The FCC gave Harris County, Texas, authority to continue its work on a public safety broadband network in the 700 MHz band. The Public Safety Bureau order, signed by Chief David Turetsky, was posted Friday (http://bit.ly/VuH38q) and extended the network’s special temporary authority (STA) by another six months, until Aug. 28. The FCC gave the Texas network a six-month authorization last fall. The state has partnered with the Harris County Information Technology Center to use 20 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band for public safety for, as the FCC authorized, 14 sites in Harris County. The county was among 21 entities granted waivers to operate in the 700 MHz band initially and had planned for such a network since 2009. It’s now slated to be folded into the proposed national FirstNet public safety network.
MicroVision hopes to land agreements with a “vital few” suppliers for its MEMS-based front projection light engine to expand beyond its pact with Pioneer, CEO Alexander Tokman said on an earnings call. Having shipped samples to more than 50 automotive and CE suppliers, MicroVision expects to secure the first of the new pacts by June, Tokman said. In starting negotiations with the new crop of potential customers, MicroVision was seeking partners that derive revenue from “multiple sources” including software and services in addition to hardware, Tokman said. MicroVision is seeking “opportunity” for upfront licensing revenue and non-recurring engineering fees, he said. The new pacts would generate product revenue in 2014, he said. Pioneer has been MicroVision’s main customer for its laser-based light engine, having deployed it in Navi head-up display (HUD) after-market devices that are built into a driver’s side sunvisor and show driving direction on a car’s windshield just of ahead of the road itself. The Pioneer AVIC-VH99HUD single-DIN ($3,770) and AVIC-ZH99HD dual-DIN ($4,021) models use MicroVision’s MEMS display as part of a GPS system paired with NTTDoCoMo’s wireless service and data. The Pioneer products use MicroVision’s 1.37x0.78 x 0.24-inch second-generation PicoP light engine that delivers 1,280 x 720 resolution, 15 lumens to 25 lumens and a 3:1 contrast ratio. The light engine has a 515-nanometer direct green laser, as well as 638-nanometer red laser and a 450-nanometer blue laser. MicroVision ended Q4 with a $1.8 million order backlog, the majority of which were component orders for Pioneer, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Wilson said. MicroVision also had $600,000 in deferred revenue, the bulk of which will be recognized in the first half, Wilson said. The “big momentum” for HUD is in embedded applications with six to seven automakers pushing 10 to 11 suppliers to come up with product, Tokman said. “As you can imagine most of these people are referring back to us,” Tokman said. Meanwhile, Microvision received a potential delisting notice from the Nasdaq for failing to maintain a $50 million minimum market value for 30 consecutive days. It has until August to regain compliance.
CBP released several documents outlining the agency's plans and expectations for operations following the budget cuts that took effect March 1. The agency will allow for operations as usual for Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and the Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS), the agency said. CBP has said it will continue to keep security, including radiation portal monitors, as a top priority during the cuts, but that trade processing could see major delays as a result of CBP furlough and cuts to overtime expenses. A list of CBP's trade priorities following sequestration is (here).
AT&T and Zeus Wireless are fighting over their interconnection agreement in Texas. “After conducting call studies, AT&T Texas discovered that Zeus was sending it large amounts of land line-originated traffic” through its interconnection agreement (ICA), against its terms, AT&T told the Texas Public Utility Commission in a post-hearing brief Tuesday (http://bit.ly/Y3DODA). It complained to the PUC last fall and notified Zeus, it said. AT&T wants an expedited proceeding to terminate the interconnection agreement. AT&T doesn’t care that Zeus might stop sending landline traffic now, given the longstanding interconnection agreement only provided for wireless-originated traffic: “That does not cure Zeus’ daily breach of the ICA over the last three years or its refusal to pay the compensation due on the land line-originated traffic already sent. AT&T Texas is still entitled to, and still intends to, terminate the ICA.” AT&T pointed to lost access charges and compared the situation to its battle with the now-liquidated Halo Wireless, against which it “spent much of the past two years prosecuting complaints” in multiple states as part of what it alleged was Halo’s “scheme, conducted in breach of the same ICA language at issue here. Halo -- like Zeus -- had interconnection agreements with AT&T ILECs that allowed it to send only wireless-originated traffic to AT&T.” Zeus, in its own post-brief hearing, argues that AT&T isn’t entitled to an expedited ruling and calls this “its own manufactured crisis” (http://bit.ly/VafVLZ). Zeus criticized the way AT&T conducted now “stale” traffic studies before informing Zeus of its concerns. “As a result of [AT&T’s] August 3, 2012, demand letter, Zeus made significant changes to its systems on August 22, 2012, to satisfy AT&T’s concerns and cure any alleged breach,” Zeus added. It said a more recent study showed the traffic issues were largely resolved. “AT&T Texas is not entitled to terminate its ICA and discontinue providing service to Zeus, because any alleged breaches have been timely eliminated,” Zeus said.
