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AUTO TECH

Nissan develops mobile phone 'prison' to stop texting and driving

By Dan Elsom Published May 04, 2017
Fox News

NISSAN SIGNAL SHIELD CONCEPT

In the last two years, mobile phone use among British drivers has increased from eight to 31 per cent, according to the RAC.

With stricter penalties being imposed for handling a phone while behind the wheel, British drivers are now more likely to be caught if they decide to pick up their device.

Japanese car-maker Nissan has come up with a new concept that could drastically reduce the rate of illegal phone use on our roads, and save Brits from being slammed with hefty fines.

Introducing the Nissan Signal Shield.

Built into the armrest of the Nissan Juke, the prototype compartment is lined with a metal Faraday cage, which blocks any incoming or outgoing signals, including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections, when the lid is closed.

It is essentially an isolation prison cell for your mobile friend.

Nissan said the concept is designed to provide drivers with the option of eliminating the constant distraction of notifications buzzing through.

While drivers could just as easily achieve the same effect by switching their phone off, the Signal Shield allows the phone to still be connected to the car’s entertainment system via auxiliary and USB ports in order to listen to music or podcasts.

RAC road safety spokesman Pete Williams praised the Nissan prototype in helping drivers avoid the temptation of touching their phone while driving.

“Our research shows that handheld phone use by drivers has reached epidemic proportions,” Williams said.

“As mobile phone technology has advanced significantly many people have become addicted to them.

“However, the use of a handheld phone when driving represents both a physical and mental distraction and it has been illegal since 2003.

“The Nissan Signal Shield is a good example of a technology that can help drivers be phone smart.

“For those who can’t avoid the temptation, this simple but pretty clever tech gives them a valuable mobile-free zone.”

The innovation uses the simple principle of the Faraday cage — a device invented in the 1830s by English scientist Michael Faraday.

A small enclosure made of conductive metal blocks electromagnetic fields, or in this case, cellular signals.

With almost one in five drivers admitting to illegally texting while behind the wheel, Nissan is likely to introduce the concept into new model Juke’s in the near future.

This article originally appeared in The Sun

P.S. Send me a self-addressed, stamped envelope with a $5.00 bill in it and I will send you a nice customized piece of aluminum foil that you can wrap your cellphone in. Anyone familiar with a pager repair shop should know what a Faraday cage is, and how it works.

Now on to more news and views.

Wayne County, Illinois

Emergency Radio Communications Wireless Messaging Critical Messaging Two-way Radio Technology Telemetry Science Paging Wi-Fi

Wireless Messaging

This doesn't mean that nothing is ever published here that mentions a US political party—it just means that the editorial policy of this newsletter is to remain neutral on all political issues. We don't take sides.

A new issue of the Wireless Messaging Newsletter is posted on the web each week. A notification goes out by e-mail to subscribers on most Fridays around noon central US time. The notification message has a link to the actual newsletter on the web. That way it doesn’t fill up your incoming e-mail account.

There is no charge for subscription and there are no membership restrictions. Readers are a very select group of wireless industry professionals, and include the senior managers of many of the world’s major Paging and Wireless Messaging companies. There is an even mix of operations managers, marketing people, and engineers — so I try to include items of interest to all three groups. It’s all about staying up-to-date with business trends and technology.

I regularly get readers’ comments, so this newsletter has become a community forum for the Paging, and Wireless Messaging communities. You are welcome to contribute your ideas and opinions. Unless otherwise requested, all correspondence addressed to me is subject to publication in the newsletter and on my web site. I am very careful to protect the anonymity of those who request it.

I spend the whole week searching the Internet for news that I think may be of interest to you — so you won’t have to. This newsletter is an aggregator — a service that aggregates news from other news sources. You can help our community by sharing any interesting news that you find.

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MARS (Mobile Alert Response System)

• Paging Protocol Monitoring and Wireless Sensor Monitoring (Inovonics and Bluetooth LE)
• Improves Mobile Response Team Productivity using Smartphone App
• Low-Latency Alerts using Pagers, Smartphones, Browsers, and Digital Displays
• Automated E-mail Based Alert Response and System Status Reports
• Linux Based Embedded System with Ethernet and USB Ports
• Browser Based Configuration
• Mobile Resident Call and Wandering Resident Tracking with Bluetooth Beacons
• SMTP and SIP Inputs and XMPP Output in Development

STG (SIP to TAP Gateway)

• Monitors Rauland Nurse Call SIP Protocol
• Outputs TAP protocol to Ethernet and Serial Port Paging Systems
• Linux Based Embedded System
  
• Browser Based Configuration

A Problem

The Motorola Nucleus II Paging Base Station is a great paging transmitter. The Nucleus I, however, had some problems.

One of the best features of this product was its modular construction. Most of the Nucleus' component parts were in plug-in modules that were field replaceable making maintenance much easier.

One issue was (and still is) that two of the modules had to always be kept together. They are called the “matched pair.”

Motorola used some tricks to keep people in the field from trying to match unmatched pairs, and force them to send SCM and Exciter modules back to the factory for calibrating them with precision laboratory equipment.

The serial numbers have to match in the Nucleus programing software or you can't transmit [in simulcast mode] . Specifically the 4-level alignment ID parameter contained in the SCM has to match the Exciter ID parameter.

Even if someone could modify the programing software to “fudge” these parameters, that would not let them use unmatched modules effectively without recalibrating them to exact factory specifications.

So now that there is no longer a Motorola factory laboratory to send them to, what do we do?

I hope someone can help us resolve this serious problem for users of the Nucleus paging transmitter.

Please let me know if you can help. [ click here ]

[Thanks to Tom Harger Chief Engineer at Contact Wireless for the correction above in red.]

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Please see our web site for exciting solutions designed specifically for the Wireless Industry. We also maintain a diagnostic lab and provide important repair and replacement parts services for Motorola and Glenayre equipment. Call or e-mail us for more information.

