Welcome Back To

The Wireless
Messaging News

Zoom releases 5.0 update with security and privacy improvements

Zoom is moving quickly to address complaints

By Tom Warren
Apr 22, 2020, 10:01am EDT

Zoom promised a 90-day feature freeze to fix privacy and security issues, and the company is delivering on some of those promises. A new Zoom 5.0 update is rolling out this week that’s designed to address some of the many complaints that Zoom has faced in recent weeks. With this new update, there’s now a security icon that groups together a number of Zoom’s security features. You can use it to quickly lock meetings, remove participants, and restrict screen sharing and chatting in meetings.

Zoom is also now enabling passwords by default for most customers, and IT admins can define the password complexity for Zoom business users. Zoom’s waiting room feature is also now on by default for basic, single-license Pro, and education accounts. This feature allows a host to hold participants in a virtual room before they’re allowed into a meeting.

Many of these changes are clear responses to the “Zoombombing” phenomenon, where pranksters join Zoom calls and broadcast porn or shock videos. Zoom’s previous default settings didn’t encourage a password to be set for meetings, and they allowed any participants to share their screen.

Zoom is also improving some of its encryption and upgrading to the AES 256-bit GCM encryption standard. This still isn’t the end-to-end encryption that Zoom erroneously said it had implemented, but it’s an improvement for the transmission of meeting data. Business customers can also control which data center regions will handle meeting traffic for their Zoom meetings, after concerns were raised that some meetings were being routed through servers in China.

Zoom is clearly responding quickly to the issues that have been raised, just as it has seen an influx of millions of new users using its service during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Zoom reported a maximum of 10 million daily users back in December, but this skyrocketed to more than 200 million daily meeting participants in March. There are still more issues to address and improvements required, but 20 days after Zoom CEO Eric S. Yuan promised changes, we’re now starting to see exactly how Zoom is responding.

Source: The Verge

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

Wireless Messaging

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.

Can You Help The Newsletter?

You can help support The Wireless Messaging News by clicking on the PayPal Donate button above. It is not necessary to be a member of PayPal to use this service.

Subscribe Here

IT'S FREE

* required field

Advertiser Index

Service Monitors and Frequency Standards for Sale

Motorola Service Monitor

IFR Service Monitor

Efratom Rubidium Standard

(Images are typical units, not actual photos of items offered for sale here.)

These are acoustic amplifiers for smartphones. They don't need electric power to operate and there are no moving parts. They work like a megaphone (speaking-trumpet, bullhorn, or loudhailer). Everyone that I have shown one to has said something like “Wow, I want one of those!” So I have built a few of them.

Of course there are more “Hi-Fi” ways to listen to audio on your smartphone but who would want to plug an elegant smartphone into some cheap, plastic gadget? Or even use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, which are a pain in the neck to set up, even on a smartphone.

These have been made with hardwood bases and some of them are exotic hardwoods with interesting grain patterns. The horns are polished brass — made from mostly old horns that had rubber bulbs on the ends and were used in “times gone by” by taxis and even clowns in circuses. These horns have been re-purposed, reshaped, soldered, and polished.

They horns are now on display and for sale at:

The two large horns — the trombone and the gramophone — are difficult to pack and ship to they are for local pickup only. The remainder can be sent to you.

Please call for pricing and availability or stop in for a demo and a great cup of espresso.

P.S. Allan and Virginia and I worked together at WebLink Wireless in Dallas.

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

		Motorola SOLUTIONS
	WE ARE STILL STOCKING AND SELLING THE UNICATION ELEGANT PAGERS Contact us for price and availability please

HEALTH

The Real Reason to Wear a Mask

Much of the confusion around masks stems from the conflation of two very different uses.

ZEYNEP TUFEKCI, JEREMY HOWARD and TRISHA GREENHALGH APRIL 22, 2020

SPENCER PLATT/GETTY

If you feel confused about whether people should wear masks and why and what kind, you’re not alone. COVID-19 is a novel disease and we’re learning new things about it every day. However, much of the confusion around masks stems from the conflation of two very different functions of masks.

