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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. |
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There is not a lot of news about Paging these days but when anything significant comes out, you will probably see it here. I also cover text messaging to other devices and various articles about related technology. |
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Service Monitors and Frequency Standards for Sale
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| Source: | Critical Messaging Association |
| Leavitt Communications |
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Before he was killed, N.J. grandfather was an engineer, public servant, friendUpdated: Oct. 21, 2021, 4:00 p.m. | Published: Oct. 21, 2021, 4:00 p.m. Before the word “techie” entered the modern lexicon, Geri Mola knew Ronald Vicari. “He was as bright as they come,” Mola, of Elmwood Park, said of her neighbor. “He was the first techie I ever met.” Vicari, 81, was a telecommunications engineer with patents to his name, his expertise in demand around the world, Mola said. A native of East Paterson — later renamed Elmwood Park — he served on the city’s planning board for more than three decades, chairing the committee for much of that time. On Tuesday, Vicari’s grandson, Jason Vicari, 21, killed his grandfather, police said. The younger Vicari, of Wyckoff, is accused of striking his grandfather with ax, telling police he thought Ronald was “a monster” and that “God told me to do it,” according to investigators. He is now charged with murder. “Ron was a really good man and a great neighbor,” said Mola, a retired educator and public relations professional and a local historian.
The Molas and the Vicaris were neighbors for more than 50 years, since Ronald Vicari and his wife, Ethel, moved into the brown-shingled home on the eastern bank of the Passaic River in the 1960s. The borough was still East Paterson then, its name change not coming in 1973. In 1972, Mola’s husband, Richard Mola, was elected mayor. Richard Mola appointed Ron Vicari to the borough’s planning board, a job for which, Geri Mola, said he was well suited. “Ron was such a stickler” for details, she said. “He was such a good engineer.” Ethel died in 2001. Mola said Vicari was just remarking that he couldn’t believe it had already been 20 years. He continued to serve the community after he became a widower, both on the planning board and on the zoning board in his later years, Mola said. He resigned the positions in 2016 when Richard Mola died in his 45th year in office at 80, the only mayor Elmwood Park ever had. Geri Mola said Vicari liked the way her husband did things. Vicari worked for telecommunications company Graphic Scanning Corp., which, in the 1980s, competed with Western Union and was a large provider of pagers, according to the New York Times. He has several patents in his name related to computer-controlled telephone answering systems. Even after Vicari retired from his full-time engineering job, he was still sought after as a consultant, Mola said. He traveled to Dubai, Israel and the United Kingdom on business. Outside of work, Vicari was known to be generous and helpful, said his friend John Adamo, who served on the planning board together for nearly three decades. “He couldn’t do enough for you,” Adamo said. Once, Adamo was building a shed and needed a few more screws. He called Vicari. “Next thing I know, he’s over at my house, on the ladder” putting the screws in, making sure everything fit, Adamo said. Vicari brought his love of engineering home, curating his own workshed full of tools for metal and woodworking, Mola said. If he had a screwdriver, she said, he had every size. He spent hours in the shed with his grandchildren. “He had a beautiful relationship with his grandchildren,” she said. “You’d just mention those kids and he’d smile.” N.J. man killed grandfather with ax after ‘God told me to do it,’ police sayUpdated: Oct. 21, 2021, 7:03 a.m. | Published: Oct. 20, 2021, 3:38 p.m.
