Industry Still Doesn't Know What Happens to Most Stolen Smartphones, TAC Told

The GSM Association and carriers don’t have much “visibility” on which devices attach to individual networks, Daly said. “One option” is to get carriers connect to GSMA’s international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) database to note connections attempted by devices in the database, Daly said. The second is to go into GSMA’s device check service and look at instances in other countries where devices are checked against the database, he said. “We’re going to continue to explore” the options with GSMA, he said.

Another focus is to get more countries to take part in the IMEI database, Daly said. “They’re not reporting or checking on devices that are stolen,” Daly said. If more operators participate, “that takes the value of devices down to zero,” he said. “It’s a very difficult undertaking” because of financial and political issues, Daly said. “There’s so much work to be done” and only five operators of some 50 GSMA member networks connected to the database, he said.

Lynn Claudy, NAB senior vice president-science and technology, offered a report on ATSC 3.0 and the implications of next-generation TV broadcasting technology working group. ATSC 3.0 offers much more than incremental improvements in broadcast technology. It's a major advance “in terms of physical robustness, in terms of flexibility, shifting to the internet protocol transport,” said Claudy, who co-chairs the working group. “There are all fundamental shifts in how broadcasting can and does work.”

Fifth-generation wireless similarly offers technology that is “orders of magnitude better or faster in terms of user data rates or latency or the number of connected devices all with lower costs, with longer battery life and better coverage,” Claudy said. “Broadcast and broadband technology are headed toward an era of significant improvement in the relative near term.”

One presentation to the working group was from Sinclair, Claudy said. Sinclair views the delivery of services to mobile devices as “a very primary service, as opposed to an auxiliary service for broadcasting, and that’s the foundation” for the company's move to 3.0, he said.

TAC also got a report from the satellite communications plan working group. “This is about scaling,” said Steve Lanning, ViaSat vice president-operations broadband, co-chair. “This is about what happens as you get more satellites.” The working group is drafting a white paper on interference and also looking at the drivers of demand, he said. “You need to use expert opinion to figure out what the high-level estimates are so when you go do those detailed, risk-based assessments you can spot the mistakes,” he said. “Usually, all of the data is really important and always testing your preconceived notions.”

Walter Johnson, FCC liaison to TAC, said at the meeting's end he was particularly interested in the satellite presentation. “What’s happening in the satellite industry I think amazes everybody,” he said. “We see some transformational change, good and bad. The technology is advancing at an incredible rate.” The cost of launching satellites has fallen, he said. There are “a lot of issues in how we share all this,” he said.

The TAC next meets for a full-day session on Dec. 6, with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai scheduled to attend. TAC Chairman Dennis Roberson said members have a lot of work to do before that meeting. “It’s time to kick things into overdrive,” he said. Working groups should constrain themselves to two recommendations on which the FCC can take action, he said. In its peak year, TAC made 47 “actionable” recommendations, Roberson said. “That was not a good number for the FCC. They like actionable recommendations, but not that many.”