Masks can be worn to protect the wearer from getting infected or masks can be worn to protect others from being infected by the wearer. Protecting the wearer is difficult: It requires medical-grade respirator masks, a proper fit, and careful putting on and taking off. But masks can also be worn to prevent transmission to others, and this is their most important use for society. If we lower the likelihood of one person’s infecting another, the impact is exponential, so even a small reduction in those odds results in a huge decrease in deaths. Luckily, blocking transmission outward at the source is much easier. It can be accomplished with something as simple as a cloth mask.

A key transmission route of COVID-19 is via droplets that fly out of our mouths—that includes when we speak, not just when we cough or sneeze. A portion of these droplets quickly evaporate, becoming tiny particles whose inhalation by those nearby is hard to prevent. This is especially relevant for doctors and nurses who work with sick people all day. Medical workers are also at risk from procedures such as intubation, which generate very tiny particles that can float around possibly for hours. That’s why their gear is called “personal protective equipment,” or PPE, and has stringent requirements for fit in order to stop ingress—the term for the transmission of these outside particles to the wearer. Until now, most scientific research and discussion about masks has been directed at protecting medical workers from ingress.

But the opposite concern also exists: egress, or transmission of particles from the wearer to the outside world. Historically, much less research has been conducted on egress, but controlling it—also known as “source control”—is crucial to stopping the person-to-person spread of a disease. Obviously, society-wide source control becomes very important during a pandemic. Unfortunately, many articles in the lay press—and even some in the scientific press—don’t properly distinguish between ingress and egress, thereby adding to the confusion.

The good news is that preventing transmission to others through egress is relatively easy. It’s like stopping gushing water from a hose right at the source, by turning off the faucet, compared with the difficulty of trying to catch all the drops of water after we’ve pointed the hose up and they’ve flown everywhere. Research shows that even a cotton mask dramatically reduces the number of virus particles emitted from our mouths—by as much as 99 percent. This reduction provides two huge benefits. Fewer virus particles mean that people have a better chance of avoiding infection, and if they are infected, the lower viral-exposure load may give them a better chance of contracting only a mild illness.

COVID-19 has been hard to control partly because people can infect others before they themselves display any symptoms—and even if they never develop any illness. Three recent studies show that nearly half of patients are infected by people who aren’t coughing or sneezing yet. Many people have no awareness of the risk they pose to others, because they don’t feel sick themselves, and many may never become overtly ill.

Think of the coronavirus pandemic as a fire ravaging our cities and towns that is spread by infected people breathing out invisible embers every time they speak, cough, or sneeze. Sneezing is the most dangerous—it spreads embers farthest—coughing second, and speaking least, though it still can spread the embers. These invisible sparks cause others to catch fire and in turn breathe out embers until we truly catch fire—and get sick. That’s when we call in the firefighters—our medical workers. The people who run into these raging blazes to put them out need special heat-resistant suits and gloves, helmets, and oxygen tanks so they can keep breathing in the fire—all that PPE, with proper fit too.

If we could just keep our embers from being sent out every time we spoke or coughed, many fewer people would catch fire. Masks help us do that. And because we don’t know for sure who’s sick, the only solution is for everyone to wear masks. This eventually benefits the wearer because fewer fires mean we’re all less likely to be burned. My mask protects you; your masks protect me. Plus, our firefighters would no longer be overwhelmed, and we could more easily go back to work and the rest of our public lives.

To better understand what level of mask-wearing we need in the population to get this pandemic under control, we assembled a trans-disciplinary team of 19 experts and looked at a range of mathematical models and other research to learn what would happen if most people wore a mask in public. We wrote and submitted an academic paper as well as a layperson’s summary. Every infectious disease has a reproduction rate, called R. When it’s 1.0, that means the average infected person infects one other person. The 1918 pandemic flu had an R of 1.8—so one infected person infected, on average, almost two others. COVID-19’s rate, in the absence of measures such as social distancing and masks, is at least 2.4. A disease dies out if its R falls under 1.0. The lower the number, the faster it dies out.

The effectiveness of mask-wearing depends on three things: the basic reproduction number, R₀, of the virus in a community; masks’ efficacy at blocking transmission; and the percentage of people wearing masks. The blue area of the graph below indicates an R₀ below 1.0, the magic number needed to make the disease die out.

