In March, mobile connectivity solutions provider Laird introduced a small, 7-millimeters-thick, ceiling-mount wideband antenna designed for more efficient and effective wireless connectivity that meets the aesthetic needs of commercial and residential building designs. Laird's new CFSA Low Passive Intermodulation (PIM) Ultra-Low profile antenna is about the thickness of a smartphone, creating an ultra-low profile that provides buildings with an inconspicuous yet high performance antenna for enhanced wireless connectivity.

The new FCC

With a new federal administration in Washington, D.C., sea changes are occurring throughout various federal departments and agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Under the guidance of recently-appointed Chairman Ajit Pai, the Commission in March continued to shake up policies and regulations. It announced several changes to current rules, including a proposal to streamline and eliminate certain international reporting requirements and reforming outdated 800 MHz Cellular Service band rules. Specifically, the Commission proposes to eliminate the annual Traffic and Revenue Reports, and seeks comment on whether there are ways to further streamline the Circuit Capacity Reports. The Commission believes these reports may no longer be necessary in their current form. 

The commission also took steps to reform certain outdated rules applicable to the 800 MHz Cellular Service band to facilitate the use of Cellular spectrum for mobile broadband services such as long term evolution (LTE), which provides high-speed connectivity to today’s mobile consumers. To accommodate continued skyrocketing demand for mobile broadband, the revisions adopted last month will allow providers to use Cellular spectrum to provide mobile broadband service to the public more efficiently, reduce barriers to innovation and investment and ease administrative burdens.  At the same time, the rules will continue to safeguard public safety operations. 

Also, Pai issued a statement last month supporting Congressional disapproval of current FCC broadband privacy regulations and siding with Congress on the return of jurisdiction over broadband  privacy regulations to the Federal Trade Commission. “Moving forward, I want the American people to know that the FCC will work with the FTC to ensure that consumers’ online privacy is protected though a consistent and comprehensive framework.  In my view, the best way to achieve that result would be to return jurisdiction over broadband providers’ privacy practices to the FTC, with its decades of experience and expertise in this area,” stated Pai.