Throwback Thursday May 1, 1998

By Kelly Hill
RCRWirelessNews
MAY 4, 2017

Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on the sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!

Motorola Vice President and Chief Engineer, John F. Mitchell shows off the DynaTAC portable radio telephone in New York City in 1973.

Pagers wreak havoc in China
Since paging became available in 1983, the number of paging operators in China has mushroomed to more than 2,800, with more than 40 million customers. According to the Chinese language China Reform Daily, 70 million pager users are expected by 2000. China Unicom Paging Corp. has built paging networks in 103 cities, of which 27 are operational-with a capacity of 3.63 million but only 700,000 subscribers. In 1998, China Unicom paging networks in 58 cities will be cut over, which should increase the number of subscribers to 2 million. Glenayre Technologies Inc. is supplying Unicom paging systems based on the 280 MHz FLEX standard to be installed in 21 cities. Paging competition is fierce, and price has become the major weapon. Three years ago a Motorola pager with Chinese-character display cost around US$240; now the price has come down to US$120, including a one-year service fee. Lost pagers rarely are returned to their owners since it is cheap and easy to change the number at the paging companies’ service centers. Nearly 100 different pager models are sold in China-more than 95 percent of them foreign brands. Motorola reigns supreme with 70 percent of the paging market. . . Read more

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Repair and Refurbishment Services

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PSSI is the industry leader in reverse logistics, our services include depot repair, product returns management, RMA and RTV management, product audit, test, refurbishment, re-kitting and value recovery.

Part Two of Seventh Annual Spok Survey Confirms Infrastructure Improvements and Mobile Device Diversity

May 02, 2017 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

SPRINGFIELD, Va.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Spok, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Spok Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPOK) and the global leader in healthcare communications, today released the second part of the Company's annual mobility in healthcare survey. Spok has been conducting this survey since 2011 to assess mobile workflow enablement trends in hospitals across the country. More than 300 U.S. healthcare professionals responded to this year’s questions about mobile strategy development, bring your own device (BYOD) policies, communications infrastructure, and opportunities to improve mobile communications.

“The first installment of our 2017 research, released last month, examined how hospitals are developing, maintaining, and executing on their mobile strategies,” said Hemant Goel, president of Spok. “This second piece in our two-part series looks at the details behind these strategies. For example, we asked about the types of mobile devices particular staff carry, what challenges hospitals are encountering with mobile device usage, and whether they support BYOD programs.”

The research this year reveals that hospitals are making progress in addressing the previously identified infrastructure gaps in order to better support mobile strategies and devices. “Forty-five percent of respondents answered that Wi-Fi coverage is a challenge for mobile device users, and 38 percent cited cellular coverage as problematic. Both of these data points showed a 9 percentage point improvement over 2016,” said Goel. In addition, data security as a mobile device challenge dropped from 43 percent to 31 percent. “Though there is still a lot of room for improvement, the responses this year demonstrate that hospitals are taking action and making progress addressing these important issues,” Goel stated.

Survey findings also revealed that hospital staff still carry a diverse mix of mobile devices to do their jobs. For the sixth straight year smartphones are the most popular device, with 77 percent of respondents saying their organization supports them, while other tools, including pagers, maintain strong representation. “Again this year, the survey shows that pagers play a major role in hospital communications,” said Vince Kelly, chief executive officer of Spok Holdings, Inc. “As part of Spok Care Connect^®, our enterprise healthcare communications platform, we continue to support the paging needs of the market, including secure paging. Twenty-one percent of surveyed healthcare professionals said their organization uses encrypted pagers. This mobile device diversity confirms our strategic direction to provide integrated communications across the health system and let leaders decide what devices are most appropriate for their staff, based on the workflows they support,” Kelly concluded.

The report also assessed the backup communication plans hospitals have in place should cellular networks become overloaded or fail, and the perceived reliability of different communication channels. Survey participants were also asked to identify the biggest opportunity for mobile communication improvements over the next three to five years. Answers included enhancing patient care team collaboration, and using mobile strategies to simplify technology and bring uniformity across hospital systems.

Additional details about this research will be presented by Bridget Wahlstrom, senior mobile product manager, during the Company's next virtual briefing on May 4, 2017.

Spok’s 2017 Mobile Communications in Healthcare Survey Series

• Part 1: The Evolution of Mobile Strategies in Healthcare looks at how hospitals include strategic business and clinical goals in the planning process. For more detail about the objectives included in mobility strategies, why hospitals review their mobile plans, the composition of mobile planning teams, and more, visit this resource page.
• Part 2: The State of Mobile Communications in Healthcare: Devices, Infrastructure, and Access presents details around mobile device types and communication infrastructure. For more detail about what devices are supported, the types of hospital-approved systems and applications mobile users have access to, and the prevalence of BYOD programs and enterprise mobility management (EMM) solutions, visit this resource page.

About Spok

Spok, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Spok Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPOK), headquartered in Springfield, Va., is proud to be the global leader in healthcare communications. We deliver clinical information to care teams when and where it matters most to improve patient outcomes. Top hospitals rely on the Spok Care Connect^® platform to enhance workflows for clinicians, support administrative compliance, and provide a better experience for patients. Our customers send over 100 million messages each month through their Spok^® solutions. When seconds count, count on Spok. For more information, visit spok.com or follow @spoktweets on Twitter.

Spok is a trademark of Spok Holdings, Inc.

Contacts
Spok, Inc.
Jill Asby, +1 952-230-5363
jill.asby@spok.com

Report: Hospital Staff Continue to Use a Diverse Mix of Mobile Devices, Including Pagers

May 2, 2017 by Heather Landi
Healthcare Information

In order to do their jobs, hospital clinicians and non-clinical staff still carry a diverse mix of mobile devices. For the sixth straight year, according to an annual Spok, Inc. survey, smartphones are the most popular device, with 77 percent of respondents saying their organization supports them, while other tools, including pagers, maintain strong representation.

