Silicon Labs announced an LTE-M expansion kit for its EFM32 Giant Gecko 11 starter kit to accelerate development of gateways and devices that operate in deep-sleep mode and require extended battery life, it said Monday. The ready-to-deploy solution uses a Digi XBee3 modem that’s said to be future-ready for 5G technologies. Applications include smart energy and smart cities.

Oppositions are due Nov. 7 to petitions to reconsider an FCC staff order setting a framework for measuring broadband performance of fixed service provider recipients of high-cost USF support, under a notice in docket 10-90 for Tuesday's Federal Register (timetable). An order to begin auctioning off toll-free phone numbers takes effect Nov. 23, also per Tuesday's FR.

Comments are due Nov. 19, replies Dec. 3 on a toll-free service provider's request for emergency FCC relief or a rulemaking to bar carriers from blocking "interconnection to their location platform for toll-free calls initiated on their networks," said a Wireline Bureau public notice Thursday in docket 96-115. Citing AT&T and Verizon plans, 800 Response Information Services sought relief by Oct. 19 (see 1810110051). The bureau also sought comment on related issues raised in ATIS and North American Numbering Council documents referenced by 800 Response.

IT managers deploying IoT should closely monitor devices that collect vast amounts of data, as it creates a trust concern, the National Institute of Standards and Technology announced Wednesday. The white paper draft outlines 17 “technical trust-related issues that may negatively impact the adoption of IoT products and services.” Comments are due Nov. 16.

Comments are due Nov. 16, replies Dec. 3, on whether the FCC should terminate as dormant a variety of docketed proceedings (here), said a Federal Register notice Wednesday.

The FCC will exempt presentations to the Intergovernmental Advisory Committee from ex-parte rules, the agency said Wednesday. “Such presentations, like comments on a Notice of Inquiry, will not directly result in the promulgation of new rules.” That includes presentations to IAC subcommittees and working groups, IAC-sponsored roundtables and talks between members and FCC staff or commissioners. They must be placed in the record of a relevant proceeding if the FCC relies on them for making rules.

Sprint asked the FCC to waive rules that "hamper" emergency calls via IP captioned telephone service. Sprint is in compliance, said its petition, posted Monday in docket 13-24, noting Innocaption, CaptionCall and Hamilton sought relief earlier. Some required information "is useless" to public safety answering points, Sprint said. "The name of the IP CTS provider, the [communications assistant's] callback number and the CA’s identification number have virtually no value to the PSAP, and delivery of such information actually slows down the emergency call" and sometimes confuses PSAPs. Sprint also targeted a rule requiring IP CTS providers, if a call is disconnected, immediately re-establish contact with users "and/or" PSAPs. It said PSAPs and users should decide about resuming a call, not CAs "in an awkward position to make this judgment call." Noting detailed FCC staff concern about "over-utilization" of captioned phone service, which is subsidized, the American Academy of Audiology vowed to educate members on "IP CTS regulations and guidelines for usage by our patients" and prevent unauthorized usage.

AT&T proposed an "address-based approach" to filling broadband data gaps in FCC Form 477 submissions. The telco supported more granular deployment reporting but said it's unrealistic to expect every broadband provider to overcome data challenges simply through Form 477 mandates. It proposed a four-step process for FCC-industry cooperation, focused initially on rural areas, where data problems and broadband needs are most "acute," meeting with staffers, posted in docket 11-10 Monday: (1) The FCC would develop a database of all residential and small-business street addresses; (2) the commission, Universal Service Administrative Co. or a specialized vendor would comb through the addresses to remove duplicates and standardize the database; (3) consumers and others would then be allowed to augment or correct the database with more accurate information on their own locations; and (4) once a geocoded database is complete, the FCC would require fixed and mobile Form 477 filers "to submit data that 'overlays' the foundational address data to identify areas where they currently can provide broadband service, including the technology and the speed."

The FCC heard of efforts to provide broadband access to veterans, with NTCA and Verizon stressing importance of rural service, and Lifeline providers citing the low-income subsidy program. Comments were posted Friday and Monday in docket 18-275 on a public notice seeking input on a Ray Baum's Act report due next year. Comcast said it's "unacceptable" about one-third of low-income veterans lack internet service at home, and only 60 percent own a computer. Through expansion of its Internet Essentials, "an estimated one million low-income veterans will be eligible for the comprehensive broadband adoption program," it said. It urged the FCC to "work closely with other agencies" and veterans services organizations. NTCA said more than 40 percent of the U.S. military comes from rural America and 24 percent of veterans live in rural areas. "Access to broadband-enabled health care and educational resources can enable their greater successes," said the RLEC group, citing its pilot telehealth program for veterans. Verizon urged the FCC to focus on rural broadband needs and deployment, including 5G: "Rural veterans account for a disproportionate share of the [Veterans Affairs Department's] patient population; are significantly older than non-rural veterans (and are therefore more likely to be diagnosed with chronic conditions); and are more likely to live far from medical facilities or specialists." The National Lifeline Association (NaLa) faulted the PN not mentioning Lifeline, which it said covers up to 1.3 million veterans and was modified in 2016 to cover vets on pensions and their survivors. TracFone advised continuing to let resellers participate in Lifeline, as did NaLa, and the company sought to fix national verifier implementation "complications" (see 1810040045).

The FCC Technological Advisory Council meets Dec. 5, the agency said Friday. The year-end meeting will be longer than normal, running 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Commission Meeting Room.