Models show that if 80 percent of people wear masks that are 60 percent effective, easily achievable with cloth, we can get to an effective R₀ of less than one. That’s enough to halt the spread of the disease. Many countries already have more than 80 percent of their population wearing masks in public, including Hong Kong, where most stores deny entry to unmasked customers, and the more than 30 countries that legally require masks in public spaces, such as Israel, Singapore, and the Czech Republic. Mask use in combination with physical distancing is even more powerful.

While cloth masks are sufficient for protecting others, people who are immunocompromised or those who have a few left over from fire season or hobbies may be considering wearing N95s, to better protect themselves. One note of caution: Many non-medical N95s have exhalation valves (to make them less stuffy to wear) that let out unfiltered air, and thus won’t stop the wearer from infecting others—so they shouldn’t be worn around other people unless the valve is covered over with tape or cloth.

The community use of masks for source control is a “public good”: something we all contribute to that eventually benefits everyone—but only if almost everyone contributes, which can be a challenge to persuade people to do. It’s like emission filters in our car exhausts and chimneys: They need to be installed in all cars, factories, and houses to guarantee clean air for everyone. Usually, laws, regulations, mandates, or strong cultural norms ensure maximal participation. And once that happens, the result can be amazing.

For example, in Hong Kong, only four confirmed deaths due to COVID-19 have been recorded since the beginning of the pandemic, despite high density, mass transportation, and proximity to Wuhan. Hong Kong’s health authorities credit their citizens’ near-universal mask-wearing as a key factor (surveys show almost 100 percent voluntary compliance). Similarly, Taiwan ramped up mask production early on and distributed masks to the population, mandating their use in public transit and recommending their use in other public places—a recommendation that has been widely complied with. The country continues to function fully, and their schools have been open since the end of February, while their death total remains very low, at only six. In the Czech Republic, masks were not used during the initial outbreak, but after a grassroots campaign led to a government mandate on March 18, masks in public became ubiquitous. The results took a while to be reflected in the official statistics: The first five days of April still saw an average of 257 new cases and nine deaths per day, but the most recent five days of data show an average of 120 new cases and five deaths per day. Of course, we can’t know for sure to what degree these success stories are because of masks, but we do know that in every region that has adopted widespread mask-wearing, case and death rates have been reduced within a few weeks.

We know a vaccine may take years, and in the meantime, we will need to find ways to make our societies function as safely as possible. Our governments can and should do much—make tests widely available, fund research, ensure medical workers have everything they need. But ordinary people are not helpless; in fact, we have more power than we realize. Along with keeping our distance whenever possible and maintaining good hygiene, all of us wearing just a cloth mask could help stop this pandemic in its tracks.

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.

• Commercial Paging systems.
• Healthcare Paging systems.
• Public Safety Emergency Services Paging systems.
• Demand Response Energy Grid Management.

Built-in custom interface for Prism-IPX ipBSC Base Controller for remote control, management and alarm reporting.

• Use as a stand-alone unit or in wide area network.
• Mix with other transmitter brands in an existing paging network.
• Adjustable from 20-250 watts.
• 110/240 VAC or 48VDC.
• Absolute Delay Correction.
• Remote Diagnostics.
• Configurable alarm thresholds.
• Integrated Isolator.
• Superb Reliability.
• Improved amplifier efficiency.
• Most reliable high-powered paging transmitter available.

Prism-IPX Systems LLC.

11175 Cicero Dr., Alpharetta, GA 30022
Ph: 678-242-5290 Email: sales@prism-ipx.com
prism-ipx.com

• LIVE response possible to any program with Media 1 Live app from Android or Apple stores, summed up immediately for producer on web site media1live.com
• Propose LIVE broadcast on Internet with live response to reach youth with low cost quality education, seeking persons interested.
• Contact: ewtexas@att.net

The Wireless Messaging News
Board of Advisors

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.

Can You Help The Newsletter?

You can help support The Wireless Messaging News by clicking on the PayPal Donate button above. It is not necessary to be a member of PayPal to use this service.

Newspapers generally cost 75¢ $1.50 a copy and they hardly ever mention paging or wireless messaging, unless in a negative way. If you receive some benefit from this publication maybe you would like to help support it financially?

