ATSC 3.0's framers evaluating high-dynamic-range proposals for the next-generation broadcast standard want to do those evaluations right rather than do them fast, and so have extended their deadline two months to Sept. 30 for choosing a winning HDR proposal. That was the surprise disclosure Thursday from two ATSC 3.0 framers on a Society of Motion Picture and TV Engineers webinar held to summarize the “Ins and Outs of ATSC 3.0." But the disclosure appeared to take by surprise ATSC President Mark Richer, who told us the framers mistakenly jumped the gun on publicizing a two-month deadline extension that hasn't been authorized at the highest levels within ATSC.
The FCC shouldn’t leave states in the cold as the commission mulls changes to rate-of-return rules for carrier cost recovery, said the Michigan Public Service Commission. The regulator and others filed reply comments that were due Monday in docket 10-90. The Michigan PSC said the FCC shouldn’t reduce or eliminate existing reporting requirements including Form 481, and urged the federal agency to reject the tentative conclusion that eligible telecom carriers (ETCs) shouldn't file a copy of Form 481 with states. Filling out and sending the form doesn’t cost much to telecom companies, but provides valuable information used by state regulators to prevent waste, fraud and abuse, the PSC said. Developing an online tool to permit access to all information submitted by ETCs is a good idea but shouldn’t exempt providers from filing a copy of Form 481 with states, it said. The PSC opposed removing service quality standards and consumer protection rules for ETC certification. “Many states, including Michigan, no longer have service quality and consumer protection standards due to deregulation,” it said. “Eliminating this requirement could create an environment for fraud and abuse and have the opposite effect of what the FCC intends.” Separately, rural carriers continued to warn about possible unintended consequences from sweeping changes, as they had in the first round of comments (see 1605130035). The FCC should “avoid injecting substantial administrative burdens and regulatory uncertainty into time-tested systems through subjective changes that will end up becoming a form of ‘Monday Morning Quarterbacking’ with respect to carrier operations,” NTCA said. “Instead, the Commission should focus its efforts on providing targeted prospective clarity where needed under existing rules to achieve policy objectives, promote certainty, and ensure accountability.” WTA said efficient USF spending is an important goal, but it shouldn't come at the cost of effective broadband deployment in rural areas. Acknowledging the complexity of the docket, the National Tribal Telecommunications Association urged the FCC to tackle tribal broadband issues first and separately from other issues. “The acceleration of broadband deployment on Tribal lands must be addressed as soon as possible and should not be delayed while the Commission resolves the multitude of additional complex issues raised in the Notice,” NTTA said.
The FCC shouldn’t leave states in the cold as the commission mulls changes to rate-of-return rules for carrier cost recovery, said the Michigan Public Service Commission. The regulator and others filed reply comments that were due Monday in docket 10-90. The Michigan PSC said the FCC shouldn’t reduce or eliminate existing reporting requirements including Form 481, and urged the federal agency to reject the tentative conclusion that eligible telecom carriers (ETCs) shouldn't file a copy of Form 481 with states. Filling out and sending the form doesn’t cost much to telecom companies, but provides valuable information used by state regulators to prevent waste, fraud and abuse, the PSC said. Developing an online tool to permit access to all information submitted by ETCs is a good idea but shouldn’t exempt providers from filing a copy of Form 481 with states, it said. The PSC opposed removing service quality standards and consumer protection rules for ETC certification. “Many states, including Michigan, no longer have service quality and consumer protection standards due to deregulation,” it said. “Eliminating this requirement could create an environment for fraud and abuse and have the opposite effect of what the FCC intends.” Separately, rural carriers continued to warn about possible unintended consequences from sweeping changes, as they had in the first round of comments (see 1605130035). The FCC should “avoid injecting substantial administrative burdens and regulatory uncertainty into time-tested systems through subjective changes that will end up becoming a form of ‘Monday Morning Quarterbacking’ with respect to carrier operations,” NTCA said. “Instead, the Commission should focus its efforts on providing targeted prospective clarity where needed under existing rules to achieve policy objectives, promote certainty, and ensure accountability.” WTA said efficient USF spending is an important goal, but it shouldn't come at the cost of effective broadband deployment in rural areas. Acknowledging the complexity of the docket, the National Tribal Telecommunications Association urged the FCC to tackle tribal broadband issues first and separately from other issues. “The acceleration of broadband deployment on Tribal lands must be addressed as soon as possible and should not be delayed while the Commission resolves the multitude of additional complex issues raised in the Notice,” NTTA said.