A 21-year-old Wyckoff man who is accused of killing his grandfather with an ax told investigators that “God told (him)” to do it, saying he believed his grandfather was a monster, according to an arrest report. Jason Vicari is charged with murder in the death of 81-year-old Ronald Vicari. A relative of the pair called 911 at about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, telling police Jason had barricaded himself inside Ronald’s home on Beechwood Avenue in Elmwood Park, according to the arrest report. The relative said Jason had a handgun, it said. The relative also told police Ronald was lying in the bathroom unconscious with a wound to his head, and that the bathroom window was broken, the report said. The call triggered both Elmwood Park Police and the Bergen County Regional SWAT Team to arrive. Just after 10:20 a.m., Jason Vicari agreed to come outside and was taken into custody, police said. Before officers entered the home, they asked Jason Vicari who else was inside. He responded: “Not anyone alive,” the report said. About 10 minutes later, Jason Vicari said, unprompted: “God told me to do it,” police said in the report. Inside the home, officers found Ronald Vicari dead, having suffered a head wound, they said. Next to his body was the head of an ax that investigators said was used to strike him. Officers also found the handle of the ax in the home, they said. Later, while at the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, detectives noticed blood on Jason Vicari’s clothing, they said. During an interview with detectives, the grandson again invoked God, they said. “Mr. Jason Vicari uttered that he believed his grandfather was a monster and that God told him he would have to change his religion,” the arrest report said. In addition to the murder charge, Jason Vicari also faces two weapons charges. A lifelong resident of East Paterson, which later became Elmwood Park, Ronald Vicari served for more than three decades on the city’s planning board. |
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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
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The Wireless Messaging News
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With PRISM IPX Systems, Your message is delivered Secure & Encrypted
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The Majority of U.S. Households Will Have Cut the Cord by 2025Published on Oct 22, 2021 Tmera Hepburn
The number of people who have cut the cord and moved to the more custom approach to TV of streaming has been on the rise during the last decade. Currently, 25% of homes in the U.S. are signed up for broadband Internet services without pay-TV, and that number is only expected to rise. According to research from TDG, 54 million households will be broadband-only by 2025, a 42 percent increase from 2020’s 38 million. Back in 2010, only 8 per cent of US broadband households didn’t have a Multichannel Video Programming Distributor (MVPD) like Dish, Xfinity, etc, as streaming was relatively new and viewed as more of a supplement to pay-TV. But that percentage doubled to 16% by 2015, then 35 per cent in 2020, and the 42 percent it is today. “A decade ago,” adds Hockenbury, “the BBO segment was comprised almost exclusively of bleeding-edge adopters; those defined by a fascination with new products and services and a pocketbook to fund their experiments. Today, the BBO segment is largely defined by early-mainstream dispositions: buying only when the price has come down, the technology has peer-demonstrated benefits, and plenty of support is available.” |
| Source: |
| Easy Solutions |
Providing Expert Support and Service Contracts for all Glenayre Paging Systems. The GL3000 is the most prolific paging system in the world and Easy Solutions gladly welcomes you to join us in providing reliable support to the paging industry for many more decades in the future. Easy Solutions provides cost effective computer and wireless solutions at affordable prices. We can help in most any situation with your communications systems. We have many years of experience and a vast network of resources to support the industry, your system and an ever changing completive landscape.
Please see our web site for exciting solutions designed specifically for the Wireless Industry. We also maintain a diagnostic lab and provide important repair and replacement parts services for Motorola and Glenayre equipment. Call or Easy Solutions |
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. 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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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 |
Wireless Network Planners
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A Beautiful Time Of The Year
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign |
| Source: | University of Illinois |
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 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:
Prism-IPX Systems LLC. 11175 Cicero Dr., Alpharetta, GA 30022 |
THE LOW-DOWN ON LONG-WAVE: UNLICENSED EXPERIMENTAL RADIOby: Adam Zeloof October 19, 2021
In the 125 years since Marconi made his first radio transmissions, the spectrum has been divvied up into ranges and bands, most of which are reserved for governments and large telecom companies. Amidst all of the corporate greed, the “little guys” managed to carve out their own small corner of the spectrum, with the help of organizations like the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). Since 1914, the ARRL has represented the interests of us amateur radio enthusiasts and helped to protect the bands set aside for amateur use. To actually take advantage of the wonderful opportunity to transmit on these bands, you need a license, issued by the FCC. The licenses really aren’t hard to get, and you should get one, but what if you don’t feel like taking a test? Or if you’re just too impatient? Well, fear not because there’s some space on the radio spectrum for you, too. Welcome to the wonderful world of (legal!) unlicensed radio experimentation, where anything goes. Okay, not anything but the possibilities are wide open. There are a few experimental radio bands, known as LowFER, MedFER, and HiFER where anyone is welcome to play around. And of the three, LowFER seems the most promising. GETTIN’ THE BAND BACK TOGETHER
