The Federal Aviation Administration's Drone Advisory Committee, formed to discuss issues and challenges with integrating unmanned aircraft into the national airspace (see 1605040017), plans its inaugural meeting Sept. 16, said an agency news release Wednesday. Almost 400 people and organizations expressed interest in participating in the committee that will be chaired by Intel CEO Brian Krzanich. Drone manufacturer DJI said Brendan Schulman, vice president-policy and legal affairs, will be on the committee, and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems said CEO Brian Wynne was selected. Some other members of the 34-person committee include: Greg Agvent, CNN senior director-national news technology and aerial imagery; Martin Gomez, Facebook director-aeronautical platforms; Gur Kimchi, vice president-Amazon Prime Air; Christopher Penrose, AT&T senior vice president-IoT; Ed Sayadian, of Harris Corp.; Phil Straub, of Garmin; Dave Vos, Google[X] Project Wing lead; and PrecisionHawk CEO Bob Young.

Much pontificating has questioned Sony’s “viability and relevance," CEO Kazuo Hirai said at his company’s IFA news conference in Berlin Thursday. “A lot of predictions were made, perhaps by the folks in this very room,” that Sony wouldn’t survive or that it would forever remain a fraction of the innovator it once was, Hirai said at the consumer electronics gathering. “The narrative is changing” in Sony’s favor, he said as the screen behind him flashed headlines of stories about Sony's recent financial and technology rebounds. “Despite those moments when Sony’s future seemed a little uncertain -- at least to the folks on the outside -- we believed Sony’s innovation would flourish.” The company debuted the Xperia XZ “flagship” smartphone. Since the phone’s camera features “triple image-sensing” technology borrowed from Sony’s digital-imaging expertise, “you can capture every moment as you see it” without motion blur and with “true-to-life color,” said Hideyuki Furumi, Sony Mobile Communications executive vice president-global sales and marketing.

The FTC announced slightly higher annual fees for FY 2017 for telemarketers that access phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, said a Thursday news release. The commission voted 3-0 to authorize publication of the Federal Register notice. As per 2007's Do-Not-Call Registry Fee Extension Act, which requires a reevaluation, telemarketers in FY 2017 will pay $61 for access to registry phone numbers in a single area code, or $1 more than last year, up to a maximum of $16,714 for all area codes nationwide, said the commission. In FY 2016, the maximum was $16,482. "The fee for accessing an additional area code for a half year will remain the same at $30," said the agency. The FTC said all U.S. telemarketers are required to download phone numbers on the registry to make sure they don't call those who have registered their numbers. "The first five area codes are free, and organizations that are exempt from the Do Not Call rules, such as some charitable organizations, may obtain the entire list for free," the release said. "Telemarketers must subscribe each year for access to the Registry numbers."

FCC staff will host a technology transitions "info session" Sept. 26, from 1 to 2 p.m. "FCC subject matter experts will share information about how the progress of technology transitions are impacting the consumer experience," including "service implications, backup power issues, and accessibility concerns," said a Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau public notice Wednesday.

AT&T’s lawyers “clearly spent more time thumbing through a thesaurus than formulating a credible counter proposal that empowers competition,” said Computer and Communications Industry Association CEO Ed Black Thursday in an emailed response to an AT&T filing criticizing set-top box proposals from CCIA (see 1608250052). “We offered a substantive proposal. We are still waiting on a substantive response."

Costs of developing industry standards, like those on wireless emergency alerts, vary widely, Patricia Higginbotham, Telecommunications Industry Association general counsel, told the FCC. TIA reported on a call between Higginbotham and James Wiley, a Public Safety Bureau staffer. Wiley asked about "the time, resources, number of volunteers, engineering committee meeting frequency, and other factors that drive overall costs associated with the development and modification of standards,” TIA said. “Higginbotham responded that, due to wide variance in the complexity of the subject matters, nature of the issues to be addressed, frequency of engineering committee meetings, scope of interested company and agency participants, and other factors, it is difficult to estimate the potential costs.” The filing was posted Thursday in docket 15-91.

Comments are due at the FCC Sept. 14 on proposed video relay service standards for interoperability and portability developed by VRS stakeholders (there are no replies due). The Federal Register Wednesday published a summary of a Further NPRM issued by the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Aug. 4 in docket 10-51 (see 1608050031). "These standards will enable a VRS user to place and receive calls through any VRS provider and make point-to-point calls to all other VRS users, irrespective of the default provider of the parties to the call, and without the caller having to change the VRS access technology used to make such calls," the notice said. VRS providers will have to comply with the new standards to be compensated under the program, which subsidizes relay services allowing deaf and hearing people to communicate with one another through a sign-language interpreter.

Health insurance companies are asking for more clarity on implementation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, beyond what the FCC sought to provide a year ago in an order and declaratory ruling (see 1506180046). The Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau agreed to seek comment. The insurance companies asked the agency to clarify that provision of a phone number to a “covered entity” or “business associate,” as defined under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), constitutes prior express consent for nontelemarketing calls, said a bureau notice. “The Petitioners contend that such ruling and/or clarification is necessary to harmonize the TCPA, HIPAA, and prior Commission rulings while protecting important health care communications,” the bureau said in a notice. Anthem, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, WellCare Health Plans and the American Association of Healthcare Administrative Management signed the petition. Comments are due Sept. 19, replies Oct. 4, in docket 02-278.

The FCC online system for filing 911 reliability certifications reopened so providers can start filing their annual reliability certifications, the Public Safety Bureau said in a Friday public notice. The certifications are due Oct. 15. "Covered 911 Service Providers that wish to begin submitting information for the Annual Reliability Certification may now do so through the Commission’s online portal,” the bureau said.

The FCC said Telecom House agreed to pay at least $75,000 to settle an Enforcement Bureau investigation into whether the company violated various statutory and regulatory provisions in failing to comply with the terms of a prior consent decree, pay certain fees, and file forms and certifications. Telecom House admitted to certain violations and "will implement a compliance plan" and pay a $75,000 civil penalty, said an order, which was attached to a new consent decree Friday in File No. EB-IHD-1400014872. "Upon an Event of Default, as defined and described in the attached Consent Decree, Telecom House agrees to pay an additional" $175,000 civil penalty. Telecom House didn't comment.