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Welcome Back To The Wireless Messaging NewsOnce in a while an issue of this newsletter stands out as having a large amount of important content. This week's issue is one of them. If you want to stay up to date with what is going on in the wireless industry, I encourage you to read it in its entirety. OK, you can skip the music video if you want to, but be sure to read the rest. We have a letter from Jim Nelson (President & CEO Prism-IPX Systems) reporting of the recent Brussels meeting of the Critical Messaging Association. I would like to add my congratulations to Dr. Dietmar Gollnick, unamaously elected by the CMA as its new Chairman. He has always been good about sending content for inclusion in the newsletter and I look forward to a new closer relationship with the CMA under his leadership. “PUBLIC SAFETY DATACAST PAGING” I received a whitepaper about a new kind of paging being studied. It is long but very interesting. I hope to receive several comments from readers so I can add my own — in a future discussion. I believe “As 5G Rolls Out, Troubling New Security Flaws Emerge” is also very important. Another very important paper about 5G security “THE COMING REGULATORY WAR OVER 5G” is here. This was published last April. |
NO POLITICS HERE
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.
Editorial Opinion pieces present only the opinions of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of any of advertisers or supporters. This newsletter is independent of any trade association. I don't intend to hurt anyone's feelings, but I do freely express my own opinions. We need your help. This is the only remaining news source dedicated to information about Paging and Wireless Messaging.
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November 14, 2019 Dear Brad, RE: 2019 CMA Meeting in Brussels Many thanks for the last-minute tribute to Derek Banner and for the cartoon. Both were well received. Derek has been the Chairman since the 2005 meeting in Helsinki where European Mobile Messaging Association (EMMA) was organized (you attended) and has led the Association through 15 years of excellent meetings and incorporated many changes as the paging markets evolved into the critical messaging market. Among these changes were the joining of EMMA and AAPC at a meeting in Stockholm in November 2012. Derek, as Chairman of EMMA, and Ted McNaught, President of AAPC at the time, signed the historic Agreement which led to a formal name change to CMA-Americas and CMA-Europe thus creating a global Association. Most recently Derek led the consolidation of CMA-Americas with CMA-Europe into a single CMA body further establishing a very recognizable global leadership in critical messaging that was based on paging technology but now leverages other compatible and complementary technologies. Significant at this recent 2019 Brussels meeting, CMA unanimously elected Dr. Dietmar Gollnick as its new Chairman. Dietmar has long been a promoter of CMA even before the name changes. He is very active in social media and always in the news gaining positive attention to CMA, our technologies and the many vital uses. He is very popular choice to lead CMA. A formal press release will provide more details. Thanks also to the CMA Board of Directors for allowing me to make three significant presentations and to assist Dietmar in presenting awards to Derek as he officially retired from the role of Chairman of CMA. Before the first award I gave a brief summary of what Derek has meant to the Association and how much we will miss him. After a few emotional moments Dietmar and I presented Derek with a commentative plaque with a golden Chairman’s gavel.
For the second award I reviewed each meeting Derek led us through for the past 15 years. Shared a few pictures and several funny memories. Then I listed many of the outstanding achievements Derek has been part of, including his many years running British Telecom paging in many countries and of great importance, his role as Secretary of the POCSAG Committee where the POCSAG protocol was created and accepted as a free and open standard. Dietmar and I then presented Derek with the CMA Paging Industry Recognition Award.
And lastly, I expressed how much all of us would miss him and he said he would come to future meetings when convenient. That was a perfect lead-in for Dietmar and I to present Derek with the Lifetime Membership Award in CMA, complimentary membership with full member benefits.
After all the emotions, both sad and happy, Derek gave his good-bye speech and we all celebrated the event. Since this was only a 1-day event not everyone made the meeting but we still had 25 people and a fantastic time socializing. Here are most of the attendees.
We all wish Derek a very happy and enjoyable retirement and his daughter Jodie and son Carl who were in attendance did promise to find him a good nursing home as you suggested 😊. We all further promised to support Chairman Dietmar Gollnick and find more ways to improve CMA. Dietmar also has Ron Wray of Multitone and Jurgen Poels of ASTRID as new Directors on his Board. Congratulations to all three of them and I personally look forward to many more years of working with them. Happy for you edit and crop as needed for the newsletter. There is lot more that can be reported and many more pictures but I’ll leave that to CMA and its social media experts. Thanks again for your help, as always. Jim Nelson |
| Source: | Jim Nelson |
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Paging Transmitters 150/900 MHz The RFI High Performance Paging Transmitter is designed for use in campus, city, state and country-wide paging systems. Designed for use where reliable simulcast systems where RF signal overlap coverage is critical.
Built-in custom interface for Prism-IPX ipBSC Base Controller for remote control, management and alarm reporting.
Prism-IPX Systems LLC.
