The House Communications Subcommittee locked down 10 a.m. Wednesday in 2123 Rayburn for an expected hearing on barriers to broadband infrastructure deployment. “With ever-increasing demand for broadband Internet access, whether fixed or mobile, the subcommittee will review proposals break down barriers preventing consumer access to this vital resource,” the committee said in a news release. “The proposals would streamline processes for getting access to federal lands and utility poles, require smart dig-once policies that take advantage of existing roadwork to deploy fiber conduit, and examine the bureaucracy that impedes private sector investment in broadband.” Lawmakers on multiple House committees raised the issue of “dig once” policies Thursday, including Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., who has prioritized the issue in past sessions of Congress. In the Transportation Committee, Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., proposed an amendment to the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act (HR-3763) during a Thursday markup. The amendment would have set up a process by which “the conduit would be laid in as that road was repaired or constructed,” he said, calling it “pretty simple” but with major economic development and public safety implications: “The cost is minor compared to the potential benefit,” Garamendi said. “Ms. Eshoo has introduced a similar bill that will eventually be discussed in committee.” Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa., opposed the amendment, arguing it would be “imposing new mandates” on states. Garamendi disagreed but withdrew the amendment, promising “we’ll continue to work this.” In the Communications Subcommittee, Eshoo and Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., introduced the Broadband Conduit Deployment Act, an Eshoo bill that lacked GOP backing in the past. “Paving the way for smoother deployment of state-of-the-art-broadband networks has long been a goal for our subcommittee,” Walden said in a statement. “This legislation meets that goal and makes it easier to connect more Americans to this vital 21st century resource.” The American Cable Association, AT&T, CenturyLink, Incompas, Public Knowledge, TechFreedom and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation lauded the bill. Similar provisions exist as part of a bipartisan bill that Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., is spearheading in the Senate. The bill “will further reduce the cost of laying thousands of miles of fiber optic lines by private businesses,” American Cable Association President Matt Polka said. The bill attracted 26 other lawmakers as co-sponsors, Eshoo’s spokesman told us. The backers are a mix of Democrats and Republicans, from Commerce Committee Vice Chairwoman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., to Congressional Black Caucus Chairman G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C. Garamendi also backs the Eshoo/Walden bill.
The switch to the new FCC Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) (see 1510090048) should be in early December, with a "hard" cutover rather than a soft one because of the difficulty in keeping the old and new systems synched, said Stephen Vong, systems modernization adviser to FCC Chief Information Officer David Bray. A beta version of ECFS was demonstrated Monday to FCBA members. The beta has been changed markedly in recent months after feedback from users, said Jason Rademacher of Cooley, co-chairman of the FCBA Access to Government Committee.
The switch to the new FCC Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) (see 1510090048) should be in early December, with a "hard" cutover rather than a soft one because of the difficulty in keeping the old and new systems synched, said Stephen Vong, systems modernization adviser to FCC Chief Information Officer David Bray. A beta version of ECFS was demonstrated Monday to FCBA members. The beta has been changed markedly in recent months after feedback from users, said Jason Rademacher of Cooley, co-chairman of the FCBA Access to Government Committee.
Legislators in Tennessee plan to try again to change a state municipal broadband law so networks such as the one created by the Chattanooga’s Electric Power Board can expand outside of city limits. Reps. Dan Howell and Kevin Brooks, both Republicans, are among the legislators pushing for the second year to get a bill passed after lobbyists for the incumbents were among the reasons the legislation was tabled last session, Howell said. Tennessee legislators have been trying to change the law for a number of years, even before the FCC preempted the state broadband rules recently. Some hope that if Tennessee is able to change its law, it will lead the way for the dozen or so other states with similar laws to do the same. Others, though, don’t think municipal broadband is the way to go and would prefer states, including Tennessee, install conduit to make it easier for incumbents and other private telcos to build out service. AT&T and Comcast didn't respond to requests for comment on Friday.
Legislators in Tennessee plan to try again to change a state municipal broadband law so networks such as the one created by the Chattanooga’s Electric Power Board can expand outside of city limits. Reps. Dan Howell and Kevin Brooks, both Republicans, are among the legislators pushing for the second year to get a bill passed after lobbyists for the incumbents were among the reasons the legislation was tabled last session, Howell said. Tennessee legislators have been trying to change the law for a number of years, even before the FCC preempted the state broadband rules recently. Some hope that if Tennessee is able to change its law, it will lead the way for the dozen or so other states with similar laws to do the same. Others, though, don’t think municipal broadband is the way to go and would prefer states, including Tennessee, install conduit to make it easier for incumbents and other private telcos to build out service. AT&T and Comcast didn't respond to requests for comment on Friday.