The FCC’s regression model has incorrectly classified Alaskan telcos as less than 100 percent “tribal,” even though the Bureau of Indian Affairs has designated all of Alaska as 100 percent tribal, officials from Arctic Slope Telephone Association Cooperative, TelAlaska and Copper Valley Telecom told an aide to Commissioner Ajit Pai Monday (http://bit.ly/XiesS9). The Wireline Bureau has acknowledged the error, but has not yet corrected it, the groups said. They also questioned the regression model’s underlying climate data inputs. The groups praised the upcoming Arctic Fibre undersea fiber project that will bring fiber landings to Alaska while providing “vastly superior” pricing and capacity than is now available, they said.
The Federal Maritime Commission said the following have filed applications for a license as a Non-Vessel-Operating Common Carrier (NVO) and/or Ocean Freight Forwarder (OFF)-Ocean Transportation Intermediary (OTI) pursuant to section 19 of the Shipping Act of 1984. The FMC also gave notice of the filing of applications to amend an existing OTI license or the qualifying individual for a license. Interested persons may contact the Office of Transportation Intermediaries, Federal Maritime Commission, Washington, D.C. 20573, at 202-523-5843 or at OTI@fmc.gov.
CBP is proposing to add new notice requirements and appeal procedures for when it suspends or revokes an entry filer code or discontinues the ability to use immediate delivery and remote location filing (RLF) programs, the agency said in a Feb. 26 Federal Register notice. The agency plans to make the changes to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which requires certain due process procedures before an agency can suspend or revoke a license it has given, said the notice. CBP assigns entry filer codes to all licensed brokers and importers filing consumption and Automated Broker Interface (ABI) entries.
All emergency beacons that operate on frequency 406 MHz must be registered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the FCC Enforcement Bureau said in an enforcement advisory (http://bit.ly/155GR1e). False alarms from or failures to register emergency beacons may result in substantial monetary penalties up to $112,500 for any single act, it said. The three types of emergency beacons for transmitting distress signals are Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons for maritime use, Emergency Locator Transmitters for aviation use and Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) for land-based use, it said. Even a brief inadvertent activation on frequency 406 MHz from an EPIRB “can generate a false alert and is a violation of FCC rules, thereby subjecting the operator to potential monetary penalties up to $112,500.” PLBs are licensed by rule and an individual license is not required, it said.
4th Bin is the first New York City-based e-waste recycler to land e-Stewards certification from the Basel Action Network, the company said Wednesday. Certification ensures that the recycler adheres to the world’s highest standards for socially and environmentally responsible recycling, 4th Bin said.
Fletcher Heald hires telecom lawyers from Venable: James Troup, as member; and Tony Lee, as of counsel … Viacom promotes in Music and Entertainment Ad Sales group to senior vice presidents: Jeannie Scalzo for music sales, MTV, MTV2, mtvU, VH1, VH1 Classic and Palladia; and Ellen Dominus for entertainment sales, CMT, Comedy Central, Spike and TV Land … Lobbyist registration: Al Jazeera America, DLA Piper … Participant Media hires Craig Parks, ex-Independent Film Channel, as senior vice president-digital & live programming for company’s yet-to-be-named cable network targeting millennials … Aylus Networks mobile video services software provider hires Steve Ball, ex-IBM, as vice president-products … DukeNet Communications high-bandwidth connectivity company hires Mike Taylor, ex-T-Mobile, as vice president-network operations … Visionary Solutions IPTV encoder maker hires Joe Walsh, ex-Fast Forward Video, as vice president-sales.