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Wireless Report
The Wireless Report
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By John A. Prendergast, Managing Partner, Blooston Law (jap@bloostonlaw.com)
John Prendergast
Update on AICC Petition for Emergency Relief regarding AT&T 3G Sunset On May 10, AICC filed a Petition for Emergency Relief, asking the FCC to require a ten-month extension of the February 2022 3G service termination of AT&T Mobility LLC and its affiliates. The requested relief is necessary because the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant delays in being able to replace 3G alarm signaling radios in customer premises for more than a year. AT&T filed an opposition to AICC’s Petition on August 30 to which AICC has responded.
A variety of other entities using AT&T’s 3G cellular service have filed comments with the FCC, reinforcing the need for an extension of AT&T’s planned 3G shutdown on February 22, 2022. Industries engaged in safety-related activities indicate that they face dire consequences unless there is an extension of the 3G service. This harm would be brought about not only due to COVID-19 access delays, but also due to the related worldwide microchip shortage. The record in the FCC proceeding about this issue shows millions of safety related devices depend on the 3G network, besides alarm systems: Detainee “ankle bracelet” monitors to track violent offenders; vehicle collision avoidance systems; vehicle roadside assistance systems; elevator emergency phones; and emergency radios for “lone worker” situations in the agriculture, oil and gas industries. The National Association for Pupil Transport and Zonar Systems have filed comments support AICC’s request for an extension of the 3G sunset, because school buses transporting 25 million students use 3G radios to track the buses, protect against unauthorized persons boarding them, and even enabling contact tracing if a student has Covid. In assessing the public interest balance of this matter, the FCC must consider the risk of true safety implications for millions of displaced users, due in large part to a pandemic and related microchip shortage that no one could have reasonably foreseen. On October 28, AT&T submitted another round of arguments against the requested extension, which AICC is in the process of addressing.
AICC continues to welcome any input describing the risks faced by alarm companies and their customers if the 3G sunset is not extended.
Aviation Groups Ask for Further Delay of 5G Rollouts Amid Interference to Aircraft Concerns Politico and others are reporting that a coalition of aviation interests is asking the White House to weigh in on aviation industry concerns over the potential for interference to aircraft from new 5G services, and are asking that the current 30-day pause on the 5G rollouts be extended further as necessary. The group warns of dire consequences if the interference issue is not addressed. The issue arises because 5G systems can operate in the C-Band spectrum (3.7 to 3.98 GHz) recently won at auction by many wireless carriers; and aircraft electronics operate in another portion of the C-band, 4.2 and 4.4 GHz, which may suffer potential adjacent channel interference. AT&T and Verizon agreed to the temporary hold on certain aspects of their 5G implementation when the interference concerns appeared.
In a November 5 letter to the Biden Administration’s deputy director of the National Economic Council, representatives from the airlines, manufacturers, and other components of the aviation industry requested that the Administration form a working group to address the potential for 5G interference to aircraft, and to delay further 5G implementation “until the safety and efficiency of the [aviation industry] is ensured”. Delays in the rollout of
5G services may further mitigate any perceived issues associated with an extension of the 3G sunset.
President Biden Nominates Rosenworcel to FCC Chair, Sohn to Vacancy On October 26, President Biden announced the nomination of current Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to formally lead the FCC as official Chairwoman, and of Gigi Sohn, former FCC official and well-known name in the industry, to occupy the vacant fifth Commissioner seat.
According to the White House press release announcing the nominations: Jessica Rosenworcel presently serves as Chair of the Federal Communications Commission, where she previously served as a Commissioner since 2012. During her time at the agency, she has worked to promote greater opportunity, accessibility, and affordability in our communications services in order to ensure that all Americans get a fair shot at 21st century success. From fighting to protect an open internet, to ensuring broadband access for students caught in the Homework Gap through the FCC’s Emergency Connectivity Fund, to making sure that households struggling to afford internet service stay connected through the Emergency Broadband Benefit program, she has been a champion for connectivity for all. She is a leader in spectrum policy, developing new ways to support wireless services from Wi-Fi to video and the Internet of Things. She has fought hard to combat illegal robocalls and to enhance consumer protections in our telecommunications policies.
Gigi B. Sohn is a Distinguished Fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy and a Benton Senior Fellow and Public Advocate. Gigi is one of the nation’s leading public advocates for open, affordable, and democratic communications networks. For over thirty years, Gigi has worked to defend and preserve the fundamental competition and innovation policies that have made broadband Internet access more ubiquitous, competitive, affordable, open, and protective of user privacy. If she is confirmed, Gigi would be the first openly LGBTIQ+ Commissioner in the history of the FCC.
“I am deeply humbled to be designated as Chair of the Federal Communications Commission by President Biden,” said Rosenworcel. “It is an honor to work with my colleagues on the Commission and the agency’s talented staff to ensure that no matter who you are or where you live, everyone has the connections they need to live, work, and learn in the digital age,” said Rosenworcel.
“I also want to congratulate Gigi Sohn on her nomination to serve as a Commissioner at the agency and Alan Davidson on his nomination to serve as Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.”
Politico reports that these decisions came relatively late in the President’s term: “Of his predecessors, only Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon waited as late as September of their first year to tap their FCC chair. And unless the Senate confirms Rosenworcel and Sohn by the end of December, Republicans are poised to gain a 2-1 majority on the commission come January.”
Fierce Wireless reported back in July that Sohn was, at one point, a frontrunner for the Chairwomanship, but apparently lost out due to reported “Senatorial opposition.”
FAA Tests Drone Detection and Defense System On November 4, the FAA invited journalists and others to view six distinct drone detection tests at three locations, designed to protect America’s airports, passengers, and crews from wayward or malicious drones, known as unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The security industry is interested in gaining the ability to detect and defend against drones, which is currently prohibited by Federal law. Unfortunately, the FAA’s drone defense trials are expected to last for another 18 months, meaning that Federal regulations allowing such efforts are likely not imminent.
Drone attacks pose a growing threat at home and abroad. Attacks have already been launched against American troops overseas. Michael Chertoff, former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, warned in a recent interview that the country should “buckle up; you’re going to see” UAS attacks on U.S. soil.
Starting in March 2021, the FAA designated five airports will take part in field trials of “at least 10 different technologies or systems” designed to detect and mitigate drones. The FBI used undisclosed technology to locate and arrest a Florida man in February for flying near the Super Bowl in Tampa.
Off-the-shelf consumer drones have been used by terrorists overseas to drop grenades. Drones have also been caught smuggling contraband into prisons. New regulations will require most UAS weighing 250 grams or more to broadcast remote identification information in the coming years, allowing law enforcement to more efficiently monitor legal drone activity and single out malicious drones.
The alarm industry will want to advocate for regulations that support the ability of security companies to detect and defend
against drones; but for now, this will be an uphill battle: “The FAA does not support the use of counter-UAS systems by any entities other than federal departments with explicit statutory authority to use this technology, including requirements for extensive coordination with the FAA to ensure safety risks are mitigated,” the agency noted in a recent press release. On 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. 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.”
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