For years corporate radio officials have claimed the airplanes will fall from the sky because of the scourge of pirate radio. But no plane crashes have been attributed to an illegal broadcast. So when the Federal Aviation Administration and airline industry officials recently began saying airplanes could fall from the sky because of 5G signals, it sounded like another conspiracy theory. Airplane altimeters tell pilots plane altitudes, and rely on a spectrum from 4.2 GHz to 4.4 GHz. That is close to where 5G signals get sent, between 3.7 to 3.98 GHz. So, unlike FM transmissions which are not nearly as close, it is conceivable for faulty transmissions or receivers could cause problems. And, it turns out many planes have older altimeters that were designed before the age of so many cell phone signals. That led to the Federal Aviation Administration objecting to the Federal Communications Commission’s authorization of 5G networks near airports earlier this year. Now Jon Brodkin at ArsTechnica reports that the FAA has announced a plan to replace or retrofit airplane altimeters that can't filter out transmissions from outside their allotted frequencies. The FCC says interference in altimeters was unlikely to occur "under reasonable scenarios" and that the aviation industry should conduct more research "on why there may even be a potential for some interference given that well-designed equipment should not ordinarily receive any significant interference (let alone harmful interference) given these circumstances." The FAA seems to be conceding to the FCC that the problem really is not that large. "During initial negotiations in January, the wireless companies offered to keep mitigations in place until July 5, 2022, while they worked with the FAA to better understand the effects of 5G C-band signals on sensitive aviation instruments," the FAA said last week. "Based on progress achieved during a series of stakeholder roundtable meetings, the wireless companies offered Friday to continue with some level of voluntary mitigations for another year." But the airline industry is mad that they are being made responsible for the issue. "At today's FAA roundtable we were told that the vast majority of our fleet (approximately 4,800 aircraft) would need to be retrofitted by July 2023," Airlines for America, a trade group that represents the major U.S. airlines, said in a letter to the FAA. "Given that the FAA has not even approved solutions nor have manufacturers manufactured these products for most of this fleet, it is not at all clear that carriers can meet what appears to be an arbitrary deadline." Read more about this story at ArsTechnica.

Matt Burgess reports for Wired that for an hour on May 30, there was no internet service in the city of Kherson in south Ukraine. There was not a bombing of a cell tower, or a warehouse of servers that day. Russia was taking over the internet then, switching to its service providers and online censorship, moving from KhersonTelecom to Miranda Media, a Crimea-based company. "Multiple Ukrainian ISPs are now forced to switch their services to Russian providers and expose their customers to the country’s vast surveillance and censorship network, according to senior Ukrainian officials and technical analysis viewed by Wired," Burgess wrote. Internet companies are being given a choice: reroute their connections under Russian control or shut down entirely. “We understand this is a gross violation of human rights,” Victor Zhora, the deputy head of Ukraine’s cybersecurity agency, said. “Since all traffic will be controlled by Russian special services, it will be monitored, and Russian invaders will restrict the access to information resources that share true information.” There are many media reports that Ukraine is doing well, holding off Russian invaders, but this story says the Russians are taking over not just land but infrastructure. In occupied regions of Ukraine around most of the 1,200 ISPs have been switched to Russian control. “We understand that most of them are forced to connect to Russian telecom infrastructure and reroute traffic,” Zhora said. The war in Ukraine has been fought on the radio waves, with Russia bombing Ukraine TV stations, using satellites for cyberattacks, and sending out misinformation on all sorts of frequencies. And Russia's System for Operative Investigative Activities is used to read people’s emails, intercept text messages, and surveil other communications. “They are afraid that the news about the progress of the Ukrainian army will encourage resistance in the Kherson region and facilitate real activities,” Zhora claims. Read more about this story at Wired.

The Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act on May 14, 2018, allowing states to legalize gambling on sporting events. That led to radio and television stations being able to accept advertisements for sports gambling. Anyone in a state that recently legalized gambling, saw and heard thousands of ads for sports betting on TV and radio. Since 1996, 37 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have adopted laws allowing legal access to cannabis, with 15 states and the District of Columbia passing laws legalizing cannabis for adult recreational use. Many radio and television executives hope they get the same advertising bonanza from cannabis that they received from the gambling industry. The difference is there has been no Supreme Court ruling, nor any national legislation passed, or federal executive order decreed, allowing those advertisements on the public airwaves. The Federal government still considers cannabis illegal, and while the drug is currently allowed in both New York and Massachusetts, it is a federal offense to buy cannabis in one state, and then take it across state lines. The Republican-appointed FCC Commissioners Nathan Simington and Brendan Carr have both spoken recently about how broadcasters in states where cannabis has been decriminalized or legalized cannot accept ad dollars from dispensaries, Inside Radio reports. That could change, at least temporarily, soon. Broadcasters backed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (H.R. 3617), which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in April and would decriminalize cannabis in federal law. But Republicans in the Senate are blocking the bill. To get around that, Democrats in the House have recently included language in the Financial Services and General Government funding bill that says the FCC could not use federal funds to penalize TV or radio broadcasters for airing cannabis ads where it is legal. If passed, this funding bill would legalize cannabis ads in states where it is legal, but only for the one year the bill covers, from this Oct. 1 until Sept. 30, 2023. The spending bill was voted out of the subcommittee on June 16 and now heads to the full House Appropriations Committee for a voice vote, before the entire House can vote on it. But Republicans are still attempting to strip the cannabis language out of the bill before future votes, so an influx of cannabis ads may or may not be coming to the public airwaves.

Paul McLane reports for Radio World that climate change is now affecting radio policy. Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel released a statement June 16 saying the bureau will work to improve cell phone reception during hurricanes and wildfires and other disasters. “While wireless providers have worked hard to prevent outages and restore service during recent disasters, there were times when communications fell short and recovery took too long, which put lives at risk,” her statement read, in part. The Western United States has seen more forest fires recently, and several very large hurricanes have impacted the southern states too. Locally ice storms, high winds, and flooding have knocked out communications in recent years. Rosenworcel, the Democratic-appointed Chair, and Republican-appointed Commissioner Brendan Carr visited in Louisiana after Hurricane Ida and they “heard firsthand where communications resiliency needs improvement" and "now it’s time to act on what we’ve learned,” Rosenworcel said. Proposals for improving disaster communications include mutual aid arrangements that enable service providers to request, or receive a request, for assistance during emergencies. Companies would also draft more complete disaster plans, under the proposal. Public safety and first responder groups including the National Sheriffs’ Association and the International Association of Fire Chiefs approve the proposals, Carr said. The mutual aid agreement may have emerged after some carriers had signals after Hurricane Ida hit the New Orleans area in 2021. WWL asked readers "why were Verizon subscribers still able to make calls while T-Mobile/Sprint and AT&T customers couldn't?" Nearby Lafourche Parish did not have any cell service for a week after the storm hit. Anthony Nordin, a construction manager with a cell company, said service providers can add back-up generators and fuel supplies, and otherwise harden transmitter sites to stay on the airwaves.

Mike Masnick at Techdirt reports about the likely unconstitutional law that New York passed in the wake of the Buffalo mass shooting. The law requires websites to have a “hateful conduct policy.” Of course, website do not really have any conduct, but they contain speech. And the government is not allowed to regulate speech, outside yelling fire in a crowded theater. The law defines hateful conduct as "the use of a social media network to vilify, humiliate, or incite violence against a group or a class of persons on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression." That describes speech, not conduct. And speech is protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The law claims that it has nothing to do with free speech: "Nothing in this section shall be construed (a) as an obligation imposed on a social media network that adversely affects the rights or freedoms of any persons, such as exercising the right of free speech pursuant to the first amendment to the United States Constitution," the law says. If it does not regulate speech, what exactly is the "conduct" of websites that it seeks to alter?

