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By Jon Brodkin Feb 7, 2020 | Original ARs Technica article here.

Repeal still intact, but appealing to the Supreme Court is still an option.

The Federal Communications Commission has defeated another challenge to its repeal of net neutrality rules, as a federal court yesterday decided that it won’t rehear the case. In October 2019, a three-judge panel at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality rules. Mozilla, consumer-advocacy groups, and state attorneys general asked for a rehearing in front of all the DC Circuit court judges, but the request was denied yesterday in a very short ruling.

Continue reading “Pai Defeats Attempt to Restore FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules”

The test, conducted by Penumbra, also highlights problems with the U.S. FCC’s wireless safety regulations

Adapted from an article by Michael Koziol | Original IEEE Spectrum article here.

A test by Penumbra Brands to measure how much radiofrequency energy an iPhone 11 Pro gives off found that the phone emits more than twice the amount allowable by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC measures exposure to RF energy as the amount of wireless power a person absorbs for each kilogram of their body. The agency calls this the specific absorption rate, or SAR. For a cellphone, the FCC’s threshold of safe exposure is 1.6 watts per kilogram. Penumbra’s test found that an iPhone 11 Pro emitted 3.8 W/kg.

Ryan McCaughey, Penumbra’s chief technology officer, said the test was a follow up to an investigation conducted by the Chicago Tribune last year. The Tribune tested several generations of Apple, Samsung, and Motorola phones, and found that many exceeded the FCC’s limit.

Penumbra used RF Exposure Labs, an independent, accredited SAR testing lab for the tests (The Tribune also used the San Diego-based lab for its investigation). Penumbra was conducting the test, which also included testing an iPhone 7, to study its Alara phone cases, which the company says are designed to reduce RF exposure in a person.

McCaughey clarified that Penumbra supplied RF Exposure Labs with one iPhone 7 and one iPhone 11 Pro for the tests — phones the company had purchased off the shelf. He attributed not testing more phones to the cost of purchasing multiple iPhones. While the Tribune and Penumbra both used off-the-shelf phones, the FCC largely tested phones supplied by the manufacturers, including Apple.

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S4WT Comment: Hmmmm . . . why did Apple do that? Consumers buy their phones off the shelf.

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Continue reading “RF-EMR Exposure Test: iPhone 11 Pro Exceeds FCC Limit”

By Hannah Albarazi, Feb 6, 2020 | Original Law 360 article here.

​U.S. District Judge William Alsup said Thursday he’s inclined to let a jury decide whether Apple fraudulently marketed iPhones as safe and exposed consumers to excessive radiofrequency radiation, slamming an FCC testing standard as "a terrible rule" and expressing disbelief that the agency "would be that dumb."

Apple Inc. urged Judge Alsup at a hearing in San Francisco to dismiss a proposed class action alleging that it deceives consumers by marketing its phones for use on a person’s body despite radiofrequency radiation of the phones exceeding federal limits if used in that manner.

But Judge Alsup leaned away from dismissing the case and expressed his bewilderment as to why the Federal Communications Commission would allow testing for cellphone radiofrequency radiation emissions to be done anywhere between 0 millimeters and 25 millimeters away from the body. The judge said he couldn’t believe that the federal agency’s guidelines allowed for such vast variability when it comes to the tests.

"I can’t believe the FCC would be that dumb. That’s a terrible rule," Judge Alsup said Thursday.

But Apple’s counsel argued that the proposed class action, filed in August, is preempted and that plaintiffs must take their issue up with the FCC directly.

The plaintiffs claim Apple fraudulently misrepresents and conceals that consumers who use its iPhones as marketed will be exposed to radiofrequency radiation levels exceeding the federal Specific Absorption Rate limit of 1.6 watts per kilogram and the risks of that exposure.

Plaintiffs say recent independent tests done by FCC-accredited labs have shown that iPhones exceeded federal limits for radiofrequency radiation emissions when used in close proximity to the body and that because the FCC doesn’t regulate Apple’s disclosures to consumers, plaintiffs’ claims are not preempted.

Continue reading “Judge Alsup Laments Dumb FCC in iPhone Radiation Lawsuit”

By Heather Knight Jan 29, 2020 | Original SF Chronicle article here

It turns out “Mr. Clean” might not have been so clean after all — and a succession of four mayors ignored bright red flags about his performance for decades. For nearly 20 years, longtime Public Works leader Mohammed Nuru has been an integral part of the so-called “city family,” a go-to official relied on by mayors and supervisors to clean up the sort of messes that can easily derail the career of a big-city politician.

