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4G LTE Networks Could Send Fake Emergency Alerts

March 14, 2018 Homeland Security Today

New attacks on 4G LTE networks could send fake emergency alerts, according to a recent paper from researchers at Purdue University.

In the paper, researchers identified a host of new vulnerabilities within 4G LTE networks, which allow hackers to forge the location of a mobile device and fabricate messages.

The paper outlined 10 new and nine previous attacks, which included an attack that enables users to perform DDoS intrusions after obtaining a user’s location. The attacker can stop incoming notifications and even fabricate messages.

A particularly worrying attack identified in the paper enables adversaries to send fake emergency alerts to numerous devices, and then forces devices to perform expensive cryptographic operations before draining the battery and disconnecting it from the core network.

The attacks occur within three critical procedures of the 4G LTE protocol: attach, detach and paging, the processes which allow a user to connect to the network, disconnect from the network, and receive calls and messages.

“Our tool is the first one that provides a systematic analysis for these three particular procedures in 4G LTE networks,” said Syed Hussain, a graduate student in computer science at Purdue University. “Combining the strength of these two tools is novel in the context of 4G LTE.”

Eight of the 10 attacks have been validated in a real testbed, but it looks as though there is no easy way to fix them; in fact, addressing the authentication relay attacks may require a major infrastructural overhaul.

“Device manufacturers and cell phone networks will both need to work to fix these problems.” Hussain said. “We need a major overhaul of the entire system to eliminate these vulnerabilities.” [source]

Blackberry modified to 'help drug cartels'

Dave Lee North America technology reporter
16 March 2018

The chief executive of a company that created highly-secure smartphones allegedly used by some of the world's most notorious criminals has been indicted.

Canadian-based Phantom Secure made "tens of millions of dollars" selling the modified Blackberry devices for use by the likes of the Sinaloa Cartel, investigators said.

The charges marked the first time US authorities have targeted a company for knowingly making encrypted technology for criminals.

The Department of Justice arrested Vincent Ramos in Seattle last week. He was indicted on Thursday along with four associates.

The BBC has been unable to reach Phantom Secure.

They are charged with racketeering and conspiracy to aid the distribution of drugs. Both crimes have a maximum penalty of life in prison. Mr Ramos is the only one of the group currently in custody.

"This organisation Phantom Secure was designed to facilitate international drug trafficking all throughout the entire world," US attorney Adam Braverman told the BBC.

"These traffickers, including members of the Sinaloa Cartel, would use these fully-encrypted devices to facilitate their drug trafficking activities in order to avoid law enforcement scrutiny."

'Handful of other organisations'

Blackberry did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday - and investigators would not say whether the firm had worked with them on this case. Mr Braverman said Blackberry was not alone in having its handsets altered for illegal purposes. [source]

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

Wireless Messaging

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GTES is no longer offering support contracts. GTES was the original group from Vancouver that was setup to offer support to customers that wanted to continue with the legacy Glenayre support. Many U.S. customers chose not to use this service because of the price and the original requirement to upgrade to version 8.0 software (which required expensive hardware upgrades, etc.). Most contracts ended as of February 2018.

If you are at all concerned about future support of Glenayre products, especially the “king of the hill” the GL3000 paging control terminal, I encourage you to talk to Vaughan about a service contract and please tell him about my recommendation.

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LOCAL PRESCHOOL USING RADIO TECHNOLOGY TO KEEP SCHOOL SAFE

As schools seek answers for dealing with school threats, one local preschool is using technology to better protect faculty and students.

Posted: Mar. 5, 2018 5:30 PM
Updated: Mar. 5, 2018 5:38 PM
Posted By: WKTV

UTICA — As schools seek answers for dealing with school threats, one local preschool is using technology to better protect faculty and students.

The Jewish Community Center in Utica has a system in place that connects teachers and administration through a mobile paging system, and the technician who installed the system says he wants to donate his time to protect other local schools.

