Microsoft got support for its proposal for a Further NPRM on TV white spaces (see 1905030050). NAB earlier said it supports some changes. Comments were posted Monday in docket 14-165 and due that night. The Wireless ISP Association supported a Microsoft proposal to allow use of the 6 MHz of spectrum first-adjacent to TV channels at power levels higher than 40 MW. “With access to spectrum adjacent to TV broadcast channels -- with appropriate interference protection -- WISPs can aggregate more spectrum and more contiguous spectrum to increase capacity,” the group said. WISPA said the FCC should seek comment on a proposal to allow TV white spaces devices to transmit from a height above average terrain (HAAT) up to 500 meters, subject to coordination above 250 meters. Giving white space users “additional deployment flexibility will increase the utility of the band, especially in rural areas where towers may be taller but the number of towers may be limited, or where towers are located on mountains or plateaus that exceed the current HAAT limit,” WISPA said. New America’s Open Technology Institute, Next Century Cities and the Gigabit Libraries Network endorsed the petition, in comments not yet posted. “The Petition proposes ‘pragmatic and long-overdue changes’ to the TV White Space rules in Part 15 that present the Commission with an opportunity to take important steps to bridge the rural-urban digital divide.” The groups “strongly concur that the modest improvements proposed in the Petition can empower providers to extend higher-speed internet access to more unserved areas where wireline or even fixed wireless broadband relying on higher-frequency spectrum has proven to be unavailing.” Sacred Winds, a carrier on Navaho tribal lands, said it’s working with Microsoft here. “Using a mix of telecommunications technologies, Sacred Wind has succeeded since its inception in increasing voice service from 26 percent coverage of total locations within its study area to over 90 percent and broadband service from zero in 2006 to over 90 percent,” the carrier said: “Yet, there remain areas within Sacred Wind’s service territory, and in areas in other surrounding rural communities, where customers that live near dense foliage or not clearly within Line of Sight of Sacred Wind’s communications towers, are unable to receive service.” Evolve Cellular and Skylark Wireless said OK'ing the petition "would substantially improve access to broadband in rural areas and thereby advance the Commission’s goal of extending broadband connectivity to all Americans.” Nominet also supported the petition.

Most Americas are comfortable with drone use by local law enforcement (76 percent), utility and construction companies (71 percent) and educational institutions (70 percent), said a CTA survey report Thursday. A day earlier, Amazon unveiled the latest Prime Air drone design for its “future delivery system” that promises to deliver packages weighing up to 5 pounds to consumers in 30 minutes or less using “unmanned aerial vehicles.” In a 2014 FAA petition to test-fly drones on its Seattle property for a package delivery service, Paul Misener, currently vice president-global innovation policy and communications, said the company believed Amazon Prime Air drones in flight “will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road today, resulting in enormous benefits for consumers” (see 1407150032). Wednesday, Amazon said that could begin happening in “within months.” Its latest drone design includes advances in efficiency, stability and safety, blogged Jeff Wilke, Amazon CEO-worldwide consumer. The most recent hybrid-design drone can do vertical takeoffs and landings “like a helicopter,” said Wilke, saying the machine easily transitions between vertical and airplane modes and is “fully shrouded for safety.” The aircraft is controlled with six degrees of freedom vs. the standard four, making it more stable and capable of operating in gusty wind conditions, he said. “We know customers will only feel comfortable receiving drone deliveries if they know the system is incredibly safe,” said the executive, “so we’re building a drone that isn’t just safe, but independently safe,” using artificial intelligence. Through Amazon-developed computer-vision techniques, Prime Air drones can “recognize and avoid wires as they descend into, and ascend out of, a customer’s yard,” he said.