The Broadcast Law Blog reports that the Federal Communications Commission is back with its monthly public meeting in July in person. The FCC closed its old office building to outside visitors on March 12, 2020. The agency has since moved to a new building. Axios reports that things are not all back to normal, though. The FCC is still a commissioner short, locked in a two-two tie between Republicans and Democrats so nothing much can get accomplished. "Biden was historically slow in picking his nominee," Gigi Sohn, Axios reports, who was nominated last October and has yet to get a full confirmation vote from the U.S. Senate. "The absence of effort from the White House to see this through by pushing a nominee through is frustrating beyond belief," one anonymous advocate for progressive radio policies told Axios. They report that President Joe Biden does not yet have the votes to get his nominee through, with Democrat Joe Manchin undecided, and Democrat Mark Kelly still evaluating her nomination. Sohn authored the net neutrality legislation, and is considered a progressive Democrat. By comparison, former President Trump promoted former FCC commissioner Ajit Pai to chair less than a week after taking office, and got Brendan Carr confirmed for the Republican majority seat by August in his first year.

A legendary figure in pirate radio history, Carlos Juan Camacho Jr., died June 8 in Tampa. Camacho operated La Primerisima 89.3 FM from his home in Ybor City in Tampa, Florida, playing salsa and merengue music in the 1990s. The station was raided by officials from the Federal Communications Commission on April 13, 1998. Radio Amore, another unlicensed Tampa radio station was also raided that day by the FCC. That station was run by the Rev. Alberto Acosta who broadcast on 90.1-FM from a Baptist church. That raid came four months after three other pirate stations -- The Party Pirate, 87X, and Lutz Community Radio -- in Tampa were taken down by SWAT teams and the FCC. Tampa was a hotbed of pirate radio at the time, and the FCC's Tampa office busted more unlicensed stations than any other office in the country. Camacho did a do-it-yourself triangulation to locate 87X and meet Kelly Kombat, who was running that pirate station. "He proceeded to take me under his wing and school me on proper signal stabilization, how to use a limiter, how to tighten guy wires, and various other techniques in the operation of a 'professional pirate radio station,'" Kombat wrote of Camacho on Facebook after his death. "Carlos spoke in a thick rapid-fire Nuyorican accent, always with great enthusiasm about music and radio and family." Camacho was born in Puerto Rico on June 9, 1950. He ran the Red Plum Event Hall in New York, hosting performances from salsa stars including Hector Lavoe and Johnny Ventura. Camacho's obituary says "He made the first sound truck known as the 'Come Pava' in Puerto Rico," and also that, "He was an electrical technician and an alarms specialist and at the same time he followed his dream of having his own radio station, which he successfully broadcast for several years."

Former President Donald Trump's social media service "Truth," which he started after he was kicked off Twitter for lies and misinformation, is not a place one can be banned for their beliefs, right? “I created TRUTH Social and TMTG to stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech. We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American President has been silenced. This is unacceptable,” Trump said in a press release last year before his site launched, bragging about the lack of censorship. Now Mike Masnick reports at Techdirt that Trump's Truth site is banning users for trying to spread some “truths” about the January 6 hearings. "My Truth Social account was just permanently suspended for talking about the January 6th Committee hearings," Travis Allen, a political commentator on social media and self-described information security analyst, posted on Twitter on June 9, the day the first public hearing on the attempted coup of the United States was held. "So much for "free speech." This is censorship!" he wrote. Jack Cocchiarella posted on Twitter a similar story on June 10. "I was suspended from Truth Social for posting about the January 6th hearing last night," he wrote. "Donald Trump is scared of free speech." And this is not the first time that cancel culture has come to Trump's version of the Truth. In February, Techdirt reported, "Trump's social network is rapidly banning users it doesn't like, without telling them why." And the site's terms of service state that they may ban users: "We reserve the right to, in our sole discretion and without notice or liability, deny access to and use of the service (including blocking certain IP addresses) to any person for any reason or for no reason." Of course, no one has a constitutional right to a Twitter or Truth account, and companies are allowed to do what they want, even if Donald Trump doesn't want you to believe that truth.