LowFER, as the name would suggest, contains the lowest frequency range of the three, falling between 160 kHz and 190 kHz, with a whopping wavelength of around one mile. Also known as the 1750-meter band, this frequency range is well-suited for long transmission paths through ground wave propagation, a mode in which the radio signals move across the surface of the earth. This can easily carry even low-power signals hundreds of miles, and occasionally through some atmospheric black magic, signals have been known to travel thousands of miles. These ground wave signals also travel well across bodies of water, especially salt water. MedFER is the medium frequency experimental band, specifically running from 510 kHz to 1,705 kHz. Now that range may sound similar, and it should because it’s also known as the AM Broadcast band! That’s right, you can listen in on this one with your old AM radio. There’s a catch though — amateur experimenters are limited to 0.1 W of transmit power, and can only use a three-meter long antenna. While that’s fine for playing around, there’s little chance of being heard very far away over the 500 W professional stations with massive antennas that dominate the band. And then there’s HiFER, the high-frequency experimental band. Much narrower than the others at only 14 kHz wide, it sits centered on 13.56 MHz. This band is commonly used for many RFID applications, including keycards, public transportation payments, and Nintendo Amiibo. Experimentation on this band is limited to extremely low power levels, and at such power levels signals only travel a few inches, which is perfect for RFID. While there’s a lot that can be done on any of these bands, LowFER seems to be the one that yields itself to some serious fun. MidFER and HiFER both restrict power used so low that you’re not reaching outside of your house, or even arm’s length, respectively. LOW FREQUENCIES, HIGH EXPECTATIONS As you may imagine, because the frequencies we’re dealing with here are so low, there are few commercially available solutions that let you get on-the-air with LowFER– but when has that ever stopped the hacker and amateur radio communities? Even with these limitations, we’ve seen some wonderful kHz-range projects, like this Altoids Tin Beacon and this Arduino-based transmitter. If you want to start out by listening in, there are a number of beacons on the air right now. Bandwidth is obviously an issue down low, so LowFER applications probably want a microcontroller- or computer-based solution driving them, so there’s nothing to stop you from keeping the link running 24/7. The long antennas required also favor fixed operation. Intra-Hackerspace low-bitrate data networks? HOW LOW CAN YOU GO? |
| Source: | Hack A Day |
| Leavitt Communications |
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| Inside Towers Newsletter |
House Passes Bipartisan Bills to Strengthen Telecom InfrastructureThe House passed four telecom bills Wednesday afternoon related to supply chain and security issues. The measures now head to the Senate for consideration. “Together, these bills will boost network reliability, protect against suspect equipment that poses a risk to our national security, support small communications network providers, and bolster the economic competitiveness of our technology supply chains,” said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA). “We commend the bipartisan work that went into these bills that advanced out of our Committee in July and hope that the Senate will take action soon.” The Secure Equipment Act (H.R. 3919), sponsored by House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), was approved by the House by a vote of 420-4, and would require the FCC to take steps to block authorization of products from companies on the agency’s “covered list” that pose a threat to national security. Companies on this list include Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua. The bill would prevent products from such companies from being used and marketed in the U.S. “By prohibiting the FCC from issuing any equipment licenses to companies identified as a threat to our national security, this bill prevents compromised Chinese equipment from threatening America’s networks,” Scalise stated. “The Secure Equipment Act sends a strong signal to the Chinese Communist Party that America is committed to securing our networks and protecting the privacy and safety of our citizens.” A Senate version of the bill introduced by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ed Markey (D-MA) in May awaits consideration, reported The Hill. The House also passed the Communications Security Advisory Act (H.R. 4067), which would require the FCC to permanently establish a council to help make recommendations on ways to increase the security and reliability of telecommunications networks. The bipartisan legislation — sponsored by Reps. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and Tim Walberg (R-MI) — was passed by the House by a vote of 397-29. A third bill approved by the House, this time by a 413-14 vote, was the Information and Communication Technology Strategy Act (H.R. 4028), which is sponsored by Reps. Billy Long (R-MO), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and Jerry McNerney (D-CA). The measure would require the Commerce Department to develop a strategy to evaluate the economic competitiveness of companies within the communication technology supply chain. “The passage of this legislation brings us one step closer to making sure our nation’s information technology supply chains are secure and free from dependence on foreign countries like China,” Long stated. “We need to continue to work in a bipartisan manner to ensure that the whole-of-government strategy that is created through this legislation is properly implemented.” The last related measure the House passed, by a 410-17 vote, was the “Open RAN Outreach Act, (H.R. 4032) introduced by Reps. Colin Allred (D-TX), Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ), Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and Richard Hudson (R-NC). The bill would require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, acting through the head of the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth, to conduct outreach and provide technical assistance to small communications network providers to raise awareness of the benefits, uses, and challenges of Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) networks and other open network architectures. The legislation also requires the Assistant Secretary to raise awareness about, and participation in, the Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Grant Program. |
| Source: | Inside Towers newsletter | Courtesy of the editor of Inside Towers, Jim Fryer. Inside Towers is a daily newsletter by subscription. |
| BloostonLaw Newsletter |
Reminder: Supply Chain Reimbursement Filing Window Opens October 29The application filing window for the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (Reimbursement Program) will open on Friday, October 29 at 12:00 AM ET and close on Friday, January 14, 2022 at 11:59 PM ET. BloostonLaw attorneys are available to assist clients interested in participating in the Reimbursement Program. As we reported in a previous edition of the BloostonLaw Telecom Update, the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 (Secure Networks Act), as amended, required the FCC to establish the Reimbursement Program to reimburse providers of advanced communications services with ten million or fewer customers for costs incurred in the removal, replacement, and disposal of covered communications equipment or services from their networks that pose a national security risk. Covered communication equipment or services eligible for Reimbursement Program support is limited to the communications equipment or services produced or provided by Huawei Technologies Company (Huawei) or ZTE Corporation (ZTE), that were obtained by providers on or before June 30, 2020. BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, Cary Mitchell, and Sal Taillefer. HeadlinesActing Chair Rosenworcel Proposes Rules to Combat Robotexts for Wireless ProvidersOn October 18, the FCC issued a Press Release announcing that Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated among the Commissioners a proposed rulemaking that would require mobile wireless providers to block illegal text messaging. Specifically, the rulemaking would explore steps to protect consumers from illegal robotexts, including network level blocking and applying caller authentication standards to text messaging, building on the agency’s ongoing work to stop illegal and unwanted robocalls. According to the Press Release, in 2020 alone, the FCC received approximately 14,000 consumer complaints about unwanted text messages, representing an almost 146% increase from the number of complaints the year before. Thus far in 2021, the FCC has received over 9,800 consumer complaints about unwanted texts. Meanwhile, data from other sources reaffirm evidence of the problem. For example, RoboKiller reports 7.4 billion spam texts were sent in March 2021. “In a world where so many of us rely heavily on texting to stay connected with our friends and family, ensuring the integrity of this communication is vitally important,” said Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel. “We’ve seen a rise in scammers trying to take advantage of our trust of text messages by sending bogus robotexts that try to trick consumers to share sensitive information or click on malicious links. It’s time we take steps to confront this latest wave of fraud and identify how mobile carriers can block these automated messages before they have the opportunity to cause any harm.” BloostonLaw Contacts: John Prendergast and Cary Mitchell. FCC Authorizes 469 Winning RDOF BidsOn October 14, the FCC issued a Public Notice announcing the authorization of Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (Auction 904) support for the winning bids identified the attachment to the Public Notice, available here. For each of the winning bids identified, the FCC has reviewed the long-form application information, including the letter(s) of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letter(s) from the long-form applicant’s legal counsel, and based on the representations and certifications in the relevant long-form application, authorized support for these winning bids. The Public Notice further states that the FCC will also soon post a state-level summary under the “Results” tab on the Auction 904 webpage at https://www.fcc.gov/auction/904/round-results. The summary will provide for each long-form applicant:
Upon issuance of this Public Notice, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) is authorized and directed to obligate and disburse from the Universal Service Fund the amounts indicated. USAC will make disbursement payments to the account on file for the 498 ID associated with the study area code (SAC). The support will be disbursed in 120 monthly payments, which will begin at the end of this month. BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and John Prendergast. Challenges to Phase I Certification Errata for 3.7 GHz Accelerated Relocation Due Oct. 29On October 19, the FCC issued a Public Notice announcing that Telesat Canada and its subsidiary, Telesat Spectrum Corporation, (collectively, Telesat), and Intelsat License LLC (Intelsat), separately submitted errata amending their previously-filed Phase I Certification of Accelerated Relocation. Any challenge on issues raised in either the Telesat or the Intelsat errata must be filed by October 29, and any replies must be filed by November 5, 2021. In September, the FCC issued a Public Notice announcing its implementation of the incremental reduction plan for Phase I Accelerated Relocation Payments (ARP) relating to the ongoing transition of the 3.7 GHz band (Phase I Incremental Reduction PN). The Phase I Incremental Reduction PN provided that if an eligible space station operator submits an amended or refiled Phase I Certification of Accelerated Relocation, the FCC would issue a public notice establishing a new challenge cycle with respect to the issues raised in such amended or refiled Certification. BloostonLaw Contacts: John Prendergast and Cary Mitchell. FCC Announces Agenda for October 26 Virtual Field Hearing on Resiliency and Disaster RecoveryOn October 19, the FCC issued a Public Notice announcing the panels and panelists for its October 26 virtual field hearing on improving the resiliency and recovery of communications networks during disasters. The hearing, which will explore lessons learned from Hurricane Ida and other recent disasters, will inform FCC recommendations and actions to bolster communications reliability. The virtual field hearing will be conducted during the FCC’s October Open Commission Meeting on Tuesday, October 26, 2021. The Open Meeting begins at 10:30 a.m. EDT, with the virtual field hearing expected to commence at 11:00 a.m. EDT. Panel 1 will examine first-hand accounts from public safety and communications industry stakeholders responding to disasters with the goal of exploring what works, what doesn’t, and what lessons can we learn from their experiences. Panelists are Janet Britton, General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Human Resources, EATEL; Jeff Johnson, Chief Executive, Western Fire Chiefs; Polly Prince Johnson, President and CEO, Louisiana Association of Broadcasters; Francisco Sanchez, Jr., Deputy Homeland Security & Emergency Management Coordinator, Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management; and Jack Varnado, Captain, Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office. Panel 2 will explore steps that have been, could be, and should be taken to build resiliency into networks to improve their availability and accessibility for all affected communities. Panelists are Scott Bergmann, Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, CTIA — The Wireless Association; Donald Cravins, Jr., Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, National Urban League; Louis Dabdoub, III, Director, Incident Response, Entergy; Harold Feld, Senior Vice President, Public Knowledge; and Linda Mastandrea, Director, Office of Disability Integration and Coordination, FEMA. The event will be open to the public via live feed from the FCC’s webpage at www.fcc.gov/live and on the FCC’s YouTube channel. Stakeholders and members of the public are invited to share their perspectives on these topics in the form of written statements via filing with the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System. Written statements of the panelists and the recording of the hearing will be made part of the public record in these dockets. BloostonLaw Contacts: John Prendergast and Cary Mitchell. Law and RegulationCompanies Pay Up to $7,500 for Failing to Make 911 Service Reliability CertificationOn October 14, the FCC issued a Press Release announcing that eight carriers covered by the FCC’s 911 service reliability rules will pay fines between $3,500 and $7,500 for failing to submit previous years’ annual 911 service reliability certification. Penalties vary based on factors such as whether the company had similar violations in the past and to what extent they were responsive to FCC outreach following their failure to file. As we’ve reported in a previous edition of the BloostonLaw Telecom Update, entities that “[p]rovide[] 911, E911, or NG911 capabilities such as call routing, automatic location information (ALI), automatic number identification (ANI), or the functional equivalent of those capabilities, directly to a public safety answering point (PSAP), statewide default answering point, or appropriate local emergency authority,” or that “[o]perate[] one or more central offices that directly serve a PSAP,” are required to certify that they have taken reasonable measures to provide reliable 911 service with respect to three substantive requirements: (i) 911 circuit diversity; (ii) central office backup power; and (iii) diverse network monitoring by October 15 of each year. “When we need to make a call to 911, that call might well be the single most important call of our lives. Given these stakes, we take seriously the responsibilities of all who support 911 services in order to do everything possible to ensure service is available when needed,” said FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “This should serve as a very clear reminder that compliance with 911 service rules is required.” BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens and Sal Taillefer. IndustryFCC Updates List of Parties Eligible to