Reserving vacant channels for unlicensed use would be “devastating” to low-power TV and translator stations and make aspects of ATSC 3.0 impractical, said the Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance Executive Director Louis Libin and Sinclair Broadcast Senior Vice President-Strategy and Policy Rebecca Hanson in a meeting with FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly Tuesday, according to an ex parte filing in docket 12-268. “Elevating unlicensed (which does not even have an allocation in the broadcast band) to supra-primary status would be arbitrary and capricious absent a full record,” said the filing: “The proposal would severely limit full power stations’ ability to enhance and expand service.”

The Collaboration on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Communication Standards working group of the ITU met Monday to review recent developments in ITS, including ITS-related results of the World Radiocommunication Conference and activities of the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe concerning automated vehicles. Attendees also discussed a report from the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), which attempts to provide a taxonomy for the various levels of motor vehicle automation. Barbara Wendling, Volkswagen of America safety regulatory policy manager, said SAE is pushing for widely recognized standards in the ITS space, because “it doesn’t serve the community well to have competing standards.” Representatives of Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) introduced a draft recommendation to increase security measures for remote software updates of ITS devices. Masashi Eto, an NICT researcher, said the remote updating of automated vehicle software poses many security risks, and proposed a structure to limit potential breaches. The structure would include increasing the amount of message filtering and adding additional security protocols and notification measures to ensure tampering can be detected. Russell Shields, Ygomi chairman and ITS World Congress board member, echoed Eto's concerns of software vulnerabilities in connected vehicles, saying it's “one of the most critical security risks” in ITS, and it can be hard to limit the introduction of malware into a car, since it's not difficult to physically access a vehicle. “This is a major, open issue that we are trying to solve," he said. Eto said the draft recommendation is under consideration by the Collaboration on ITS Communication Standards committee.

John Leibovitz, deputy chief of the FCC Wireless Bureau and a key policymaker in pushing the envelope on wireless issues at the commission, is leaving the agency effective Wednesday. Leibovitz was a holdover from the Julius Genachowski FCC. Leibovitz, who also was a special adviser to Chairman Tom Wheeler on spectrum issues, led Wireless Bureau development of the rules for the AWS-3 and TV incentive auctions. He was also a leader of the spectrum team on the National Broadband Plan. He played a major role on such issues as the reallocation of the 3.5 GHz band as a shared spectrum band. Industry officials said he is viewed as a one-man spectrum think tank within the agency. Leibovitz announced his departure Tuesday in an email to FCC staff. “Most of you know me as a ‘spectrum guy’ and I am very proud of the many ways we have evolved wireless policy to meet future needs,” he said. “I am also proud that we have been able to work across bureaucratic lines as one team. We have not always agreed on every detail, but by and large folks have listened, debated, and deliberated to develop practical, forward-thinking policies. And we have implemented them!” Every FCC rule “was drafted by practical people who grappled with the challenges of new technologies, new industries, and new ideas,” Leibovitz reminded colleagues. “You are continuing a proud tradition if you respect the past and engage with it, but are not captive to it. A spirit of innovation and occasional daring (tempered with humility and modesty) is essential if the FCC is fulfill its public interest mission in an ever-changing world. Also, it helps to have a good sense of humor.” Leibovitz did not say where he is headed after he leaves the FCC.

The FCC Wireless Bureau said Monday communications tower companies must comply with revised tower guidelines released Friday by the Federal Aviation Administration. New towers that use several lighting styles and are higher than 350 feet above ground level (AGL) now must deploy flashing obstruction lights. That change kicks in immediately. The notice has a similar requirement for towers between 151 and 350 feet AGL, though that requirement doesn’t begin until Sept. 15. “Under Commission rules, each new or altered antenna structure subject to the antenna structure registration requirement must conform to the painting and lighting specifications set forth in the FAA’s final determination of ‘no hazard’ and the associated FAA study for that particular structure,” the bureau said in its public notice. The changes are intended to curb deaths of migratory birds, which sometimes crash into steady-burning lights, but are less attracted to flashing lights, the bureau said.

