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By Jon Brodkin, Feb 1, 2019 | Original ARS Technical article here.

Net Neutrality in Court: Skeptical Judges Question FCC's Justification of Net Neutrality Repeal

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A Federal Communications Commission lawyer faced a skeptical panel of judges today as the FCC defended its repeal of net neutrality rules and deregulation of the broadband industry.

FCC General Counsel Thomas Johnson struggled to explain why broadband shouldn't be considered a telecommunications service, and struggled to explain the FCC's failure to protect public safety agencies from Internet providers blocking or slowing down content.

Throttling of firefighters' data plans played a major role in today's oral arguments. Oral arguments were held today in the case, which is being decided by a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. (Audio of the four-hour-plus oral arguments is available here.)

Of the three judges, Circuit Judge Patricia Millett expressed the most skepticism of Johnson's arguments, repeatedly challenging the FCC's definition of broadband and its disregard for arguments made by public safety agencies. She also questioned the FCC's claim that the net neutrality rules harmed broadband investment. Circuit Judge Robert Wilkins also expressed skepticism of FCC arguments, while Senior Circuit Judge Stephen Williams seemed more amenable to FCC arguments. (Williams previously dissented in part from a 2016 ruling that upheld the Obama-era net neutrality rules. Now the same court is considering FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's repeal of those rules.)

Continue reading “FCC Struggles to Convince Judge That Broadband is Not Telecommunications”

By Nina Beety Jan 19, 2018 | Monterey Herald Letter to Editor here.

The Jan. 7 and Jan. 18 monarch butterfly articles in the Monterey Herald omitted microwave radiation impacts — cell towers, Wi-Fi, Smart Meters, cellphones, radar.

Dr. Sharon Goldberg told Michigan legislators in October,

“Wireless radiation has biological effects. Period. These effects are seen in all life forms: plants, animals, insects, microbes.”

Last year, European agency EKLIPSE reviewed wildlife impacts and Newsweek reported:

“Technology is quite literally destroying nature. Radiation from cell phones, WiFi are hurting the birds and the bees.”

Santa Clara County Medical Association Bulletin published “Wireless Silent Spring” on the similarities of pesticides and wireless radiation exposure.

AT&T cell towers have microwaved the Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary for eight years. Infertility and disorientation are known impacts. The latest butterfly count is 625 (Jan. 12), not 800. Going, going, gone?

LTE means Long Term Extinction. The monarchs, the bees and the birds are the canaries. Will the Herald continue to protect the Telecom industry and sacrifice monarch butterflies, bees, trees, birds, children, and our future?

Turning off the AT&T cell towers at the PG Monarch Sanctuary is a necessary first step to helping the monarchs locally.

Who will do it?

Adapted from an article by Andrew Wyrich, Jan 2, 2018 | Original Daily Dot article here.

With the (temporary) reopening of the Federal Government, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opens up on Mon Jan 28, 2019.

It is, therefore, timely to revisit FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's Jan 2 blast of an effort in Congress to overturn the agency’s controversial decision to rescind net neutrality rules — Pai released his statement on the last official day of the 115th Congress, the day before the FCC closed for the government shutdown.

Pai’s statement was criticized by net neutrality advocates, some of whom predict that the FCC will be under more scrutiny from Congress now that Democrats have control of the House of Representatives.

Pai applauded the end of Congressional members' attempt to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the FCC’s net neutrality vote. The CRA gives Congress the ability to overturn decisions made by federal agencies within a certain time frame.

A CRA motion isn’t technically a bill, so it plays by slightly different rules, which you can read at 5 U.S.C. 801-08. The CRA was designed to allow a majority of members to pass a Resolution of Disapproval, even over the objections of the leadership, and on a bare majority (so it circumvents the filibuster).

Continue reading “Ajit Pai Cheers Failure to Overturn the Repeal of Net Neutrality Regulations”

Adapter from an article by David E. Sanger, Julian E. Barnes, Raymond Zhong and Marc Santora, Jan. 26, 2019 | Original New York Times article here.

Huawei’s offices in Warsaw. Polish officials recently came under pressure from the United States to bar Huawei from building its 5G communications network.

Jeremy Hunt, the British foreign minister, arrived in Washington last week for a whirlwind of meetings dominated by a critical question: Should Britain risk its relationship with Beijing and agree to the Trump administration’s request to ban Huawei, China’s leading telecommunications producer, from building its next-generation Internet and telephone networks?

Britain is not the only American ally feeling the heat. In Poland, officials are also under pressure from the United States to bar Huawei from building its fifth generation, or 5G network. Trump officials suggested that future deployments of American troops — including the prospect of a permanent base labeled “Fort Trump” — could hinge on Poland’s decision.

And a delegation of American officials showed up last spring in Germany, where most of Europe’s giant fiber-optic lines connect and Huawei wants to build the switches that make the system hum. The Americans' message: Any economic benefit of using cheaper Chinese telecom equipment is outweighed by the security threat to the NATO alliance.

Continue reading “U.S. Scrambles to Outrun China in New Arms Race”

Adapted from original Jan 10, 2019 article here

One reason you would not want a 4G or 5G Close Proximity Microwave Radiation Antenna (CPMRA) or a Wireless Telecommunications Facility (WTF) of any size or shape in front of or near your home is that it will significantly lower the property value of your home.

This is one of the reasons why cities and towns should limit and regulate the permitting of CPMRAs to the greatest extent possible. Among other things cities and towns can amend their zoning codes to say that:

• CPMRAs are not allowed in residential zones, only in commercial and industrial zones.

• There must be at minimum distance of 1.500 feet between WTFs of any kind.