It may look like a typical, everyday walkie talkie, but in an emergency, anybody with one of the radios can send out an instant alert, and the speaker system is installed through the whole center.

“It's a simple service, said Lynne Debrow, preschool director at the JCC. “There are two different things that you need to know and it's basically remembering to turn them on and put them on your hip.

John Puleo, owner of Professional Technologies, installed the system, and he says he’s reaching out to other school districts to help increase their safety, and he’s doing it for a relatively small sum.

“Most schools have the infrastructure in place, they already have a PA system, and in many instances it’s all we need to do is go in — they also have radios — so we would want a spare radio,” Puleo said.

It was one purchase that parents and teachers at the Jewish Community Center say gives them comfort during the school day.

“It’s immediate — you don't have to dial anything, you don't have to run up the stairs, you don't have to go to a different location; it's there with you,” Debrow said.

And in a time of crisis, employees have told Puleo they want something that gets the message out right away.

For school districts that are having concerns about adding this particular type of system into their school budgets, Puleo says he’s willing to cut the cost in order to make it happen.

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Still The Most Reliable Protocol For Wireless Messaging!

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If you are interested, please e-mail Rick directly by clicking here.

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A Brief History of the Emergency Communications Network

5 days ago by Chantelle Dubois

What are emergency communications networks? How were they developed and who put them in place? Here's a look at the history of how the US spreads information to its populace quickly in case of emergencies.

In 1951, President Truman established “Control of Electromagnetic Radiation” (CONELRAD), a system that would allow important messages to be broadcast over television and radio stations in the event of a national emergency. This was established under the shadow of the Cold War, a time when the world lived in constant threat of nuclear fallout.

Since then, the system has evolved, and today we have the Emergency Alert System and the Wireless Emergency System.

The usefulness of the system, which is managed by the FCC, is fully attributed to its reliability. Here’s a brief look at some of the history of the USA’s emergency communication infrastructure.

CONELRAD, the key station system

CONELRAD was the first widely established emergency communication network in the USA. In an emergency situation all television and radio stations would stop broadcasting their programs, shut down, and the emergency broadcast would begin transmitting on 640 AM and 1240 AM. In 1957, amateur radio stations would also be required to stop broadcasting during an emergency.

Advertising advised citizens to tune into 640 AM and 1240 AM during emergencies. Images courtesy of CONELRAD.

Telephone networks were used to connect to select stations referred to as “key stations” and other stations connected to those stations would be known as “relay key stations”.  Key stations would receive and broadcast from the Air Defence Control Center and, through the telephone system, would relay those messages to the relay key stations for transmission.

One of the challenges with creating a nation-wide broadcast system was that radio transmission could be used by enemies in “radio direct finding” navigation, and so a protocol was put in place that would require a station to transmit for 5 seconds, turn off for 5 seconds, transmit again for 5 seconds, transmit again for another five seconds, and then broadcast a 1 kHz tone for 15 seconds. Once this was complete, the station would stop transmitting, and another station would begin to transmit using the same protocol, before shutting down and another station taking over. This constant movement of transmission was meant to confuse any potential attackers from using the signal to home in on.

The challenges with CONELRAD was that it required people to be actively listening to the radio or watching TV when the broadcasts took over. During lightning storms, the system also was known to send out false alarms. Further, the system was unreliable, reaching only 20% of potential listeners, making it an unreliable system.

Eventually, a better system was devised and would replace CONELRAD in 1963.

The EBS was an improvement on CONELRAD—the system expanded to include telecommunication common carriers, in addition to radio and television stations. The protocol was very similar, although the EBS used an Emergency Action Notification system to first send and verify emergency broadcasts to primary stations.

When a broadcast is meant to be sent, the radio station operators would confirm it using a code word which is changed daily, and then would be relayed to all participating stations. Any non-emergency broadcast transmissions were required to cease. Since ICBMs didn’t use radio direct finding, switching transmissions on and off was no longer necessary.

