The FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has issued a Public Notice announcing the reinstatement of the freeze on the filing of new non-rebanding related 800 MHz applications along the U.S.-Canada border until the earlier of: 1.) April 14, 2011 or 2.) the date on which the Bureau determines that accepting non-rebanding applicatons in a specific NPSPAC region will have no negative impact on rebanding. The PN notes that the reinstatement of the freeze on non-rebanding applications is needed to preserve vacant channels for licensees operating along the U.S.-Canada border that are still retuning their systems. The reinstuted freeze is applicable to a limited number of NPSPAC regions including: New England, Michigan, Eastern and Western Upstate New York, Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, and Washington.  It is also applicable to stations located within 70 miles of the borders of those NPSPAC regions.

All too often, I hear smart grid discussions started by someone suggesting that we really ought to come up with a definition for smart grids. Frankly, that makes me wonder how we ended up with so many people who claim to not know what smart grids are telling us what we should be doing about smart grids.

Seriously, if you don't know what smart grids are, either (a) be quiet and listen to those who do or (b) don't diminish what you do have to contribute to the discussion by highlighting what you don't understand about smart grids. Read more »

UTC and EEI yesterday filed detailed comments in opposition to the FCC proposals to change the pole attachment rules. In summary, the FCC's latest pole attachment proposals would further subsidize the communications industry at the expense of electric customers and would undermine the safety and reliability of the nation's electric grid; and, that’s not a great formula for success. Our major concerns are proposals for new "timelines for make ready," Allowing use of third party contractors for make ready, creation of a pole attachment database that would reveal the location of critical facilities, new compensatory damages for failure to strictly comply with the new rules, and low, sub-cable rates for telecommunications attachments. In too many instances, these proposals would put utilities in the position of either breaking the rules or putting the employees and customers at risk. We know what utilities will do and fervently believe it is wrong to penalize utilities for ensuring safety. Additionally, the proposal has the FCC, which takes great pride in regulatory transparency, continuing policies of hiding the cost of broadband deployment in utility customer bills. The UTC/EEI comments are worth reading for a good understanding of the current pole attachment debate. If you still have questions, contact Brett Kilbourne, Director of Regulatory Services & Associate Counsel UTC at 202.833.6807 or brett.kilbourne@utc.org.

NIST has created a forum to discuss the impact of electromagnetic compatibility and interference on the operation of the smart grid. The agency states that electromagnetic disturbances and interference are two of the “…major standards-related issues and barriers impacting standardization efforts and progress toward a fully operational Smart Grid.” This forum is intended to start the discussion of how to ensure that the appropriate standards are specified or developed and then applied to ensure the Smart Grid systems are resistant to harmful electromagnetic events and at the same time do not cause interference to other systems. The site can be accessed here. Read more »

The Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC) has filed comments encouraging the FCC to adopt consistent rules addressing the Commission's license renewal and discontinuance of operation requirements. LMCC's comments stress the need for regulatory simplicity and commonality amongst similar wireless radio services regulated by the Commission including those subject to Parts 22, 90, and 101. LMCC endorsed an "affirmative certification" for site-based renewal filings in which the licensee would confirm that it continues to operate consistent with the terms of its authorization.  LMCC did not support a proposed "regulatory compliance demonstration" noting that it would impose an unnecessary burden on licensees and the Commission itself. The comments also voiced support for retention of the current one-year rule for discontinuance of operations for most site-based Part 90 licensees. LMCC's comments were filed in response to the FCC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in WT Docket No. 10-112.  UTC is a long-standing member of LMCC and sits on its Board of Directors.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) seeks public comment on the creation of a Cybersecurity Roadmap, as recommended by the National Broadband Plan. The deadline for comments is September 23, 2010.

The notice rightly states that cybersecurity is a vital topic for the Commission because of the risk that unchecked vulnerabilities in the communications infrastructure pose for safety and privacy. The Plan calls for the Roadmap to identify the five most critical cybersecurity threats to the communications infrastructure and its end users, and to establish a two-year plan on how to address those threats. The Roadmap aims to identify vulnerabilities to communications networks or end-users and to develop countermeasures and solutions in preparation for, and response to, cyber threats and attacks in coordination with federal partners.

The Roadmap is an opportunity for utilities to comment on the high level of reliability and security required to run their internal communications networks that support the nation’s critical infrastructure. This effort to outline cybersecurity standards is one of the many being undertaken by the government as cybersecurity gets a larger focus. The Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are also drafting guidelines for cybersecurity principles for the industry. Additionally, utility customer experiences with security will determine their adoption and demand of smart grid enabled energy data management technologies.

The Energy secretary will have the power to issue emergency orders for imminent cybersecurity threats to the electric grid according to legislation passed unanimously by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Amending the GRID Act (H.R. 5026) that was passed by the House two months ago, the Senate Committee approved the bill to give authority to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for risks that are not as imminent. It also gives FERC the authority to order, without notice or hearing, and circumvent the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) process and directly order generation, transmission and select distribution utilities to address cyber vulnerabilities pertaining to programmable electronic devices or communications networks. FERC is directed to establish a cost recovery mechanism for utilities for prudently incurred compliance costs. A spokesperson for the Senate Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) told CongressDaily that these provisions will give  the bill a better chance passing the Senate this year. 

Per its recommendations outlined in the National Broadband Plan, the Federal Communications Commission issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) on its Part 101 rules with the intention “to remove regulatory barriers to the use of microwave spectrum for wireless backhaul”. While the documents have not been officially released yet, the FCC notice issued following its meeting today explained them as follows: Read more »