Participate in Auction 111On October 14, the FCC issued a Public Notice announcing an update to one of the parties eligible to file a short-form application for MX Group 21 in Auction 111. Specifically, this update reflects a recent assignment of one of the displacement relief applications in that group of mutually exclusive (MX) applications. An updated inventory of the construction permits available in this auction, and the parties eligible to bid on those permits, may be found in the attachment to the Public Notice, available here. As we reported in a previous edition of the BloostonLaw Telecom Update, Auction 111 will resolve groups of pending MX engineering proposals for up to 17 new or modified lower power television (LPTV) or TV translator station (collectively, LPTV/translator stations) construction permits. Bidding in Auction 111 is scheduled to begin on February 23, 2022. The window for submitting a short-form application to participate in Auction 111 opens at noon Eastern Time (ET) on November 1, 2021 and ends at 6:00 pm ET on November 9, 2021. Auction 111 is a closed auction; only those parties listed in the Public Notice are eligible to file applications to participate in Auction 111 and to complete the remaining steps to become qualified to bid. Commissioner Carr Calls for Addition of Chinese Drone Company to National Security Threat ListOn October 19, at a national security event, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr called for commencing the process of adding DJI, a Shenzhen-based drone company that accounts for more than 50 percent of the U.S. drone market, to the FCC’s Covered List. Adding DJI to the Covered List would prohibit federal USF dollars from being used to purchase its equipment. The Press Release notes that the FCC has a proceeding under way examining whether to continue approving equipment from entities on the Covered List for use in the U.S., regardless of whether federal dollars are involved. As we have reported in previous editions of the BloostonLaw Telecom Update, Huawei and four others are already on the Covered List based on a determination that they pose an unacceptable security risk. “DJI drones and the surveillance technology on board these systems are collecting vast amounts of sensitive data — everything from high-resolution images of critical infrastructure to facial recognition technology and remote sensors that can measure an individual’s body temperature and heart rate,” Commissioner Carr stated. “Security researchers have also found that DJI’s software applications collect large quantities of personal information from the operator’s smartphone that could be exploited by Beijing. Indeed, one former Pentagon official stated that ‘we know that a lot of the information is sent back to China from’ DJI drones.” DeadlinesNOVEMBER 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 and John Prendergast. DECEMBER 1: FCC FORM 323, BIENNIAL OWNERSHIP REPORT. In odd numbered years, all licensees of commercial AM, FM, and full power television broadcast stations, as well as Licensees of Class A Television and Low Power Television (LPTV) stations, must file FCC Form 323 December 1. The information in each ownership report shall be current as of October 1 of the year in which the ownership report is filed. In the case of organizational structures that include holding companies or other forms of indirect ownership, a separate FCC Form 323 must be filed for each entity in the organizational structure that has an attributable interest in the licensee. If a licensee holds multiple station licenses and the information submitted on the licensee’s ownership report is equally applicable to each such license, the licensee may file a single Form 323 listing all such licenses. Similarly, if a non-licensee holds attributable interests in multiple licensees and the information submitted on that entity’s ownership report is equally applicable to each such licensee and all licenses, that entity may file a single Form 323 listing all such licensees and licenses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any entity that both (1) is a licensee and (2) holds attributable interests in one or more licensees must file two ownership reports — one as a licensee and one as a non-licensee. BloostonLaw Contacts: John Prendergast and Richard Rubino.
Calendar At-a-GlanceOctober November December |
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| LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
Dear members and friends of CMA, Time goes by so fast and before you know it is the 28th October and the #CMASummit21 -"Industry" takes place. For all those who may not have registered for the event yet this is a little reminder. Registration is possible on the CMA homepage https://critmsg.org/events/cmasummit21industry/. After signing up you will receive an automatic mail with your personal password. Please keep it in a safe place. To participate in the event on 28.10. you have to log in on the homepage via the red log in button on the top right in the blue bar with your e-mail address and this password and then you will get to the access link for the event via the entrance hall. Please feel also free to forward the attached program to further colleagues or may be your circle of customers and interested persons. So please register quickly and then look forward to an interesting, informative event. Kind regards and please stay safe and healthy. Gabriele Deska |
| TECHNICIAN'S CORNER |
DE W2AEW Here is a link to the basics of mixers and frequency conversion: |
| Source: | YouTube |
| THIS WEEK'S MUSIC VIDEO |
“Kissing in the Dark”
by Tuba Skinny |
| Source: | YouTube |
 Best regards,  Newsletter Editor 73 DE K9IQY Licensed since 1957 |
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