The Trump Administration recently took some major steps toward providing a regulatory framework that encourages the safe development, testing, and deployment of autonomous vehicles. Several weeks ago, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao released Automated Driving Systems 2.0 from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a document aimed at supporting automotive industry innovators in the...… Continue Reading
FCC Order Represents One More Step Towards Fully-Autonomous Vehicles I’ve written on connected and autonomous vehicles in the past, including about an ongoing spectrum fight at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding use of spectrum set aside years ago for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications (specifically, for a technology called DSRC). The FCC now has revised...… Continue Reading
In late 2015, major wireless microphone manufacturers requested that the FCC “reconsider” various mostly-technical rules that it had adopted as part of a wide-ranging strategy to reallocate spectrum for wireless microphones. (We’ve written about recent regulatory changes for wireless mics here, here and here.) The Commission now has responded via an Order aimed at fine-tuning...… Continue Reading
We’ve previously reported on a drone-related multistakeholder process convened by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is part of the Department of Commerce and is responsible for telecommunications and technology policy. For several years, NTIA has considered important policy issues related to emerging technologies through these “multistakeholder processes,” which bring together industry, public...… Continue Reading
FCC opens rulemaking to address white space geolocation questions. Everybody interested in 600 MHz – whether broadcasters sweating the repacking process, carriers planning to bid on new spectrum, or one of the many other current spectrum users wondering what the future will look like – share a common concern: How will the FCC ensure that … Continue Reading
FCC seeks comments on Part 15 wideband waiver request. By now we all know the drill. Shoes off. Or not. Separate oneself from luggage, coats, electronics, various other items. Stand in line. And when the TSA calls you forward, step into the body scanner, feet on the footprints, arms in the air. We do this … Continue Reading
OMB finally approves rules, but expect delays Back in January, 2013, the FCC reorganized and simplified the experimental rules processes. (You can find our post describing the changes here.) The overhaul included creation of several new types of experimental licenses: for example, Program Experimental Licenses, which will eventually make it easier for manufacturers, research universities … Continue Reading
Some things to think about before you commit to buying that whiz-bang interconnected device Much has been made about the “Internet of Things” this year, in both the trade press and the popular media. As we’re placing our Amazon and Best Buy orders for holiday gifts, debating the merits of iOS vs. Android, i3 or … Continue Reading
Way back in December of last year the Commission re-vamped its equipment certification rules. It took six months for those revised rules to make it into the Federal Register, and another month for the rules to become effective. The effective date also marked the deadline for petitions for reconsideration of the December order adopting the … Continue Reading