The breakup of the Iridium/Qualcomm mobile supplemental coverage from space (SCS) partnership (see 2311090077) could point to ongoing questions about monetization of the direct-to-handset service. Globalstar's SCS service partnership with Apple failed to drum up notable interest in iPhone 14s, and the Iridium/Qualcomm deal seems to have followed a similar path, satellite and spectrum consultant Tim Farrar told us Monday. He said Android OEMs likely foresee a challenge to selling more phones as a result of the messaging capability.
6G poses a variety of practical engineering challenges that need addressing, from aggregation of numerous spectrum bands to integration of satellite coverage into terrestrial wireless networks, Mingxi Fan, communications systems design general manager at Taiwanese semiconductor maker MediaTek, said Thursday at the Brooklyn 6G Summit. Also a question mark is timing of 3rd Generation Partnership Project work on 6G, said Wanshi Chen, 3GPP Technical Specification Group RAN1 chairman.
NTIA released a conditional waiver of the broadband, equity, access and deployment program's letter of credit requirement Wednesday. More than 300 groups in September urged the agency to remove the requirement, citing potential limitations on small providers' participation (see 2309060022).
FCC commissioners divided Thursday on a vote to reestablish net neutrality rules, during the agency's first open meeting with a full commission since Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel took the helm (see 2310130051). Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington voted against an NPRM seeking comment on a proposal to return to 2015 rules that classified broadband as a Title II telecom service.
Comments are due to the International Trade Commission Oct. 26 in a potential investigation on imported electronic devices, says a notice for Wednesday’s Federal Register. Ericsson filed a complaint Thursday alleging Motorola and Lenovo import devices, including mobile phones, that infringe on four of Ericsson's patents for semiconductor chips, cellular communications, video encryption and video controls. Ericsson seeks a permanent limited exclusion order against Lenovo and its subsidiaries, plus cease and desist orders. The company filed another complaint against Lenovo and Motorola Oct. 11 at the ITC for alleged infringement of Ericson's cellular communication patents (see 2310160032).
Internet service provider Smartaira names Hotwire’s Darren Rish, also ex-Comcast, CEO, and moves founder and former CEO Dan Terheggen to board chairman ... Morse Micro, fabless semiconductor company specializing in IoT connectivity, hires Stryker’s Prakash Guda as vice president-marketing and product management ... 1Global, telecom company headquartered in London, adds former Vodafone Germany CEO Hannes Ametsreiter to its board as a nonexecutive director.
China’s focus on 5G is tied to that nation's desire to “reclaim” what it believes is its “rightful place at the center of the world,” said James Lewis, Center for Strategic and International Studies senior vice president, at the Hudson Institute Tuesday. Lewis also warned the U.S. may not be keeping up with China headed into the World Radiocommunication Conference, which begins Nov. 20. Lewis was interviewed by Harold Furchtgott-Roth, Hudson senior fellow and former FCC commissioner.
Broadcasters and ATSC 3.0 advocates say they're sticking with the standard despite a series of recent blows, including consumer electronics manufacturer LG ceasing to make 3.0 TVs, the emergence of a competing technology endorsed by international standards bodies, and a grassroots campaign urging the FCC to block broadcasters from encrypting their signals. In an email to members last week, the Advanced Television Systems Committee said the standard was facing “growing pains.” The nation’s largest broadcaster, Nexstar, emailed us Friday that it's “committed to transitioning to ATSC 3.0.” Broadcasters “are already too far down the road” to turn back now, said Joshua Weiss, CEO of broadcaster and 3.0 datacasting company Ark Multicast.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo publicly committed Wednesday to brief Senate Commerce Committee members on the DOD study on repurposing the 3.1-3.45 GHz band for commercial 5G use sent to the Commerce Department last week (see 2309280087). Panel ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and several other members raised questions about the DOD study during a hearing on implementing the 2022 Chips and Science Act.
The nationwide tests of the wireless emergency alert and broadcast emergency alert system appeared to go relatively smoothly Wednesday, according to early reports and interviews with public safety officials. Though Federal Emergency Management Agency and FCC officials and the agencies’ press materials said Tuesday that both tests were taking place at 2:20 p.m. EDT, the WEA appeared to go out at 2:18 EDT, which was the time listed on the August FCC public notice announcing the tests.