The Spok survey found that smartphone use has continually increased, and wide-area pagers are gradually declining, but are still used by 50 percent of respondents. And then there are the other devices that show a mixed trajectory. “Clearly there is no standard device and hospitals are still figuring out what is most appropriate for different members of their staff given hospital resources, functional requirements, and staff expectations. For this reason, it remains critical that health systems implement communication solutions that are device neutral,” the Spok survey report authors wrote.

“Again this year, the survey shows that pagers play a major role in hospital communications,” Vince Kelly, chief executive officer of Spok Holdings, Inc, said.

The findings were part of Springfield, Va.-based Spok’s two-part survey report on mobility strategies in healthcare. This research, conducted by the healthcare communications company Spok, since 2011, is designed to assess mobile workflow enablement progress and trends in hospitals across the country. More than 300 healthcare professionals throughout the U.S. responded to this year’s questions about mobile strategy development, bring your own device (BYOD) policies, communications infrastructure, and opportunities to improve mobile communications.

“The first installment of our 2017 research, released last month, examined how hospitals are developing, maintaining, and executing on their mobile strategies,” Hemant Goel, president of Spok, said in a statement. “This second piece in our two-part series looks at the details behind these strategies. For example, we asked about the types of mobile devices particular staff carry, what challenges hospitals are encountering with mobile device usage, and whether they support BYOD programs.”

As reported by Healthcare Informatics, the first of two reports on the results of the annual mobility strategies in healthcare survey found that, compared to 2012, twice as many healthcare professional respondents said they have a documented mobile strategy within their organization.

The second piece of the two-part report, titled The State of Mobile Communications in Healthcare: Devices, Infrastructure, and Access, presents details around mobile device types and communication infrastructure.

When looking at the types of medical devices that hospital staff use, respondents ranked voice badges the lowest for reliability and ranked smartphones and pagers as most reliable. As cited above, while 77 percent of respondent use smartphones, they also use other tools, such as pagers. Twenty-one percent of surveyed healthcare professionals said their organization uses encrypted pagers.

The survey findings also revealed that preferred mobile devices depend on the user, and smartphones are not the preferred device for all staff. The survey specifically asked respondents about the primary devices used by non-clinical staff. In-house pagers dominate as the device of choice for these roles (48 percent), smartphones rank second (40 percent), and Wi-Fi phones came in third (30 percent), according to the survey results.

According to respondents, 59 percent of hospitals allow some form of bring-your-own-device (BYOD), while 4 percent said their organization is planning for BYOD. Nineteen percent of respondents said their hospitals do not allow BYOD, and 18 percent responded “don’t know.” The survey revealed that 90 percent of physicians at bring-your-own-device supporting hospitals participate in the BYOD programs.

The study also found that the number of hospitals that use enterprise mobility management solutions has grown by 6 percentage points since 2016.

The research this year reveals that hospitals are making progress in addressing the previously identified infrastructure gaps in order to better support mobile strategies and devices. Forty-five percent of respondents answered that Wi-Fi coverage is a challenge for mobile device users, and 38 percent cited cellular coverage as problematic, Goel said, however, both of these data points showed a 9 percentage point improvement over 2016.

In addition, data security as a mobile device challenge dropped from 43 percent to 31 percent. “Though there is still a lot of room for improvement, the responses this year demonstrate that hospitals are taking action and making progress addressing these important issues,” Goel stated.

The report also assessed the backup communication plans hospitals have in place should cellular networks become overloaded or fail, and the perceived reliability of different communication channels.

Survey participants were also asked to identify the biggest opportunity for mobile communication improvements over the next three to five years. Answers included enhancing patient care team collaboration, and using mobile strategies to simplify technology and bring uniformity across hospital systems.

Specialists in sales and service of equipment from these leading manufacturers, as well as other two-way radio and paging products:

	Motorola SOLUTIONS
	Motorola MOBILITY

Disaster-Proven Paging for Public Safety

Paging system designs in the United States typically use a voice radio-style infrastructure. These systems are primarily designed for outdoor mobile coverage with modest indoor coverage. Before Narrowbanding, coverage wasn’t good, but what they have now is not acceptable! The high power, high tower approach also makes the system vulnerable. If one base station fails, a large area loses their paging service immediately!

Almost every technology went from analog to digital except fire paging. So it’s time to think about digital paging! The Disaster-Proven Paging Solution (DiCal) from Swissphone offers improved coverage, higher reliability and flexibility beyond anything that traditional analog or digital paging systems can provide. 

Swissphone is the No. 1 supplier for digital paging solutions worldwide. The Swiss company has built paging networks for public safety organizations all over the world. Swissphone has more than 1 million pagers in the field running for years and years due to their renowned high quality.

DiCal is the digital paging system developed and manufactured by Swissphone. It is designed to meet the specific needs of public safety organizations. Fire and EMS rely on these types of networks to improve incident response time. DiCal systems are designed and engineered to provide maximum indoor paging coverage across an entire county. In a disaster situation, when one or several connections in a simulcast solution are disrupted or interrupted, the radio network automatically switches to fall back operating mode. Full functionality is preserved at all times. This new system is the next level of what we know as “Simulcast Paging” here in the U.S.

Swissphone offers high-quality pagers, very robust and waterproof. Swissphone offers the best sensitivity in the industry, and battery autonomy of up to three months. First responder may choose between a smart s.QUAD pager, which is able to connect with a smartphone and the Hurricane DUO pager, the only digital pager who offers text-to-voice functionality.