Three senators on the Commerce Committee unveiled more details Thursday of the Streamlining and Investing in Broadband Infrastructure Act (S-2163), which they introduced Wednesday during a hearing on broadband deployment issues (see 1510070068). “This critical bipartisan legislation would help improve the deployment of broadband infrastructure so that more Americans have access to high-speed internet no matter where they live,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who introduced the bill with Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., as co-sponsors. The bill was referred to the Environment and Public Works Committee, where none of the backers is a member. “This bill would make federal construction projects more efficient by encouraging simultaneous construction of transportation and broadband infrastructure,” Gardner said in a statement. “In addition, the bill would build on my efforts to encourage faster deployment of broadband infrastructure on federal lands.” The Senate bill text is 21 pages and would “direct the Secretary of Transportation to require that broadband conduits be installed as a part of certain highway construction projects,” it said. The Department of Transportation would have to report on the “implementation and installation of broadband conduit projects” to Congress within two years of the bill’s enactment and would need to every two years for the next decade. The bill has similar “Dig Once” provisions as the Broadband Conduit Deployment Act, which House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., introduced in past sessions of Congress, a Senate staffer told us. Eshoo didn't introduce the bill this Congress, but the Senate staffer said this legislation isn't intended to be a companion given its broader scope. “Somewhat fortuitously, one type of infrastructure commonly owned by governments that require such conduits to be dug are highways,” wrote American Enterprise Institute scholar Bronwyn Howell, a board member of the International Telecommunications Society, in a blog post Thursday, referring to rumors that Eshoo may revive her bill this Congress. “As the marginal costs of adding ducts in a new highway are typically smaller than the costs of digging even one new parallel duct, then Representative Eshoo’s bill appears to both reduce costs and promote the competitive supply of all cable-based infrastructures.” An Eshoo spokesman didn’t comment.
Three senators on the Commerce Committee unveiled more details Thursday of the Streamlining and Investing in Broadband Infrastructure Act (S-2163), which they introduced Wednesday during a hearing on broadband deployment issues (see 1510070068). “This critical bipartisan legislation would help improve the deployment of broadband infrastructure so that more Americans have access to high-speed internet no matter where they live,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who introduced the bill with Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., as co-sponsors. The bill was referred to the Environment and Public Works Committee, where none of the backers is a member. “This bill would make federal construction projects more efficient by encouraging simultaneous construction of transportation and broadband infrastructure,” Gardner said in a statement. “In addition, the bill would build on my efforts to encourage faster deployment of broadband infrastructure on federal lands.” The Senate bill text is 21 pages and would “direct the Secretary of Transportation to require that broadband conduits be installed as a part of certain highway construction projects,” it said. The Department of Transportation would have to report on the “implementation and installation of broadband conduit projects” to Congress within two years of the bill’s enactment and would need to every two years for the next decade. The bill has similar “Dig Once” provisions as the Broadband Conduit Deployment Act, which House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., introduced in past sessions of Congress, a Senate staffer told us. Eshoo didn't introduce the bill this Congress, but the Senate staffer said this legislation isn't intended to be a companion given its broader scope. “Somewhat fortuitously, one type of infrastructure commonly owned by governments that require such conduits to be dug are highways,” wrote American Enterprise Institute scholar Bronwyn Howell, a board member of the International Telecommunications Society, in a blog post Thursday, referring to rumors that Eshoo may revive her bill this Congress. “As the marginal costs of adding ducts in a new highway are typically smaller than the costs of digging even one new parallel duct, then Representative Eshoo’s bill appears to both reduce costs and promote the competitive supply of all cable-based infrastructures.” An Eshoo spokesman didn’t comment.
MEMS motion sensor company mCube is sampling the MC3635 three-axis accelerometer, a low-power device that fits in a 1.6 x 1.6-millimeter Land Grid Array package, said the company. Using the MC3635, developers can design a three-axis inertial solution using a single resistor in under one-tenth of a square centimeter on a printed circuit board, enabling a new generation of wearables requiring extended battery life and small form factors, said mCube. The MC3635 is built on the mCube’s 3D monolithic single-chip MEMS technology platform, which has shipped in more than 100 million mobile handsets, said the company. Samples are available to selected customers now, with general sampling slated for December, followed by volume production in Q1, it said.
MEMS motion sensor company mCube is sampling the MC3635 three-axis accelerometer, a low-power device that fits in a 1.6 x 1.6-millimeter Land Grid Array package, said the company. Using the MC3635, developers can design a three-axis inertial solution using a single resistor in under one-tenth of a square centimeter on a printed circuit board, enabling a new generation of wearables requiring extended battery life and small form factors, said mCube. The MC3635 is built on the mCube’s 3D monolithic single-chip MEMS technology platform, which has shipped in more than 100 million mobile handsets, said the company. Samples are available to selected customers now, with general sampling slated for December, followed by volume production in Q1, it said.
Senators see legislative potential in easing the deployment of wireless broadband, they agreed during a Wednesday Commerce Committee hearing. “The recent Broadband Opportunity Council report includes a number of recommendations on ways to speed broadband deployment on federal lands,” said committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla. “And just last week, the General Services Administration, under guidance from Congress in our last major spectrum policy bill, took significant steps to improve the processes for seeking access to federal lands and buildings for the placement of wireless infrastructure.”