A donation of $50.00 would certainly help cover a one-year period. If you are wiling and able, please click on the PayPal Donate button above.

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

• Database of up to 5000 subscribers.
• 4 serial ports on board.
• Up to 8 phone lines (DID or POTS).
• Can be configured for auto-fail-over to hot swap standby.
• 1RU rack mount unit appliance—no moving parts.
• Easily secure legacy system messages leaving site for HIPAA compliance.
• Only purchase the protocols/options you need.
• Add Paging Encryption for HIPAA compliance on site.

Prism-IPX Systems LLC.

11175 Cicero Dr., Alpharetta, GA 30022
Ph: 678-242-5290 e-mail: sales@prism-ipx.com
prism-ipx.com

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.

• Option—decode capcode list or all messages.
• Large capcode capacity.
• Serial, USB and Ethernet output.
• POCSAG or FLEX page decoding, special SA protocols.
• Receivers for paging bands in VHF, UHF, 900 MHz.
• Message activated Alarm Output.
• 8 programmable relay outputs.
• Send notifications of a system problem.

• Synthesized Receiver Tuning.
• Selectivity better than 60 dB.
• Frequencies 148-174, 450-470, 929-932 MHz.
• Image Rejection better than 55 dB.
• Spurious Rejection better than 55 dB.
• Channel Spacing 12.5 or 25 kHz.
• Power 5VDC.
• Receiving Sensitivity 5µV at 1200 bps.

Prism-IPX Systems LLC.

11175 Cicero Dr., Alpharetta, GA 30022
Ph: 678-242-5290 e-mail: sales@prism-ipx.com
prism-ipx.com

Wireless Network Planners
Wireless Specialists

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

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.

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

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:

• RJ45 for A, B and Common connectors.
• Manual push button or use Prism IP commands to switch one or more relays.
• Single or Dual Port Control card for IP or Serial connection.
• Form C relay—control local connection.
• Power Loss Indicator.
• Rear Panel Connector for controlling the switch externally.
• Power Source: 5VDC for ABX-1; 12VDC for ABX-3.

Prism-IPX Systems LLC.

11175 Cicero Dr., Alpharetta, GA 30022
Ph: 678-242-5290 e-mail: sales@prism-ipx.com
prism-ipx.com

Twitter Doubles Down on Destructive 5G/COVID-19 Tweets

Twitter announced it’s clamping down on 5G-related conspiracy theories that have been riotously circulating through social media causing destruction and vandalism of wireless properties.

As COVID-19 cases continued to rise around the world over the past month, Twitter users took to the platform to voice unsubstantiated claims linking 5G cellular technology to the pandemic. In a number of incidents reported throughout the UK, these conspiracy theories led to the destruction of several cell towers.

According to Tech Crunch, Twitter announced broadened guidance over unverified claims that have provoked harmful activity leading to the destruction or damage of critical 5G infrastructure. Concern for “widespread panic, social unrest, or large-scale disorder” was also noted as a reason for the decision to monitor Twitter activity.

“We’re prioritizing the removal of COVID-19 content when it has a call to action that could potentially cause harm,” a spokesperson for the company told TechCrunch. “As we’ve said previously, we will not take enforcement action on every Tweet that contains incomplete or disputed information about COVID-19. Since introducing these new policies on March 18, we’ve removed more than 2,200 Tweets. As we’ve doubled down on tech, our automated systems have challenged more than 3.4 million accounts which were targeting discussions around COVID-19 with spammy or manipulative behaviors.”

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 Clarifies Political File Order, Obligations

On April 21, the FCC clarified that rules regarding maintenance of online political files regarding requests for the purchase of broadcast time is limited to purchase-by-issue advertisers whose commercials communicate a message relating to any political matter of national importance, not to requests by or on behalf of a legally qualified candidate for public office. This requirement applies to broadcast stations, cable television system operators engaged in origination cablecasting; Direct Broadcast Satellite providers; and satellite radio licensees.

Carriers with questions about the online political file requirements for broadcasters may contact the firm for more information.

BloostonLaw Contact: Gerry Duffy.

