024). A task force goal is reliable broadband capabilities on 95 percent of U.S. agricultural land by 2025 and to "promote effective policy and regulatory solutions that encourage the adoption of broadband internet access service on farms and ranches and promote precision agriculture." The group must submit a report to the FCC chairman within one year of the official charter. ISPs said expanding rural broadband coverage and promoting adoption of precision agriculture will require coordinated efforts (see 1908150057).

The FCC intends to establish a Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the U.S. by Dec. 19, with authorization to operate for two years, says a notice for Friday's Federal Register. The agency took nominations in June and July (see 1906170024). A task force goal is reliable broadband capabilities on 95 percent of U.S. agricultural land by 2025 and to "promote effective policy and regulatory solutions that encourage the adoption of broadband internet access service on farms and ranches and promote precision agriculture." The group must submit a report to the FCC chairman within one year of the official charter. ISPs said expanding rural broadband coverage and promoting adoption of precision agriculture will require coordinated efforts (see 1908150057).

Many things about the U.S.-China trade war have not turned out as experts expected, panelists said at the Washington International Trade Association Oct. 2. Chad Bown, a trade economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former White House economist, said that 18 months ago, people would have not expected there to be 15 percent to 30 percent tariffs on more than half of Chinese imports, with nearly all the rest slated for tariffs by December, and yet, the economy is doing OK. "Markets haven't panicked," he said. But Bown said he's not that surprised that the country hasn't seen a massive effect from the trade war, since the tariffs in place the longest were on inputs, and because, compared to the size of the entire economy, "we don't actually trade all that much."

Commissioners are expected at their Oct. 25 meeting to take up an order that would wrap up part of the lengthy 800 MHz rebanding process, which requires Sprint to pay transition costs, FCC and industry officials said Wednesday. Chairman Ajit Pai is expected to release a blog Thursday on the meeting agenda.

Verance landed adoption of its ATSC 3.0-specified Aspect watermarking for HbbTV’s “application discovery over broadband” platform, said the technology supplier Tuesday. The move will “facilitate” interoperability and give manufacturers and programmers “global scale and cost efficiencies,” said Verance.

Many things about the U.S.-China trade war have not turned out as experts expected, panelists said at the Washington International Trade Association Oct. 2. Chad Bown, a trade economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former White House economist, said that 18 months ago, people would have not expected there to be 15 percent to 30 percent tariffs on more than half of Chinese imports, with nearly all the rest slated for tariffs by December, and yet, the economy is doing OK. "Markets haven't panicked," he said. But Bown said he's not that surprised that the country hasn't seen a massive effect from the trade war, since the tariffs in place the longest were on inputs, and because, compared to the size of the entire economy, "we don't actually trade all that much."

Verance landed adoption of its ATSC 3.0-specified Aspect watermarking for HbbTV’s “application discovery over broadband” platform, said the technology supplier Tuesday. The move will “facilitate” interoperability and give manufacturers and programmers “global scale and cost efficiencies,” said Verance.