In its approval last week of SpaceX's planned mega constellation of 4,425 satellites, the FCC voiced concerns about the increasing orbital debris issues from the expected proliferation of smallsats. And orbital debris and satellite experts said they expect the agency could look at requiring significantly shorter de-orbiting windows for non-geostationary satellites as it considers an orbital debris NPRM (see 1801160030). The FCC didn't comment. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel is pushing the agency for a comprehensive orbital debris and collision policy.
With the “ever growing interest in digital media,” there continues to be a market “need to develop consumer-accessible technologies to further enhance the listening experience,” says a U.S. patent (9,930,463) that Sonos landed Tuesday. It describes methods of “defect detection via audio playback” in a multiroom home entertainment network.
In its approval last week of SpaceX's planned mega constellation of 4,425 satellites, the FCC voiced concerns about the increasing orbital debris issues from the expected proliferation of smallsats. And orbital debris and satellite experts said they expect the agency could look at requiring significantly shorter de-orbiting windows for non-geostationary satellites as it considers an orbital debris NPRM (see 1801160030). The FCC didn't comment. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel is pushing the agency for a comprehensive orbital debris and collision policy.
APCO said it remains concerned about an FCC proposal to open the 5.925-6.425 and 6.425-7.125 GHz bands to unlicensed and new fixed/mobile uses. The band was one of those on which the FCC sought comment last summer in its mid-band spectrum notice of inquiry (see 1708030052). “The GHz band is heavily used and relied upon for fixed point-to-point microwave links essential to public safety services, including backhaul for mission critical land mobile radio systems that support dispatch and tactical communications,” APCO said in a filing in docket 17-183. “Furthermore, public safety has no other viable spectrum options to support these essential services. To avoid negatively impacting public safety communications, the Commission should consider bands other than 6 GHz to achieve its flexible spectrum use goals.” APCO raised particular concerns about a report by RKF Engineering Solutions, filed by tech companies in January, which said the band can be opened without harmful interference to incumbents (see 1801260043). Nokia also disputed the RKF analysis. "Such flawed analysis should not be used as the basis for analyzing potential coexistence of unlicensed mobile operations with the Fixed Service in the 6 GHz band," Nokia told the FCC.
Iridium and Speedcast have signed a deal for Speedcast to add the Iridium Certus service to its Atlas portfolio of offerings targeting the land mobile market, such as real-time vehicle tracking, internet, phone and data transfer, Iridium said Tuesday. It said the two companies already partner on global maritime services. It said testing of the Certus service, provided via the Next constellation, is underway and it will be rolled out commercially via a series of service classes.
Samsung Electronics in Korea landed a U.S. design patent Tuesday that further suggests the company may be contemplating entering the still-emerging, but booming, consumer drones market, Patent and Trademark Office records show. The patent lists three Korean inventors and is based on a January 2017 application, say the records. Sister subsidiary Samsung Display landed a patent last month for a “flying display device” that first fueled speculation that a Samsung drone offering might be looming in the not-too-distant future. Samsung representatives didn’t comment Tuesday. U.S. dollar sales of drones increased 33 percent in 2017 over 2016, with dollar sales of drones priced $500 and above generating 69 percent of the overall sales revenue in the category, said NPD in a March 15 retail tracking report.
Iridium and Speedcast have signed a deal for Speedcast to add the Iridium Certus service to its Atlas portfolio of offerings targeting the land mobile market, such as real-time vehicle tracking, internet, phone and data transfer, Iridium said Tuesday. It said the two companies already partner on global maritime services. It said testing of the Certus service, provided via the Next constellation, is underway and it will be rolled out commercially via a series of service classes.
An additional two presidential proclamations related to Section 232 tariffs on aluminum and steel were published March 28 in the Federal Register. One new detail was released on how companies can make arguments that the steel or aluminum they import should be excluded from tariffs. The proclamation said the commerce secretary can take "into account the regional availability of particular articles, the ability to transport articles within the United States, and any other factors as the Secretary deems appropriate."
The circulation of draft orders three weeks before meetings has apparently led to a big falloff in the number of ex parte visits to the FCC, Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said at a Free State Foundation conference Tuesday. O’Rielly spoke on a panel with fellow Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr. Both also said more than three months after the 3-2 FCC vote to overturn the 2015 net neutrality rules (see 1712140039) they remain convinced the FCC made the right move. Earlier, Chairman Ajit Pai and NTIA Administrator David Redl outlined various initiatives, including to promote 5G.
The circulation of draft orders three weeks before meetings has apparently led to a big falloff in the number of ex parte visits to the FCC, Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said at a Free State Foundation conference Tuesday. O’Rielly spoke on a panel with fellow Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr. Both also said more than three months after the 3-2 FCC vote to overturn the 2015 net neutrality rules (see 1712140039) they remain convinced the FCC made the right move. Earlier, Chairman Ajit Pai and NTIA Administrator David Redl outlined various initiatives, including to promote 5G.