11175 Cicero Dr., Alpharetta, GA 30022
GLENAYRE INFRASTRUCTUREI would like to recommend Easy Solutions for Support of all Glenayre Paging Equipment. This Texas company is owned and operated by Vaughan Bowden. I have known Vaughan for over 35 years. Without going into a long list of his experience and qualifications, let me just say that he was the V.P. of Engineering at PageNet which was—at that time—the largest paging company in the world. So Vaughan knows Paging. 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. |
The Wireless Messaging News
The Board of Advisor members are people with whom I have developed a special rapport, and have met personally. They are not obligated to support the newsletter in any way, except with advice, and maybe an occasional letter to the editor.
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FCC sued by dozens of cities after voting to kill local fees and rulesCities challenge FCC vote to preempt local fees and broadband regulations.JON BRODKIN - 11/14/2019, 2:23 PM
The Federal Communications Commission faces a legal battle against dozens of cities from across the United States, which sued the FCC to stop an order that preempts local fees and regulation of cable-broadband networks. The cities filed lawsuits in response to the FCC's August 1 vote that limits the fees municipalities can charge cable companies and prohibits cities and towns from regulating broadband services offered over cable networks. "At least 46 cities are asking federal appeals courts to undo an FCC order they argue will force them to raise taxes or cut spending on local media services, including channels that schools, governments, and the general public can use for programming," Bloomberg Law wrote Tuesday. Various lawsuits were filed against the FCC between August and the end of October, and Bloomberg's report said that most of the suits are being consolidated into a single case in the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. An FCC motion to transfer the case to the 6th Circuit, which has decided previous cases on the same topic, is pending. The 9th Circuit case was initially filed by Eugene, Oregon, which said the FCC order was arbitrary and capricious and that it violated the Administrative Procedure Act, the Constitution, and the Communications Act. The cities' arguments and the FCC's defense will be fleshed out more in future briefs. Big cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Francisco, Denver, and Boston are among those suing the FCC. Also suing are other municipalities from Maine, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, California, Oregon, and Washington, according to a Bloomberg graphic. The state of Hawaii is also suing the FCC, and New York City is supporting the lawsuit against the FCC as an intervening party. FCC lost net neutrality preemption battleChairman Ajit Pai's FCC already lost one attempt to preempt local regulation throughout the country. When it repealed federal net neutrality rules, the FCC also preempted states from imposing net neutrality laws. While a federal appeals court upheld the repeal of the US-wide regulations, it ruled that the FCC can't preempt all state laws in one fell swoop. The state of Washington continues to enforce its net neutrality law, and other states may do so in the future. The FCC lost its preemption battle on net neutrality largely because it had given up its primary authority to regulate broadband. "[I]n any area where the Commission lacks the authority to regulate, it equally lacks the power to preempt state law," the appeals court ruling in that case said. When the FCC preempted local cable regulation, a consumer advocate pointed out a similarity with the net neutrality case. The cable decision "is consistent with the commission's current perplexing view that it has no statutory authority over broadband but can nevertheless preempt states and local authorities from exercising their own authority," John Bergmayer, legal director of consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge, said after the August 1 vote. The FCC argues that states and localities cannot collect fees and impose requirements that aren't explicitly allowed by Title VI, the cable-regulation section that Congress added to communications law with the Cable Act of 1984. The FCC acted partly in response to an Oregon State Supreme Court decision that upheld a 7% "telecommunications" license fee the city of Eugene imposed on Comcast. The FCC wants to get that fee and others off the books. The US cable law prevents local authorities from collecting more than 5% of a cable operator's gross revenue in any 12-month period. The FCC said that some local governments have been requiring in-kind contributions from cable operators to get around the 5% cap and ruled that most in-kind contributions must count toward that cap. Pai claimed that the preemption will spur companies to expand broadband networks, but Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel pointed out that ISPs haven't actually promised to deploy more broadband in exchange for the regulatory favor from the FCC. She added that "there is no enforceable obligation to expand broadband capacity." Five groups representing local governments detailed some of the arguments against the preemption in a filing with the FCC last month. They argued, among other things, that the FCC "has exceeded its authority, inserting itself where Congress provided no authority or direction to do so in a manner contrary to the clear and unambiguous terms of the Cable Act." The local-government groups also said the FCC order violates the 10th Amendment by overriding states' rights, specifically by "directing state and local governments to surrender their property and management rights to 'advance... federal policies' related to broadband deployment." Local governments also say the FCC order will make it harder to provide public, educational, and government access (PEG) programming. More generally, they say the FCC has "commandeered" the municipalities' "budgets and other resources... for the purpose of compensating cable operators in violation of legitimately adopted local franchises and state laws." Separately, the FCC is facing another lawsuit filed by cities over the federal agency's September 2018 decision to preempt about $2 billion worth of fees related to deployment of wireless equipment such as small cells used for 5G. |
| Source: | arsTECHNICA |
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Click on the image above for more info about advertising here. |
Internet Protocol Terminal
The IPT accepts Internet or serial messaging using various protocols and can easily convert them to different protocols, or send them out as paging messages. An ideal platform for hospitals, on-site paging applications, or converting legacy systems to modern protocols.