Bluetooth technology makes it possible to connect the s.QUAD with a compatible smartphone, and ultimately with various s.ONE software solutions from Swissphone. Thanks to Bluetooth pairing, the s.QUAD combines the reliability of an independent paging system with the benefits of commercial cellular network. Dispatched team members can respond back to the call, directly from the pager. The alert message is sent to the pager via paging and cellular at the same time. This hybrid solution makes the alert faster and more secure. Paging ensures alerting even if the commercial network fails or is overloaded.

Swissphone sets new standards in paging:

Paging Network

• It’s much faster to send individual and stacked pages digitally than with analog voice.
• If you want better indoor coverage, you put sites closer together at lower heights.
• A self-healing system that also remains reliable in various disaster situations.
• Place base station where you need them, without the usage of an expensive backhaul network.
• Protect victim confidentiality and prevent unauthorized use of public safety communications, with integrated encryption service.

Pager

• Reliable message reception, thanks to the best sensitivity in the industry.
• Ruggedized and waterproof, IP67 and 6 1/2-feet drop test-certified products.
• Battery autonomy of up to three months, with a standard AA battery.
• Bluetooth enables the new s.QUAD pager to respond back to the dispatch center or fire chief.

Dispatching:

• Two-way CAD interfaces will make dispatching much easier.
• The new s.ONE solution enables the dispatcher or fire chiefs to view the availability of relief forces.
• A graphical screen shows how many of the dispatched team members have responded to the call.

Swissphone provides a proven solution at an affordable cost. Do you want to learn more?
Visit: www.swissphone.com or call 800-596-1914.

Friday, May 5, 2017	Volume 5 | Issue 89

SpaceX Tells Congress They Can Bring Out-of-This World Coverage

SpaceX's Patricia Cooper testifies before the Senate Commerce Committee. Photo by Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers

While wireless broadband providers race to close the digital divide and service more hard-to-reach areas, they may face a new competitor — satellite-delivered broadband internet. Launch services provider SpaceX plans to deploy more than 4,000 non-geostationary satellites in a low orbit within five years to deliver affordable broadband service; the company, founded in 2002, by entrepreneur Elon Musk who remains CEO, hopes to begin testing a satellite by the end of the year and launching a prototype next year.

“Satellites will substantially alter access and competition,” SpaceX VP of Satellite Government Affairs Patricia Cooper told members of the Senate Commerce Committee at a broadband infrastructure hearing this week. “Our plan is to build fiber-like services at much lower cost.” The incremental cost of adding a rural customer to a satellite network is much lower than adding that rural customer to a ground-based cellular network, she testified.

Some 34 million Americans don’t have access to 25 Mbps broadband, according to the FCC, and half of Americans who do, can only get the service from one provider in their market. The company says its technology will be spectrum efficient and enable a viable business.

Satellite-delivered broadband eliminates many of the infrastructure siting hassles discussed at the hearing, like negotiating property rights and the need to dig trenches to lay fiber, according to Cooper. Plus, a new user would need “minimal” ground infrastructure. “Satellites will connect on a rooftop terminal that’s a little larger than a laptop.”

The Ka- and Ku-band satellite spectrum SpaceX plans to employ can be re-used, she said, and noted that SpaceX has also applied to employ V-band spectrum. However FCC rules for non-geostationary satellites need to be updated and reward spectrum efficiency. Launch regulations were written when satellite launches were “rare,” said Cooper. Now, they occur some twice a month and currently the agency issues short-term launch authority. SpaceX would like to see a streamlined process.

Cooper urged lawmakers to direct the FCC to finish processing the company’s pending application to license a new non-geostationary satellite orbit broadband internet constellation. SpaceX wants to bring its satellites closer to the earth to reduce latency, getting closer to 35 milliseconds as opposed to the current “hundreds of milliseconds.” The company proposes to build multiple satellites that each have several satellites in-view. “Small beams that use spectrum efficiently will allow us to adapt to where demand rises and falls,” added Cooper, and direct more capacity into space or on the ground.

Wireless Communication Solutions

USB Paging Encoder

• Single channel up to eight zones
• Connects to Linux computer via USB
• Programmable timeouts and batch sizes
• Supports 2-tone, 5/6-tone, POCSAG 512/1200/2400, GOLAY
• Supports Tone Only, Voice, Numeric, and Alphanumeric
• PURC or direct connect
• Pictured version mounts in 5.25" drive bay
• Other mounting options available
• Available as a daughter board for our embedded Internet Paging Terminal (IPT)

Paging Data Receiver (PDR)

• Frequency agile—only one receiver to stock
• USB or RS-232 interface
• Two contact closures
• End-user programmable w/o requiring special hardware
• 16 capcodes
• POCSAG
• Eight contact closure version also available
• Product customization available

Other products

Please see our web site for other products including Internet Messaging Gateways, Unified Messaging Servers, test equipment, and Paging Terminals.

Contact

Hark Technologies 717 Old Trolley Rd Ste 6 #163 Summerville, SC 29485

Tel: 843-821-6888

Fax: 843-821-6894

E-mail: sales@harktech.com CLICK

Web: http://www.harktech.com CLICK

SEE WEB FOR COMPLETE LIST:

www.preferredwireless.com/equipment

Rick McMichael
Preferred Wireless, Inc.
Telephone: 888-429-4171
(If you are calling from outside of the USA, please use: 314-575-8425)
rickm@preferredwireless.com

Selected portions [sometimes more—sometimes less] of the BloostonLaw Telecom Update and/or the BloostonLaw Private Users Update — newsletters from the Law Offices of Blooston, Mordkofsky, Dickens, Duffy & Prendergast, LLP — are reproduced in this section of The Wireless Messaging News with the firm’s permission. Contact information is included at the end of the newsletter.