To get the attention of nearby listeners or observers, a dual tone was used in conjunction with an image advising that the EBS was active and that a message would be received soon from the White House. The tones, played simultaneously, were an 853 Hz and 960 Hz sine wave, creating an unsettling sound that would catch the attention of anyone near by. Eventually, the President would broadcast a message, or the station would broadcast national or local news.

In addition to being used during war-related threats, the EBS also expanded to use for local and state emergencies such as earthquakes or hurricanes.

Fortunately, during its tenure from 1963 to 1997, the EBS was never used to broadcast a national emergency alert. Although, it had been used over 20,000 times for regional emergencies relating to weather. The EBS also succeeded greatly in its testing. Stations were required to test the system on a weekly basis at random times, and not only would have to document their own tests, but document if they could receive signals from stations testing in the vicinity. This raised the EBS’ reach to 80% of the USA’s population, compared to CONELRAD’s 20%.

Tests were always carried out with clear indication that the EBS was being tested, although occasional false alarms did occur.

Today, there are even more channels to broadcast. The EAS broadcasts using: radio (AM/FM/UHF/VHF), television (digital, cable, and broadcasted),and satellite, expanding its reach and reliability greatly. The WEA broadcasts from cellular towers to all nearby WEA enabled cellphones. The EAS was established in 1997 and the WEA followed in 2013.

Messages broadcasted to the EAS and WEA first go through a Primary Entry Point (PEP) station. There are 77 PEP stations in the USA, all with various redundancy equipment for transmission and power to ensure the stations continue operating through disasters. PEP stations work with FEMA. Messages broadcasted through the EAS utilize the SAME header, which allow decoders at broadcasting stations to decode the message sent in the format, starting with the header, an attention signal that is between 8 and 25 seconds long (either a single tone of 1050 Hz is used, or the EBS dual tone), the message which can be sent as a video, audio, or text, and then the end of message. EAS messages do not have error correcting, and so the messages are broadcasted three times so that parity correction can be done.

WEA, being fairly new, is not necessarily a feature available in all phones. But, for the ones that are WEA-enabled, it is non-trivial to deactivate the feature, and there is no option to prevent Presidential messages sent through WEA to be blocked. When a WEA is received, the recipients phone rings as though a call is being received, and a short message is displayed on the screen indicating what the emergency is.

In the past, WEA has been used to alert people about abducted children, wanted criminals, and safety issues. When a WEA message is broadcasted, it is given priority over all other cellular traffic and every phone in the vicinity of a transmitting cellular tower will receive it.

The EAS and WEA systems have much more rigid requirements than EBS did—testing, reliability, and redundancy are enforced at all stations. Today’s emergency communication infrastructure is capable of reaching approximately 90% of the US population within 10 minutes.

Despite this, the EAS is still subject to trivial security problems, such as failure to change default passwords on equipment. Between 2013 and 2017, EAS stations have been hacked three times with fake zombie apocalypse messages being broadcasted, as a result of default login credentials.

Most recently, it is speculated that an operator error resulted in Hawaii receiving false reports of an incoming ballistic missile. While the technology and protocols behind the system have improved greatly, the human element is still subject to occasional mistakes.

Emergency communication networks have evolved with the technologies used to relay them. As communication technologies become faster and more reliable, so do the methods through which we spread information in emergencies, saving lives more efficiently year over year.

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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:

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• It’s much faster to send individual and stacked pages digitally than with analog voice.
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• 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?
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Friday, March 16, 2018	Volume 6 | Issue 53

FCC Gets a Look at What They’re Voting On

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr (in white shirt) gets info as well as press coverage on small cell placement in downtown Baltimore. At a street corner site near Johns Hopkins, T-Mobile reps and site managers from Crown Castle answered Carr’s question about the node, one of 500 located around the city. Photos by Jim Fryer, Inside Towers Managing Editor

T-Mobile and Crown Castle representatives showed FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr a thing or two yesterday as they toured selected small cell sites in Baltimore. Touring sites offering small cell solutions, such as the street pole lights Carr was introduced to, has been part of an information gathering effort on the agency’s part prior to voting on streamlining measures next week.