The power and out-of-band emissions limits in FCC rules for the 3.5 GHz shared spectrum band are a nonstarter, representatives of the Wireless Innovation Forum’s Spectrum Sharing Committee told officials of the Office of Engineering and Technology in a meeting, said a filing posted Monday in docket 12-354. A wide group of industry companies was represented, including Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T, Federated Wireless, Google, Motorola Solutions, Nokia Networks, Qualcomm and Verizon. Among the FCC officials at the meeting was OET Chief Julius Knapp. Achieving the power and emissions limits in the rules “will require so much power back off as to render the devices virtually unusable,” the filing said. “After additional review, the diverse set of organizations participating in this filing agree that the required measurement procedure is a major impediment to fulfilling the promise of Part 96.” The companies also said no other licensed mobile broadband service is subject to similar requirements and the rules “do not properly reflect the impact of aggregate interference.” It's likely other wideband systems, including Wi-Fi and WiMAX, will be unable to meet the emissions limits, the companies said. The commission approved creating the new Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) in the 3550-3700 MHz band at its April meeting, after years of debate (see 1504170055). CTIA earlier sought changes to the power and emissions limits in the rules (see 1510210020). The Satellite Industry Association opposed many of the changes sought by CTIA and others, saying they're an interference risk to fixed satellite service earth station use of the spectrum (see 1510200061).

Correction: What CTA Government Affairs Director Jamie Boone said on the Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act of 2015 (S-356) was that the Consumer Technology Association supports the bill, but hasn't taken a position on the Law Enforcement Access to Data Stored Abroad Act (S-512) (see 1512030036).

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in an unpublished opinion upheld the dismissal of a second amended complaint from a Virginia-based locksmith, which alleged that Google, SuperMedia Sales, Yellowbook and Ziplocal "knowingly published the names, addresses and phone numbers of unlicensed locksmiths on their websites in order to gain advertising revenue." Baldino's Lock & Key Service had appealed the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia's dismissal. That court said Baldino's hadn't proved that the defendants made "a false or misleading description or representation of fact." The court also said that Baldino's had "failed to state a claim under the Lanham Act," which is a federal statute that prohibits false advertising and trademark violations, among other things. "Rather, the locksmiths who generated the information that appeared on defendants' websites are solely responsible for making any faulty or misleading representations or descriptions of fact. Accordingly, the district court did not err in dismissing Baldino's Lanham Act claim," the 4th Circuit opinion said Friday.

The USF contribution factor will jump to 18.2 percent in Q1, from this quarter's 16.7 percent, said industry consultant Billy Jack Gregg in an update Thursday. He said the Universal Service Administrative Co. projected industry long-distance telecom revenue for Q1 at $14.93 billion, about $72 million less than in the current quarter. Combined with projected USF demand of $2.277 billion, the revenue decline caused the industry contribution (assessment) factor to spike, he said. "The drop in first quarter 2016 revenues continues the downward trend in the USF contribution base, which places upward pressure on the USF assessment factor." Gregg recently said the contribution factor could top 18 percent for the first time, depending on the projected revenue (see 1511030037).

Three petitions for reconsideration of the incentive auction Application Procedures public notice were filed and assigned a pleading cycle, the FCC said in a public notice issued Thursday. The petitions were filed by the cellular carriers that make up PBP Group, T-Mobile and Walker Broadcasting. Oppositions to the petitions must be filed within 15 days of Thursday’s PN being published in the Federal Register, and replies 10 days later, the FCC said.

The FCC Wireline Bureau admonished the Alabama Public Service Commission and a PSC staffer who the bureau said violated a protective order in the inmate calling service proceeding. In an order in docket 12-375 and in Friday's Daily Digest, the bureau said the remedies already undertaken by the PSC (see 1509300023 and 1510080015) were sufficient to preserve the integrity of FCC processes, so it imposed no additional penalties. "We continue to prohibit Darrell A. Baker from reviewing confidential documents submitted in this proceeding, or any other proceeding before the Commission, however, and also exclude him from participating further in this proceeding for at least one year," Bureau Chief Matt DelNero wrote. Global Tel*Link had said the FCC should impose further sanctions on the Alabama PSC and Baker (see 1510050034), who acknowledged he inadvertently submitted a filing with confidential information from Global Tel*Link and other ICS providers (see 1509280034).