Methods for welding together two pieces of metal while “improving the aesthetic look and feel” of consumer electronics gear and other products are described in a patent that Apple landed Tuesday, Patent and Trademark Office documents show. The patent (US 9,364,922) names a team of five Apple inventors and is based on a March 2014 application, the PTO records show.
A more open EU agriculture export market, ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, normalizing trade relations with Cuba, and an expedited Chinese approval process for biotechnology products would all help improve U.S. agriculture exports, industry executives told House lawmakers June 14. During a House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee hearing on expanding U.S. agriculture trade and eliminating barriers to U.S. exports, speakers expressed concern that U.S. companies are losing agricultural market share in certain countries. For example, the U.S. slid from the EU’s No. 1 agricultural exporter to No. 5, Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation President Kevin Paap said during the hearing; and U.S. agricultural market share has dropped from No. 1 to No. 4 in Cuba recently, too, as the U.S. is competing with the EU, Brazil and Argentina in that country, Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., said.
Iridium's Certus L-band satellite broadband service will be commercially available in Q2 2017, the satellite company said in a news release Tuesday. The company said Certus eventually is aimed at supporting a variety of services targeting particularly maritime, land mobile, aviation and government applications, and will be based on Iridium's Next low earth orbit constellation scheduled to begin launching this summer. Once fully deployed, Certus will offer speeds of 1.4 Mbps, Iridium said.
A House Appropriations Committee Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill would give CBP $11.2 billion in funding, the same level as the corresponding Senate bill proposed (see 1605260037). That amount is $500 million less than the Obama administration’s budget request and $158 million above the current level, said a committee announcement (here). However, the House bill (here), released June 8, would support the hiring of 23,871 CBP officers, over 100 more than its Senate counterpart, according to the announcement. “These resources ensure our borders are protected by putting boots on the ground and improving technology, and help stem the flow of illegal goods both into and out of the country,” the committee statement said. The House markup would prohibit DHS from charging any new border crossing fees at northern and southern land ports of entry. The legislation would provide $41.1 billion in total discretionary spending to DHS in fiscal 2017, an increase of $100 million above the fiscal 2016-enacted level.
More than 450 groups, mostly environmental, landowner and indigenous rights organizations, asked congressional lawmakers to oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The groups said the trade deals would enable fossil fuel corporations to demand compensation for U.S. fossil fuel restrictions through “tribunals not accountable to any domestic legal system.” A June 6 letter (here) notes that corporate lawyers, rather than judges, will decide investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) cases, citing TransCanada’s January NAFTA claim seeking $15 billion from the U.S. The TPP and TTIP would allow more companies to bring ISDS cases against the U.S., which would pose increased threats related to fracking, offshore drilling, oil and gas extraction on public lands, and fossil fuel pipelines, the organizations said. “Law firms specializing in ISDS are now explicitly advising corporations, including fossil fuel firms, to see ISDS as a ‘tool to assist lobbying efforts to prevent’ unwanted policies, as threats of costly ISDS cases can chill policy proposals,” the letter says.
The FCC is committed to striking the right balance of cost and speed in its upcoming Connect America Fund Phase II reverse auction to spread broadband deployment further into high-cost areas, an FCC official said at the live-streamed Mountain Connect conference in Keystone, Colorado. “We’re dedicated to getting it right,” said Ryan Palmer, chief of the Telecommunications Access Policy Division in the FCC Wireline Bureau. Also, Palmer said top commission priorities this year include special access reform and tribal broadband access.
New broadband entry or even just the threat of it is spurring incumbent providers to upgrade their high-speed internet services, but municipalities need to think things through before launching their own projects, said speakers on a live-streamed panel at the Mountain Connect session in Keystone, Colorado. They also said an Obama administration effort to push federal agencies and departments to facilitate broadband deployment will require a "culture change." In another live-streamed session, a Google Fiber official highlighted the company's efforts to offer broadband connections and services, plus its recommendations for improving municipal processes.