The Congressional Research Service reported on broadband access Wednesday: on tribal broadband (see here) and on federal assistance programs (see here). CRS said whether tribal lands get more funding for broadband this Congress will likely be determined "by the ongoing trajectory of overall federal funding for broadband." It said FCC and Commerce Department data shows that as of the end of 2017, roughly 32 percent of tribal land residents lacked access to 25/3 Mbps, compared with about 6 percent of all Americans. It said key challenges for tribal lands are the high poverty rates and often rugged rural terrain. On federal assistance programs, CRS said if this Congress looks at further encouraging broadband deployment and adoption, a big issue is striking a balance between providing federal assistance for unserved and underserved areas while also "minimizing any deleterious effects that government intervention ... may have on competition and private sector investment."

The Congressional Research Service reported on broadband access Wednesday: on tribal broadband (see here) and on federal assistance programs (see here). CRS said whether tribal lands get more funding for broadband this Congress will likely be determined "by the ongoing trajectory of overall federal funding for broadband." It said FCC and Commerce Department data shows that as of the end of 2017, roughly 32 percent of tribal land residents lacked access to 25/3 Mbps, compared with about 6 percent of all Americans. It said key challenges for tribal lands are the high poverty rates and often rugged rural terrain. On federal assistance programs, CRS said if this Congress looks at further encouraging broadband deployment and adoption, a big issue is striking a balance between providing federal assistance for unserved and underserved areas while also "minimizing any deleterious effects that government intervention ... may have on competition and private sector investment."

LAS VEGAS -- 3D, as much a buzzword at CES nearly a decade ago as artificial intelligence and 5G today, is attempting a revival by way of Philadelphia-based Stream TV Networks. The company, which partnered with Chinese panel maker BOE last fall, is planning 16 million-pixel panels -- between 4K and 8K resolution -- and hopes to have a 65-inch TV in the China market this year. It’s looking at a North American launch under the SeeCube brand in 2020, Duncan Humphreys, head of broadcast, told us.

Thirteen more rural telcos serving tribal lands are eligible for FCC relief from USF operational expense restrictions, beyond the five carriers identified in April and Mescalero Apache Telecom, whose petition for reconsideration was granted Monday (see 1901020033). The 13 are eligible for opex relief under an April order establishing certain broadband limits, "even though they were not affected by the previous opex cap," said a Wireline Bureau public notice in docket 10-90. The newly identified carriers are Atlas Telephone, Beggs Telephone, Bixby Telephone, Cherokee Telephone, Cheyenne River Sioux, Lavaca Telephone, Oklatel Communications, Sacred Wind Communications, San Carlos Apache, Shidler Telephone, Tohono O'odham Utility, Totah Communications and Wyandotte Telephone. Sacred Wind petitioned the FCC to reconsider a 90 percent 10/1 Mbps broadband deployment limit (carriers eligible for relief have to be under that threshold), or, if the limit is retained, to find that Sacred Wind was eligible for relief. That petition was "rendered moot" by the PN, said a commission spokesperson Thursday, before the FCC shut down most operations. A Sacred Wind representative didn't comment. Pine Telephone, Terral Telephone, Gila River Telecommunications, Fort Mojave Telecommunications and Saddleback Communications were also listed in the PN. They were the five carriers identified in April as eligible for relief.