FCC Provides Guidance to CMRS Providers on E911 Location Compliance

On March 30, the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau issued a Public Notice in which it provided guidance to Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) providers on filing their certifications of compliance with E911 location accuracy benchmark. The initial benchmark, which requires CMRS providers to provide, as of April 3, 2017, dispatchable location or x/y location (latitude and longitude) within 50 meters for 40 percent of all wireless 911 calls, must be certified by June 2, 2017. Clients that have questions or would like our assistance in preparing the certification should contact the firm.

BloostonLaw Contacts: John Prendergast and Cary Mitchell.

Headlines

FCC to Consider NPRM on Reversing Broadband Title II Classification

On April 26, during a speech at the “Future of Internet Freedom” conference in Washington, D.C., FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced that he has circulated a proposal to “reverse the mistake of Title II and return to the light-touch regulatory framework that served our nation so well during the Clinton Administration, the Bush administration, and the first six years of the Obama Administration.”

A draft of the NPRM was released to the public on April 27. According to the draft, the NPRM proposes to:

• reinstate the information service classification of broadband Internet access service;
• reinstate the determination that mobile broadband Internet access service is not a commercial mobile service and in conjunction revisit the elements of the Title II Order that modified or reinterpreted key terms in section 332 of the Communications Act and implementing rules;
• return authority to the Federal Trade Commission to police the privacy practices of Internet service providers;
• eliminate the Internet conduct standard;
• re-evaluate the FCC’s enforcement regime; and
• conduct a cost-benefit analysis.

The NPRM also seeks comment on whether to keep, modify, or eliminate the bright-line rules set forth in the Title II Order. It will be considered by the FCC at the upcoming May 18 Open Meeting, and a draft copy can be found here.

Commissioner Clyburn and FTC Chairman Terrell McSweeny issued a joint statement on April 27 claiming that if adopted, the plan would harm competition and innovation and leave consumers without any real protection or oversight by the FTC or FCC for broadband services.

In the wake of the massive number of comments the Net Neutrality proceeding received (3.7 million, according to NPR), the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau provided guidance to “facilitate public participation and to make commenting easy” for this proceeding, which has been dubbed the Restoring Internet Freedom proceeding. Specifically, the Bureau “strongly encouraged” parties who “seek to file a large number of comments or ‘group’ comments” to do so through the FCC’s public API or the electronic inbox established for this proceeding, called Restoring Internet Freedom Comments (https://www.fcc.gov/restoring-internet-freedom-comments). The Bureau also asked that parties who anticipate submitting group comments to contact the FCC in advance.

To group filers who do not wish to use the inbox for group filings, the Bureau recommend that they use the ECFS function for a single file to be uploaded, with the ability to note the number of individuals represented by the filing. The advice is clearly targeted at the massive number of individual comments the FCC received in the Net Neutrality proceeding, many of which had the same or similar content. It will be interesting to see how “group comments” will be tallied, and whether the Restoring Internet Freedom proceeding will be able to match the 3.7 million comments Net Neutrality proceeding received.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Sal Taillefer.

FCC to Consider NPRM to Eliminate Rate Floor Rule

At its next Open Meeting, the FCC will consider an Order and NPRM to eliminate the rate floor rule that has required rural telephone companies to charge certain minimum rates.

Specifically, the NPRM portion of the document proposes to eliminate the rate floor rule entirely, as well as the associated reporting requirements. The Order portion of the document would freeze the rate floor at $18 until further actions were taken.

The rate floor is the national average of local rates plus state regulated fees. The rate floor requires that any ILEC recipient of high-cost loop support whose rate for local service plus state regulated fees is below the rate floor shall have its “high-cost support reduced by an amount equal to the extent to which its rates for residential local service plus state regulated fees are below the local urban rate floor, multiplied by the number of lines for which it is receiving support.” Most recently, the rate floor rule required the minimum rate for basic voice service to be $18. It is scheduled to increase to $20 in July of 2017.

A draft copy of the proposed Order and NPRM can be found here.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak.

FCC Proposes to Publicly Release List of Counties Where BDS Will Be Deemed Competitive or Not

On April 28, the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau proposed to publicly release lists of those counties where lower speed business data services will be deemed competitive, non-competitive, or grandfathered pursuant to the Business Data Services Order released by the Commission on April 28. The deadline for filing objections is May 11, 2017.

The Business Data Services Order establishes a competitive market test for identifying counties served by price cap incumbent local exchange carriers (LECs) that evidence sufficient competitive presence to warrant deregulation of DS1 and DS3 end user channel terminations, among other business data services. The competitive market test uses two sets of data to evaluate the competitive status of price cap-served counties across the U.S.: location data from the Commission’s 2015 special access data collection and data on broadband service provided by cable operators from the Commission’s periodic Form 477 data collection. Based on this test, counties are deemed competitive or non-competitive.

If the Commission receives no objections, it will publicly release the lists of counties on May 12, 2017.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Gerry Duffy.

FCC Waives International Traffic and Revenue Report Deadline

On May 1, the FCC issued an Order granting its own motion to temporarily waive international traffic and revenue reporting requirements until 60 days after release of an Order in the ongoing proceeding consideration the elimination of these requirements. The next International Traffic and Revenue Reports would have been due on July 31.

As we reported in a previous edition of the BloostonLaw Telecom update, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on March 23 proposing to eliminate the International Traffic and Revenue Reports entirely. According to the NPRM, the FCC tentatively found that the international traffic and revenue data collection is no longer necessary, and that the preparation of the Traffic and Revenue Reports appears to place a significant burden on the filing entities.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Gerry Duffy.

Law & Regulation

Republican Senators Introduce “Restoring Internet Freedom Act”

On May 1, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Restoring Internet Freedom Act, a bill that would nullify the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order and prohibit the FCC from issuing a similar rule in the future. The bill would reportedly prohibit the FCC from classifying ISPs as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act and "from imposing certain regulations on providers of such service." It is cosponsored by Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Rand Paul (R-KY), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Ben Sasse (R-NE), and James Inhofe (R-OK).