Headlines

FCC Provides COVID-19 Relief – Extends Certain Construction Deadlines

The FCC has issued a blanket extension of certain wireless construction deadlines, in response to a petition for waiver filed by the Enterprise Wireless Alliance (EWA). EWA requested the waiver for certain Private Land Mobile site-based and mobile-only wireless system licenses, in order to provide them with additional time to satisfy their construction requirements in light of the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic emergency.

In particular, EWA requested that the FCC waive the provisions of Rule Sections 1.946(c) and (d), which specify the consequences for a licensee’s failure to meet the construction requirements and the requirements for licensees to notify the Commission of compliance with their construction and coverage requirements with the respect to land mobile site-based and mobile only licenses with construction deadlines between March 15, 2020 and August 31, 2020. The petition explains that much of the country has been under mandatory stay-at-home orders and other recommended self-quarantine at home and social distancing orders — which have made routine business activities difficult, if not impossible due to significant supply chain disruptions that have affected the availability of wireless telecommunications equipment and the unavailability of employees to prepare the equipment, deliver the equipment, and place it into operation. EWA noted in its petition that not only are employees’ movements restricted during the pandemic, but also those employees who are available must prioritize critical communications services, particularly those used by public safety entities and medical providers.

In granting the petition in part, the FCC agreed with EWA’s assessment that the COVID-19 pandemic emergency is adversely affecting the ability of many site-based and mobile-only licensees to meet their construction deadlines. And unlike prior construction waivers involving a natural disaster that has impacted “discrete” portions of the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic emergency has involved the entire country with the vast majority of states issuing “stay-at-home” orders to non-essential businesses and social distancing guidelines for workers — which are essential to ensure the public health and safety. As a result, the FCC is granting a partial waiver of its construction rules, by providing an additional 60 days to various site-based and mobile only licensees authorized under Parts 22, 80, 87, 90 and 101 of the Commission’s Rules with construction deadlines from March 15, 2020 through (and including) May 15, 2020.

In a recent meeting following the release of this Order, the FCC stated that it will reevaluate the situation on or about May 1st in order to determine if a further extension is warranted.

BloostonLaw Contacts: John Prendergast and Richard Rubino

FCC Proposes Changes to CATV Rules

The FCC has initiated a rulemaking looking toward the establishment of a common one (1) year statute of limitations for the filing of complaints by and against multichannel video programming distributors (including cable and open video system operators), television stations and satellite program vendors with respect to alleged violations of signal carriage, retransmission consent and program access rules. Comments are due on May 18, 2020; and reply comments on June 1, 2020.

The focus of the rulemaking is to clarify that, in situations where there is no specific program carriage contract or offer that is alleged to violate FCC rules, the statute of limitations is triggered by a situation where a multichannel video service provider denies or fails to acknowledge either a request for carriage or a request to negotiate for carriage.

The FCC has also announced that the transition from the maintenance of local hard copy public inspection files to online public inspection files has now been completed for all large and small commercial broadcast stations, noncommercial broadcast stations and cable system operators. The FCC was therefore removed all references to the now obsolete hard copy public inspection files from its regulations.

BloostonLaw Contact: Gerry Duffy.

FCC Approves Ligado 5G Network despite Concerns About Interference to GPS

On April 20, the FCC issued a Press Release announcing that Chairman Pai has circulated an order that would approve satellite service provider Ligado’s application to deploy a low-power terrestrial nationwide network in the L-Band, that will primarily support 5G and Internet of Things services. The approval has bipartisan support among the Commissioners.

The Ligado proposal has festered for years in a cloud of controversy; and the FCC’s approval decision comes amid objections from 13 different government agencies, including DOD, Homeland Security, DOJ, FAA and NASA among others. All are concerned about interference to important military and safely-related communications that rely on GPS signals. According to the Press Release, Ligado has amended its application in recent years to significantly reduce the power levels of its base stations from 32 dBW to 9.8 dBW (a reduction of 99.3%), in order to address interference concerns. However, certain studies purport to show that even at the reduced power level proposed by Ligado, interference will still affect GPS receivers, since such receivers must be able to receive relatively weak signals from distant satellites. Interference could impair the ability of GPS to provide the precise timing needed for certain military applications, as well as synchronized Internet and mobile communications.