Additional/Optional Features
Prism-IPX Systems LLC.
11175 Cicero Dr., Alpharetta, GA 30022 |
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PUBLIC SAFETY DATACAST PAGING 2017.02.13 (Original version 2016.09.18) INTRODUCTION THE STATE OF PUBLIC SAFETY PAGING THE CHALLENGES WITH PAGERS UNDERSTANDING DATACASTING USING DATACASTING FOR PUBLIC SAFETY PAGING DATACAST PAGING IN NORTH CAROLINA OTHER CONSIDERATIONS SUMMARY
OPEN AND PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE OF DATACAST PAGING CONTRIBUTORS
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| Source: | Red Grasso, Deputy Director of FirstNetNC |
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Paging Data Receiver PDR-4 The PDR-4 is a multi-function paging data receiver that decodes paging messages and outputs them via the serial port, USB or Ethernet connectors. Designed for use with Prism-IPX ECHO software Message Logging Software to receive messages and log the information for proof of transmission over the air, and if the data was error free.
Prism-IPX Systems LLC.
11175 Cicero Dr., Alpharetta, GA 30022 |
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11.12.2019 11:30 AM As 5G Rolls Out, Troubling New Security Flaws EmergeResearchers have identified 11 new vulnerabilities in 5G—with time running out to fix them.
It's not yet prime time for 5G networks, which still face logistical and technical hurdles, but they're increasingly coming online in major cities worldwide. Which is why it's especially worrying that new 5G vulnerabilities are being discovered almost by the dozen. At the Association for Computing Machinery's Conference on Computer and Communications Security in London today, researchers are presenting new findings that the 5G specification still has vulnerabilities. And with 5G increasingly becoming a reality, time is running out to catch these flaws.
The researchers from Purdue University and the University of Iowa are detailing 11 new design issues in 5G protocols that could expose your location, downgrade your service to old mobile data networks, run up your wireless bills, or even track when you make calls, text, or browse the web. They also found five additional 5G vulnerabilities that carried over from 3G and 4G. They identified all of those flaws with a new custom tool called 5GReasoner. "We had a hunch when we started this work that there were more vulnerabilities to find," says Syed Rafiul Hussain, a mobile security researcher from Purdue who led the study. "Since many security features from 4G and 3G have been adopted to 5G, there is a high chance that vulnerabilities in previous generations are likely inherited to 5G too. Additionally, new features in 5G may not have undergone rigorous security evaluation yet. So we were both surprised and not so surprised by our findings." One purported benefit of 5G is that it protects phone identifiers, like your device's "international mobile subscriber identity," to help prevent tracking or targeted attacks. But downgrade attacks like the ones the researchers found can bump your device down to 4G or put it into limited service mode, then force it to send its IMSI number unencrypted. Increasingly, networks use an alternative ID called a Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity that refreshes periodically to stymie tracking. But the researchers also found flaws that could allow them to override TMSI resets, or correlate a device's old and new TMSI, to track devices. Mounting those attacks takes only software-defined radios that cost a few hundred dollars. The 5GReasoner tool also found issues with the part of the 5G standard that governs things like initial device registration, deregistration, and paging, which notifies your phone about incoming calls and texts. Depending on how a carrier implements the standard, attackers could mount "replay" attacks to run up a target's mobile bill by repeatedly sending the same message or command. It's an instance of vague wording in the 5G standard that could cause carriers to implement it weakly. The 5G rollout is very much in progress now after years of development and planning. But researchers' findings underscore that the data network is going live with some vulnerabilities and flaws still in place. No digital system is ever perfectly secure, but this many flaws still emerging is noteworthy, especially since researchers have found so many bugs clustered around serious issues like network downgrading and location tracking. The researchers submitted their findings to the standards body GSMA, which is working on fixes. "These scenarios have been judged as nil or low-impact in practice, but we appreciate the authors’ work to identify where the standard is written ambiguously, which may lead to clarifications in the future," GSMA told WIRED in a statement. "We are grateful to the researchers for affording industry the opportunity to consider their findings and welcome any research that enhances the security and user confidence of mobile services." The researchers note that a limitation of their study is that they didn't have access to a commercial 5G network to test the attacks in practice. But they point out that while GSMA says the attacks are low impact, it still listed the work in its Mobile Security Research Hall of Fame. "The thing I worry about most is that attackers could know the location of a user," Purdue's Hussain says. "5G tried to solve this, but there are many vulnerabilities that expose location information, so fixing one is not enough." Improving the security of the 5G standard through community scrutiny is a necessary process. But with 5G rolling out more and more widely every day, time is running short to catch and resolve vulnerabilities that could expose user data worldwide. [Another very important paper about 5G security (“THE COMING REGULATORY WAR OVER 5G”) is here.] |
| Source: | WIRED |
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Remote AB Switches ABX-1 switches are often used at remote transmitter sites to convert from old, outdated and unsupported controllers to the new modern Prism-IPX ipBSC base station controllers. Remotely switch to new controllers with GUI commands. ABX-1
ABX-3 switches are widely used for enabling or disabling remote equipment and switching I/O connections between redundant messaging systems. ABX-3
Common Features:
Prism-IPX Systems LLC.