Carr was told although the basic pole, cabinet, metering, antennas and light infrastructure can cost around $30,000, that cost can triple when additional asphalt patching, street shutdowns, sidewalk repair, landscaping and auxiliary building requirements are added to the mix.

Carr was told although the basic pole, cabinet, metering, antennas and light infrastructure can cost around $30,000, that cost can triple when additional asphalt patching, street shutdowns, sidewalk repair, landscaping and auxiliary building requirements are added to the mix.

A recent Inside Towers article quoted Carr saying the “small cell deployment process is broken” with plans to eliminate or greatly reduce historic and environmental reviews of the pocket sites.

To date, Crown has built 524 node locations in “Charm City,” supporting one, two and sometimes three wireless carrier tenants with another 583 locations planned. A Crown spokesperson said “as Baltimore takes strides toward becoming a ‘smart city,’ small cells can usher in next-generation networks such as 5G, which can in turn make innovations such as citywide data sharing and autonomous vehicles possible.”

Carr’s efforts have been lauded by industry association leaders. WIA President/CEO Jonathan Adelstein said he appreciates what the Commissioner is doing in an effort to bring sustainable deployment of 5G. CTIA President/CEO Meredith Attwell Baker said Carr is helping modernize outdated infrastructure rules while CCA President/CEO Steven Berry offered his wholehearted support to improving the current regulatory maze.

By Jim Fryer, Managing Editor, Inside Towers

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 kind permission from the firm. The firm's contact information is included at the end of this section of the newsletter.

E911 Indoor Location Accuracy Horizontal and Vertical Location Deadlines Fast Approaching

As we have previously advised, the FCC adopted rules in 2015 that were designed to improve the accuracy with which PSAPs are able to identify the location of wireless 911 callers when the caller is indoors. The substantive compliance benchmarks in these rules went into effect last April, and require all CMRS service providers — i.e., including those who had not yet received a valid PSAP request for E911 Phase II service — to provide dispatchable location or “x/y location” (latitude and longitude).

The next E911 horizontal location accuracy benchmark is April 3, 2018, and requires all CMRS providers to provide: (1) dispatchable location; or (2) x/y location (i.e. Horizontal Location) within 50 meters for 50 percent of all wireless 911 calls. A related compliance certification for this benchmark is due by June 2, 2018.

You should contact our law firm once you have confirmed compliance with this standard and we will provide you with an appropriate certification to be filed with the FCC, or with appropriate wording if your company is under a pending request for waiver of the requirement. If your company has any questions about its status, we recommend that you contact us ASAP.

BloostonLaw Contact: Cary Mitchell

Headlines

Senate Democrats Introduce Infrastructure Plan, $40 Billion for Universal High-Speed Internet

On March 7, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Tom Carper (D-DE), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced a $1 trillion infrastructure plan which would, among other things, “equip rural communities with high-speed internet.”

Specifically, the plan will provide $40 billion in direct federal funding through a Universal Internet Grant Program to close the ‘last mile’ gap based on the following criteria: focus on those areas that need adequate, affordable high-speed internet the most; upgrade existing infrastructure where reasonable; leverage competition to make sure federal resources are used most efficiently; use tax-payer resources responsibly; tackle the tribal broadband gap; create accurate maps of areas that lack adequate internet access; deliver internet speeds needed to compete in the 21st century, including speeds adequate for modern challenges like rebuilding Main Street, completing homework assignments, precision agriculture, and access to health care, classrooms and other business applications; and upgrade the nation’s critical safety infrastructure, most importantly our aging 9-1-1 system.

