Panelists offered starkly different visions on how to regulate the broadband market to ensure competition and economic growth, at a New America Foundation event Friday (http://xrl.us/bnpsjw). Former FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, lamenting that the competitive market he envisioned in 2001 has not come to fruition, pushed for a “major national commitment” to increase broadband performance, and a renewed emphasis on promoting competition. Special access and the transition to Internet Protocol networks were also hotly debated, with economist Joseph Gillan calling AT&T’s proposal to “sunset” the public switched telephone network (PSTN) the “largest regulatory ask” in his lifetime.
IBiquity Digital continues to “push forward” in its efforts to land HD Radio functionality in smartphones and tablets, Chief Operating Officer Jeff Jury told us. “We're talking to carriers, we're talking to handset manufacturers,” Jury said. But “beyond that, I don’t have anything more specific to say in terms of an actual device launch, but we continue to push for some launches this year,” he said.
IBiquity Digital continues to “push forward” in its efforts to land HD Radio functionality in smartphones and tablets, Chief Operating Officer Jeff Jury told us. “We're talking to carriers, we're talking to handset manufacturers,” Jury said. But “beyond that, I don’t have anything more specific to say in terms of an actual device launch, but we continue to push for some launches this year,” he said.
Telcos and carriers expressed strong support for a USTelecom petition for reconsideration of an FCC public notice that imposed various obligations on eligible telecommunications carriers that deal with tribal groups. The rules violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), and the First Amendment, groups say. But tribal groups that commented strongly objected to the petition, calling it “misguided” and “deeply disappointing.” The public notice (http://xrl.us/bnro5r) offered “further guidance” on the tribal government engagement obligation provisions in the USF/intercarrier compensation order, and USTelecom took issue with its calls for “culturally sensitive” marketing and in-person meetings between telecom executives and tribal leaders.
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk should review the details of the financial package offered by the provincial government of Nova Scotia to a paper mill in Port Hawkesbury for possible trade agreement violations, said Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine) in a Sept. 26 letter to the USTR. Michaud asked Kirk to obtain complete information about the province’s rescue package and to determine whether it is consistent with Canada’s NAFTA and WTO commitments.
Despite design wins in Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Texas Instruments is shifting its Open Multimedia Applications Platform (OMAP) processor business more toward industrial and automotive applications from tablets and smartphones, amid heightened competition, Gregory Delagi, senior vice president-general manager for embedded processing, said at an analyst meeting.
Spacenet will showcase its full suite of emergency communications solutions for law enforcement and public safety agencies at the International Association of Chiefs of Police 119th Annual Conference and Exposition in San Diego. Spacenet’s satellite-based connectivity for emergency communications services “enable users to establish and maintain Land Mobile Radio, data, voice and video communications when other land-based technologies fail,” the company said in a press release (http://xrl.us/bnrdne). It delivers connectivity on a “pay-as-you-use” basis, “making emergency communications affordable for budget-sensitive public safety agencies,” it said. The event takes place Sept. 29-Oct. 3.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted an Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) user guide on e-Manifest: Trucks. It provides an introduction to this capability in ACE and information on how to store account information in the ACE, how to add drivers to an account, submitting an e-Manifest, in-bond shipment information, etc.
FirstNet may begin implementing the proposed nationwide 700 MHz national public safety broadband network (NPSBN) as soon as 2013, the FirstNet board said at its inaugural meeting Tuesday. All 15 members praised the $7 billion initiative and talked about next steps. But multiple organizations and a new report underscore FirstNet’s challenges of funding, scheduling and exclusion, and they questioned the manner in which the federal government has handled several suspended stimulus grants.
Motorola Solutions needs guidance to comply with the FCC’s narrowbanding guidelines and the sale and repair of its Part 90 land mobile radio equipment for narrowband waiver recipients, an ex parte filing said Friday (http://xrl.us/bnq8gb). The company has questions about how the agency is enforcing and parsing some of its rules: Is repairing a 25 kHz-capable device the same as building one? Building one isn’t allowed after December, when the VHF/UHF narrowband deadline passes, the filing said. Motorola representatives met with the Public Safety Bureau Sept. 19 and requested a public notice be issued to answer these different concerns, the filing said.