The text of the bill is not available at this time.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Sal Taillefer.

FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for May Open Meeting

On April 27, the FCC issued the tentative agenda for its next Open Meeting, currently scheduled for May 18. At the meeting the FCC will consider the following items:

• a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would both facilitate the deployment of and reduce regulatory burdens on the three types of Fixed-Satellite Service earth stations authorized to transmit while in motion: Earth Stations on Vessels, Vehicle-Mounted Earth Stations, and Earth Stations Aboard Aircraft. (IB Docket No. 17-95)
• a Report and Order that would amend provisions of the Personal Radio Services located in Part 95 of the Commission's rules in order to address two Petitions for Rulemaking, update and modernize various rules to reflect current uses and technologies, remove outdated regulatory requirements, and reorganize the rules to make them easier to read and understand. (WT Docket No. 10-119, RM-10762, RM-10844)
• a Public Notice that would launch a review of the Commission's rules applicable to media entities and seek comment on what rules should be modified or repealed. (MB Docket No. 17-105)
• a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would propose to eliminate the Commission's main studio rule, based on a tentative finding that the rule is now outdated and unnecessarily burdensome for broadcast stations. (MB Docket No. 17-106)
• a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would propose to restore the Internet to a light-touch regulatory framework by classifying broadband Internet access service as an information service and by seeking comment on the existing rules governing Internet service providers' practices. (WC Docket No. 17-108)
• a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes to eliminate a rule requiring rural telecommunications service providers receiving USF support to impose higher minimum monthly rates on their customers than the rates paid by some of their urban counterparts, or otherwise lose some USF support. The Commission will also consider a related Order that would freeze the current rate. (WC Docket No. 10-90)

The Open Meeting is scheduled to commence at 10:30 a.m., and will be steamed live at www.fcc.gov/live, and can be followed on social media with #OpenMtgFCC.

FCC Seeks Comment on VRS Relay User Equipment Profile

On April 27, the FCC published its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on technical standards for user equipment and software used with video relay service (VRS). Comments are due on June 12, and reply comments are due on July 11.

Specifically, the FCC is seeking comment on user experience with provider-supplied user equipment and software, including to what extent can users currently use the features and functions of provider-supplied equipment and software when making and receiving calls through other providers, or after switching to another default provider. The FCC is also seeking comment on four alternative approaches to address the appropriate scope of application of the Relay User Equipment (RUE) Profile:

• requiring RUE compliance for all user equipment and software, including equipment and software provided prior to the designated compliance deadline;
• requiring RUE compliance only for new user equipment and for new versions of user software,
• requiring VRS providers to make RUE-Profile-compliant user equipment or software available to those users affirmatively requesting such equipment or software, as well as to provide information on their Web sites indicating how to obtain such user equipment and software, or
• making no further changes to its VRS interoperability and portability requirements.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens and Gerry Duffy.

FCC Announces Process to Request Unredacted Version of Business Data Services Order

On April 28, the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau announced the process for “authorized individuals” to request one hard copy of the unredacted, “Highly Confidential” version of the Business Data Services Report and Order that was adopted by the Commission on April 20. Access is to Outside Counsel and Consultants, and their employees, not involved in Competitive Decision-Making, as those terms are defined in the relevant protective orders. These individuals must have filed Acknowledgments of Confidentiality (Acknowledgments) pursuant to the Data Collection Protective Order, Second Protective Order, and Modified Protective Order in this proceeding, and the time for objection must have run or any objection must have been resolved in favor of the party seeking access to the information.

In order to request a copy, authorized individuals must email a signed copy of the Recipient Acknowledgment to Bureau staff at SpecialAccess@fcc.gov and file a copy in the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) in WC Docket Nos. 16-143 and 05-25.

The Recipient Acknowledgement requires signed copies of the Acknowledgements of Confidentiality referenced above. However, individuals who requested and received an unredacted Highly Confidential version of the Business Data Services Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking do not need to resubmit the signed copies.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Gerry Duffy and Sal Taillefer.

Industry

Verizon Purportedly Absent from Incentive Auction Because it “Didn’t Need” Low Band Spectrum

In a recent blog post, Verizon Chief Network Officer Nicola Palmer reported that Verizon chose not to participate in the recently-concluded broadcast incentive auction because the company already had significant low-band spectrum.

“We have strong spectrum holdings in the 700, 850, 1900 megahertz (MHz)/PCS, AWS 1 and 3 spectrum bands. So why didn’t we bid on the 600 MHz spectrum? We simply don’t need it,” Palmer wrote. “We have sufficient spectrum holdings below 1 GHz. And the future use of 600 MHz spectrum – only good in the U.S. and not globally — will take some time to figure out and deploy widely, especially in busy urban locations.”

Palmer’s blog post emphasized Verizon’s planning for future deployment of 5G technology (which relies upon 28 GHz and 39 GHz spectrum) and investments in aggressive deployment of new technologies like LTE Advanced and harnessing of unlicensed spectrum. She also took the opportunity to make a thinly-veiled jab at competitor T-Mobile’s “desperate need” for low-band spectrum, which she believes forced the company to spend nearly $8 billion in the incentive auction.

A map showing T-Mobile’s 600 MHz winnings is provided below. The “un-carrier” won 1,525 total 10-megahertz licenses covering 414 of the auction’s 428 partial economic areas, consisting of 4 paired channel blocks (40 megahertz) in most of the country (areas shown in pink), 3 paired blocks (30 megahertz) in orange areas, and 2 paired blocks (20 megahertz) in green areas.

