The "fair share question" of whether Big Tech should pay for network usage is a "temporary issue" that's part of a broader debate on the future of Europe's telecom infrastructure, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said Tuesday at an informal meeting of EU telecom ministers in Leon, Spain. Among other things, government officials discussed how to ensure Europe has the right infrastructure to achieve its "digital decade" goals. The European Commission recently consulted on the future of electronic communications networks and plans to publish a "white paper" during the Belgian EU Presidency, which begins in January, Breton said. Government officials at the meeting agreed that boosting European networks will mean defining the technology of future networks, determining how to fund them, and deciding whether any new regulation is needed, he said. Responses to the consultation showed little appetite, except among some large telcos, for making content providers pay operators to carry their material (see 2310110032). "Our purpose is much broader than" fair share; "we need to share a common vision," Breton said. The white paper will discuss payment for network usage, but that's not the overarching issue, he added. Lobbying for and against the idea continued before the meeting. The Computer and Communications Industry Association, several national tech and trade associations and France’s largest internet exchange point strongly opposed usage fees and urged the EC and governments to reject them. GSMA Europe warned "the clock is ticking" to determine whether Europe leads or lags behind. Among other things, mobile operators said, countries must introduce "a digital infrastructure framework that enables the huge effort in rollout and network transformation required to achieve 2030 targets, fostering investment by tackling low returns for service providers and finding a new financing model in the digital value chain that allows for sustainable, secure and efficient use of Europe’s networks."

Hikvision USA this week asked the FCC for “clarification and guidance” on the definition of “covered communications equipment” in an order last year further clamping down on gear from Chinese companies, preventing the sale of yet-to-be authorized equipment in the U.S. (see 2211230065). The order directed the Office of Engineering and Technology and the Public Safety Bureau to “develop and finalize additional clarifications” on the terms “video surveillance equipment” and “telecommunications equipment,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 21-232. “Hikvision seeks such clarity with respect to the specific types of devices that constitute ‘covered equipment’ so that it can operationalize the Order’s use limitations,” the company said.

Comments are due to the International Trade Commission Oct. 26 in a potential investigation on imported electronic devices, says a notice for Wednesday’s Federal Register. Ericsson filed a complaint Thursday alleging Motorola and Lenovo import devices, including mobile phones, that infringe on four of Ericsson's patents for semiconductor chips, cellular communications, video encryption and video controls. Ericsson seeks a permanent limited exclusion order against Lenovo and its subsidiaries, plus cease and desist orders. The company filed another complaint against Lenovo and Motorola Oct. 11 at the ITC for alleged infringement of Ericson's cellular communication patents (see 2310160032).

Comments are due to the International Trade Commission Oct. 25 in a potential patent infringement investigation on imported 5G-capable mobile phones and components, said a notice for Tuesday's Federal Register. Ericsson filed a complaint last week alleging Motorola and Lenovo import 5G-capable mobile phones which infringe on four of Ericsson's patents on protecting privacy in wireless networks, wireless transmission, uplink and downlink controls and wireless encoding. It asked the commission for a permanent limited exclusion order and a cease and desist order. Ericsson said the infringement was part of Lenovo's longstanding bad faith licensing negotiations on Ericsson's fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory commitments. The company said it has been in negotiations with Lenovo for more than a decade over several Ericsson patents "essential" to cellular standards.

Motorola Solutions slammed a compliance plan with FCC supply chain security rules filed by Dahua Technology, in a filing posted Friday in docket 21-232. “The Plan’s definitions of ‘Critical Infrastructure,’ ‘Government Facilities,’ and ‘National Security’ are incomplete,” Motorola said. “The Plan also erroneously implies that the definitions … are stagnant, which is not the case.” Dahua’s definition of employee “is too narrow by limiting its reach to employees, contractors, or agents of Dahua USA engaged in specified functions ‘associated with the sale of Dahua Equipment in the United States,” the company said: “The public safety prohibition extends to certain locations overseas, and the Employee definition should be modified accordingly. … Dahua also should be directed to eliminate use of the term ‘National Security Purposes’ in the Plan. Although ostensibly intended as a shorthand reference to the purposes for which Dahua’s covered equipment cannot lawfully be marketed or sold, it is unnecessarily confusing and unreasonably restrictive.” Security firm IPVM also raised concerns on the plan.