Karl Bode reports in Techdirt that antitrust and telecom experts warned that a Sprint and T-Mobile merger would result in layoffs and higher prices. Now that the merger is approved and the number of major U.S. wireless services has been reduced from four to three, employees are being laid off and consumers are paying higher prices as predicted. T-Mobile almost immediately laid off more than 5,000 employees after the merger was approved. Now, over the last few weeks, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have all raised costs to consumers. The telecoms are passing the price hikes off as "fees" and blaming them on everything except reduced competition. For instance, Verizon increased the “administrative charge” it places on millions of user wireless bills from $1.35 to $3.30. “To be clear, this is not a price plan increase for consumer lines,” a Verizon spokesperson told Fierce in a statement. “From time to time, we review and make adjustments to fees to defray some of Verizon’s administrative and telco expenses and costs of complying with regulatory requirements. To that end, Verizon Consumer will implement a change beginning in June.” AT&T also raised rates from $6 to $12 a month on different mobile service plans. T-Mobile also raised its upgrade and activation fees by $5. And if all three telecom services are raising rates, what is a poor customer to do? Change carriers? Read more about this story in Techdirt.

Andrew Jones reports for Space.com that astronomers have discovered a second persistently active fast radio burst. There have been about 500 fast radio bursts -- intense, brief flashes of radio-frequency emissions, lasting for milliseconds -- found since the phenomenon was discovered in 2007. But only two are associated with a persistent radio source, and this one is within the fringes of a dwarf galaxy nearly three billion light-years from Earth. What causes these highly energetic transmissions is a mystery. Astronomers guess that the average FRB releases as much energy in a millisecond as the Sun puts out in three days. Most use radio frequencies around 1400 MHz; while a few have been detected at lower frequencies in the range of 400–800 MHz. "The big surprise for me was realizing that the new FRB seems to be such a perfect 'twin' to an earlier discovery," Casey Law, an astronomer at Caltech. "Perhaps some would have preferred to say that the first such association [between an FRB and radio source] was a coincidence, because it was hard to explain. Now the second example shows that this is a real and critical part of the life of an FRB." Di Li, of the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) and lead of the Commensal Radio Astronomy FAST Survey which detected the latest fast radio burst, told Space.com via email. "I personally favor an evolutionary picture in that all sources repeat, but the activity level drops precipitously as the source ages. Since FRB 20190520B is only the second of around 500 known FRBs to have a so-called PRS counterpart and both are extremely active, they could, in this hypothetical evolutionary picture, represent FRBs' youth, which lasts not very long." Read more about this story at Space.com.

The Federal Communications Commission approved the renewal of the WGXC FM license to Wave Farm on May 25. The message from the FCC read, "This is to notify you that your Application for Renewal of License 0000182419, was granted on 05/25/2022 for a term expiring on 06/01/2030." This is the second time WGXC's license was renewed, after the station first went on the air on February, 2011. Wave Farm, the licensee for WGXC, is a non-profit arts organization that works with transmission artists from around the world. "Transmission" artists work with some part of the radio dial, including shortwave radio, baby monitors, webstreams, CB radios, and other broadcast forums.

Paul McLane reports for Radio World that broadcasters who use public airwaves to make their own money face 13 percent increases in fees in fiscal 2022 from the Federal Communications Commission. For-profit radio stations pay small fees to the FCC to pay for regulating the industry that makes millions of dollars selling advertising on the public's airwaves. A station that can reach six million listeners, for instance, will have to pay less than $24,000 in fees to keep minting millions from the public's airwaves. A small Class A station that reaches fewer than 25,000 listeners has to pay $1,105. “Unfortunately, the commission continues to unlawfully require broadcasters to subsidize the Commission’s broadband activities,” the National Association of Broadcasters said in a statement that stretches credulity. “For these local stations that are still recovering from the pandemic and face unique economic challenges in today’s media landscape, such an unjustified increase is devastating and risks undermining the unique locally-focused service that our communities rely upon. NAB stands ready and willing to work with the commission to ensure a fair and lawful payment regime.” Anyone with an opinion on FCC fees that “may promote or inhibit advances in diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, as well the scope of the commission’s relevant legal authority,” can file comments in the FCC’s online system. In the Proceeding field, refer to MD Docket No. 22-223. Comments are due July 5, and replies July 18. Read more about this story at Radio World.