T-Mobile 600 MHz Winnings

(source spectrumgateway.com)

Aside from T-Mobile, DISH Network also made a significant investment in the incentive auction, paying $6.2 billion for 486 licenses covering 416 PEAs. DISH’s auction winnings are shown below, with 1 paired channel block in the vast majority of the country (shown in light green), 4 paired blocks in New York, 3 paired blocks in Miami and San Francisco, and 2 paired blocks in areas shown in green. Analysts have speculated that the DISH low-band spectrum could make that company’s merger with Sprint (which also sat out the incentive auction) more likely. DISH also made significant investments in the AWS-3 band but was forced to return $3 billion worth of licenses from that auction due to its ineligibility for DE status.

DISH Network 600 MHz Winnings

(source spectrumgateway.com)

Comcast 600 MHz Winnings

(source spectrumgateway.com)

While it wasn’t a no-show, AT&T also had a relatively small investment of just $910 million in the incentive auction when compared to T-Mobile and DISH Network. A map showing AT&T’s targeted 600 MHz purchases, 23 licenses covering 18 PEAs, is shown below.

AT&T 600 MHz Winnings

(source spectrumgateway.com)

AT&T’s focused 600 MHz purchases lend some credence to Verizon’s statement that it “didn’t need” 600 MHz spectrum, or at least didn’t see fit to focus its resources on the purchase of spectrum that isn’t likely be available for nationwide use for a couple of years (while incumbent broadcasters transition out of the band) and that is likely to be used only in the USA (i.e., not globally).

BloostonLaw Contact: Cary Mitchell

Deadlines

MAY 26: STUDY AREA BOUNDARY RECERTIFICATION. In addition to the obligation to submit updated information when study area boundaries change, all ILECs are required to recertify their study area boundary data every two years. The recertification is due this year by May 26, 2017. Where the state commission filed the study area boundary data for an ILEC, the state commission should submit the recertification. However, where the state commission did not submit data for the ILEC and the ILEC submitted the study area boundary data, then the ILEC should submit the recertification by May 26, 2017.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak.

MAY 31: FCC FORM 395, EMPLOYMENT REPORT. Common carriers, including wireless carriers, with 16 or more full-time employees must file their annual Common Carrier Employment Reports (FCC Form 395) by May 31. This report tracks carrier compliance with rules requiring recruitment of minority employees. Further, the FCC requires all common carriers to report any employment discrimination complaints they received during the past year. That information is also due on May 31.

The FCC encourages carriers to complete the discrimination report requirement by filling out Section V of Form 395, rather than submitting a separate report. Clients who would like assistance in filing Form 395 should contact the firm.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Richard Rubino.

JULY 3: FCC FORM 481 (CARRIER ANNUAL REPORTING DATA COLLECTION FORM). All eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) must report the information required by Section 54.313, which includes outage, unfulfilled service request, and complaint data, broken out separately for voice and broadband services, information on the ETC’s holding company, operating companies, ETC affiliates and any branding in response to section 54.313(a)(8); its CAF-ICC certification, if applicable; its financial information, if a privately held rate-of-return carrier; and its satellite backhaul certification, if applicable. Form 481 must not only be filed with USAC, but also with the FCC and the relevant state commission and tribal authority, as appropriate. Although USAC treats the filing as confidential, filers must seek confidential treatment separately with the FCC and the relevant state commission and tribal authority if confidential treatment is desired.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Sal Taillefer.

JULY 3: MOBILITY FUND PHASE I ANNUAL REPORT. Winning bidders in Auction 901 that are authorized to receive Mobility Fund Phase I support are required to submit to the Commission an annual report each year on July 1 for the five years following authorization. This year, July 1 falls on a Saturday; therefore, the report is due July 3. Each annual report must be submitted to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, clearly referencing WT Docket No. 10-208; the Universal Service Administrator; and the relevant state commissions, relevant authority in a U.S. Territory, or Tribal governments, as appropriate. The information and certifications required to be included in the annual report are described in Section 54.1009 of the Commission’s rules.

BloostonLaw Contacts: John Prendergast and Sal Taillefer.

JULY 31: FCC FORM 507, UNIVERSAL SERVICE QUARTERLY LINE COUNT UPDATE. Line count updates are required to recalculate a carrier's per line universal service support, and is filed with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). This information must be submitted on July 31 each year by all rate-of-return incumbent carriers, and on a quarterly basis if a competitive eligible telecommunications carrier (CETC) has initiated service in the rate-of-return incumbent carrier’s service area and reported line count data to USAC in the rate-of-return incumbent carrier’s service area, in order for the incumbent carrier to be eligible to receive Interstate Common Line Support (ICLS). This quarterly filing is due July 31 and covers lines served as of December 31, 2013. Incumbent carriers filing on a quarterly basis must also file on September 30 (for lines served as of March 31, 2014); December 30 (for lines served as of June 30, 2014), and March 31, 2015, for lines served as of September 30, 2014).

BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak.

JULY 31: CARRIER IDENTIFICATION CODE (CIC) REPORTS. Carrier Identification Code (CIC) Reports must be filed by the last business day of July (this year, July 31). These reports are required of all carriers who have been assigned a CIC code by NANPA. Failure to file could result in an effort by NANPA to reclaim it, although according to the Guidelines this process is initiated with a letter from NANPA regarding the apparent non-use of the CIC code. The assignee can then respond with an explanation. (Guidelines Section 6.2). The CIC Reporting Requirement is included in the CIC Assignment Guidelines, produced by ATIS. According to section 1.4 of that document: At the direction of the NANPA, the access providers and the entities who are assigned CICs will be requested to provide access and usage information to the NANPA, on a semi-annual basis to ensure effective management of the CIC resource. (Holders of codes may respond to the request at their own election). Access provider and entity reports shall be submitted to NANPA no later than January 31 for the period ending December 31, and no later than July 31 for the period ending June 30. It is also referenced in the NANPA Technical Requirements Document, which states at 7.18.6: CIC holders shall provide a usage report to the NANPA per the industry CIC guidelines … The NAS shall be capable of accepting CIC usage reports per guideline requirements on January 31 for the period ending December 31 and no later than July 31 for the period ending June 30. These reports may also be mailed and accepted by the NANPA in paper form. Finally, according to the NANPA website, if no local exchange carrier reports access or usage for a given CIC, NANPA is obliged to reclaim it. The semi-annual utilization and access reporting mechanism is described at length in the guidelines.

BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens and Gerry Duffy.

Calendar At-A-Glance

May
May 4 – Comments on Regulatory Flexibility Act Rule Review and Elimination Proceeding are due.
May 4 – Reply comments on Section IV A, B, and F of VRS NPRM are due.
May 8 – Comments on State of Mobile Wireless Competition Report are due.
May 8 – Comments are due on World Radiocommunication Conference recommendations.
May 11 – Reply comments are due on Mobility Fund Phase II FNPRM.
May 11 – Final payments for Forward Auction are due (6 PM ET).
May 11 – Deadline to object to BDS Competitive/Non-Competitive County List.
May 15 – VRS Rule Revisions are Effective.
May 17 – Short Form Tariff Review Plans are due.
May 24 – Comments are due on Broadband-Enabled Healthcare Public Notice.
May 26 – Study Area Boundary Recertification is due.
May 30 – Comments are due on remaining VRS FNPRM sections.
May 31 – FCC Form 395 (Annual Employment Report) is due.
May 31 – Comments on Short Form Tariff Review Plans are due.

June
Jun. 1 – Deadline to increase local residential rates above $18 to avoid reductions in support.
Jun. 2 – Deadline for CMRS to certify compliance with E911 location requirements.
Jun. 7 – Reply comments on Short Form Tariff Review Plans are due.
Jun. 7 – Reply comments on State of Mobile Wireless Competition Report are due.
Jun. 8 – Reply comments are due on Broadband-Enabled Healthcare Public Notice.
Jun. 12 – Comments are due on VRS User Equipment Profile FNPRM.
Jun. 16 – 15-Day Tariff Filings are due.
Jun. 23 – Petitions regarding 15-Day Tariff Filings are due.
Jun. 26 – Reply comments are due on remaining VRS FNPRM sections.
Jun. 26 – 7-Day Tariff Filings are due.
Jun. 27 – Replies to Petitions regarding 15-Day Tariff Filings are due.
Jun. 29 – Petitions regarding 7-Day Tariff Filings are due (NOON EST).
Jun. 30 – Replies to Petitions regarding 7-Day Tariff Filings are due (NOON EST).

July
Jul. 3 – FCC Form 481 is due.
Jul. 3 – Mobility Fund Phase I Recipient Reports are due.
Jul. 11 – Reply comments are due on VRS User Equipment Profile FNPRM.
Jul. 31 – FCC Form 507 (Universal Service Quarterly Line Count Update) is due.
Jul. 31 – Carrier Identification Code (CIC) Report is due.
Jul. 31 – International Traffic Data Report is due.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 26, 2017

Media Contact: Andrea Cumpston
Phone: 703-797-5111
Email: andrea.cumpston@enterprisewireless.org

Land Mobile Communications Council Elects Board of Directors for 2017-2018

Herndon, VA — The membership of the Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC) elected its Board of Directors during its annual meeting on April 26, 2017, at the Mandarin Oriental, Washington, DC. Elected to the Board of Directors as officers for 2017-2018 were:

• President— Farokh Latif (Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International),
• Vice President— John Prendergast (The Monitoring Association), and
• Secretary/Treasurer—Mark Crosby (Enterprise Wireless Alliance).

Also elected to the Board of Directors as At-Large members were:

• Doug Aiken (International Municipal Signal Association),
• Jim Goldstein (International Association of Fire Chiefs), and
• Ralph A. Haller (Forestry Conservation Communications Association).

In addition, during the meeting, the LMCC recognized the contributions of Terry Fishel to the land mobile radio industry. Mr. Fishel, who recently retired from the Federal Communications Commission Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, was honored for decades of service to many thousands of licensees.

About LMCC The Land Mobile Communications Council is a nonprofit association of organizations that represent the wireless communications interests of public safety, critical infrastructure, business, industrial, transportation, private and common carriers as well as manufacturers of wireless communications equipment. Learn more at lmcc.org.

Brad Dye, Ron Mercer, Allan Angus, Vic Jackson, and Ira Wiesenfeld are friends and colleagues who work both together and independently, on wireline and wireless communications projects.

Click here for a summary of their qualifications and experience. Each one has unique abilities. We would be happy to help you with a project, and maybe save you some time and money.

Note: We do not like Patent Trolls, i.e. “a person or company who enforces patent rights against accused infringers in an attempt to collect licensing fees, but does not manufacture products or supply services based upon the patents in question.” We have helped some prominent law firms defend their clients against this annoyance, and would be happy to do some more of this same kind of work.

Some people use the title “consultant” when they don't have a real job. We actually do consulting work, and help others based on our many years of experience.

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“If you would know the road ahead, ask someone who has traveled it.”
— Chinese Proverb

Wireless Network Planners
Wireless Specialists

R.H. (Ron) Mercer Consultant 217 First Street East Northport, NY 11731
Telephone: 631-786-9359
www.wirelessplanners.com
wirelessplannerron@gmail.com

Change The World

“Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.”

—Malala Yousafzai

Mokumba • Playing For Change Band • Live in Australia

Published on Feb 5, 2014 This song was composed by Jason Tamba, Playing For Change Band member and recorded in Sydney, Australia during the Peace through Music Tour in March 2013, when the Playing For Change Band was opening concerts for Robert Plant. This amazing song is a fusion between Congolese rumba and reggae and has been a hit during the all tour.

To learn more about the work of the PFC Foundation, visit http://www.playingforchange.org