Ligado is seeking a modification of its L-band mobile earth stations blanket license to cover smartphones. In an FCC International Bureau application Wednesday, Ligado requested a mobile earth service category be added to its license for IoT and handheld units that will transmit and receive waveforms over Ligado's mobile satellite service network, letting Ligado offer services to the devices. The company said the handsets don't raise any technical issues since they will operate at or below approved thresholds already authorized in Ligado’s blanket satellite licenses for mobile earth stations. It said its application doesn't require waiver of any regulatory requirements. Ligado, Viasat and Skylo announced earlier this month they were partnering in the growing direct-to-device market (see 2303020023).

The FCC awarded more than $7 million in grants through the affordable connectivity program's Your Home, Your Internet and ACP Navigator pilot programs Wednesday (see 2303100034). "I’m very happy to see that the Your Home, Your Internet Pilot Program will be making a difference in 23 communities in the United States," said Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. The commission awarded about $5 million through the Your Home pilot and $2.5 million through the ACP Navigator pilot. Also Wednesday, commissioners adopted an order directing the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau to issue another notice of funding opportunity of up to $10 million for the national competitive outreach grant and the tribal competitive outreach grant programs.

Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus are considering recommending former acting NTIA Administrator Anna Gomez, ex-Wiley, or National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts President Felix Sanchez to replace Gigi Sohn as FCC nominee but haven’t finalized those picks yet (see 2303130001), communications sector lobbyists clarified Tuesday. A Lujan spokesperson denied he had endorsed any potential contenders. “While we’re very engaged to ensure” there’s a full five-member commission “and a swift confirmation for the eventual nominee, but at this point he hasn’t recommended any specific candidate or candidates,” Lujan’s spokesperson said Tuesday. A CHC spokesperson also denied the group had endorsed any candidates for the FCC vacancy.

AT&T reported a breach of customer proprietary network information from about 9 million wireless accounts. “A vendor that we use for marketing experienced a security incident,” a spokesperson emailed Monday: CPNI “from some wireless accounts was exposed, such as the number of lines on an account or wireless rate plan. The information did not contain credit card information, Social Security Number, account passwords or other sensitive personal information. We are notifying affected customers.” The data set that leaked was several years old and involves device upgrade eligibility, the carrier said. The FCC declined comment Monday. The FCC sought comment in January on revised breach rules (see 2301060057).

The FCC's single network future framework proposal could inadvertently exclude all but the largest wireless carriers, Competitive Carriers Association representatives said in docket 23-65 Friday. In a filing recapping calls with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Brendan Carr, CCA said potential problems with the NPRM on the March agenda (see 2302230059) include its focus on geographically independent area covering the continental U.S. CCA said the framework NPRM needs to look at better ways to include rural, regional and other competitive carriers.

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology faces a growing workload and increasingly complex issues to work through, acting Chief Ron Repasi said during an FCBA webinar Friday. “I would say, overall, we manage,” Repasi said, laughing. “It’s becoming difficult because we’ve got a lot of competing demands” and not just on spectrum, he said. The number of OET staff has remained constant for the past decade, Repasi said, with about 25 at the FCC lab in Columbia, Maryland, and the remaining 50 at FCC headquarters. They’re not all engineers and OET also has lawyers and telecom specialists on staff, he said. OET strives to be “fact-based in its work,” Repasi said. “I won’t say that we’re not involved in policymaking; we certainly are,” though maybe not as visibly as other parts of the FCC, he said. “We’re really good at spotting issues, but we have to be even better at coming up with solutions,” he said. “When we get new proposals the first thing we look at is what is the potential for harmful interference,” Repasi said. Spectrum is “already very congested” and OET has to consider “what’s already authorized,” he said. Transparency is critical in any application for a new use of spectrum, he said: “We have to be in a position, from a technical and engineering perspective, to be able to know what the model or the simulation is that’s being used to show what the potential is for harmful interference. We have to know what the input parameters are.” OET is having ongoing discussions with NTIA officials “to minimize the number of surprises” and collaboration is improving, Repasi said. He noted coordination has long been seen as important for government spectrum and the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee is the longest-standing federal advisory committee, predating the FCC. IRAC is “still a valid and relevant advisory committee that we participate in,” he said. The challenge is there’s not any clear spectrum so “everything has to be shared,” said Michael Ha, chief of the OET Policy and Rules Division. “Every time we deploy a new sharing system we learn something new,” said Martin Doczkat, chief of the Electromagnetic and Compatibility Division. “We’re learning and applying lessons as new models are introduced,” he said.

Airport and aircraft operators regulated by the Transportation Safety Administration are now required to develop an implementation plan for improving their cybersecurity resilience and preventing disruption to their infrastructure, the agency said Tuesday. It said it was issuing the cybersecurity amendment on an emergency basis due to "persistent cybersecurity threats against U.S. critical infrastructure, including the aviation sector." Affected airports and operators also must develop network segmentation policies and controls to make sure operational technology systems can continue to operate safely if an information technology system gets compromised and create access control measures to secure and prevent unauthorized access to critical cyber systems, the TSA said.

Former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler didn't work with Gigi Sohn when he headed NCTA (see 2303070082).

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is "impatient for some real action" on diversity and inclusion in tech employment ranks, she said Monday at a Communications Equity and Diversity Council forum. Diverse workforces have been shown demonstrably to be "a win/win for businesses and workers," but employment in the tech sector doesn't look like the population overall, she said. Many employees still "know what it's like to be 'the only,'" she said, noting her own experience as the FCC's only permanent female chair. She said "upskilling" -- particularly among underrepresented populations -- could help address a tight labor market and the job disruptions of an increasingly automated future. Multiple speakers said one challenge is the perception by employers that tech careers require expensive, four-year degrees. Hector Mujica, Google.org, Americas head of economic opportunity, said degree requirements for tech jobs disproportionately exclude rural, Black and Latino workers and are largely unnecessary. Antonio Tijerino, Hispanic Heritage Foundation CEO, said there's no shortage of talent but there needs to be more work in exposing, preparing and supporting diverse communities. Given particularly low unemployment rates, Mujica said there should be "better, broader" pathways for immigration and citizenship, plus improved rural internet connectivity. Michelle Gilliard, IBM Americas corporate social responsibility leader, said the Pell Grant system needs to expand to cover such areas as short-term and online learning. She also said there's a need for a shared, verifiable "digital credentialing system" for workers' skills and training.

Ligado is partnering with Viasat and Skylo Technologies to offer direct-to-handset service via Ligado's SkyTerra satellite network (see 2303020023).