Telecom Business Alert - Vol. X Issue 32
FCC Seeks Comment on 4RF Waiver Request
Last week, the FCC released a Public Notice seeking comment on a waiver filed by 4RF Limited requesting to use additional emission designators for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) telemetry radios. The company argues it has developed narrowband high-efficiency point-to-multipoint SCADA telemetry radios for infrastructure applications, but the equipment operates with digital QAM and QPSK emissions not clearly permitted under the FCC’s rules. Claiming the new equipment will expedite the migration of CII to IP-enabled technologies for remote monitoring and control applications, 4RF requests a blanket waiver of the rules to allow certification, licensing, and use of telemetry radios with specific digital emissions or, alternatively, for clarification that the proposed emissions are already permitted for Part 90 telemetry. For more information, please contact Greg Kunkle (kunkle@khlaw.com; 202.434.4178).
“Technology often evolves at a faster pace than regulation. In this instance, an overdue update to the FCC’s restrictions on telemetry modulations could yield benefits for SCADA users.”
– Greg Kunkle
Partner, Keller and Heckman LLP
Pole Attachment Developments
Last week, the Federal Respondents (FCC and DOJ) filed their Brief in Opposition to electric utilities’ request for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court in an appeal of the FCC’s decision to regulate attachments by ILECs to utility poles. Elsewhere, in written comments to the FCC, the American Cable Association told the FCC that nearly 800 cable systems serving over 35,000 subscribers have closed over the past five years, mostly in small and rural communities, due primarily to increasing programming costs and pole attachment fees. For additional information, please contact Tom Magee (magee@khlaw.com; 202.434.4128).
O’Rielly Nominated to FCC
Last week, the White House nominated Michael O’Rielly for the open Republican Commissioner seat. O’Rielly currently is a policy adviser to Senator John Cornwyn (R-Tex.) and previously served as tech/telecom policy adviser to former Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) and former Rep. Tom Bliley (R-Va.). Following custom, President Obama’s nomination for the Republican seat was based on the recommendation from Republican Senate leaders. O’Rielly’s nomination is expected to be paired with Thomas Wheeler, who has been nominated for FCC Chairman, in an effort to ease confirmation of both nominees by the Senate. The Senate Commerce Committee already has approved Wheeler’s nomination.
Senate Committee Approves Cybersecurity Legislation
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee approved a new bill, the Cybersecurity Act of 2013 (S. 1353), that tasks the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) with developing a set of voluntary standards and guidelines to reduce cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure. The legislation echoes the White House’s Cybersecurity Executive Order directing NIST to create a voluntary cybersecurity framework, a move proponents believe will bring certainty to the private sector of NIST’s non-regulatory role in cybersecurity. The legislation also directs the White House Office of Science and Technology to develop a cybersecurity research plan including guidelines on how to test and build new software and how to improve consumer education on cybersecurity.
Question from a Telecom Alert Reader
“My company is planning on selling assets to another entity and there are several FCC licenses that will require name changes. Can we just update the name on the licenses?”
No, unfortunately, the process is not that simple. Section 310(d) of the Communications Act requires entities to secure the FCC’s prior consent to assign or transfer control of an FCC license as part of any transaction. Failure to comply with the FCC’s rules may result in substantial fines and other penalties. For more information about the FCC’s assignment and transfer procedures, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4296).
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