11175 Cicero Dr., Alpharetta, GA 30022 |
Apple iOS 13.3 Is Poised To Launch With This Killer Security Feature Kate O'Flaherty Senior Contributor
Apple’s iOS 13.3 should be coming to your iPhone pretty soon, and with it a bunch of cool new features. One of the interesting and exciting iOS 13.3 updates for anyone who is concerned about their security is the ability to use security keys with Apple’s Safari browser. The move is revealed in Apple’s release notes for the second developer beta, which says iOS 13.3 supports NFC, USB, and Lightning FIDO2-compliant security keys in Safari. In other words, when the iOS 13.3 update drops, you will able to use physical security keys such as Yubico’s iPhone compatible YubiKey 5Ci–which was previously unavailable to browsers such as Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome. However, it could be used with some password manager apps such as 1Password. It is expected that iOS 13.3 will probably hit sometime in December. So what’s the deal with security keys? Security keys in iOS 13.3: A great ideaA security key is a convenient and secure form of authentication because you can simply plug it into your device. Security researcher Sean Wright goes one step further, saying security keys are “fantastic.” “Keys are a rare case in security where a good mechanism comes with something that is relatively easy to use. They represent a desire to move away from password based authentication to something that is often more secure as well as hopefully more user friendly.” He points out that security keys also prevent phishing attempts, where an attacker will try to steal your details by, for example, sending you an email prompting you to enter your credentials onto a fake page. ZeroDayLab’s director of cyber security strategy, Stuart Peck agrees the move is a “great idea.” However, he points out that support for YubiKey is limited–although this is likely to change over time. But like any form of authentication, security keys aren’t bulletproof. You might even want to avoid carrying them around with you, especially if there is a chance they may get lost. “Like any key, you will want to ensure that you keep them safe, and avoid leaving them around and losing them,” Wright says. In order to protect yourself while still getting the most benefit out of the key, Wright advises having another means–perhaps another backup key–to access your account. “So if you lost your key or it was stolen you would immediately revoke it.” Security keys in iOS 13.3: Should you use one?It’s an exciting change, and security keys are a definite yes for a technical user who is concerned about their data. However, Peck thinks they could be overkill for the average person. “Unless your personal threat model requires the use of security keys, an app for two factor authentication is just as acceptable.” Apple’s iOS 13 is certainly moving in the right direction for security and privacy. The iPhone maker has added a host of new security features to the updated operating system including the ability to lock down its voice assistant Siri. It has also introduced new features that could be a blow to firms such as Facebook and Google by highlighting how much data they collect in the background and giving you the opportunity to prevent this. Personally, I’m looking forward to iOS 13.3 and the ability to try out a security key on my device. But it isn’t for everyone–and it’s certainly not something you’d want to lose–so if you do use one make sure you have a back up. |
| Source: | Forbes |
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Will IRS Investigations Threaten Merger?By Jim Fryer, Managing Editor, Inside Towers
A law firm representing T-Mobile, on November 8, requested binding relief from a proposed IRS rulemaking that might otherwise limit T-Mobile’s ability to utilize Sprint’s Net Operating Losses (NOLs). The letter was followed by one on November 12 from the Broadband Tax Institute, in support of the carriers, both of whom are members of the organization. The letters could signify significant liability arising from the ongoing investigation into Sprint allegedly overcharging the government for more than $800,000, on Lifeline accounts that did not qualify for reimbursement under the plan, according to Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson. “Sprint took a rather significant charge in the most request quarter to reverse the overbilled revenues, but they have not yet attempted to estimate penalties, if any,” Moffett said. “As we’ve pointed out in the past, the FCC has a framework for evaluating Lifeline over-collection violations which suggest the penalty could be as high as $5K per line, or as much as $4.4B total.” At the time, Sprint said it had no intention of defrauding the government. The carrier says it made an error after the FCC implemented new rules in 2016. Sprint was working on a fix, it said in September, Inside Towers reported. Sprint had federal NOL “carryforwards” of $21.3B as of March 31, 2019, according to the Daily Tax Report. Note: a “carryforward” is an accounting method of allowing companies to apply losses to profits that have not yet occurred and thereby reduce the taxes they pay on those profits. T-Mobile’s letter follows an earlier letter from the law firm Skadden Arps, on behalf of Sprint, dated October 21, requesting similar relief. The Skadden Arps letter notes that, “It is therefore likely that further extensions of the Outside Date or other amendments to the Agreement will be required before the transaction ultimately closes; as the parties consider how to approach these amendments, it is critical for Sprint and T-Mobile (as well as similarly situated taxpayers) to have certainty on whether or not the modifications to the longstanding guidance contained in Notice 2003-65 will be in effect with respect to such transactions.” The letter from the Broadband Tax Institute asks for the same relief. “We respectfully request that Treasury and the IRS issue binding guidance as soon as practicable to provide transition relief that would ‘grandfather’ publicly announced and/or publicly filed transactions (collectively, ‘publicly announced transactions’) that close after the finalization and publication of the Proposed Regulations,” the letter states. The comment period with respect to the proposed IRS regulation closed on Tuesday, November 12. “Whether this issue, or the Lifeline issue, is enough to trigger a renegotiation of the exchange ratio, or simply an indemnification from Sprint shareholders (i.e. SoftBank) in the event of an adverse outcome, is unclear,” Moffett said. “As a reminder, the merger agreement between Sprint and T-Mobile expired on November 1, and either party is allowed to walk away from the deal unless and until a new agreement is reached, potentially with new terms and/or a new valuation.” When announcing the kinds of public service projects a merged entity can accomplish, T-Mobile CEO John Legere told reporters last Thursday the merger agreement talks with Sprint are ongoing. |
