Tim Warren

The classification for the Microsoft Band is based upon the device's ability to connect to a smartphone, Customs and Border Protection ruled. Its ability to connect to a user's smartphone over Bluetooth is the "essential character" for classification purposes, the agency said Jan. 19 in a ruling it recently released. CBP previously made similar rulings on the Apple Watch and a Samsung smartwatch. The Microsoft Band can display phone call information, news, weather, heart rate, pedometer measurements and other things when connected to a smartphone, CBP said. When not paired, the wrist band lacks the ability to show much of that information, it said. Although the device allows "some basic sound reproducing functions," and other functions, "the Microsoft Band is primarily designed to display, manipulate, and store data via the use of various applications utilized by a Bluetooth-connected mobile telephone," CBP said. That classification means the band gets duty-free treatment when imported from most countries.

A provisional certification process for imported RF devices regulated by the FCC would make it easier for electronics companies to meet consumer demand following high-profile product announcements, Google said in comments on an NPRM to revise import requirements, among other things (see 1507210072). "Manufacturers struggle with importation of new technologies under the current certification rules," Google said. It and other filers, including CEA and the Telecommunications Industry Association, had offered general support in docket 15-170 for import-related changes, while seeking various tweaks (see 1510130052).

The FCC proposal to remove filing requirements for imported devices is a “success story” within a multiagency effort to simplify international trade data filing within the U.S. government, said Cynthia Whittenburg, executive director, Trade Policy and Programs at Customs and Border Protection. Whittenburg mentioned the FCC proposal (see 1507210072) while speaking at a National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) conference Monday. The multiagency work, which is being overseen by CBP, included a request that the involved agencies review data filing requirements, and the FCC came to the conclusion that the device certification information of its Form 740 is no longer useful, she said. The FCC is still accepting comments on the proposal and the NCBFAA recently submitted comments in support of the NPRM, while asking for some language changes (see 1509240044).

The use of a promotional model for demos doesn't constitute a "permissible use" under drawback rules permitting refunds of customs duties for unused goods, Customs and Border Protection ruled. CBP said in the just-released May 28 ruling, HQ H258306, that demos of Anritsu network testing devices before sale go beyond incidental usage and don't qualify as unused merchandise. Anritsu is a Japanese manufacturer of network test and measurement equipment for the telecom industry. The company's U.S. sales personnel generates interest in Anritsu products through the use of promotional models imported into America. The company lets potential customers test the models, either through letting the prospect take a device home or within a lab setting, said CBP.

Newly introduced Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation is aimed at improving U.S. digital trade provisions and leading the way for trade pacts with countries in Asia and Europe, industry groups said. Introduced Thursday, the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 would also strengthen Congress' ability to slow trade agreement implementation bills, lawmakers said. Aside from procedural and transparency modifications, the bill largely mirrors the TPA legislation introduced in the last Congress.

While there has been some FCC progress toward an International Trade Data System, the complexity of bringing together a disparate group of governmental bodies with differing statutory requirements presents roadblocks, said government and industry officials in recent interviews. Led by Customs and Border Protection, the work on ITDS continues to have momentum from President Barack Obama's executive order in February that created a 2016 deadline for finishing ITDS (see 1402200028), they said. The FCC plans to review its international trade data collection processes as part of its work on ITDS, said an agency official. ITDS's goal is to simplify the filing of cargo import information required by numerous federal agencies.

LAS VEGAS -- The FCC’s goal of completing an incentive auction for broadcast spectrum by 2014 could come at the expense of a more fully developed band plan, said NAB Executive Vice President Rick Kaplan, on a panel at the Consumer Electronics Show. Kaplan and others spoke Wednesday about the challenges involved in the incentive auction process, much of which is yet to be determined. The most important thing will be getting a plan right, not getting a plan done, said Kaplan.

An ongoing standoff in Congress over reauthorizing the U.S. Export-Import Bank puts at risk an entity that has been increasingly important for satellite projects, say industry executives. The bank, which provides loan and loan guarantees for U.S.-made exports, is facing the expiration of its congressional authorization and possibly reaching the loan exposure limits of its charter, said Phil Cogan, vice president-communications. The bank has never lost its authorization and it remains unclear exactly what would happen if it did, he said.

The FCC proposed Wednesday to require Dish Network to build out to at least 70 percent of the population in each of the geographic areas it’s licensed to provide terrestrial service in within seven years. The proposal is part of the agency’s notice of proposed rulemaking that would convert the 2 GHz band from satellite-only spectrum to combined satellite and wireless spectrum. The agency also asked for input on a possible alternative band plan for the spectrum, which would be renamed as AWS-4, making use of nearby spectrum (http://xrl.us/bmy2oj).

The FCC is expected to propose getting rid of ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) rules for the S-band, potentially allowing Dish Network to provide terrestrial-only services in the 2 GHz spectrum allocated for mobile satellite services, industry and agency officials said of a rulemaking notice likely to be approved Wednesday. The agency will propose buildout conditions and leave related questions about the 2 GHz spectrum and advanced wireless service (AWS) band plans within a notice of inquiry, they said. The NOI will consider the future of the proposed 2 GHz expansion band, at 1695-1710 MHz, primarily used by NOAA, FCC officials said.