Seven technology brands landed in the top 25 of Morning Consult's Most Loved Brands 2018, a list based on data from Brand Intelligence that placed Google at number one. Amazon was 4, Sony 7, YouTube 9, Netflix 14, Samsung 9 and Microsoft 25. Rankings were determined based on 250,000 interviews between January and March with a national sample of adults covering 1,000 companies, with the average company surveyed over 12,000 times, it said. Respondents answered broad demographic questions, a battery of political tracking questions and questions about a randomized set of brands covering favorability, community impact and purchasing intent. Maximum margin of error for a given brand was +/- 2 percent.

FCC orders seeking to help rate-of-return telcos and a few tribal carriers are to take effect May 31, the day comments will be due on a cable channel listing NPRM. Two orders in docket 10-90 that provide up to $545 million in additional high-cost USF subsidy support to rate-of-return carriers and clarify their expense and cost-recovery rules (see 1803230025) are to appear in Tuesday's Federal Register, with an effective date 30 days after publication, which would be May 31. The FR is to publish Tuesday another order relaxing operating expense restrictions on high-cost support for an estimated five rural carriers primarily serving tribal lands (see 1804050028), triggering the same 30-day effective date of May 31. It's also to publish Tuesday an NPRM in docket 18-92 seeking comment on eliminating rules requiring cable carriers to keep channel listings in their main offices (see Notebook at end of 1804170038), with comments due in 30 days, May 31, and replies in 45 days, June 15.

The Enterprise Wireless Association said it gets “numerous ‘Have You Seen This’ inquiries” every month from “unknowing” business/industrial land transportation (B/ILT) and public safety licensees targeted by Federal Licensing Inc., a firm near the FCC office in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The firm warns licensees that if they don’t keep their license current, the “licensee is in direct violation of the FCC Rules and susceptible to newly imposed fines,” EWA said Wednesday: The letters suggest “the licensee might save itself from the wrath of the FCC by writing a $124 check to Federal Licensing.” Federal Licensing didn’t comment. “We hope more licensees would pause for just a moment and ask themselves ‘does this solicitation make any sense whatsoever?’” EWA said in a news release. “If Federal Licensing really wanted to do good, maybe they should send their solicitations to those that are using non-FCC compliant radios from Asia on an unlicensed basis. How do these folks sleep at night?”

The Enterprise Wireless Alliance said members of the Land Mobile Communications Council broadly support allowing a time-limited period for incumbent 800 MHz licensees to add expansion band (EB) and guard band (GB) channels to existing systems before opening the spectrum to new entrants. “Each LMCC member represents both 800 MHz incumbents that need to expand the capacity of their existing facilities and entities that wish to acquire EB/GB channels to establish new systems,” the alliance said in a filing in docket 16-261. "Some of those potential applicants operate in bands other than 800 MHz; others are 800 MHz licensees that wish to deploy systems outside their current market area.”

Shrimp and abalone will be subject to new permitting, recordkeeping and ACE filing requirements for high-risk seafood beginning Dec. 31, 2018, the National Marine Fisheries Service said in a final rule. After being temporarily stayed following NMFS’ establishment in 2016 of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) (see 1612080014), the agency is now moving ahead with implementation of the program for shrimp and abalone, in response to recently passed legislation in Congress.

Kellogg seeks a waiver of FCC rules that require that unintentional radiator devices, including Class B devices, get equipment verification before being marketed or distributed to the public. “The low-powered novelty device in question poses no risk of harmful interference,” Kellogg said. The maker of Corn Flakes, Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies and other food products said it plans a “cutting-edge promotional feature” and requires a waiver. “The promotion consists of a limited-edition cereal box with a seven inch video screen affixed within the box itself,” the company said. “The box serves as a frame for the screen, allowing consumers to stand the box upright and watch video content while eating cereal.” Kellogg is sourcing the video players from Wealth Land Electronics, a small Chinese manufacturer of novelty items that "does not have the resources or capability to conduct the tests required to support verification of the novelty device, and testing by an independent lab would be costly and time consuming," it said. Kellogg "would need to begin marketing the product in May" to tie in promotionally with a "feature film" debuting in early June, it said.

Kellogg seeks a waiver of FCC rules that require that unintentional radiator devices, including Class B devices, get equipment verification before being marketed or distributed to the public. “The low-powered novelty device in question poses no risk of harmful interference,” Kellogg said. The maker of Corn Flakes, Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies and other food products said it plans a “cutting-edge promotional feature” and requires a waiver. “The promotion consists of a limited-edition cereal box with a seven inch video screen affixed within the box itself,” the company said. “The box serves as a frame for the screen, allowing consumers to stand the box upright and watch video content while eating cereal.” Kellogg is sourcing the video players from Wealth Land Electronics, a small Chinese manufacturer of novelty items that "does not have the resources or capability to conduct the tests required to support verification of the novelty device, and testing by an independent lab would be costly and time consuming," it said. Kellogg "would need to begin marketing the product in May" to tie in promotionally with a "feature film" debuting in early June, it said.

Kellogg seeks a waiver of FCC rules that require that unintentional radiator devices, including Class B devices, get equipment verification before being marketed or distributed to the public. “The low-powered novelty device in question poses no risk of harmful interference,” Kellogg said. The maker of Corn Flakes, Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies and other food products said it plans a “cutting-edge promotional feature” and requires a waiver. “The promotion consists of a limited-edition cereal box with a seven inch video screen affixed within the box itself,” the company said. “The box serves as a frame for the screen, allowing consumers to stand the box upright and watch video content while eating cereal.” Kellogg is sourcing the video players from Wealth Land Electronics, a small Chinese manufacturer of novelty items that "does not have the resources or capability to conduct the tests required to support verification of the novelty device, and testing by an independent lab would be costly and time consuming," it said. Kellogg "would need to begin marketing the product in May" to tie in promotionally with a "feature film" debuting in early June, it said.

Congress should pass legislation for countering bad unmanned aerial vehicles, DOJ and Homeland Security Department officials said Thursday on an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation panel. Public safety agencies' ability to fight criminal or terrorist use of drones is “hamstrung” by outdated laws and legal uncertainty, said Brendan Groves, counsel to the deputy attorney general. To integrate drones safely into airspace, government must assure the public it has tools to deal with malicious or errant uses, said DHS Program Executive Officer-Unmanned Aerial Systems Anh Duong. Hogan Lovells attorney Lisa Ellman, co-chair of Global Unmanned Aircraft Systems, supported legislation but said “the devil is in the details.”

Congress should pass legislation for countering bad unmanned aerial vehicles, DOJ and Homeland Security Department officials said Thursday on an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation panel. Public safety agencies' ability to fight criminal or terrorist use of drones is “hamstrung” by outdated laws and legal uncertainty, said Brendan Groves, counsel to the deputy attorney general. To integrate drones safely into airspace, government must assure the public it has tools to deal with malicious or errant uses, said DHS Program Executive Officer-Unmanned Aerial Systems Anh Duong. Hogan Lovells attorney Lisa Ellman, co-chair of Global Unmanned Aircraft Systems, supported legislation but said “the devil is in the details.”