• There must be a setback of at least 500′ between a CPMRA and the nearest home.

• There should also be vertical setbacks for antennas — no lower than 150 feet higher than the highest roof in a 1500 foot radius of the WTF

• Other than the antenna and wires all of the electrical equipment must be placed underground.

• Finally, towns can insist on installing only Telecom equipment that has no chance of outputting maximum RF-EMR exposures any higher than 150 µW/m² anywhere where people live, learn, recreate, sleep or heal — metered as peak RF-EMR exposures anywhere outside either on the ground or just outside the highest windows of the closest buildings within a 1,500 foot radius of any WTF.

Continue reading “Proposed 4G and 5G WTFs Lower Property Values”

By Makena Kelly, Jan 24, 2019 | Original Verge article here.

Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission today demanding information concerning possible coordination between FCC officials and carriers in an ongoing legal fight.

The legal fight began last September, when the FCC issued an order to clear local regulatory barriers to nationwide 5G deployment. Democrats in the minority opposed the order, and dozens of cities and counties challenged the FCC’s move in the Ninth Circuit, which is dominated by Clinton and Obama appointees. But a wave of other challenges from carriers including AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint also gave the appeal a chance to be heard in other, potentially more favorable circuits. Both the FCC and the carriers supported the alternative circuits, only to be denied in a surprise ruling earlier this month.

Now, Reps. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Mike Doyle (D-PA) are concerned that the FCC may have pressured carriers to challenge the order in different court jurisdictions, hoping to put the case before friendlier, perhaps more conservative judges.

Continue reading “House Democrats: FCC My Have Rigged a Legal Fight Over 4G and 5G Deployment”

By Tom Wheeler, former FCC Chairman, Jan 21, 2019 | Original NY Times OpEd column here.

The network must be secure enough for the innovations it promises.

The Trump administration’s so-called “race” with China to build new fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks is speeding toward a network vulnerable to Chinese (and other) cyberattacks. So far, the Trump administration has focused on blocking Chinese companies from being a part of the network, but these efforts are far from sufficient. We cannot allow the hype about 5G to overshadow the absolute necessity that it be secure.

Our current wireless networks are fourth-generation, or 4G. It was 4G that gave us the smartphone. Reaching the next level of mobile services, however, requires increased speed on the network. Fifth-generation networks are designed to be 10 to 100 times faster than today’s typical wireless connection with much lower latency (response time). These speeds will open up all kinds of new functional possibilities. Those new functions, in turn, will attract cyberintrusions just like honey attracts a bear.

Continue reading “Opinion: If 5G Is So Important, Why Isn’t It Secure?”

​By Kurt Cobb, January 20, 2019 | Excerpted/adapted from an article published by Resource Insights here.

In the title of this piece, “the greatest number” implies a doctrine of “acceptable losses.” If the net benefits of any course of action are measured for society as a whole instead of for every individual, then actions which kill many people are justified on the basis of the benefit to those who remain living. Such benefits are presumed to outweigh the loss incurred by those dying and those related to the deceased. This is the bargain we continually make, and such "bargains" have led to mayhem everywhere.

A friend and colleague remarked that the modern corporation seeks to increase its profits by either raising prices or lowering quality or both. One frequent side-effect is that new hazards to human health and well-being are created. These are not intentional, but rather the result of lowering quality or of adding features or functionality that command higher margins, but which also cause harm.

Because so much of modern society runs on what is operationally the greatest-good-for-the-greatest-number principle, we are now faced with multiple categories of “acceptable losses.” Each purveyor of hazardous products or practices tries to play down the losses and ridicule the victims.

Much on my mind these days are Americans who are sensitive to Radio-frequency Electromagnetic Microwave Radiation (RF-EMR) from cellphones, cellphone towers and other sources. Their numbers are growing as we continually increase the amount of such radiation spewing out into the environment. Many must leave the city and literally head for the hills or any areas poorly served by cellphone antennas. They are victims of an environmentally-induced illness, one that abates, when they are no longer subjected to manmade RF-EMR exposures. Such forced exposures to RF-EMR in their neighborhoods is creating an illegal access barrier to their homes, workplaces and communities. The Americans with Disabilities Act can stop this unnecessary and horrible "bargain".

Continue reading “The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number is a Doctrine of Acceptable Losses”

By Jon Brodkin, Jan 16, 2019 | Original ARS Technica article here.

FCC asks court to delay oral arguments, citing government shutdown.

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During the current partial shutdown of the federal government, the Federal Communications Commission yesterday asked judges to delay oral arguments in a court case that could restore the broadly popular Net Neutrality rules.

Oral arguments are scheduled for February 1 at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which will rule on a challenge to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s repeal of net neutrality rules. The court confirmed this week on its website that its schedule "will not be affected, at least initially, by the partial shutdown of the federal government" that began on December 22, 2018. The court has enough funding to operate for now and said that "[o]ral arguments on the calendar for the month of January and February will go on as scheduled."

Continue reading “FCC Asks Court for Delay in Net Neutrality Case”

Excerpt from Roger Chairman Wicker’s opening statement, Jan 16, 2019, as posted here.

Wicker Chairs First Hearing of Senate Commerce Committee

The bar has indeed been set high. This committee accomplished a great deal last congress, and I look forward to similar successes this congress. In particular, I see this committee focusing on a number of primary objectives across the committee’s broad jurisdiction.

Broadband connectivity is the digital engine driving investment, innovation, and productivity in virtually every economic sector in the United States. Although we have made significant progress on wireline, wireless, and satellite broadband deployments over the years, more needs to be done to close the digital divide, particularly in rural America.

Continue reading “First 2019 Senate Commerce Committee Meeting”