| From: Ms. Baby Boomer | 1/2/2022 6:23:10 PM | | | | | | AT&T, Verizon CEOs reject U.S. request
for 5G deployment delay...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The chief executives of AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) rejected a request to delay the planned Jan. 5 introduction of new 5G wireless service over aviation safety concerns but offered to temporarily adopt new safeguards.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Federal Aviation Administration chief Steve Dickson had asked AT&T CEO John Stankey and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg late Friday for a commercial deployment delay of no more than two weeks.
The wireless companies in a joint letter on Sunday said they would not deploy 5G around airports for six months but rejected any broader limitation on using C-Band spectrum. They said the Transportation Department proposal would be "an irresponsible abdication of the operating control required to deploy world-class and globally competitive communications networks."
The aviation industry and FAA have raised concerns about potential interference of 5G with sensitive aircraft electronics like radio altimeters that could disrupt flights.
The exclusion zone AT&T and Verizon propose is currently in use in France, the carriers said, "with slight adaption" reflecting "modest technical differences in how C-band is being deployed."
"The laws of physics are the same in the United States and France," the CEOs wrote. "If U.S. airlines are permitted to operate flights every day in France, then the same operating conditions should allow them to do so in the United States."
The FAA said in a statement on Sunday that it was "reviewing the latest letter from the wireless companies on how to mitigate interference from 5G C-band transmissions. U.S. aviation safety standards will guide our next actions."
FAA officials said France uses spectrum for 5G that sits further away from spectrum used for radio altimeters and uses lower power levels for 5G than those authorized in the United States.
Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), representing 50,000 workers at 17 airlines, on Sunday said pilots, airlines, manufacturers and others "have NO incentive to delay 5G, other than SAFETY. What do they think … we’re raising these issues over the holidays for, kicks?"
Officials said the exclusion zones proposed by the wireless carriers is not as large as what has been sought by the FAA.
The FAA and Buttigieg on Friday proposed identifying priority airports "where a buffer zone would permit aviation operations to continue safely while the FAA completes its assessments of the interference potential."
The government would work to identify "mitigations for all priority airports" to enable most "large commercial aircraft to operate safely in all conditions."
The wireless carriers, which won the C-Band spectrum in an $80 billion government auction, previously agreed to precautionary measures for six months to limit interference.
Trade group Airlines for America, representing American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL), FedEx Corp (NYSE: FDX) and other carriers, on Thursday asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to halt the deployment around many airports, warning that thousands of flights could be disrupted daily.
The airline group has said it may go to court on Monday if the FCC does not act.
Former FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly praised the wireless carriers for moving ahead.
"We can have safe wireless and safe flights. Reasoned people should accept US wireless industry not have more C-Band limitations than France," he said on Sunday.
Wireless industry group CTIA said 5G is safe and spectrum is being used in about 40 other countries....
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| From: Ms. Baby Boomer | 1/4/2022 10:20:22 AM | | | | | | BlackBerry pulls life support for once-indispensable
business smartphone...
Jan 4 (Reuters) - BlackBerry Ltd is pulling the plug on service for its once ubiquitous business smartphones, which were toted by executives, politicians and legions of fans in the early 2000s.
The move marks the end of an era as the phones, which sported a tiny QWERTY physical keyboard, pioneered push email and the BBM instant messaging service.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama, one of its most celebrated users, made headlines in 2016 when he was asked to give up his BlackBerry and replace it with an unnamed smartphone.
Blackberry lost favor with users with the advent of Apple's touchscreen iPhones and rival Android devices. In recent years, the company pivoted to making cybersecurity software and embedded operating systems for cars.
Social media was alight with tributes. One Twitter user reminisced it was a "fabulous machine" bit.ly and hoped the company's phones would be resurrected.
In a document published in 2020, the company said blck.by it would take steps to decommission legacy services for BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry OS operating systems and added devices running on them would no longer be supported and may not be able to receive or send data, make phone calls or send messages reliably.
A U.S. judge on Monday rejected the company's bid to dismiss a lawsuit claiming it defrauded shareholders by inflating the success and profitability of smartphones using BlackBerry 10 OS, and said the class-action case could go to trial this fall....
finance.yahoo.com
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| From: Ms. Baby Boomer | 1/15/2022 4:07:46 PM | | | | | | FAA Sets Rules For Some Boeing 787
Landings Near 5G Service...
