---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <07F3B3BF-5F59-45CB-BBA6-591A9E6C58EA@roscom.com> Date: Sat, 18 Feb 2017 00:41:49 -0500 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Apple, Let Us Tune into Those FM Radio Channels You probably already know this, but your iPhone has an FM receiver built into it. So do most smartphones, for that matter. Most devices in the United States and Canada leave the FM chip disabled. According to FCC chairman Ajit Pai, that's something that manufacturers should change. He thinks consumers should be able to listen to FM radio with their smartphones. But, get this, he's not looking to force the manufacturers to do anything about it. Mr. Pai thinks that "radio is vital" to our society. He pointed out that when cellular networks are knocked out, over-the-air radio becomes a lifeline. It provides the latest weather forecasts, directions on where to seek shelter, and information about relief assistance. "After hurricanes or tornadoes or floods," Mr. Pai told the North American Broadcasters Association's Future of Radio and Audio Symposium, "time and again, we see an exponential surge in radio audiences." https://www.macobserver.com/columns-opinions/editorial/apple-let-us-tune-fm-radio-channels/ ***** Moderator's Note ***** Incipient paranoia department: given the fact that board designers have a religion called "minimum parts count", and that electrical engineers obsess over every femtoamp in a battery-powered environment, I find myself wondering what an unused FM receiver chip is doing in an iPhone in the first place. Not many people know this, but FM stations are able to broadcast a subcarrier signal that isn't received on ordinary sets. It's mostly used to distribute Muzak or other subscription based audio programming, and sometimes for specialized broadcasts like the Physician's Radio Network (try listening sometime: the ads are amazing). Subcarriers are also sometimes used for data transmissions: the speeds are slow, but good enough for low-bandwidth work like sending traffic alerts to GPS units, or, in the case of iPhones, weather warnings from the National Weather Service, lists of URL's, new ring tones, or secret messages to the Apple Geniuses who are getting ready to take over the world. I wonder what a phsychiatrist would say. Bill Horne Moderator ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20170218202113.GA24301@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Sat, 18 Feb 2017 15:21:13 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: AT&T completes its first "flying COW" test flight During several short test flights in a "dead zone" about an hour outside of Atlanta, the drones successfully transmitted and received LTE signals. The company is building LTE-enabled drones for a range of uses cases. They could be deployed if networks go down in the event of a disaster, to assist in scenarios like forest fires, or for large events like concerts. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the company conducted its first test-flights drones equipped with LTE radios. AT&T says it is the first wireless company to test this technology. http://www.zdnet.com/article/at-t-completes-its-first-flying-cow-test-flight/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20170218185724.GA23781@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Sat, 18 Feb 2017 13:57:24 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Frontier fears CenturyLink/Level 3 merger could hurt rural providers by Sean Buckley Frontier is concerned that CenturyLink's proposed acquisition of Level 3 could hinder rural broadband investment by putting more power into the hands of an even larger carrier. In an FCC filing (PDF), Frontier, which mainly serves rural areas, said the key concern is that Level 3 has not been paying its network interconnection fees in a timely manner. http://www.fiercetelecom.com/telecom/frontier-fears-centurylink-level-3-merger-could-hurt-rural-providers -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Sun, 19 Feb 2017