The Senate Democrats’ plan would also invest in the following programs:

• $140 Billion to Repair America’s Roads & Bridges
• $10 Billion to Expand the TIGER Program
• $115 Billion to Modernize America’s Water & Sewer Systems
• $115 Billion to Repair & Improve Public Transportation
• $50 Billion to Modernize and Improve the Safety of America’s Rail Infrastructure
• $40 Billion for a new Vital Infrastructure Program
• $30 Billion to Revitalize Main Street & Promote Innovative Transportation
• $62 Billion for Neighborhood Revitalization, Lead Remediation, & Affordable Housing
• $50 Billion to Rebuild America’s Schools
• $30 Billion to Modernize America’s Ports & Waterways
• $40 Billion to Improve America’s Airports & Airspace
• $25 Billion to Build More Resilient Communities
• $80 Billion to Bring Innovation to America’s Energy Grid & Promote Clean Energy
• $15 Billion for Construction on America’s Public Lands
• $10 Billion for Tribal Infrastructure
• $10 Billion to Address the Construction Backlog at VA Healthcare Facilities
• $20 Billion in Innovative Financing Tools
• $140 Billion to Ensure the Solvency of the Highway Trust Fund for the next 10 years

A copy of the Senate Democrats’ full proposal can be found here.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and John Prendergast.

Wireless Microphone Disclosure Labeling Rules Effective April 11

On March 12, the FCC published in the Federal Register its Order adopting specific language for the consumer disclosures concerning the operation of wireless microphone (licensed or unlicensed) or video assist devices capable of operating in the 600 MHz service frequency band. These disclosure rules are effective April 11.

With the close of the incentive auction on April 13, 2017, the 600 MHz service band has been reallocated for new wireless services, and wireless microphones and video assist devices must cease operations in this band no later than July 13, 2020 to avoid harmful interference to new wireless services. This disclosure requirement, including the specific Consumer Alert language, applies to persons who manufacture, sell, lease, or offer for sale or lease, wireless microphones or video assist devices authorized pursuant to and informs consumers of the changes that will affect their use of these devices in the newly established 600 MHz service band.

BloostonLaw Contacts: John Prendergast.

Comments on Jurisdictional Separations Reform Due April 12

On March 13, the FCC published in the Federal Register its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in which it seeks comment on its proposal to adopt recommendations from the Federal-State Joint Board on Jurisdictional Separations and to amend the Part 36 jurisdictional separations rules accordingly. Comments are due April 12, and reply comments are due April 27.

The first recommendation on which the Commission seeks approval is to remove from Part 36 rules all the provisions that deal with Class A accounts, because carriers are no longer required to keep such accounts since the revised Part 32 rules took effect on January 1, 2018. The second recommendation is to amend section 36.112, which concerns the apportionment of general support facilities costs, to allow former Class A carriers (carriers with revenue equal to or greater than $157 million for calendar year 2016) to select between the two procedures in apportioning their general support facilities costs for Class A and Class B carriers. The FCC also seeks comment on whether each carrier should be permitted to make an election only one time, or be allowed to change the approach it takes over time.

The FCC is also seeking comment on the timing for making these changes to the Part 36 rules. Since the changes to the Part 32 rules took effect January 1, 2018, the FCC asks whether harmonizing changes to Part 36 rules should be made as soon as practicable, or effective January 1, 2019.

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

Law & Regulation

Senate Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Next Generation Broadband

On March 13, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, convened a hearing titled, “Rebuilding Infrastructure in America: Investing in Next Generation Broadband.” The hearing explored “the most effective and efficient ways to address broadband deployment to close the digital divide in an infrastructure package while reviewing the lessons learned from broadband infrastructure projects in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.”

Witnesses at the hearing were: The Honorable Gary Resnick, Mayor, City of Wilton Manors, Fla.; Mr. Steve Berry, Chief Executive Officer, Competitive Carriers Association; Mr. Bob DeBroux, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, TDS Telecom; Mr. Brad Gillen, Executive Vice President, CTIA — The Wireless Association; and Mr. Mike Romano, Senior Vice President for Policy, NTCA — The Rural Broadband Association.

An archived recording of the hearing can be found here, as well as prepared testimony by the above-listed witnesses.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens and Gerry Duffy.

