At a recent Commercial Smallsat Spectrum Management Association (CSSMA) meeting, small satellite (smallsat) operators, earth station service providers, Federal agency spectrum managers, and other attendees discussed strategies to effectively influence global spectrum policy through the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) and opportunities in the growing earth-station-as-a-service industry. The meeting was part of CSSMA’s ongoing efforts to help develop the smallsat industry … Continue Reading
Tag Archives: NTIA
Defense Department and FCC to Collaborate on 5G Testbeds
On October 23, 2019, the U.S. Department of Defense announced a plan to pilot 5G technologies on four military installations in partnership with private industry and the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Lisa Porter, Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, revealed the Defense Department’s plans during an appearance at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Los Angeles with FCC Chairman … Continue Reading
2019 CSSMA-SFCG Workshop, Pre-Coordination Meetings with Federal Agencies, and other Satellite Week Events
In May 2019, the Commercial Smallsat Spectrum Management Association (CSSMA) hosted two groundbreaking events at the Hogan Lovells Washington DC office in connection with Satellite Week 2019. The first was a series of scheduled company-specific, pre-coordination meetings with federal agencies and operators designed to facilitate the shared use of spectrum. The second was a spectrum workshop with the Space Frequency … Continue Reading
New Discoveries from Galileo? FCC Grants non-Federal Access to Revolutionary European Satellite
At its Open Meeting on November 15, the FCC approved a draft Order that grants in part the European Commission’s (EC) long-pending request for waivers of certain FCC licensing requirements to permit non-Federal U.S. receive-only earth stations to operate with specific signals of the Galileo satellite system (Galileo) without having to obtain an FCC license or grant of US … Continue Reading
NTIA Seeks Comment on New, Outcome-Based Privacy Approach
Smallsat Association Trailblazes Regulatory Path for Smallsat Operators
For many smallsat operators, solving difficult technical problems is the easy part of the mission; obtaining regulatory approvals is the hard part. The Commercial Smallsat Spectrum Management Association (CSSMA) is working to change that.
CSSMA is dedicated to creating a transparent and expedited spectrum coordination process through educational outreach, sharing best practices, and regulatory advocacy. CSSMA formally incorporated a year … Continue Reading
The FTC and Industry Propose Best Practices for IoT Security Updates
How do you ensure that an Internet-connected sensor or device—often inexpensive and designed for lifespans of up to 20 years or more—can be secured against not only the intrusions of today but also those of the future? This question has taken on new urgency as low-cost Internet-connected devices are increasingly being co-opted into massive networks, known as “botnets,” that are … Continue Reading
NTIA Highlights Promise and Policy Challenges of IoT, Seeks Additional Comments
On January 12, 2017, prior to the new administration taking power, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) within the Department of Commerce (Department) released a Green Paper on “Fostering the Advancement of the Internet of Things,” which assesses the technological and policy landscape of the Internet of Things (IoT). The Green Paper is expansive in scope, reflecting the broad … Continue Reading
Bye Bye Internet – a brief look at the historic transition that just happened this weekend
Midnight 1 October 2016 was a historic moment in the history of the Internet with ICANN, a non-profit organization, finally taking control of the global domain name system (DNS). The U.S. government’s contract to perform the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions (the IANA contract) has expired. Whilst the U.S. certainly invented the underlying technology (with British computer scientist … Continue Reading
NTIA Commences Internet of Things Proceeding
On April 5, 2016, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) initiated an inquiry to review the potential benefits and challenges presented by the Internet of Things (IoT). In its Notice and request for public comment (RFC), NTIA is seeking input on the current IoT technological and policy landscape with a goal of developing recommendations—in the form of a Green … Continue Reading
Former Obama advisor shares insights on drone transactions
Lisa Ellman, a former advisor to the Obama administration on innovation and emerging technology, former head of drone policy for the Department of Justice, and now a Partner in our Washington, D.C. office and head of the firm’s Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Group, speaks about drone deals, valuation and regulatory trends.
Click here for our recent update on drone transactions, … Continue Reading
TMT 2020: A Report From the Silicon Flatirons Conference – “Closing the Digital Divide”
EDITOR’S NOTE: We are excited to present this entry in our new TMT2020 series, which reflects the key technology, media, and telecoms legal issues that are expected to impact today’s organizations and tomorrow’s marketplace. It also provides an opportunity to highlight contributions by TMT associates across our global offices and practice areas.
On September 17, 2015 the Silicon Flatirons Center… Continue Reading
NTIA Multistakeholder Process For Unmanned Aircraft Systems Takes Flight
On Monday, August 3, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) kicked off the multistakeholder process to develop best practices for commercial and private unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) use. As we previously reported, the NTIA action follows the White House’s February 15, 2015, Presidential Memorandum directing NTIA to lead private sector groups toward the creation of commercial UAS standards … Continue Reading
An Important Step Forward in the UAS Privacy Debate: NTIA Announces First Stakeholder Meeting
Across the country, we’re in the midst of “Unmanned Aircraft Systems (“UAS”) fever” – industries from media, agriculture and energy to insurance, real estate and construction are seeking FAA approvals to fly UAS in the United States. UAS technology has improved at a rapid pace, and offer a vast array of safety and efficiency benefits to companies for a wide … Continue Reading