Scharon Harding reports for Ars Technica that New York's state legislature on June 3 passed the Digital Fair Repair Act, a bill requiring digital electronics manufacturers, such as laptop and smartphone manufacturers, to make diagnostic and repair information available. Consumers will be allowed to fix many radio-related items, or have them fixed at independent repair shops, instead of being forced to buy a new model or go without. Medical devices, home appliances, agricultural and off-road equipment, or public safety communications equipment is exempt from this bill, so John Deere tractors and dishwashers still can't be fixed by consumers in New York if Gov. Kathy Hochul signs the bill. "Nothing prevents third-party repairers from being technically competent to complete digital repairs other than the lack of information being withheld by manufacturers," the bill states. "In too many instances, repairs of digital items are intentionally limited by the manufacturer." New York Assemblymember Patricia Fahy said the bill would "help to reduce the 655,000 tons of toxic e-waste produced [and] typically discarded in a single calendar year here in New York state." A previous study from the U.S. Public Interest Group predicted that the average New York family would save around $330 per year and reduce electronic waste by 22 percent with the right to repair. Now right-to-repair advocates hope other bills like this one will be passed elsewhere. Read more about this story at Ars Technica.

Karl Bode reports in Techdirt that 5G streaming technology has barely been installed in the United States and the hype for 6G technology has already begun. First, the story reports that the rollout of 5G technology in the United States has been slower than elsewhere. And even when 5G has been built out in the U.S. it is "actually slower than existing 4G networks" often. On the plus side, there is no evidence that 5G causes cancer or COVID-19, as some conspiracy theorists claim. Bode writes, "it’s pretty clear that the technology is more of a modest evolution than a revolution, and 5G hype overkill (largely driven by a desperate desire to rekindle lagging smartphone sales) is a far cry from reality." So take that all into account as you listen to corporate shills hype the 6G technology coming in 2030. "By the time quantum computing is maturing for commercial applications, we’re going to be talking about 6G,” Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark said. “By then, [2030], definitely the smartphone as we know it today will not anymore be the most common interface.” Read more about this story in Techdirt.

Inside Radio guesses at what will become this year's song of the summer, the song endlessly heard on radios at street parties, around pools, and on vacations. Currently, Harry Styles' “As It Was” and Lizzo's “About Damn Time” are the song's most likely to become the song of the summer of 2022, according to radio industry experts. But the 2022 song of the summer might come from a previous year, "As catalog music has shown an increase in streaming since COVID, accounting for 70 percent of listening according to Luminate, streaming of current titles has fallen another 3.5 percent in 2022 to date," the story reports. Two songs of last year's summer, Dua Lipa's “Levitating” and Olivia Rodrigo's “Good 4 U,” rank number 24 and number 29, respectively, on the current Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart. “A combination of older streamers tuning in, younger listeners discovering decades-old hits through the explosion of social-video platforms like TikTok, and listeners turning to familiar tunes for comfort during the pandemic lockdowns all led to a rise in such nostalgia listening,” The Wall Street Journal's Anne Steele writes. So Billboard's Gary Trust says, “It’s hard for any one song or one sound to dominate streaming like it used to be.” Read more about this story at Inside Radio.