Ninth Circuit to Hear Net Neutrality Repeal Petitions for Review

On March 8, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multi-district Litigation issued an Order announcing that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit was selected to consolidate the various petitions for review filed on the FCC’s Restoring Internet Freedom Order that repealed Net Neutrality. Petitions were filed by the Benton Foundation, Free Press, Mozilla, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, NTCH, Open Technology Institute at New America, Public Knowledge, Etsy, the Coalition for Internet Openness, the Center For Democracy and Technology, State of New York, et al. and Vimeo in the D.C. Circuit, and the California PUC and County of Santa Clara, California, et al. in the Ninth Circuit.

When multiple petitions for review are filed in different jurisdictions for the same FCC document, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multi-district Litigation chooses randomly where the matter will ultimately be heard. Readers may recall that the 2011 USF/ICC Transformation Order was assigned to the Eighth Circuit through the same process. The Ninth Circuit most recently affirmed the decision of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California to deny AT&T Mobility’s motion to dismiss a case brought by the Federal Trade Commission over AT&T Mobility’s data-throttling plan. The Ninth Circuit upheld the district court’s finding that the common carrier exception only applies to the extent the common carrier is engaging in common carrier services.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens and Gerry Duffy.

Industry

CTIA/Accenture Study Suggests Modernizing FCC Siting Rules Would Jumpstart 5G Investment

CTIA today released the results of a study it commissioned from Accenture which reportedly shows modernizing federal reviews of new wireless infrastructure — such as reforms currently proposed by the FCC — could significantly lower the cost to deploy 5G networks by $1.6 billion over 9 years.

The FCC is due to vote on exempting small cell installations from certain federal reviews on March 22. The CTIA-commissioned analysis found that when such reviews are required, almost a third of the cost of next-generation wireless deployments go to federal regulatory reviews that the FCC now proposes to eliminate as unnecessary. These reviews cost industry a total of $36 million in 2017, and are expected to increase over sixfold in 2018 with nationwide carriers aggressively deploying 5G small cell networks.

“These findings validate Commissioner Carr’s call to action and the FCC’s proposal to modernize outdated federal rules that have not kept pace with new technology. To win the global race to 5G, we need to accelerate small cell installations and reduce the costs of deployment,” said Meredith Attwell Baker, CTIA President and CEO. “The FCC’s common sense proposal will cut the cost of rolling out tomorrow’s wireless networks by over a billion dollars and speed their availability to communities across America.”

According to the study, the wireless industry will need to deploy hundreds of thousands of modern wireless antennas — small cells — to keep up with increasing demand for wireless data and build out of 5G networks. Small cell deployments will escalate rapidly from roughly 13,000 deployed in 2017 to over 800,000 cumulatively deployed by 2026, according to the analysis.

Small cells are similar in size to a pizza box or WiFi router and can often be deployed on streetlights or utility poles in little more than an hour. However, securing necessary federal and local approvals under rules that were designed for 200-foot cell towers can take over a year and require multiple, duplicative reviews including federal environmental and historic preservation reviews.

If adopted, the FCC’s streamlined small cell framework would modernize the historic and environmental regulatory requirements for wireless deployments, exclude small cells from certain federal regulatory hurdles, and adopt a “shot clock” for FCC review of environmental assessments when required. The Accenture study found that the U.S. will likely see a 550% increase in small cells year over year in 2018, underscoring the need for FCC action to jumpstart more broadband investment.

Wireless carriers are conducting 5G tests across the U.S. and planning early availability for consumers by the end of this year. 5G will be up to 100 times faster than current 4G networks and be able to handle 100 times the number of connected devices, enabling IoT and smart cities.