| Source: | Inside Towers newsletter | Courtesy of the editor of Inside Towers. It is a daily newsletter by subscription. Please check it out. |
| BloostonLaw Newsletter |
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Selected portions [sometimes more — sometimes less — sometimes the whole updates] 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.
FCC Releases Order Establishing Locations Adjustment Process for Phase II Auction WinnersOn November 12, the FCC adopted an Order establishing a voluntary process to facilitate post-auction review of the defined deployment obligations (and associated support) on a state-by-state basis when the total number of actual locations in eligible areas is less than the number of funded locations. The Order provides some specifics on participant requirements, evidentiary standards, stakeholder participation requirements, and location formatting requirements. More detailed information regarding evidentiary standards, location data formatting, confidentiality of information, and future post-adjudication verification will follow. Importantly, the FCC will only modify a participant’s defined deployment obligation to the extent that the participant produces adequate evidence demonstrating that it is more likely than not that the defined deployment obligation is greater than the number of actual locations within the state. See the full article below for more information. BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, John Prendergast, and Mary Sisak. HeadlinesFCC Establishes Locations Adjustment Process for Phase II WinnersOn November 12, the FCC adopted an Order establishing a voluntary process to facilitate post-auction review of the defined deployment obligations (and associated support) on a state-by-state basis when the total number of actual locations in eligible areas is less than the number of funded locations. The Order provides some specifics on participant requirements, evidentiary standards, stakeholder participation requirements, and location formatting requirements. More detailed information regarding evidentiary standards, location data formatting, confidentiality of information, and future post-adjudication verification will follow. Importantly, the FCC will only modify a participant’s defined deployment obligation to the extent that the participant produces adequate evidence demonstrating that it is more likely than not that the defined deployment obligation is greater than the number of actual locations within the state. The challenge process will begin with a new, one-time collection of information from support recipients that seek to participate in ELAP (participants) that includes information about all eligible locations within the state as well as evidence substantiating the completeness and accuracy of such information. Participants must certify the accuracy of their submissions as of the date of submission under penalty of perjury. Within 60 days following the information collection submission deadline, the Bureau will release a list of participants that have met the prima facie evidentiary standards for location modification, along with the certain location information for qualifying locations and prospective locations, i.e., state, study area code (SAC), addresses, geo-coordinates, and number of units. The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) will use the reported geo-coordinates of these locations to populate a publicly available map (ELAP Map) of presumptively eligible locations so that outside parties that qualify as a relevant stakeholder may decide whether to file challenges. Eligible stakeholders will then have 90 days from the public release of the participants’ location information to establish their eligibility and review and challenge the participants’ evidence (challenge window). The stakeholder location information will be used to further populate and revise the ELAP Map to inform and supplement the work of other stakeholders filing challenges against the same participant in the same state prior to the close of the challenge window. Participants will have access to this information as it is processed but will not be able to file replies until after the close of the challenge window. Unlike participant location information, stakeholder location information will not be publicly available. Challenged participants will have 30 days from the stakeholder submission deadline (response window) to: (1) access and review certified data submitted by the stakeholder with respect to the challenged area; and (2) submit additional data/information to oppose the challenge (response window). If a challenged participant does not oppose the challenge, the participant need not submit any additional information. A challenged participant, however, will not have a further opportunity to submit any additional information or data for the Bureau’s consideration after the response window closes. The Bureau will order a pro-rata reduction in future payments for the remainder of the support term proportionally to reflect the total amount of reduction. Participants will be permitted to adjust their letters of credit to reflect the new authorized funding amount once the Bureau’s order modifying the authorized support is issued. BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Mary