The State Department has issued a notice recommending that travelers apply now for travel documents that will be required at all land or sea border entry points as of June 1, 2009 under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).
Satellites can help Europe recover from the global financial crisis, the European Satellite Operators Association said Wednesday. The EU approved a recovery plan that includes a fiscal stimulus of about 200 billion, $288 billion, for “smart investments” to produce long-term growth through innovation and access to technology, the group said. One measure calls for 5 billion euros to improve energy connections and broadband infrastructure across Europe, it said. The EU want complete broadband coverage by 2010, but in the remotest parts of Europe, cable and DSL aren’t commercially attractive and they can be much more expensive than alternatives, the group said. Satellites can help meet the EU’s goal, on their own or with land-based communications systems, association Chairman Giuliano Berretta told European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
Boeing urged caution as the FCC takes up a July NTIA petition asking that 1090 MHz be allocated to runway-vehicle identification and collision avoidance. Air traffic controllers already use the technology to manage aircraft, but other vehicles, including snowplows, emergency vehicles and maintenance vehicles, that operate near or on the runway don’t get similar monitoring, according to a November FCC notice seeking comment on the proposal.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a notice announcing that it has approved a contingency plan to allow conveyances that normally pay annual land border decal and transponder user fees to be cleared by CBP without a per crossing/arrival payment from January 1-31, 2009.
Public safety system provider ARINC and EADS Secure Networks North America formed a strategic alliance for land mobile radio communications in support of homeland security, the companies said. ARINC has integrated the EADS COR P25 technology into its AWINS architecture for delivering land mobile radio communications.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a notice announcing that the Secretary of Homeland Security has designated New York state-issued enhanced driver's licenses and identity documents (EDLs) as acceptable documents to denote identity and citizenship for purposes of entering the U.S. at land and sea ports of entry, upon (full) implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.
Implementation of software-defined and cognitive radio technologies may lead to specific and unique technical, operational or regulatory challenges, said officials in ITU-R working parties on some land mobile and amateur services, maritime and aeronautical mobile and radiodetermination services. The officials said in the communication sent to the spectrum management group that the technologies are not radiocommunication services, rather technologies that can be implemented in systems of any radiocommunication service. Implementation of cognitive radio systems and technologies in frequency bands for safety of life operations needs careful consideration, the communication said, citing the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System, the aeronautical mobile and radiodetermination services. Complete technical analyses are necessary to determine the potential regulatory implications of a radiocommunication service using software- defined and cognitive radio systems, either within the service or between different radiocommunication services, the communication said.
The Treasury Department and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (agencies) have issued a joint final rule, effective January 19, 2009 (with certain delayed compliance) to implement applicable provisions of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted a news release entitled, "Securing America's Borders - CBP 2008 Fiscal Year in Review," which provides details on the progress CBP made securing U.S. borders in FY 2008.
Raytheon said it has shown that simultaneous communications using low, medium and extended data rate wave forms are possible. Raytheon said it used a simulator designed and built by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This capability will be used when the Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite constellation launches next year, Raytheon said. Raytheon is being paid $1.1 billion to build the Navy Multiband Terminals for more than 300 ships, submarines and land-based stations, it said.