Mayors Willie Brown, Gavin Newsom, Ed Lee and London Breed counted on Nuru to respond to a call or text at any hour. What they asked of him, he took care of, whether it was cleaning a particular corner, sweeping a street, removing tent encampments or clearing garbage illegally dumped on a corner. Or, famously, forming the Poop Patrol to steam clean human feces.

“Mohammed Nuru is regarded as the guy who can get things done,” said Nathan Ballard, a Democratic strategist who worked as Newsom’s spokesman when he was mayor. “He is known as Mr. Clean, not just for his appearance — he’s tall with a shaved head — but because he is always willing to roll up his sleeves and get in and clean up messes.”

But now City Hall is left cleaning up the mess after Nuru was arrested by the FBI on suspicion of public corruption Monday, accused of “corruption, bribery kickbacks and side deals,” according to a U.S. attorney, and facing up to 20 years in prison.

A supporter greets San Francisco Mayor London Breed, third from left, as she participates in a walking tour of the Tenderloin with Jonea Drummer, second from left, community ambassador for Mid Market/Tenderloin, Mohammed Nuru, right, Director of Public Works and other department heads on Friday, July 13, 2018, in San Francisco, CA.

Continue reading “SF Mayors Embraced Mohammed Nuru, Now Charged with Corruption, Despite Red Flags”

By Mike Dano, Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies, Jan 28, 2020 | Original Light Reading article here.

From a (Captured) RootMetics Report:

A new report from IHS Markit’s RootMetrics found that Verizon’s 4G network, in some cases, provides faster speeds than T-Mobile’s new 5G network. The firm wrote of its direct tests of operators’ wireless network performances:

"Verizon’s 4G LTE speeds were faster than the lowband 5G median download speeds of T-Mobile in Chicago and Los Angeles and identical to AT&T’s lowband 5G median download speed in LA."

Verizon wasted no time in crowing about the findings. Kyle Malady, executive vice president and chief technology officer at Verizon said:

"Regardless of any competitor claims, these results back up what our customers already know: Verizon consistently provides the nation’s most reliable network experience. Our engineers are very proud of these results."

Continue reading “Verizon 4G Faster Than T-Mobile 5G?”

Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru has been placed on leave following his arrest Monday by the FBI. (Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner)

A newly released federal complaint has detailed the stunning allegations that led to the FBI arresting Public Works Director Muhammed Nuru and a San Francisco businessman over a series of suspected pay-to-play schemes. In the biggest public corruption scandal to shake City Hall since 2015, Nuru and local entrepreneur Nick Bovis of famed Union Square sports bar Lefty O’Doul’s have each been charged with one count of wire fraud.

Nuru, 57, and Bovis, 56, allegedly attempted to bribe an airport commissioner to help win a bid for a restaurant lease at San Francisco International Airport in exchange for an envelope full of cash and an apparent vacation.

The alleged kickback scheme was just one of five that federal authorities described in a complaint released Tuesday after surveilling Nuru and Bovis with FBI wiretaps and undercover operators since at least 2018.

The allegations against Nuru also involve sharing a $2,070 bottle of wine with a billionaire developer in China and having city contractors work on his vacation home near the Mendocino National Forest. Nuru is also accused of helping Bovis win contracts both to open a restaurant at the Transbay Transit Center, and to provide mobile housing and toilets to the homeless, according to the complaint.

“The complaint alleges corruption pouring into San Francisco from around the world,” U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California David Anderson said at a press conference detailing the allegations. Anderson said the complaint also alleges “corruption, bribery and side deals from one of San Francisco’s highest-ranking public employees.”

Continue reading “Mohammed Nuru, Head of SF Public Works, Arrested in FBI Corruption Probe”

By Karl Bode, Jan 27, 2020 | Original Techdirt article here.

We’ve noted for a while that the "race to 5G" is largely just the byproduct of telecom lobbyists hoping to spike lagging smartphone and network hardware sales. The society-altering impacts of the technology are extremely over-hyped, international efforts to deploy the faster wireless standard aren’t really a race, and even if it were, our broadband maps are so terrible (by design) it would be impossible to actually determine who won.

The idea that we’re "racing China to 5G," and need to mindlessly pander to U.S. telecom giants to win said race, has also become a mainstay in tech policy circles and tech coverage for two or three years now. We’re at the point where 5G (like the blockchain or AI) now exists as a sort of policy pixie dust to be sprinkled around generously by lobbyists and K Street beggars looking to wow luddite lawmakers, even if the underlying arguments often make no coherent sense. When 5G is fused with overheated national security concerns, it becomes even more incoherent.

Continue reading “The Race To 5G Is A Giant Pile Of Lobbyist Nonsense”

By Laney Griffo, lgriffo@tahoedailytribune.com, Jan 25, 2020 | Original Tahoe Daily Tribune article here.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Residents were unable to stop Verizon Wireless and city council from moving forward with the 112-foot cell tower but one attorney is trying to pump the brakes on the small cell boxes at South Lake Tahoe.