Sisak, and Sal Taillefer. FCC Grants Waiver of Location Requirements for Rural Broadband Experiment RecipientsOn November 7, the FCC granted two petitions, separately filed by Allamakee-Clayton Electric Cooperative (ACEC) and Consolidated Communications Networks Inc. (Consolidated) (collectively, petitioners), seeking waiver of their obligations to provide service to a specific number of locations as part of the rural broadband experiments (RBE) program. The petitions provide insight into what the FCC considers acceptable evidence for such petitions, and what factors it considers in granting such requests. As part of its waiver request, ACEC submitted detailed location information (including addresses, geo-coordinates, and census block identifiers) for each of the locations that it has identified. These locations were identified “by creating a three-layer map consisting of census block boundary data, parcel boundary data, and aerial photography of the census blocks (provided by the county and taken in 2016).” To support its findings, ACEC also submitted “detailed county parcel data, photographic evidence, and explanatory notes (including evidence for every census block within one SAC (356220) and for some of the census blocks in the remaining SACs).” Based on an overall assessment of its evidence, ACEC concluded that it had “reason to conclude some locations identified and counted in [modeled location count] were … non-residential structures such as barns, livestock buildings, machine storage structures, and grain operations where there would be no need for broadband facilities.” Consolidated similarly developed and implemented a mapping system to identify all locations passed. Consolidated then overlaid this map with third-party aerial photographs and cross-checked its information against searches in the relevant county website. These searches, Consolidated explained, “identified properties by address on specific streets.” Consolidated stated that it used this information to identify addresses for locations and to “make sure it did not miss any locations.” Consolidated stated that the “mapping systems developer also completed a physical drive-by of approximately 180 miles to determine if locations were habitable Consolidated stated that it has reported every location it has identified (and currently serves) in USAC’s High Cost Broadband Portal (HUBB), pursuant to its annual reporting obligations. Consolidated also submitted, among other things, a list of census blocks in which it identified some structures as abandoned, and aerial photographs demonstrating the position of such structures within such census blocks. According to the FCC, there was “no indication that either petitioner systematically or even unintentionally excluded eligible locations based on cost or difficulty in providing service, such as might be caused by density or terrain,” and that both petitioners “explain that they combined generally accepted methods of geolocation to identify locations and to control for inaccuracies and omissions.” Further, both petitioners “provide some supporting evidence for their findings.” Carriers considering similar waiver requests should contact the firm for more information. BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Mary Sisak, and Sal Taillefer. FCC Grants Verizon Access ComplaintOn November 8, the FCC adopted a Memorandum Opinion and Order granting a complaint filed by MCI Communications Services, Inc. d/b/a Verizon Business Services (Verizon) against Wide Voice, LLC (Wide Voice), a CLEC, concerning Wide Voice’s tariffed rates for terminating tandem-switched transport access service (tandem-switched transport). The FCC found that Wide Voice’s tariff was void ab initio with regard to its tandem-switched transport rate because Wide Voice failed to step down its tariffs when the price cap LEC to which Wide Voice benchmarked stepped down its own rates. According to the Order, the key issue was how the step down in price cap carriers’ rates for certain tandem-switched transport service mandated in the 2011 Transformation Order applies to a CLEC that is required to benchmark its tandem-switched transport rates to those of a competing ILEC. Wide Voice construes the FCC’s rules and precedents to mean that this step down applies only to tandem-switched transport traffic that terminates to the end office of an affiliated price cap carrier. Verizon construes the FCC’s rules and precedents to mean that the step down applies to tandem-switched transport traffic that terminates to the end office of a competitive LEC that also owns the tandem or to the end office of an affiliated competitive LEC. The FCC ultimately sided with Verizon, and concluded that when a CLEC/tandem owner benchmarks to a price cap carrier, the competitive LEC is the tariffing carrier for the purposes of the FCC’s rules. The maximum rate that the CLEC may lawfully charge is the “rate charged for such service[]” by the price cap carrier to which it benchmarks; thus, a benchmarking competitive LEC/tandem owner must step down its tandem-switched transport rate for traffic that traverses a tandem switch owned by it or its affiliate and terminates to its own end office. “The overlay of the benchmark rule on top of section 51.907 thus ensures that a benchmarking competitive LEC’s tariffed rate will not exceed the “rate charged for such service[s] by the competing [incumbent LEC,]” where the “service” is that described in sections 51.907(g)(2) and (h).” The FCC also concluded that Wide Voice’s tariff was void ab initio, [Latin: “from the beginning.”] and was not afforded the protection of “deemed lawful” status despite the fact that the FCC did not suspend or reject Wide Voice’s tariff within the time allowed for challenging a streamlined tariff. According to the FCC, deemed-lawful status does not adhere to a tariff provision that the FCC’s rules prohibited at the time of filing. BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Mary Sisak, and Sal Taillefer. Law & RegulationFCC Extends Reply Comment Deadline on Wireless Infrastructure Declaratory RulingOn November 8, the FCC adopted an Order granting in