Ligado has also committed to providing a significant (23 megahertz) guard-band using its own licensed spectrum to further separate its terrestrial base station transmissions from neighboring operations in the Radionavigation-Satellite Service allocation. As such, Ligado is now only seeking terrestrial use of the 1526-1536 MHz, 1627.5-1637.5 MHz, and 1646.5-1656.5 MHz bands.

The draft Order is conditioned to reflect these technical requirements. The order also requires Ligado to protect adjacent band incumbents by reporting its base station locations and technical operating parameters to potentially affected government and industry stakeholders prior to commencing operations, continuously monitoring the transmit power of its base station sites, and complying with procedures and actions for responding to credible reports of interference, including rapid shutdown of operations where warranted.

“I thank my colleagues for coming together on a bipartisan basis to support Ligado’s application,” said Chairman Pai. “The vote at the Commission reflects the broad, bipartisan support that this order has received, from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General William Barr on the one hand to Senator Mark Warner of Virginia and Congresswoman Doris Matsui of California on the other. This vote is another step forward for American leadership in 5G and advanced wireless services.”

BloostonLaw Contacts: John Prendergast and Cary Mitchell.

Law and Regulation

FCC Seeks Comment on Petition to Waive RDOF Prohibition on CAF Phase II Defaulters

On April 16, the FCC issued a Public Notice seeking comment on a petition for waiver filed by Johnson Telephone Company (JTC) requesting that the Commission waive the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (“RDOF”, Auction 904) rule that prohibits CAF Phase II defaulters from participating in Auction 904, and instead allow JTC to apply. Comments are due April 30, 2020, and reply comments are due May 7, 2020.

JTC argues that it defaulted on the award of only a single small census block group, while it is likely that at least some of the entities that will be permitted to participate in the RDOF auctions because they “defaulted on only a portion of their winning bid,” as set out in the RDOF Report and Order, were actually responsible for much larger defaults (in terms of numbers of census block groups, locations to be served and/or amounts of high-cost support involved). Second, JTC argues that neither the Commission’s CAF Phase II auction order and public notice that discussed and established the penalties for default, nor the Enforcement Bureau order that imposed a three thousand dollar ($3,000) forfeiture upon JTC for its CAF Phase II auction default, made any mention and nor gave any indication that JTC would be barred from RDOF or other future auctions.

BloostonLaw Contact: Gerry Duffy.

FCC Proposes $25,000 Fines for U-NII Rule Violations

On April 22, the FCC issued separate Notices of Apparent Liability against Buzzer Net LLC (Buzzer Net) and WiFi Services Caribbean, Inc. (WiFi Services), both providers of wireless Internet service in Puerto Rico. According to the NALs, the companies were each apparently operating an Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) device in an unauthorized manner that caused interference to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) terminal doppler weather radar station in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

In Buzzer Net’s case, the company was warned against operating a U-NII device that causes harmful interference to the FAA terminal doppler weather radar system in San Juan, Puerto Rico as early as 2017. In 2018, the FCC issued a written warning to Buzzer Net, advising the company that operating an unlicensed radio transmitter violated section 301 of the Act and operating U-NII devices outside the parameters of its equipment certification violated part 15 of the Commission’s rules. On May 30, 2019, the FAA reported to the FCC that its terminal doppler weather radar station serving the San Juan International Airport was receiving interference, and the FCC traced the interference back to Buzzer Net.

In WiFi Services’ case, the FCC issued written warnings to the company in 2018 regarding unauthorized operation of U-NII devices causing interference to the San Juan terminal doppler weather radar station. On April 3, 2019, the FAA reported that its terminal doppler weather radar station serving the San Juan International Airport was receiving interference, and the FCC traced the interference back to WiFi Services. FCC agents traveled to WiFi services’s radar site and corporate offices on numerous occasions, and ultimately determined configuration issues causing the interference.

Because in each case the company was apparently operating two Ubiquiti Devices on 5.630 GHz without having Dynamic Frequency Selection enabled and without a license, the FCC found that Buzzer Net’s conduct resulted in two separate apparent violations yielding an aggregate base forfeiture of $20,000. Based on the prior warnings the FCC concluded that both companies’ apparent violations were egregious and warranted an upward adjustment of $5,000.

BloostonLaw Contacts: John Prendergast and Richard Rubino.