The FCC denied a Sandwich Isles Communications request to reconsider a 2016 order saying the Hawaiian telco received $27.3 million in improper USF payments from 2002 to 2015, which it was ordered to repay (see 1612060032). Sandwich Isles petitioned for reconsideration (see 1701050068) of "virtually all aspects" of the order, arguing the FCC ignored its legal arguments and factual submissions, "but in fact, the Commission painstakingly responded to those arguments and submissions and deemed them unpersuasive," said the unanimous agency order issued Thursday in docket 10-90. It was adopted Dec. 4; no commissioner statements were attached. "SIC fails to take account of the text of the [Communications] Act and the reasonable policies underlying the Commission’s universal service rules, which among other things preclude recovery for facilities that are not actually used to provide service in covered areas," said the new order. "While SIC points to evidence that it claims shows that its cost accounting did in fact comply with Commission rules, that evidence is either incomplete, unpersuasive, or else outright contradictory to other facts and claims made elsewhere by SIC." The commission remains committed "to service for customers on the Hawaiian Home Lands," the order added. "SIC still has ongoing obligations to its customers, under both the Communications Act and Commission rules, to continue to provide interstate telecommunications services. SIC may not discontinue service without our express authorization. Nor, however, may SIC ignore our accounting rules and universal service safeguards going forward." An SIC representative didn't comment.

A hyped and heavily discounted holiday shopping season continued into the new year Wednesday as retailers looked to push out goods remaining on store shelves. Customers looking for Tier-1 headphones and TVs, two categories predicted to be top sellers during the 2018 holiday season, still have plenty of choices, we found.

With virtual reality stalled, smart glasses companies are heading to CES focused on expanded opportunities in the enterprise segment. Heavy market “fragmentation and scarcity of content” is plaguing consumer VR hardware sales growth (see 1812200009), but “maturation of developer tools, supporting platforms, and use case breadth are shifting market dynamics slowly toward the enterprise,” said ABI analyst Eric Abbruzzese. VR gaming presents a $5 billion opportunity by 2023, and “simulation and training, as well as more specialized VR uses, will propel VR” alongside augmented reality.

The Land Mobile Communications Council sought reconsideration of parts of the revised rules for public land mobile radio use of the 800 MHz band, approved 4-0 by commissioners in October (see 1810220050). LMCC urged the FCC to “reconsider the definition of the interference contour to be used in coordinating an 800 MHz Mid-Band (809-817/854-862 MHz) application and the derating factors to be applied in that contour analysis,” said a petition posted Friday in docket 15-32. “The derating factors, which were developed for use with an F(50,50) curve, are not appropriate when applied to a more conservative F(50,10) curve.” The rules will mean “more adjacent channel protection than needed while simultaneously reducing the spectrum utilization that otherwise could be derived from introducing interstitial channels into the 800 MHz band,” LMCC said. The Monitoring Association, meanwhile, sought reconsideration of the rules for low-power pool group D frequencies. The group said it demonstrated in the record “that this small handful of channels are dedicated to sending safety of life and property messages, in direct cooperation with public safety; … are heavily used, and demand is growing due to the retirement of the copper phone network and rapid changes in cellular formats; that the licensing of non-central station operations, especially those allowing voice communications, can disrupt the timely delivery of alarm signals reporting fires, home invasions, medical alerts and other emergency situations; and that there was no demand demonstrated in the record for non-central station use of these channels.” No one “refuted these showings,” the association said.

With virtual reality stalled, smart glasses companies are heading to CES focused on expanded opportunities in the enterprise segment. Heavy market “fragmentation and scarcity of content” is plaguing consumer VR hardware growth (see 1812200009), but “maturation of developer tools, supporting platforms, and use case breadth are shifting market dynamics slowly toward the enterprise,” said ABI analyst Eric Abbruzzese in a recent report. While VR gaming presents a $5 billion opportunity by 2023, “simulation and training, as well as more specialized VR uses, will propel VR” alongside augmented reality.

Many in the communications policy world have battle scars from the last prolonged federal shutdown, 16 days in 2013 when former Commissioner Mignon Clyburn was acting chairwoman. Then, the FCC, unlike some other federal agencies, largely shuttered its website, leading to widespread complaints. The FCC has been funded for the first days of this closure, but that ends Wednesday. The agency isn’t saying at this point if it will take its electronic comment filing and other licensing systems offline, with a public notice planned for Wednesday. The expectation among industry and FCC officials is that the 28 GHz auction won't reopen Thursday as planned and the website will be largely shuttered.