Jon Brodkin reports at Ars Technica that on May 31 the U.S. Supreme Court over ruled a Texas law banning “censorship” on social media on a 5-4 vote. Amy Coney Barrett, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Brett Kavanaugh, and John Roberts voted to over turn the Texas law, while Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch dissented, and Elena Kagan voted against but did not sign on to Alito's dissent. The Texas law said, "social media platform may not censor a user" based on the user's "viewpoint" and defines "censor" as "block, ban, remove, deplatform, demonetize, de-boost, restrict, deny equal access or visibility to, or otherwise discriminate against expression." The law was largely created because Twitter banned former President Donald Trump. The Texas law, "would have been a disaster for social media users and for public discourse," said John Bergmayer, legal director for consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge. "It would have ordered social media platforms to host and distribute horrific and distasteful content, and to turn a blind eye to hate, abuse, and coordinated misinformation campaigns. The main result of these policies would not be to enhance free speech, but to keep people from speaking by driving them away from toxic platforms." Read more about this story at Ars Technica.

France 24 reports about civilians hiding in basement bomb shelters in besieged Ukrainian cities such as Lysychansk, where they rarely see the sun and mostly rely on the radio for information. And just what channel is tuned in makes all the difference. "The Russians on the radio just said that they have captured Bakhmut. Is that true?" Natalia Georgiyevna anxiously asked about a nearby city. "We do not really know anything," her neighbour Viktoria Viktorovna responds from a corner cot positioned just outside a beam of light that's the only brightness in the dank cellar. "I guess we still have the Ukrainians here, no?" she asks, as unidentified voices on the radio fade in and out. "The Russians are saying they are winning and the Ukrainians are saying they are," Natalia Georgiyevna said. "When we still had the internet, we could watch the news. But now... I have no idea who these voices are or where they come from."

Mike Masnick writes in TechDirt about how politicians are blaming words sent by radio waves for the multiple murders at schools, grocery stores, houses of worship and other so-called "soft" targets around the nation, rather than guns. For instance, Republican Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker said on Fox News last week that the solution to school shootings involves "a department that can look at young men that's looking at women that's looking at social media." Click here to play an excerpt of Walker's statement. Of course, Masnick points out, a government department that is looking into the speech of people also is taking away constitutional rights. Meanwhile, The Washington Post lists all the social media sites used by the recent mass shooters. "Both the Uvalde, Texas, shooter and the one in Buffalo, used a combination of disappearing video-app Snapchat, Instagram direct messages, chat-app Discord, and social-app Yubo to meet people and share their violent plans with acquaintances. In the case of the Buffalo shooting, the gunman also used video streaming platform Twitch to publicize his deadly attack," Masnick wrote. "It’s weird to blame the tools for the actual communications, but that always seems to be the focus." Read more about this story in TechDirt.

ProPublica takes a deep dive into the rollout of 5G wireless technology and how that affected airplanes. The Federal Aviation Administration objected to the Federal Communications Commission’s authorization of 5G networks near airports, but the story paints both agencies as incompetent industry toadies. There is no problem with the 5G technology, but with the altimeters of planes. They are often older, and not designed for our new digital world with more radio signals whizzing all around. The FAA was concerned that altimeters on planes, used in automated aircraft landings, would accidentally receive 5G radio signals, and not give pilots proper readings. Aviation experts warned of “catastrophic failures leading to multiple fatalities," the story says. In January, an agreement was struck, with Verizon and AT&T temporarily not turning on more than 600 5G transmission towers near the runways of 87 airports and reducing the power of others. ProPublica trace the entire story revealing "profound failures" at the FCC. On July 5 the temporary agreement expires, but aviation officials say it would take at two years to replace the older altimeters. "The rhetoric of the FCC chief is almost identical to that of the industry she regulates. As recently as last month, Jessica Rosenworcel, the Biden-appointed FCC chair, dismissed aviation concerns as, in effect, a shakedown — a ploy to get telecom companies to fund a nationwide upgrade of airplane equipment," the story says. Even if another agreement is struck in July, "T-Mobile and other wireless companies are approved to roll out additional 5G service at the end of 2023, using a C-band frequency even closer to the one used by the airplane safety equipment," ProPublica reports. “The wireless companies have made it very clear they’re not going to agree to an open-ended situation,” one FAA official told ProPublica. “They seem willing to go past July 5, as long as they know how far past. But they’re making clear their patience is not infinite.” Click here to read the entire ProPublica story.