CEA hails the Federal Aviation Administration for finally releasing its proposed rules on small drones, President Gary Shapiro said Monday in a statement. But the rulemaking notice is “only the liftoff stage toward needed final rules,” Shapiro said. “It will be important to strike the appropriate regulatory balance between innovation and safety, and we urge the FAA to expedite this rulemaking action to fully realize commercial drones’ potential as a truly disruptive technology.” CEA thinks drones “will revolutionize a broad array of consumer and commercial sectors, bringing with them innovative new businesses and thousands of jobs,” Shapiro said. Amazon had asked the FAA for an exemption to test-fly small commercial drones on its Seattle property (see 1407150075). The FAA’s proposed rules wouldn't prohibit industries from using drones to transport cargo, “so long as it is not done for compensation and the total weight of the aircraft, including the property, is less than 55 pounds,” the notice said. The agency seeks comment on whether drones should be permitted to transport property for payment “within the other proposed constraints of the rule,” such as the requirements for line of sight operations. It also seeks comment on whether a special class of “air carrier certification” should be developed for commercial operations of small drones. Release of the rulemaking notice came roughly 11 months after CEA and the Aerospace Industries Association joined in urging the FAA to speed the rulemaking process along (see 1403280033). The rulemaking notice also came nearly five years after an FAA-“chartered” aviation rulemaking committee completed work on a 74-page report of comprehensive recommendations on small drones use (see 1403310035). Comments on the proposed rules are due 60 days after they’re published in the Federal Register. Although privacy issues as they pertain to drones "are beyond the scope" of its rulemaking, the FAA and the Department of Transportation will participate in NTIA's "multi-stakeholder engagement process" on the "privacy, accountability, and transparency issues" of commercial drone operations, the notice said (see 1502170038).

NAB will add an online video track to the NAB Show in Las Vegas April 11-16, the association said in a news release Wednesday. The online video conference, April 14 and 15, will cover advertising, cross-screen targeting, migration to over-the-top services, multichannel video programming distributors and new video platforms, it said.

Freeview, the U.K.’s subscription-free digital TV service, is being rebranded as Freeview Play “in preparation for a new product launch that will introduce a mass market connected TV offer,” said DTV Services, the consortium of BBC, Sky, Channel 4, ITV and Arqiva that runs the service. “The Freeview logo and visual identity have been refreshed to reflect the platform’s evolving service and will be introduced across Freeview’s product portfolio and brand marketing.”

“Take Action Now -- Help Avoid a Full West Coast Ports Shutdown,” headlines a grassroots letter campaign launched Thursday warning that West Coast ports have “been temporarily shut down through Monday.” CEA fears “a full shutdown is possible after that if West Coast labor negotiations collapse between dockworkers and port terminal operators,” it said. “If this occurs, U.S. trade will immediately suffer.” CEA estimates a ports shutdown “could cost the U.S. economy $2 billion a day, impacting a range of goods we rely on -- agriculture, manufacturing, retail and transportation,” it said. “Congress and the White House must urge these groups to stay at the negotiating table. Tell the President and your members of Congress to get involved -- a possible shutdown will hurt American businesses, middle-class workers and the economy."

The HDBaseT Alliance used the Integrated Systems Europe conference Tuesday in Amsterdam to announce release of the compliance test specification for version 2.0 of the HDBaseT standard. The HDBaseT 2.0 standard was released in August 2013, the first 2.0-compliant chipsets were released to the market in June, and the first products based on those chipsets are coming to the market now. The goal of the compliance test program is to promote interoperability and “enrich the overall ecosystem” of HDBaseT products and systems, the alliance said.

Qualcomm said it reached a $975 million settlement with China’s National Development and Reform Commission to end NDRC’s investigation of the company under anti-monopoly law. The NDRC issued an administrative decision that Qualcomm violated the nation’s anti-monopoly law and the company agreed not to pursue further legal proceedings challenging the findings, Qualcomm said Monday. The company said it agreed to modify some of its business practices in China to satisfy Chinese law, including offering licenses to its 3G and 4G patents that don’t implement CDMA or WCDMA separately from its other patents, with royalties on 3G patents set at 5 percent and royalties on 4G patents set at 3.5 percent. “We are pleased that the investigation has concluded and believe that our licensing business is now well positioned to fully participate in China's rapidly accelerating adoption of our 3G/4G technology,” said Qualcomm President Derek Aberle.

The FCC should extend the comment deadlines for its proceeding on expanding the definition of a multichannel video programming distributor to include some over-the-top video services, NAB said. Comments are due Feb. 17, replies March 4, but NAB wants comments due March 19, replies April 3. NAB “will need more than the currently allotted time” to analyze “a variety of complex public policy, legal and regulatory matters” connected with the proceeding, the association said Friday in docket 14-261.

The FCC should look for new bands for wireless microphones to use, said NAB and CTIA in comments posted online in docket 14-166 Thursday. “It is critical for the FCC to immediately identify new bands on which wireless microphones may operate,” said NAB, urging the FCC to identify the new bands before the incentive auction ends. The FCC should explore new bands for wireless mics but require unlicensed operations to “cease use of licensed spectrum in areas where a 600 MHz licensee has commenced service,” CTIA said. The FCC should modify rules for unlicensed use so that unlicensed operations “adequately protect the substantial investments of 600 MHz licensees,” CTIA said. CEA also expressed concern about wireless microphone interference: “The Commission must weigh the costs and benefits of expanding access to spectrum for wireless microphone operators and undertake rigorous technical analyses to address potential interference concerns before it decides on any course of action.”

SmartThings joined the Z-Wave Alliance and became a board member, the alliance said Thursday. SmartThings joins board members ADT, Evolve Guest Controls, Fakro, Ingersoll-Rand, Jasco Products, LG Uplus, Nortek Security & Control and Sigma Designs. Z-Wave Alliance Chairman Mark Walters cited SmartThings’ fast growth in its two years in the marketplace and its purchase by Samsung last summer as a “testament to their understanding of the smart home market and a validation of their platform.” The SmartThings system uses a hub that can communicate with 150 devices controllable from an app. Since the purchase by Samsung, the SmartThings ecosystem has doubled to more than 10,000 developers and more than 1 million installed SmartApps, the company said. More than 300 companies have adopted Z-Wave, the alliance said.

Pandora joined the Internet Association, becoming its 29th member, an IA news release said Wednesday. Other members include Amazon, Facebook and Google. IA asked Congress last week to renew Trade Promotion Authority and to consider limitations and exceptions for copyright (see 1501290054).