part a motion seeking an extension of time to file reply comments on a Petition for Rulemaking and a Petition for Declaratory Ruling filed by the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) and a Petition for Declaratory Ruling filed by CTIA—The Wireless Association (CTIA). Reply comments are now due on November 20. WIA’s Petition for Rulemaking and Petition for Declaratory Ruling ask the FCC to adopt new rules or clarify existing rules regarding Section 6409(a) of the Spectrum Act of 2012 (Section 6409). CTIA’s Petition for Declaratory Ruling similarly seeks clarification of rules relating to Section 6409 and also requests clarifications of rules implementing Section 224 of the Communications Act. Specifically, WIA’s Petition for Rulemaking asks the FCC to amend its rules to reflect that collocations requiring an expansion of the current site—within 30 feet of a tower site—qualify for relief under Section 6409(a) and to require that fees associated with eligible facilities requests under Section 6409 be cost-based. WIA’s Petition for Declaratory Ruling asks the FCC to clarify: (1) that Section 6409(a) and related rules apply to all state and local authorizations; (2) when the time to decide an application begins to run; (3) what constitutes a substantial change under Section 6409(a); (4) that “conditional” approvals by localities violate Section 6409(a); and (5) that localities may not establish processes or impose conditions that effectively defeat or reduce the protections afforded under Section 6409(a). CTIA’s Petition for Declaratory Ruling asks the FCC to clarify the terms “concealment element,” “equipment cabinet,” and “base station” in the FCC’s rules, and clarify that when an application is “deemed granted” under Section 6409, applicants may lawfully construct even if the siting authority has not issued construction permits. With respect to section 224, CTIA asks the FCC to: (1) determine that the definition of the term “pole” in section 224 includes light poles; (2) conclude that utilities may not impose blanket prohibitions on access to certain parts of the pole; and (3) clarify that utilities may not ask attachers to accept terms and conditions that are inconsistent with the FCC’s rules. BloostonLaw Contacts: John Prendergast and Cary Mitchell. FCC Further Extends Comment Deadline on IP TV Captioning PetitionOn November 6, the FCC adopted an Order granting a further extension of time to file comments on a petition for limited waiver of its IPTV closed captioning rules. Comments are now due on February 21, and reply comments are due on March 6. The petition, filed in May by Pluto, Inc., requested that the FCC waive the IP captioning rules with respect to programming accessed through Pluto’s platforms for a period that ends one year from the grant of this waiver petition in certain specific cases, and extending to three years from the grant of this waiver petition in other specific cases. According to the petition, Pluto TV is a free service that offers streaming of content over the Internet via the Pluto TV app, a web browser, or integrated into certain platforms. “[D]espite the dedicated efforts of [Pluto],” the petition recites, “in some cases, its content does not feature the required captions on certain platforms at this time, and the reasons vary. In some cases, the platform itself is dated and currently lacks certain core capabilities. For other platforms, [Pluto], which has fewer than 100 employees, has not yet completed the engineering work because its efforts were focused on the most heavily-used platforms.” Comments were originally due on July 26, 2019, and reply comments were originally due on August 9, 2019. On July 22, 2019, after receiving an unopposed motion for extension of time related to the Pluto TV Petition, the FCC issued an Order extending the date for filing comments and replies to October 24, 2019 and November 7, 2019, respectively. On October 24, 2019, Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Inc. (TDI) and Pluto TV (collectively, Requestors) filed an unopposed joint motion to extend the comment and reply comment deadlines by an additional 120 days to February 21, 2020 and March 6, 2020, respectively. They state that they have “discussed the technological challenges encountered by Pluto as it has been investigating and implementing improvements to its closed captioning functionality” and agree that it is in the interest of consumers to continue the technical review and “collaborate on methods to prevent future technological issues from arising.” BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens and John Prendergast. IndustryATIS Announces 5G Working GroupOn November 6, the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) announced the launch of a new working group to extend the development of 5G best practices and guidelines for the purpose of creating supply chain standards that can be operationalized in the public and private sectors. ATIS’ 5G Supply Chain Working Group takes place at the request of the Department of Defense (DoD) in consultation with other government agencies. Among other things, the 5G Supply Chain Working Group will work to establish “assured” commercial 5G networks; develop or identify standards to be applied to 5G systems; and evaluate audit/certification options for ICT solution providers, infrastructure, and endpoint device original equipment manufacturers. These objectives are intended to address end-to-end ICT supply chain visibility, coordination of existing supply chain management best practices, industry alignment with federal guidelines, improved threat monitoring tools, and a method to influence national/international standards development. At present, working group leadership consists of Steven Baum, Global Supply Chain Risk Program Manager at Verizon Global Supply Chain, and Drew Morin, Director of Federal Cyber Security Technology and Engineering Programs at T-Mobile. “5G services and solutions will be deeply integrated into the next generation of networks and services and ATIS has developed many of the standards that are setting the 5G network into action,” said ATIS President and CEO