Industry regulations + certifications

DARPA today announced its Artificial Intelligence Exploration (AIE) program, a key component of the agency’s broader artificial intelligence (AI) investment strategy aimed at ensuring the United States maintains an advantage in this critical and rapidly accelerating technology area. AIE will constitute a series of unique funding opportunities that use streamlined contracting procedures and funding mechanisms…

A new industry-backed report suggests that curbing the current delays in installations of small cellular infrastructure could generate tens of billions in economic development. The analysis, compiled by Accenture and commissioned by CTIA, said a 12-month reduction in current timelines would translate to an additional $100 billion for the U.S. economy over the next three…

New York City this week announced a $20.8 million settlement with a group of nurses in a dispute stemming from a municipal policy about public employees’ access to retirement with full pension benefits. City workers employed in professions deemed “physically taxing” were allow to retire at the age of 50 — as long as they…

IT experts at Monash University have devised the world’s leading post-quantum secure privacy-preserving algorithm – so powerful it can thwart attacks from supercomputers of the future. The Lattice-Based One Time Ring Signature (L2RS) enhanced security and privacy-preserving features enable large transactions and transfer of data without risk of being hacked by quantum computers and privacy revoked by unauthorised users.…

A who’s who of CEOs, engineers and scientists from the technology industry—including Google DeepMind, the XPRIZE Foundation and Elon Musk—have signed a pledge to “neither participate in nor support the development, manufacture, trade, or use of lethal autonomous weapons”. Released in Stockholm at the 2018 International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), the world’s leading…

If the Affordable Care Act’s protections for people with preexisting medical conditions are struck down in court, residents of the Republican-led states that are challenging the law have the most to lose. “These states have been opposed to the ACA from the beginning,” says Gerald Kominski, a senior fellow at the UCLA Center for Health…

Observers are speculating a recent federal appeals court decision could have a major impact on Medicare reimbursements moving forward, The New York Times reports. A ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit asserted that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been employing flawed data in…

The introduction of Controller Area Network (CAN-bus) architecture for the engine control interface in off-highway vehicles has opened up a new world of user interface possibilities. CAN-bus offers vehicle owners greater flexibility and functionality in a much smaller package, while offering integration options that cut assembly costs. The CAN-bus Keypads and Man-Machine Interface (MMI) Controllers gives…

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday unanimously approved a measure that would eventually enable wireless companies to take advantage of mid-band spectrum between 3.7 GHz and 4.2 GHz. The vote initiates the rule-making process for opening up that 500 MHz of spectrum, also known as the C-Band, for wireless use. The band is currently used…

A cable industry group praised the Federal Communications Commission for removing potentially “onerous” reporting requirements from a spectrum rule-making proposal. The commission on Thursday approved a measure to begin crafting rules to open the C-Band, or spectrum between 3.7 GHz and 4.2 GHz currently used by broadcasters for satellite transmissions, for wireless use. The proposal,…

Following a year of legal battles, neurosurgeon Johnny Delashaw, MD, has had his medical license reinstated by the Washington Medical Commision, The Seattle Times reports. The physician’s license was suspended in May 2017 after his leadership was questioned due to a state investigation into practices in the neuroscience division of Seattle’s Cherry Hill, a hospital…

An FCC commissioner hopes recent agreements to install thousands of small cells in San Jose, Calif., could help more cities strike similar partnerships. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel last month introduced model documents based on the agreements negotiated by San Jose officials with Verizon, AT&T and infrastructure company Mobilitie. Under those deals, the companies are expected to…

U.S. authorities are allowing China’s ZTE Corp. to resume some business with American companies, temporarily easing part of a ban imposed over the tech giant’s exports to Iran and North Korea. The Commerce Department’s order this week follows a settlement under which ZTE agreed to pay a $1 billion fine, replace its executive team and…

In a court case being cited as among the first of its kind, a Colorado woman won a decision against the hospital that sued her for an enormous unpaid bill. According to The Denver Post, St. Anthony North Health Campus sought legal action against patient Lisa French, claiming she owed the facility $229,112.13 for spinal…

Georgia plastic surgeon Windell Davis-Boutte, MD, who gained notoriety through videos that captured her dancing and singing along to music over surgical patients who were fully anesthetized, agreed to relinquish her medical license for at least two and half years, according to CNN. Davis-Boutte turned in a signed consent order to the Georgia Composite Medical…

A federal judge on Friday struck down a Trump administration decision allowing states to force low-income adults to work to qualify for Medicaid. The 60-page ruling, which is likely to be appealed, was hailed by advocates for the poor. But it could limit the number of states expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. “The Secretary never…

Wireless industry groups this week hailed introduction of bipartisan legislation they said would enable faster deployments of small cellular infrastructure. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. and chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, on Thursday introduced the STREAMLINE Small Cell Deployment Act with U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii and ranking member of its communications subcommittee. Text of…

AT&T will pay $5.25 million to settle a federal investigation into outages of 911 service in early 2017. The Federal Communications Commission added that the company, as a condition of the settlement, must take steps to ensure reliable 911 call completion, curb the likelihood and impact of outages, improve notifications of 911 call centers during…

First announced in June 2017, DARPA’s Electronics Resurgence Initiative (ERI) is a multi-year, upwards of $1.5 billion investment in jumpstarting innovation and collaboration across the U.S. electronics community to address an array of long foreseen challenges to Moore’s Law. To kickoff this community-wide effort, DARPA is hosting its first annual ERI Summit from July 23-25 in San Francisco, CA.…

FCC Enforcement Bureau official Geoffrey Starks on Wednesday moved one step closer to confirmation as a commissioner. The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved Starks’ nomination on a voice vote; he must still be confirmed by the full Senate. Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., reportedly indicated that both Starks’ nomination and a second term for current…

A Senate panel on Wednesday unanimously moved Geoffrey Starks closer to confirmation as the next commissioner at the FCC. The Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved Starks’ nomination on a voice vote, and Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., reportedly indicated that the full Senate could take up both Starks’ confirmation and a second term for…

In an age of excess information, data collection is a constant process for every industry. Information will always be considered a highly valuable asset, as it enables companies to answer important questions and evaluate outcomes based on the information that they gather and measure about targeted variables. Consumer information is the key to product creation,…

A Rhode Island hospital has reached an agreement with state health officials which will lead to facility upgrades and staff improvement measures totalling at least $1.7 million. Kent Hospital, located in Warwick, came under increased scrutiny from the Rhode Island Department of Health after four different significant surgical errors were reported over the course of six…

Attaching a camera to a Small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS)—or drone—is not a new concept. Wedding videos, sporting events and feature films are captured using camera-mounted drones all the time. Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is looking to equip drones with different sensors useful in search-and-rescue, reconnaissance, active shooter response, hostage rescue…

Patient safety advocates who have examined a hefty new proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) say the agency is on course to eliminate data on infection rates from its quality reporting measures. Information on catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), Clostridium difficile (C. Diff), postoperative sepsis, and other healthcare associated infections…