Private land mobile radio licensees would get two more years to move to narrowband technology under legislation introduced Tuesday by Rep. Steve Rothman, D-N.J. Under current law, first responders must move to narrowband by Jan. 1, 2013. The bill, HR-3430, was referred to the House Commerce Committee. In September, Rothman introduced a bill (HR-2976) to set up a $400 million grant program to help first responders upgrade their radios to comply with the 2004 narrowband mandate. The FCC has warned repeatedly that many public safety systems have not made the changes necessary to meet the 2013 deadline.
CEA and electronics makers touted industry efforts at boosting e-waste recycling on America Recycles Day Wednesday even as they called for more consumer education initiatives. CEA research shows that “58 percent of consumers know where to take their end-of-life electronics, we would very much like to see that level of awareness increase,” said Walter Alcorn, CEA vice president-environmental affairs. EPA officials toured e-waste recycling facilities to stress the importance of responsible recycling of used electronics.
The Department of State’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN) and the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection are coordinating an International Visitors Leadership Program for senior-level Afghan and Pakistani customs and border enforcement officials from November 12 - 22, 2011. The objective of this visit, funded by the Department of State’s Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) program, is to facilitate mutual cooperation and capacity building among the delegation’s participants.
Japanese sales of the 3DS soared to 145,300 units in the week ended Nov. 6 from 65,000 the prior week (CED Nov 7 p), according to Media Create data for the week ended Nov. 6. 3DS sales were driven by strong demand for Nintendo’s release of Super Mario 3D Land, the week’s top-selling videogame in Japan its first week available, moving 343,500 copies. Cumulative 3DS sales grew to an estimated 2.3 million in Japan, according to Media Create’s data. All weekly sales estimates are rounded to the nearest 100. The PSP remained the No. 2 system in Japan, but sales slid to 28,000 from 30,600. The PS3 repeated at No. 3, sales improving to 27,000 from 25,200. The Wii was again No. 4, sales dipping slightly to 11,700 from 11,800. The DSi LL remained No. 5, sales flat at 2,000. The Xbox 360 repeated at No. 6, sales flat at 1,700. The PS2 was again No. 7, but sales grew to 1,500 from 1,200. The DSi remained No. 8, sales flat at 1,100. The DS Lite was again No. 9, sales again under 100. Square Enix’s Final Fantasy Type-O, the prior week’s No. 1 videogame, slipped to No. 4 in its second week as sales tumbled to 122,300 from 472,300. Also beating it this time were two other new releases: Sony Computer Entertainment’s Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception for the PS3, No. 2 with 125,000 units sold, and the PS3 version of Battlefield 3 from Electronic Arts, No. 3 with 123,400 sold.
SILICON VALLEY -- A regional forerunner to the national public safety network is making headway recruiting public institutions to join but meeting more resistance than it thinks it should, an official said. The BayRICS effort in the San Francisco Bay area includes a 700 MHz LTE network called BayWEB, financed with a $51 million NTIA stimulus grant to cover just more than half the cost. The effort is attracting interest from universities “and we're working on” the two holdout cities in Alameda County to join, said Chief Information Officer Clancy Priest of the city of Hayward, which is in the county. “It’s like if you build it they will come.” The initials stand for Regional Interoperable Communication System and for Wireless Enhanced Broadband.
SILICON VALLEY -- A regional forerunner to the national public safety network is making headway recruiting public institutions to join but meeting more resistance than it thinks it should, an official said. The BayRICS effort in the San Francisco Bay area includes a 700 MHz LTE network called BayWEB, financed with a $51 million NTIA stimulus grant to cover just more than half the cost. The effort is attracting interest from universities “and we're working on” the two holdout cities in Alameda County to join, said Chief Information Officer Clancy Priest of the city of Hayward, which is in the county. “It’s like if you build it they will come.” The initials stand for Regional Interoperable Communication System and for Wireless Enhanced Broadband.
On November 10, 2011, the following Committee reports were filed in the House:
On November 9, 2011, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced its plans to conduct a test of Simplified Entry in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). While the initial test phase is only for the air mode, CBP has issued a news release stating that it is planning similar test phases in the ocean and rail environments for early to mid-2012. CBP also clarifies that the deadline for voluntary participants for the air mode test phase is November 17, 2011, and those volunteering must include information regarding their volume of entries and the ports expected to be utilized.
The Coalition to Save Our GPS said the FCC should permanently bar LightSquared from using the upper 10 MHz of its spectrum for wireless broadband. The coalition said even if LightSquared gets FCC clearance to use the lower 10 MHz for broadband, the upper 10 MHz should be off limits. LightSquared fired back, saying the coalition is only revisiting old arguments. The upper 10 MHz band is part of the spectrum identified for wireless by the FCC last year in its National Broadband Plan.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a notice announcing its plan to conduct a National Customs Automation Program (NCAP)1 test on ACE simplified entry capability. The test will reduce the information participants must file with CBP prior to arrival in the U.S. to 12 required, and three optional data elements. The initial phase of the test will only be for the air transportation mode and is available for nine accounts. Parties interested in participating in the test should contact CBP by November 17, 2011.