Susan Miller. “Our organization is uniquely positioned to lead this initiative to apply Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) principles in the development of supply chain standards for trusted 5G networks and services. We look forward to working with the Department of Defense, other government agencies, and leading industry partners to achieve this goal.” Arkansas Joins DOJ T-Mobile/Sprint SettlementOn November 8, the Department of Justice announced today that it has filed an amended complaint that adds Arkansas as a plaintiff in the suit and proposed settlement relating to the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint. Arkansas joins Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma and South Dakota in the settlement, which is designed to launch Dish Network Corp., a Colorado-based satellite television provider, as a fourth nationwide provider of retail mobile wireless services. The Department’s Antitrust Division and now nine co-plaintiff states have sued to block this transaction, and have agreed to settle the lawsuit based on the proposed settlement. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, T-Mobile and Sprint must divest Sprint’s prepaid business, including Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Sprint prepaid, to Dish. The proposed settlement also provides for the divestiture of certain spectrum assets to Dish. Additionally, T-Mobile and Sprint must make available to Dish at least 20,000 cell sites and hundreds of retail locations. T-Mobile must also provide Dish with robust access to the T-Mobile network for a period of seven years while Dish builds out its own 5G network. “We are gratified that Arkansas shares our view of the tremendous benefits to competition that will arise out of the proposed consent judgment,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “A combined T-Mobile and Sprint, coupled with competition from Dish, will provide increased value to residents of Arkansas and consumers nationwide.” DeadlinesJANUARY 15: HAC REPORTING DEADLINE. At this time, the next Hearing Aid Compatible (HAC) reporting deadline for digital commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) providers (including carriers that provide service using AWS-1 spectrum and resellers of cellular, broadband PCS and/or AWS services) is January 15, 2019. The FCC is considering an item at its November 2018 meeting that may impact this requirement. As of today, non-Tier I service providers must offer to consumers at least 50 percent of the handset models per air interface, or a minimum of ten handset models per air interface, that meet or exceed the M3 rating, and at least one-third of the handset models per air interface, or a minimum of ten handset models per air interface, that meet or exceed the T3 rating. Month-to-month handset offering information provided in annual reports must be current through the end of 2018. With many of our clients adjusting their handset offerings and making new devices available to customers throughout the year, it is very easy for even the most diligent carriers to stumble unknowingly into a non-compliance situation, resulting in fines starting at $15,000 for each HAC-enabled handset they are deficient. Following the T-Mobile USA Notice of Apparent Liability (FCC 12-39), the FCC’s enforcement policy calls for multiplying the $15,000 per-handset fine by the number of months of the deficiency, creating the potential for very steep fines. It is therefore crucial that our clients pay close attention to their HAC regulatory compliance, and monthly checks are strongly recommended. In this regard, we have prepared a HAC reporting template to assist our clients in keeping track of their HAC handset offerings, and other regulatory compliance efforts. ALL SERVICE PROVIDERS SUBJECT TO THE FCC’S HAC RULES — INCLUDING COMPANIES THAT QUALIFY FOR THE DE MINIMIS EXCEPTION — MUST PARTICIPATE IN ANNUAL HAC REPORTING. To the extent that your company is a provider of broadband PCS, cellular and/or interconnected SMR services, if you are a CMRS reseller and/or if you have plans to provide CMRS using newly licensed (or partitioned) AWS or 700 MHz spectrum, you and your company will need to be familiar with the FCC’s revised rules. BloostonLaw contacts: John Prendergast, Cary Mitchell, and Sal Taillefer. Calendar At-a-GlanceNovember December January
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| LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
Brad, I was referred your website by a colleague and thought I would pass along a whitepaper about fire paging using digital television. This concept is actively being explored in North Carolina as we work with our PBS member station on a proof of concept. Your ideas and feedback are welcome. Thanks, Red Grasso 919-961-1131 (Office/Cell) [This whitepaper was reproduced above so that the readers of this newsletter could read it and comment. Most of the “movers and shakers” in the traditional Paging industry are subscribers.] |
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Back To Paging  Still The Most Reliable Wireless Protocol For Emergencies! |
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Fire and EMS services across the United States still rely on paging technology to communicate emergency incident information. The infrastructure for these paging systems is typically owned, operated, and maintained by the local government or agency to ensure coverage includes as close to 100% of the jurisdiction as possible. This paper proposes the use of datacasting technology to serve the paging needs of public safety and uses North Carolina as a test case. This concept could lead to cost-sharing, greater collaboration across jurisdictions, and reduced response times for mutual aid requests. The public deserve the best possible response from the public safety sector and therefore, public safety deserves the best technology available in order to achieve their mission. Note that certain topics, such as automated voice systems, smartphone apps, alphanumeric pagers, fire station alerting, and CAD-to-CAD interfaces are not discussed here for the sake of focus and clarity.
