US Senate Moving FIRST Act

U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) announced introduced the Moving and Fostering Innovation to Revolutionize Smarter Transportation (Moving FIRST) Act. The Act creates a competitive grant program for large and medium-sized cities as well as rural communities to seek federal grants for the creation of efficient, creative and innovative transportation projects.  A companion bill is being introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.).

The Act would authorize the 2015 Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Cities Challenge program, a competitive grant program once administered by the Department of Transportation.  Every community would be able to compete for resources that improve the quality of life of their residents through the use of technology.  Funding would be set aside for communities of varying sizes as follows:

• Large and mid-sized city awards: Two awards annually, up to $50 million for a jurisdiction of each size, capped at $80 million total annually
• Rural community and regional partnerships: Two awards annually, totaling up to $20 million total, with a requirement that no less than 20% of the available funding go to rural projects.

In addition, the Act makes SMART Challenge applications eligible to apply for other federal funding opportunities under other current USDOT programs. Whether it’s Wi-Fi access, expanding electric vehicles, or more efficient transportation to the nearest health care center, urban and rural residents get multiple opportunities under the Moving FIRST Act.

“I’ve had a front row seat as Nevada has become the Innovation State and organizations like the Regional Transportation Commissions of Washoe County and Southern Nevada have helped lead the way in creating innovative solutions throughout the Silver State,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “My legislation promotes more innovative problem solving by allowing local communities to compete for grants that allow them to address local transportation challenges. I look forward to ensuring this bipartisan legislation moves forward in the United States Senate.”

“As our nation’s technology landscape continues to evolve, it’s critical all communities, both urban and rural, have the opportunity to benefit from cutting-edge tech, like smart grids, expanded Wi-Fi hot spots, and 5G networks,” said Senator Burr. “This legislation will allow communities of all sizes to compete for resources meant to accelerate the use of advanced technologies and address the transportation challenges of the 21st century. I am proud to work with my Senate colleagues on this important bill that encourages innovation in infrastructure.”

“By encouraging greater innovation we are creating jobs in Arizona, improving our transportation system, and driving economic growth,” said Senator Sinema.

“Colorado is home to some of the fastest growing cities in the country and it’s important our communities can update infrastructure to keep pace with that growth,” said Senator Gardner. “I’m pleased to join this bipartisan effort aimed at helping our communities pursue new transportation technologies. I’ll continue to advocate for Colorado at the federal level to make sure that the Centennial state receives the resources it needs.”

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The Regulatory Mix Today:   US Senate Moving FIRST Act,  FCC Workshop on Security Vulnerabilities, FCC Workshop on Multilingual Alerting

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FCC Workshop on Security Vulnerabilities

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks announced he will host a workshop on June 27, 2019, to hear from interested parties on how to address the national security threats posed by insecure equipment within our communications networks. The tentative agenda for the workshop includes welcoming remarks from Commissioner Starks and an expert presentation describing the “Risks to Our Networks” and three panels.  The first will focus on how to identify which equipment poses a threat and where it is located;  the second will consider options for fixing identified security problems, including discussion of what equipment needs to be fixed, whether replacing equipment is the best approach, or whether monitoring or other measures can be part of the solution; and final panel will address questions regarding funding, including the amount required for equipment replacement and threat mitigation, potential public and private sources, and what safeguards and other conditions should be attached.  The workshop will be broadcast live at www.fcc.gov/live.  Viewers may submit questions by e-mail to livequestions@fcc.gov. A detailed agenda, including speakers and panelists, will be announced by a subsequent notice.

FCC Workshop on Multilingual Alerting

The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau  announced the details of its June 28, 2019 workshop to help inform state and local emergency management and planning authorities on actions they can take to implement multilingual alerts over the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system.  The first panel will discuss the regulatory framework for multilingual alter distribution over the EAS and WEA systems.  The second panel will present examples of how state and local jurisdictions have implemented multilingual alerting and offer best practices for other jurisdictions.  The final panel will discuss the capabilities of current technologies to facilitate multilingual alerting within the EAS and WEA architectures, and experiences in integrating multilingual alerting capabilities in large-area alerting systems.

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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.