Most Americas are comfortable with drone use by local law enforcement (76 percent), utility and construction companies (71 percent) and educational institutions (70 percent), said a CTA survey report Thursday. A day earlier, Amazon unveiled the latest Prime Air drone design for its “future delivery system” that promises to deliver packages weighing up to 5 pounds to consumers in 30 minutes or less using “unmanned aerial vehicles.” In a 2014 FAA petition to test-fly drones on its Seattle property for a package delivery service, Paul Misener, currently vice president-global innovation policy and communications, said the company believed Amazon Prime Air drones in flight “will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road today, resulting in enormous benefits for consumers” (see 1407150032). Wednesday, Amazon said that could begin happening in “within months.” Its latest drone design includes advances in efficiency, stability and safety, blogged Jeff Wilke, Amazon CEO-worldwide consumer. The most recent hybrid-design drone can do vertical takeoffs and landings “like a helicopter,” said Wilke, saying the machine easily transitions between vertical and airplane modes and is “fully shrouded for safety.” The aircraft is controlled with six degrees of freedom vs. the standard four, making it more stable and capable of operating in gusty wind conditions, he said. “We know customers will only feel comfortable receiving drone deliveries if they know the system is incredibly safe,” said the executive, “so we’re building a drone that isn’t just safe, but independently safe,” using artificial intelligence. Through Amazon-developed computer-vision techniques, Prime Air drones can “recognize and avoid wires as they descend into, and ascend out of, a customer’s yard,” he said.

Most Americas are comfortable with drone use by local law enforcement (76 percent), utility and construction companies (71 percent) and educational institutions (70 percent), said a CTA survey report Thursday. A day earlier, Amazon unveiled the latest Prime Air drone design for its “future delivery system” that promises to deliver packages weighing up to 5 pounds to consumers in 30 minutes or less using “unmanned aerial vehicles.” In a 2014 FAA petition to test-fly drones on its Seattle property for a package delivery service, Paul Misener, currently vice president-global innovation policy and communications, said the company believed Amazon Prime Air drones in flight “will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road today, resulting in enormous benefits for consumers” (see 1407150032). Wednesday, Amazon said that could begin happening in “within months.” Its latest drone design includes advances in efficiency, stability and safety, blogged Jeff Wilke, Amazon CEO-worldwide consumer. The most recent hybrid-design drone can do vertical takeoffs and landings “like a helicopter,” said Wilke, saying the machine easily transitions between vertical and airplane modes and is “fully shrouded for safety.” The aircraft is controlled with six degrees of freedom vs. the standard four, making it more stable and capable of operating in gusty wind conditions, he said. “We know customers will only feel comfortable receiving drone deliveries if they know the system is incredibly safe,” said the executive, “so we’re building a drone that isn’t just safe, but independently safe,” using artificial intelligence. Through Amazon-developed computer-vision techniques, Prime Air drones can “recognize and avoid wires as they descend into, and ascend out of, a customer’s yard,” he said.

The FCC should deny a low-power TV displacement application in Temecula, California, to prevent it from interfering with the county's emergency communications over land mobile radio, Los Angeles county petitioned to deny, posted Thursday. Channel 51's engineering study is “fatally flawed” and “there is no question” the translator will cause “significant interference” to the county’s emergency communications, the municipality said. Assurances the translator operator would be required to “cure” the interference if it occurs aren’t sufficient, the county said. “The allocation would place responsibility and huge costs on LA County to detect interference and determine its source,” the fling said. “The public interest demands that the public not be forced to bear such costs.” Friday, Channel 51 didn't comment.

China is creating a list to penalize foreign entities that damage the interests of Chinese companies, a sweeping but vague move widely viewed as a direct response to U.S.’s recent blacklisting of Huawei Technologies.

The digital divide is narrowing "substantially," with Americans without a 25/3 Mbps connection dropping from 26.1 million at the end of 2016 to 21.3 million a year later, the FCC said Wednesday in its 2018 broadband deployment report. But the agency's minority Democratic commissioners dissented, saying the report is built on a shaky foundation of invalid data -- sentiments echoed by some observers. "The rosy picture ... is fundamentally at odds with reality," Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said. The agency withdrew and reworked an earlier draft due to "drastically overstated" deployment data from one ISP (see 1905010205).

The digital divide is narrowing "substantially," with Americans without a 25/3 Mbps connection dropping from 26.1 million at the end of 2016 to 21.3 million a year later, the FCC said Wednesday in its 2018 broadband deployment report. But the agency's minority Democratic commissioners dissented, saying the report is built on a shaky foundation of invalid data -- sentiments echoed by some observers. "The rosy picture ... is fundamentally at odds with reality," Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said. The agency withdrew and reworked an earlier draft due to "drastically overstated" deployment data from one ISP (see 1905010205).

In the May 24 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published its spring 2019 regulatory agenda for CBP. There were no new trade-related rulemakings included.