Industry

FCC Announces Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Auction Webinar

On April 15, the FCC issued a Public Notice announcing the date and time of an upcoming webinar on the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction (Auction 904), which will award up to $16 billion for the deployment of voice and fixed broadband services at speeds of 25/3 Mpbs or faster to unserved locations nationwide. The WebEx webinar will take place from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm EDT, on Tuesday, May 5, 2020.

This free webinar will provide an overview of the adopted policy framework for Auction 904, the proposed procedures for applications and bidding in the auction, and tips for service providers that are interested in applying to participate in the auction. Additionally, the webinar will focus on opportunities for small businesses to participate and win funding in Auction 904.

The WebEx webinar can be accessed via this link, or copy and paste the following into your web browser: https://fccevents.webex.com/fccevents/j.php?MTID=m9fdeefdddbde0221d5bfab1ffb911ca9

FCC Provides Invoicing Guidance for COVID-19 Telehealth Program

On April 17, the FCC issued a Public Notice providing guidance to applicants that receive funding commitments on how to invoice the FCC for funded services under the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. Under the COVID-19 Telehealth Program, disbursements will be issued directly to the participating health care providers, rather than to the service providers or vendors that have provided the eligible services and/or connected devices to participating health care providers. As a result, following the eligible health care provider’s receipt of, and payment for, eligible services and/or connected devices, funding recipients may begin to submit invoices for those eligible services and/or connected devices to the FCC on a monthly basis against the amount indicated in their funding commitment notification.

Recent awards under the Program include:

• Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, was awarded $727,747 to implement telehealth video visits, virtual check-ins, remote patient monitoring, and e-visits to patient’s hospital rooms, enabling it to continue to provide high quality patient care, keep patients safe in their homes, and reduce the use of personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Hudson River HealthCare, Inc., in Peekskill, New York, was awarded $753,367 for telehealth services to expand its frontline COVID-19 testing and treatment programs serving a large volume of low-income, uninsured, and/or underinsured patients throughout southeastern New York State, encompassing the Hudson Valley, New York City, and Long Island.
• Mount Sinai Health System, in New York City, New York, was awarded $312,500 to provide telehealth devices and services to geriatric and palliative patients who are at high risk for COVID-19 throughout New York City’s five boroughs.

Carriers serving funding recipients may contact the firm for more information if needed.

FCC Grants Navajo Nation Temporary Spectrum Access

On April 17, the FCC issued a Public Notice announcing that it granted an emergency Special Temporary Authority request filed by the Navajo Nation to use unassigned spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band to provide wireless broadband service over its reservation as part of its emergency COVID-19 pandemic response. The Nation, which is located within parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, is authorized for 60 days.

According to the Public Notice, the Commission is continuing to accept applications from eligible Tribal entities for licensed access to unassigned 2.5 GHz spectrum over their rural Tribal Lands in the Rural Tribal Priority Window, which closes August 3, 2020. The FCC says that grant of emergency temporary access to 2.5 GHz spectrum will not affect the availability of such spectrum to eligible Tribal applicants for purposes of the Rural Tribal Priority Window.

“I am pleased that we can provide this temporary spectrum access to the Navajo Nation,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “Tribal communities are having to adjust to the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic while already facing some of the greatest challenges caused by the digital divide that we see anywhere in the nation. As with any community—rural or urban—Tribal members are having to work from home and to rely increasingly on telemedicine and remote learning as they practice social distancing to minimize the spread of the virus on their reservations. This additional spectrum should help the leaders of the Navajo Nation meet the needs of its people during this challenging time. I wish all the Navajo people health and wellness, and I remain committed to helping them bridge the digital divide.”

Deadlines

MAY 1: FCC FORM 499-Q, TELECOMMUNICATIONS REPORTING WORKSHEET. All telecommunications common carriers that expect to contribute more than $10,000 to federal Universal Service Fund (USF) support mechanisms must file this quarterly form. The FCC has modified this form in light of its decision to establish interim measures for USF contribution assessments. The form contains revenue information from the prior quarter plus projections for the next quarter. Form 499-Q relates only to USF contributions. It does not relate to the cost recovery mechanisms for the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Fund, the North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA), and the shared costs of local number portability (LNP), which are covered in the annual Form 499-A that is due April 1.

