Colorado communities voted Tuesday to allow their local governments to deploy municipal broadband. The result builds on a movement that some observers Wednesday said could be a model for other states. The Colorado counties voted to opt out of a 2005 state restriction on municipal broadband (see 1609160028). Meanwhile, the North Carolina race -- which may have an impact on the state’s own ban on muni broadband expansion -- was too close to call. In state commission elections, NARUC Telecom Committee Chairman Chris Nelson kept his chairmanship at the South Dakota Public Service Commission, while a Democratic broadband advocate lost her election in Louisiana.
T-Mobile and Bresnan Communications jointly asked the FCC to approve a waiver request that would facilitate the sale of three 700 MHz licenses in Montana from Bresnan to T-Mobile. The two have asked the FCC to approve the transfer and waive a pending accelerated buildout requirement (see 1610060062). “As Petitioners have demonstrated, granting the Waiver Request would bring increased competition and enhanced coverage to consumers in the areas at issue, many of which are rural and underserved and include tribal lands,” the two companies said in reply comments in docket 16-319. “It would also deliver new retail facilities and jobs.” The two highlighted the benefits to consumers. “To ensure … public interest benefits are delivered quickly, T-Mobile has committed in writing to specific deployment milestones, including introducing service in the licensed areas within the next year,” they said. Bresnan is a subsidiary of Charter Communications. The Rural Wireless Association filed comments saying the FCC should deny the waiver request. “The underlying purpose” of the buildout requirement “is to prevent the warehousing of spectrum,” RWA said. "The Commission has stated that adopting stringent performance requirements for 700 MHz licenses accomplishes several important policy objectives, including ensuring that licensees put this spectrum to use and provide service to consumers in a timely manner.”
A draft order on a new mobility fund, circulated by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler for the Nov. 17 commissioners' meeting (see 1610270054), is raising some concerns in industry. AT&T complained about the approach in a Monday blog post. Other industry players are reporting on recent meetings with officials prior to an expected sunshine notice cutting off further lobbying. The agency approved a one-time mobility fund in 2011 and five years later is moving forward on Phase II, as Wheeler promised the Competitive Carriers Association in September (see 1609200058).
A draft order on a new mobility fund, circulated by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler for the Nov. 17 commissioners' meeting (see 1610270054), is raising some concerns in industry. AT&T complained about the approach in a Monday blog post. Other industry players are reporting on recent meetings with officials prior to an expected sunshine notice cutting off further lobbying. The agency approved a one-time mobility fund in 2011 and five years later is moving forward on Phase II, as Wheeler promised the Competitive Carriers Association in September (see 1609200058).
Harman shares rose 3.6 percent to $80.77 Thursday as its automotive business drove an 8 percent hike in total revenue to $1.8 billion in fiscal Q1 ended Sept. 30. Harman got $2 billion in new automotive design wins in the quarter for embedded infotainment, cloud connectivity and sound management solutions, including a global cross-car line contract with Ford for B&O Play car audio, said CEO Dinesh Paliwal on a Thursday earnings call.
Harman shares rose 3.6 percent to $80.77 Thursday as its automotive business drove an 8 percent hike in total revenue to $1.8 billion in fiscal Q1 ended Sept. 30. Harman got $2 billion in new automotive design wins in the quarter for embedded infotainment, cloud connectivity and sound management solutions, including a global cross-car line contract with Ford for B&O Play car audio, said CEO Dinesh Paliwal on a Thursday earnings call.
Government must do more to remove barriers to deployment of broadband and digital services, said FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai Wednesday at a Smart Cities Expo showcasing internet-connected technology and devices, according to his posted remarks. Pai recommended "five concrete steps," starting with aggressive FCC use of its statutory authority under Section 253 of the Communications Act to ensure local governments don't hold up broadband deployment, with Section 332(c)(7) of the Communications Act and Section 6409 of the Spectrum Act providing further mandates to remove infrastructure barriers. Second, he said the FCC needs "to take a fresh look at our pole attachment rates" and Congress needs to give the commission broader related authority. Third, to help cities and towns wanting more deployment and competition, he urged the FCC to create a Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee to draft a model code on "local franchising, zoning, permitting and rights-of-way regulations" that balances municipal interests and broadband needs. Fourth, the federal government should speed broadband deployment on federal lands, including through agency distribution of mapping information and "reasonable internal shot clocks for processing applications and negotiating leases," he said, seeking a hard one-year deadline on decisions no matter how many agencies are involved. Finally, "We must make 'dig once' a central tenet of our nation's transportation policy. ... Every road and highway construction project should include the installation of the conduit that can carry fiber optic cables," he said. "With these five steps, policymakers can do their part to ensure that next-generation broadband networks -- and the smart cities they support -- will become a reality."
Government must do more to remove barriers to deployment of broadband and digital services, said FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai Wednesday at a Smart Cities Expo showcasing internet-connected technology and devices, according to his posted remarks. Pai recommended "five concrete steps," starting with aggressive FCC use of its statutory authority under Section 253 of the Communications Act to ensure local governments don't hold up broadband deployment, with Section 332(c)(7) of the Communications Act and Section 6409 of the Spectrum Act providing further mandates to remove infrastructure barriers. Second, he said the FCC needs "to take a fresh look at our pole attachment rates" and Congress needs to give the commission broader related authority. Third, to help cities and towns wanting more deployment and competition, he urged the FCC to create a Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee to draft a model code on "local franchising, zoning, permitting and rights-of-way regulations" that balances municipal interests and broadband needs. Fourth, the federal government should speed broadband deployment on federal lands, including through agency distribution of mapping information and "reasonable internal shot clocks for processing applications and negotiating leases," he said, seeking a hard one-year deadline on decisions no matter how many agencies are involved. Finally, "We must make 'dig once' a central tenet of our nation's transportation policy. ... Every road and highway construction project should include the installation of the conduit that can carry fiber optic cables," he said. "With these five steps, policymakers can do their part to ensure that next-generation broadband networks -- and the smart cities they support -- will become a reality."
HOLLYWOOD -- New “storytelling techniques and tools” are “starting to emerge” with the advent of high-dynamic-range technologies like Dolby Vision, and those tools are just now beginning to be put to the test, Shane Mario Ruggieri, a colorist in Dolby’s Advanced Technology Group, told the Society of Motion Picture and TV Engineers conference. The Tuesday session in which Ruggieri spoke was billed as summarizing a “colorist’s view of HDR grading.”
Democrats could take control of Louisiana's telecom regulator after commissioner elections, but no other such dramatic shifts are possible in states that elect utility commissioners. A Democrat running for a Republican seat at the Louisiana Public Service Commission -- and who has listed affordable internet as a campaign priority -- could give her party a 3-2 majority. In another race, NARUC Telecom Committee Chairman Chris Nelson is running for re-election in South Dakota. In total across the country, elections will be held for 17 state commissioner seats in 10 states.