Attorney Mark Pollock filed a cease and desist against members of the council, in an attempt to prevent them from moving forward with any more applications for small cell facilities.

Pollock referenced a decision made by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals in August 2019.

The Federal Communications Commission originally argued that the small cell facilities don’t have significant environmental impact.

However, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma brought forward a case against the FCC saying that the concentration of the boxes does cause environmental damage.

The appellate court found that under the National Environmental Policy Act, the FCC needs to “evaluate the cumulative impacts of this whole deployment of 5g,” Pollock said. “Is there a radiation hazard? Is there a public surveillance problem? Is there an invasion of privacy problem? Is there is the potential for noise or impact on wildlife?”

Since this decision was made in federal court, the city needs to put a hold on accepting applications and installations until the FCC can get these studies done.

“I believe any citizen groups in a given city has standing to put their elected body on notice of an appellate court decision in D.C., or Denver, or Texas, or anywhere else at the federal level that impact the validity of an applications for a permit at the local level,” Pollock added.

In Pollock’s cease and desist letter, he gave the city until Feb. 1 to respond.

City attorney Heather Stroud said in an email to the Tribune, “The city is required by federal law to process applications for all qualifying facilities within certain time frames so it is unclear to me how the city could grant the relief requested.”

If the FCC conducts the studies and finds it does not meet NEPA standards, the results would apply to small cell wireless facilities that have already been installed in South Lake Tahoe.

Appeal at this location was denied by narrow 3-2 vote on Tue Jan 14, 2020

Adapted from an article by Becca Whitnall becca@theacorn.com Jan 23, 2020 | Original Thousand Oaks Acorn article here

Verizon has proposed putting 12 antennas at a water tower in North Ranch. The planning commission approved the installation last year but there was an appeal, which the City Council denied. A group of North Ranch homeowners that provided substantial evidence in the public record while the Appeal or a wireless communications facility in their neighborhood should have been granted, essentially exhausted their final remedy.

The Thousand Oaks City Council voted 3-2 last week to deny a request to overturn a planning commission ruling in favor of the installation, which will share space with an existing water tank on Sunnyhill Street surrounded by multi-million-dollar homes.

• Voting in favor: Councilmembers Bob Engler, Al Adam and Ed Jones;
• Voting against: Councilmembers Rob McCoy and Claudia Bill-de la Peña.

Dr. Greg Tchejeyan, a local orthopedic surgeon whose home sits about 180 feet from the tank, has been leading the opposition against the 12-antenna, 36,000 Watt Effective Radiated Power (ERP) Wireless Telecommunications Facility (WTF). Tchejeyan did not respond to attempts to reach him for comment, however, his attorney, Harry Lehman, indicated at the hearing that his client would consider litigation.

Continue reading “Thousand Oaks Law Suit Likely After Macro Tower Cell Site Approval”

Original post here.

Robert Kennedy Jr. Assembles Legal Team to Sue FCC – The team includes RFK, Jr., IRREGULATORs’ Attorney Scott W. McCollough & Dafna Tachover

Robert Kennedy, Jr., Chairman of Children’s Health Defense (CHD) has committed to be proactive on the evidence regarding excessive exposure of children to Densified 4G/5G wireless radiation. To fulfill this promise, CHD will be submitting a lawsuit on February 3rd against the FCC for its December 4, 2019 decision to decline to review its 1996 guidelines, and for its determination that the guidelines are protective of human health.

The Dec. 4 determination provides a rare opportunity to sue the FCC and expose its disregard for public health that has been causing so many injuries and deaths, including among children. We will be representing the many children who have been injured. This is the opportunity we have been waiting for; a successful lawsuit on this will be a game changer.

We need your help to raise $100,000 to fund this effort.

To have the best chances of succeeding, we have assembled an ideal team of Attorneys to lead this case! Each one brings different strengths to the case:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., CHD’s Chairman, is a leading Environmental Attorney who has been involved with many groundbreaking lawsuits including the recent successful cases against Monsanto. He was a senior attorney for the NRDC and now leading cases for the protection of children’s health rights.

W. Scott McCollough is the Attorney who is representing the IRREGULATORS in their lawsuit against the FCC, a case that will help expose a multi-billion-dollar fraud by Telecom companies. Scott has decades of experience as a Telecommunications and Administrative Law Attorney, leading the type of lawsuits we are submitting against the FCC.

Continue reading “Robert Kennedy, Jr. Assembles Legal Team to Sue FCC over Wireless Health Guidelines”