Deadlines

MARCH 31: STREAMLINED INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT CAPACITY REPORT. No later than March 31, 2018, all U.S. international carriers that owned or leased bare capacity on a submarine cable between the United States and any foreign point on December 31, 2017 and any person or entity that held a submarine cable landing license on December 31, 2017 must file a Circuit Capacity Report to provide information about the submarine cable capacity it holds. Additionally, cable landing licensees must file information on the Circuit Capacity Report about the amount of available and planned capacity on the submarine cable for which they have a license. Last year, the FCC eliminated the requirement for U.S. International Carriers that owned or leased bare capacity on a terrestrial or satellite facility to show its active common carrier circuits for the provision of service to an end-user or resale carrier, including active circuits used by itself or its affiliates.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Gerry Duffy.

APRIL 1 (April 2 this year): FCC FORM 499-A, TELECOMMUNICATIONS REPORTING WORKSHEET. This form must be filed by all contributors to the Universal Service Fund (USF) sup-port mechanisms, the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Fund, the cost recovery mechanism for the North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA), and the shared costs of local number portability (LNP). Contributors include every telecommunications carrier that provides interstate, intrastate, and international telecommunications, and certain other entities that provide interstate telecommunications for a fee. Even common carriers that qualify for the de minimis ex-emption must file Form 499-A. Entities whose universal service contributions will be less than $10,000 qualify for the de minimis exemption. De minimis entities do not have to file the quarterly report (FCC Form 499-Q), which was due February 1, and will again be due May 1. Form 499-Q relates to universal and LNP mechanisms. Form 499-A relates to all of these mechanisms and, hence, applies to all providers of interstate, intrastate, and international telecommunications services. Form 499-A contains revenue information for January 1 through December 31 of the prior calendar year. And Form 499-Q contains revenue information from the prior quarter plus projections for the next quarter. (Note: the revised 499-A and 499-Q forms are now available.) Block 2-B of the Form 499-A requires each carrier to designate an agent in the District of Columbia upon whom all notices, process, orders, and decisions by the FCC may be served on behalf of that carrier in proceedings before the FCC. Carriers receiving this newsletter may specify our law firm as their D.C. agent for service of process using the information in our masthead. There is no charge for this service.

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

APRIL 1 (April 2 this year): ANNUAL ACCESS TO ADVANCED SERVICES CERTIFICATION. All providers of telecommunications services and telecommunications carriers subject to Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act are required to file with the FCC an annual certification that (1) states the company has procedures in place to meet the recordkeeping requirements of Part 14 of the Rules; (2) states that the company has in fact kept records for the previous calendar year; (3) contains contact information for the individual or individuals handling customer complaints under Part 14; (4) contains contact information for the company’s designated agent; and (5) is supported by an affidavit or declaration under penalty of perjury signed by an officer of the company.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Gerry Duffy, Mary Sisak, and Sal Taillefer.

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.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Richard Rubino.

Calendar At-a-Glance

March
Mar. 27 – Reply comments are due on national television audience reach cap review.
Mar. 30 – Deadline for CAF Phase II Auction Applications.
Mar. 31 – (Apr. 2 this year) – FCC Form 525 (Delayed Phasedown CETC Line Counts) is due.
Mar. 31 – (Apr. 2 this year) – FCC Form 508 (ICLS Projected Annual Common Line Requirement) is due.
Mar. 31 – (Apr. 2 this year) – Streamlined International Circuit Capacity Report is due.

April
Apr. 1 – (Apr. 2 this year) – FCC Form 499-A (Annual Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet) is due.
Apr. 1 – (Apr. 2 this year) – Annual Accessibility Certification is due.
Apr. 3 – E911 horizontal location accuracy benchmark to be met.
Apr. 11 – Wireless Microphone Disclosure Requirements in effect.
Apr. 12 – Comments due on Jurisdictional Separations Reform.
Apr. 27 – Reply comments due on Jurisdictional Separations Reform.

May
May 1 – FCC Form 499-Q (Quarterly Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet) is due.
May 31 – FCC Form 395 (Annual Employment Report) is due.

June
June 2 – E911 horizontal location accuracy benchmark certification due to be filed

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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Wireless Network Planners
Wireless Specialists

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www.wirelessplanners.com
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