The FCC’s voluntary cyber-trust mark program should focus on protecting the security and privacy of IoT devices, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) said in a comment posted Monday in docket 23-239. An increasing number of IoT and consumer devices contain sensors “that measure sound, visuals, movement, temperature, pressure, and other information involving users, bystanders, and the surrounding environment,” the forum said. “As sensors on devices collect more data about users and their environments, those who operate those devices are able to create detailed profiles that may include intimate personal information,” the FPF said: This aggregation of personal data “may allow those collecting it to learn or infer sensitive information about people, or to track people’s behaviors across different spaces.” Comments were due Monday on a Further NPRM on the program, which FCC commissioners approved in March (see 2403180046).

Most people “drastically” underestimate “the level of connectivity they rely on for everyday tasks,” Mobile UK said in a report released Monday. While 40% of people in the U.K. believe they are connected to fewer than four devices, the average number is really 14, with some using as many as 38, the report said. “Only one in five people (19.35%) were realistic about how connected they are.” The group said its study demonstrates the public's acceptance of mobile infrastructure and the need for ensuring everyone is connected. “Perceptions of mobile infrastructure especially since COVID-19 have positively shifted,” the group said: “Mobile infrastructure is now a fundamental part of the national infrastructure that requires further national government support to ensure the provision of connectivity for all.”

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. has levied nearly $70 million in penalties so far this year, including a $60 million fine against T-Mobile after the carrier violated its national security agreement (NSA). The undated announcement was the first time CFIUS named a company it has penalized. It comes after CFIUS last year issued a record-setting four penalties and in April proposed expanding its enforcement powers, underscoring its recent focus on punishing violators and increasing penalties. The action against T-Mobile was tied to a 2018 NSA between CFIUS and the carrier. CFIUS found that “between August 2020 and June 2021, in violation of a material provision of the NSA, T-Mobile failed to take appropriate measures to prevent unauthorized access to certain sensitive data and failed to report some incidents of unauthorized access promptly to CFIUS, delaying the Committee’s efforts to investigate and mitigate any potential harm.” A T-Mobile spokesperson said Friday that several years ago the carrier “experienced technical issues during our post-merger integration with Sprint that affected information shared from a small number of law enforcement information requests out of the hundreds of thousands that we process each year.” There was no data breach or intrusion “and no bad actor was involved,” the spokesperson said in an email: “We take matters like this seriously. We reported this in a timely manner, and the issue was quickly addressed.”

AT&T advised the FCC that while it’s making progress curbing unwanted texts to its customers, political messages remain a significant consumer complaint. While political messages are only about 7% of AT&T messaging traffic, they’re responsible for 60% of complaints, the carrier said in a meeting with Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau staff. In April, “the #1, #2, #4, #6 and #7 most consumer complaints originated from just one Presidential candidate, and the top eleven [10-digit long code] phone numbers -- and 74 of the top 100 telephone numbers -- reported by AT&T’s own customers belonged to political texting” campaigns, a filing Wednesday in docket 21-402 said. The filing doesn’t identify the candidate and an AT&T spokesperson declined further comment. AT&T said it has become easier to use its technology on Apple and Android operating systems to make a complaint. With technological upgrades, the carrier “is blocking fewer texts” but sees “fewer suspicious texts forwarded to us by our customers.” AT&T said last year it blocked more than 9.3 billion spam and scam messages. CTIA in May launched a political texting website, which urges campaigns to use text messages “to reach voters in a responsible manner.” More than 80% of consumers “express frustration with receiving unsolicited political messages, and that feeling is growing even stronger with each election cycle -- up 20% from 2020,” CTIA said: “A recent survey also confirmed what consumers say every day -- spam is spam, whether it’s an unwanted text from a bank, a concert promoter, or a campaign.”

CTA advised that the FCC not require that registry operators in the cyber trust mark program meet Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) or comparable commercial standards. Representatives from CTA met with FCC Public Safety Bureau staff. “Certification to FISMA standards is a lengthy process and incurs a high cost to bring the entity into compliance and to earn certification,” CTA said in a filing Wednesday in docket 23-239. Adopting that standard, as the bureau suggests, “may prevent most or all prospective Lead Administrator and Cyber Label Administrator (CLA) candidates from participating,” the group said. In a June public notice, the bureau tentatively concluded that the FISMA requirements should “attach to the Lead Administrator and CLAs, who both collect and maintain information and operate information systems on behalf of the FCC” and sought comment on that conclusion. CTA also said program participants “need specific guidance on how manufacturers can use the Mark on certified products, including details like placement, border, colors and other ‘branding’ elements that are commonly associated with a protected mark.”

LG Electronics USA requested a waiver of FCC cellular vehicle-to-everything rules as the agency finalizes revised rules for the 5.9 GHz band (see 2407170042). The company said it’s prepared to deploy C-V2X on-board units “to improve roadway safety but cannot do so absent a waiver.” As interest from "public and private transportation stakeholders in C-V2X continues to grow, so does the importance of its accelerated deployment,” a filing Wednesday in docket 19-138 said: “Investing in and deploying C-V2X devices and services will not only advance public safety but also increase efficiency and comfort for consumers.”

The Ultra Wide Band (UWB) Alliance and the GPS Innovation Alliance (GPSIA) supported a waiver request by Norway's Kontur of rules for UWB devices (see 2407100057). “We agree with Kontur’s analysis that use of frequency-hopping modulation will improve the performance and speed of the device, while also not increasing the potential for interference,” the UWB Alliance said in comments posted Thursday in docket 24-209: “We also believe that frequency diversity can improve coexistence performance and potentially reduce impact on other users, particularly narrow band users.” GPSIA said Kontur adhered to its recommendations “regarding the information that should be included” in the UWB waiver request. “Because GPS signals are faint when they reach the earth, it is critical that the Commission take special care to ensure that interference into the GPS receive bands is limited,” the group said.

Representatives of Public Knowledge and New America’s Open Technology Institute met with aides to three of the FCC commissioners on Axon Enterprises' request for a waiver (see 2403080044), the future of the 4.9 GHz band and other items. “We noted that Axon’s proposed analog, always-on, fixed-channel and high-power surveillance technology would be unnecessarily disruptive to the public’s use of the U-NII-3 band, which remains the most heavily-trafficked Wi-Fi spectrum and almost certainly the most intensively-used frequency band nationwide,” the groups said. They opposed FirstNet control of the 4.9 GHz band: “No one has presented a single cogent argument why the Commission should abandon its 2023 decision to adopt a band-manager approach.” The groups met with aides to Commissioners Brendan Carr, Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington. The language in three filings posted Thursday in docket 07-100 and other dockets was substantially the same for each meeting. The two groups also reported that EchoStar joined them for a meeting with the Wireless Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics staff about handset unlocking rules (see 2408090037). “The recently launched proceeding on handset unlocking will be an unequivocal win for consumers and competitive carriers if adopted,” said a filing in docket 24-186. They also discussed the lower 12 GHz band's future.

Matthew Pearl, National Security Council director-emerging technologies and special adviser, announced he has left that job. “Having the opportunity to serve at the White House and advance our nation’s interests in tech and telecom policy was the honor of a lifetime,” Pearl said on LinkedIn. Pearl highlighted his work on such items as the national spectrum strategy and the cyber trust mark.

More than 100 amateur radio operators have now filed objections to a NextNav proposal asking that the FCC seek comment on revised rules for the 902-928 MHz band (see 2408120024). Comments are due Sept. 5, replies Sept. 20, on a public notice from the FCC in docket 24-240.