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

JUNE 1: 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. However, because the 31st is a Sunday this year, the filing will be due on June 1. 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 June 1. 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 Contact: Richard Rubino.

JULY 1: FCC FORM 481 (CARRIER ANNUAL REPORTING DATA COLLECTION FORM). All eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) must report the information required by Section 54.313, which includes outage, unfulfilled service request, and complaint data, broken out separately for voice and broadband services, information on the ETC’s holding company, operating companies, ETC affiliates and any branding in response to section 54.313(a)(8); its CAF-ICC certification, if applicable; its financial information, if a privately held rate-of-return carrier; and its satellite backhaul certification, if applicable. Form 481 must not only be filed with USAC, but also with the FCC and the relevant state commission and tribal authority, as appropriate. Although USAC treats the filing as confidential, filers must seek confidential treatment separately with the FCC and the relevant state commission and tribal authority if confidential treatment is desired.

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

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

BloostonLaw Contacts: John Prendergast and Sal Taillefer.

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

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens and Gerry Duffy.

Calendar At-a-Glance

April
Apr. 28 – Reply comments on Letter of Credit rulemaking petition due.
Apr. 29 – E-Rate application filing window closes.
Apr. 30 – Comments on NORS/DIRS report sharing are due.
Apr. 30 – Waiver of Children’s Television Pre-emption Rescheduling Requirements ends.
Apr. 30 – Comments are due on petition for waiver of CAF Phase II Prohibition for RDOF.

May
May 1 – FCC Form 499-Q (Quarterly Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet) is due.
May 4 – Comments are due on Unlicensed White Space Devices NPRM.
May 4 – Comments are due on Cable Operator Recordkeeping Rules.
May 7 – Reply comments are due on petition for waiver of CAF Phase II Prohibition for RDOF.
May 15 – Comments are due on Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Exposure NPRM.
May 15 – TRS waivers expire.
May 16 – Lifeline rule waivers expire.
May 18 – Reply comments are due on Cable Operator Recordkeeping Rules.
May 18 – Comments are due on CATV Rule changes.
May 21 – Upfront payments for Auction 105 due.
May 20 – Reply comments on Restoring Internet Freedom/Lifeline Reform record are due.
May 22 – Huawei/ZTE Data Collection Responses are due.
May 29 – Lifeline De-Enrollment/Reverification Requirement waiver ends.

June
Jun. 1 – FCC Form 395 (Annual Employment Report) is due.
Jun. 1 – Reply comments are due on CATV Rule changes.
Jun. 1 – Reply comments on NORS/DIRS report sharing are due.
Jun. 2 – Reply comments are due on Unlicensed White Space Devices NPRM.
Jun. 15 – Reply comments are due on Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Exposure NPRM.
Jun. 16 – 15-Day Access Tariff Filings are due.
Jun. 23 – Petitions to Suspend or Reject 15-Day Access Tariff Filings are due.
Jun. 24 – 7-Day Access Tariff Filings are due.
Jun. 26 – Petitions to Suspend or Reject 7-Day Access Tariff Filings are due.
Jun. 26 – Replies to Petitions to Suspend or Reject 15-Day Access Tariff Filings are due.
Jun. 25 – Bidding begins in Auction 105.
Jun. 29 – Replies to Petitions to Suspend or Reject 7-Day Access Tariff Filings are due.
Jun. 30 – Mobile Competitive ETC waiver ends.

MENSA MEMBER

If you are curious about why I joined Mensa, click here .

Brad Dye
P.O. Box 266
Fairfield, IL 62837 USA

CONTACT INFO & LINKS

Skype: braddye
Twitter: @BradDye1
Telephone: +1-618-599-7869
E–mail: brad@braddye.com
Wireless: Consulting page
Paging: Home Page
Marketing & Engineering Papers
K9IQY: Ham Radio Page

Amateur Radio
K9IQY

• ex KN9IQY, KN4BK, KM5NK, WB4JCF, ZP5TQ, WA4VXU, WA9RVL, /TI2, /9Y4, /6Y5, /KP4, HH2FJ
• Licensed FCC Amateur Radio operator since 1957
• Licensed FCC First-Class-Commercial Operator/Engineer since 1964