Wireless Telecommunications

Microsoft announced it is teaming up with communities in six states to to invest in technology and related jobs in rural and smaller metropolitan areas. Company president Brad Smith launched the TechSpark program in Fargo (ND), a metropolitan area of more than 200,000 people that includes a Microsoft campus with about 1,500 employees. Smith says the six communities are different by design and not all have a Microsoft presence.

Smith says TechSpark is a multi-year, multi-million dollar investment to help teach computer science to students, expand rural broadband and help create and fill jobs, among other things. The other programs will be in Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. “This is really a blueprint for private-public partnerships,” said Gov Doug Burgum (R-ND), himself a former Microsoft executive.

Global Harmonization & US Leadership in Wireless Technologies. While some in this country may eschew global harmonization, and I understand that our market position means we have the option of going it alone or in coordination with a handful of other countries, offering commercial services on the same frequencies around the world has many benefits for US consumers and providers. On the consumer side, there is the ability to use your devices and have the same wireless experience at home and abroad. At the same time, the economies of scale created by marketing products internationally enables research, development, and manufacturing costs to be widely dispersed, promoting investment and innovation while reducing the cost of devices and services for Americans.

September 2017 will long be remembered for devastating storms. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria each caused billions of dollars in damage, claimed the lives of many Americans, and disrupted millions more. They also reminded us how important communications networks can be during emergencies—and that the Federal Communications Commission has a role to play in helping keep people safe.

I recently had the chance to see these factors at play firsthand. I traveled to South Florida with Commissioner Mignon Clyburn to survey the impact of Hurricane Irma. I then flew directly to Indiana, where I resumed my ongoing tour of U.S. communities impacted by the digital divide...Next Generation 911 offers great potential for the future of public safety. But too many jurisdictions are struggling with how to transition from their legacy systems to NG911. There are significant costs involved, not to mention other issues, like the need for enhanced training of 911 call takers and ensuring that NG911 deployment is standards-based. All of us need to think creatively about how to address these issues going forward.

Responding to the destruction of communications networks wreaked by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Federal Communications Commission took steps to immediately provide up to $76.9 million to help restore service. The FCC unanimously voted to immediately provide carriers with up to seven-months’ worth of support from the FCC’s Universal Service Fund, which helps lower the cost of deploying service in areas that are costly to serve. Any funds advanced under today’s action can be used to repair telecommunications infrastructure and restore service to customers across the islands.

The FCC’s actions are intended to enable carriers to restore essential communications services as quickly as possible. FCC staff will help coordinate network repair activities to ensure that the greatest coverage is available to the most people.

The Federal Communications Commission will vote later in Oct to explore rule changes for the 3550-3700 MHz spectrum band, known as the CBRS band, including the possibility of larger license areas for longer time periods. According to supporters, CBRS spectrum rule changes would facilitate the deployment of 5G services. But such rule changes could make it more difficult for rural carriers to obtain licenses to support fixed broadband wireless service in remote areas where high costs have prevented the deployment of traditional wired broadband infrastructure.

Russia has opened a new battlefront with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), according to Western military officials, by exploiting a point of vulnerability for almost all allied soldiers: their personal smartphones. Troops, officers and government officials of NATO member countries said Russia has carried out a campaign to compromise soldiers’ smartphones.

The aim, they say, is to gain operational information, gauge troop strength and intimidate soldiers. Russian officials deny that Moscow stages such attacks. US and other Western officials said they have no doubt Russia is behind the campaign. They said its nature suggests state-level coordination, and added that the equipment used, such as sophisticated drones equipped with surveillance electronics, is beyond the reach of most civilians.

Hurricane Maria has had a catastrophic impact on communications networks in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The Federal Communications Commission has been doing a lot to assist with repair and restoration—and that work continues. That’s why I am proposing that the FCC use its Universal Service Fund to help with these efforts. Responding to natural disasters has consumed the bulk of the FCC’s time and attention this season. But there are other important areas under our jurisdiction, and we’ll cover some of them at our upcoming meeting on October 24.

Fixed wireless broadband could become a lynchpin in the digital infrastructure portions of any forthcoming Trump Administration infrastructure bill if policymakers are properly educated about its benefits, Wireless Internet Service Provider Association board member Jeff Kohler and Carmel Group consultant Jimmy Schaeffler said. “The economics of fixed wireless networks are very advantageous as compared to anything wireline. We can build networks for roughly 1/5 to 1/10 the cost of laying cable or fiber, so it makes sense for rural America,” Kohler said.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the October Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, October 24, 2017:

Support for Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands – The Commission will consider an Order to clarify the use of high-cost universal service support and permit forward funding of support to aid in reconstruction of telecommunications networks damaged by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. (WC Docket No. 10-90)

Exemption to Calling Number Identification Service – The Commission will consider a Report and Order that would enable law enforcement and security personnel to obtain quick access to blocked Caller ID information needed to investigate threatening calls. It also would amend the Commission’s rules to allow non-public emergency services, such as private ambulance companies, to obtain blocked Caller ID information associated with calls requesting assistance. (CC Docket No. 91-281)

Nationwide Number Portability – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry that proposes to amend the Commission’s rules as well as seeks comment on industry models to move toward complete nationwide number portability to promote competition between all service providers and increase network routing efficiencies. (WC Docket No. 17-244; WC Docket No. 13-97)

Promoting Investment in the 3550-3700 MHz Band – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would seek comment and propose changes to the Priority Access License rules in the 3550-3700 MHz (3.5 GHz) band to increase incentives for investment, encourage more efficient spectrum use, and promote faster and more widespread network deployments. (GN Docket No. 17-258)

Hearing Aid Compatibility and Volume Control – The Commission will consider a Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration on hearing aid compatibility (HAC) that would update the volume control standard for wireline telephones, extend wireline HAC requirements to cover telephones used with advanced communications services, adopt a volume control rule for wireless handsets, and delete from the Commission’s rules an obsolete wireless HAC standard. (CG Docket No. 13-46, WT Docket Nos. 07-250, 10-254)

Part 43 Reporting Requirements for U.S. Providers of International Services – The Commission will consider a Report and Order that would: (1) eliminate the Traffic and Revenue Reports and (2) streamline the Circuit Capacity Reports. (IB Docket Nos. 17-55 and 16-131)

Elimination of Main Studio Rule – The Commission will consider a Report and Order eliminating the rule that requires each AM, FM, and television broadcast station to maintain a main studio located in or near its community of license. (MB Docket No. 17-106)

Updates to Rules Governing Ancillary/Supplementary Services and Broadcast Public Notices – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks comment on updates to Section 73.624(g) of its rules, which imposes certain reporting obligations for broadcasters relating to the provision of ancillary or supplementary services, and Section 73.3580, which requires public notice of the filing of broadcast applications, including through newspapers. (MB Docket Nos. 17-264, 17-105)

If the rumors are right, a merger of T-Mobile and Sprint has already been agreed in principle, and we should see an announcement by the end of October. While a merger might not instantly wreak havoc and see prices shoot up for 200%, there’s a lot of very valid reasons for anyone who pays a cellphone bill to want T-Mobile and Sprint to remain separate.

The wireless landscape resulting from a merger would be very different to what it was in 2011. The three remaining wireless companies, in the case of a merger, would have nearly equal networks and numbers of customers. There would be zero incentive for networks to compete for customers against each other, as any competition would have to come from reduced pricing, and the game theory says that networks would quickly realize that the profit-maximising solution is to offer similar plans at similarly high prices, and reap the profits.