Federal safety officials are directing operators of some Boeing planes to adopt extra procedures when landing on wet or snowy runways near impending 5G service because, they say, interference from the wireless networks could mean that the planes need more room to land.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday that interference could delay systems like thrust reversers on Boeing 787s from kicking in, leaving only the brakes to slow the plane.
That “could prevent an aircraft from stopping on the runway,” the FAA said.
Similar orders could be issued in the coming days for other planes. The FAA has asked Boeing and Airbus for information about many models. Boeing said it is working with its suppliers, airlines, telecom companies and regulators "to ensure that every commercial airplane model can safely and confidently operate when 5G is implemented in the United States.”
The order for the Boeing jets comes a day after the FAA began issuing restrictions that airlines and other aircraft operators will face at many airports when AT&T and Verizon launch new, faster 5G wireless service Wednesday.
The agency is still studying whether those wireless networks will interfere with altimeters, which measure an aircraft’s height above the ground. Data from altimeters is used to help pilots land when visibility is poor.
The devices operate on a portion of the radio spectrum that is close to the range used by the new 5G service, called C-Band.
This week's FAA actions are part of a larger fight between the aviation regulator and the telecom industry. The telecom companies and the Federal Communications Commission say 5G networks do not pose a threat to aviation. The FAA says more study is needed.
The FAA is conducting tests to learn how many commercial planes have altimeters that might be vulnerable to spectrum interference. The agency said this week it expects to estimate the percentage of those planes soon, but didn't put a date on it.
“Aircraft with untested altimeters or that need retrofitting or replacement will be unable to perform low-visibility landings where 5G is deployed,” the agency said in a statement.
The order regarding Boeing 787s covers 137 planes in the U.S. and 1,010 worldwide. The 787 is a two-aisle plane that is popular on longer routes, including many international flights.
The FAA said that based on information from Boeing, the 787s might not shift properly from flying to landing mode if there is interference, which could delay the activation of systems that help slow the plane.
AT&T and Verizon have twice agreed to postpone activating their new networks because of concerns raised by aviation groups and the FAA, most recently after the FAA and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg weighed in on the aviation industry’s side. Buttigieg and FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson warned that flights could be canceled or diverted to avoid potential safety risks.
Under an agreement with the telecom companies, the FAA designated 50 airports that will have buffer zones in which the companies will turn off 5G transmitters or make other changes to limit potential interference through early July.
The 50 include the three major airports in the New York City area — LaGuardia, JFK and Newark Liberty — O’Hare and Midway in Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth International, Bush Intercontinental in Houston, Los Angeles International and San Francisco.
That concession by the telecoms was modeled after an approach used in France, although the FAA said last week that France requires more dramatic reductions in cell-tower reach around airports....
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| From: Ms. Baby Boomer | 2/17/2022 9:50:37 PM | | | | | | Ex-Trump lawyer Sidney
Powell sues Verizon to try
to block Jan. 6 subpoena...
Former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell is suing Verizon in an attempt to block a subpoena issued by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The lawsuit, filed by Powell's attorney Bob Holmes, laid out several reasons why he said Verizon should be prevented from releasing records of Powell's communications subpoenaed by the committee, local affiliate CBS 11 reported.
The lawsuit argues the records are protected by attorney-client privilege and that the committee has not demonstrated a "valid legislative purpose" for the request.
It further claims that the subpoena violates multiple laws, as well as Powell's constitutional rights, according to CBS 11.
The lawsuit argues that the subpoena violates the Telecommunications Act of 1996 because it seeks "contents of a communication while in electronic storage" without authorization from Powell or the law, and that it violates Powell's First Amendment right to freedom of association because, the lawsuit claims, it is overly broad and does not "advance a sufficiently important governmental interest to permit its enforcement."
It additionally asserts that the enforcement of the subpoena would violate federal and state laws concerning evidence by depriving Powell of the chance to "review the proposed disclosure and assert applicable privileges," CBS 11 reported.
The lawsuit concludes with the argument that the enforcement of the subpoena would cause Powell "irreparable harm" and calls for the court to issue an injunction barring Verizon from releasing Powell's records and to rule that the subpoena is unlawful and cannot be enforced.
A spokesperson for the committee told The Hill they have no comment on Powell’s lawsuit.
This is the latest in a series of legal challenges from Republican leaders and operatives seeking to block the committee's subpoenas.
The committee, which is composed of seven Democrats and two Republicans, has subpoenaed at least 82 people and organizations in the roughly seven months since it was formed.
The Hill has reached out to Powell and Verizon for comment....
thehill.com
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