The U.S. “has done a great job of limiting the presence of Chinese telecom equipment domestically, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg” and “there’s still a great deal that must be done both domestically and internationally,” FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington said Thursday during a Hudson Institute webinar. He is seeking recognition that Chinese technology that’s not considered telecom equipment still “poses a substantial risk when it’s included as a component of a larger cyber and telecom ecosystem.” The U.S. must go deeper than communications equipment and focus also on AI, automated systems and the “cyber environments” for pipelines, manufacturing plants and vehicular controls, he said. Chinese telecom “poses a threat to the private sector as well,” Simington said. “We have to remain at the forefront of telecommunications and its integration into technologies,” he said. The FCC issues licenses for undersea cables but can’t issue or revoke a license without State Department approval, he said. The U.S. “has taken significant steps to limit the use of Chinese-built undersea cables,” but China’s HMN Technologies still supplies more than 10% of cable infrastructure worldwide, he said. China lays less undersea cable than the U.S., France and Japan, “but not an insignificant amount -- and increasing,” he said. Starting in 2022, the U.S. government “exerted influence” to prevent some new cables from connecting directly between the U.S. and China, he said: “This has led to a quiet cable-laying rivalry between Southeast Asia [and] all the way into the Middle East and Western Europe.”

The FCC signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday with Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority to "strengthen cross-border efforts to combat unsolicited and unlawful communications," the agencies announced Thursday. The agencies agreed to work together to "enhance cooperation in regulatory enforcement" of scams. "Robocall scams do not respect international borders and are a problem for consumers and businesses around the world," said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel: "It is critical that we work closely with partners like our colleagues in Singapore." IMDA Chief Executive Lew Chuen Hong said the agreement "builds on the strong ties" between Singapore and the U.S. in "working towards safeguarding our digital environment."

Forcing over-the-top services to pay network costs for carrying content isn't supported by many stakeholders other than some e-communications network (ECN) providers, a European Commission consultation on the future of the ECN sector and its infrastructure found (see 2303220017). Its report on the results of the poll said "while the majority (mostly digital platforms, [content delivery networks], consumer organisations and citizens) of the respondents expressed opposition to a mandatory mechanism of direct payments from [content application providers/large traffic generators (LTGs)] to contribute to the financing of network deployment, other respondents (primarily ECNs) supported the system as a tool to address the imbalanced bargaining power between them and LTGs." ECNs that want a mandatory mechanism for direct payments said LTGs generate revenue without helping with network costs, while ECN providers struggle to recover investments. For them, the mechanism could reduce that investment gap, incentivize traffic generation and benefit consumers. Such a mechanism would involve introducing the obligation to negotiate, a dispute resolution mechanism and price monitoring. The large majority of respondents to the question said if the mechanism is introduced LTGs should be the main contributors. Most of those who supported a payment mechanism -- "mostly ECN providers," the EC noted -- said network providers should benefit from the direct payment to the extent that they invest in network infrastructure in Europe. ECN providers said the payment would offer many benefits, but others, such as digital platforms, content providers and consumer groups, said introducing such compensation could undermine the principle of net neutrality, potentially cut incentives for innovation, particularly for small traffic generators, and mean higher consumer prices. The results prove "the vast majority of stakeholders agree: introducing network usage fees would be an unnecessary and damaging regulatory intrusion that is neither required nor justified." The European Telecommunications Network Operators Association, which backed fair share legislation earlier this month, didn't comment. The EC noted the views presented in the report are those of the respondents, not its official position.

Germany’s Deutsche Telekom is working with Mavenir on network slicing, using the provider’s 5G stand-alone network. The companies announced Friday the launch of DT's 5G Live Video Production Service, with RTL Deutschland, “for stable broadcasting of live events using 5G stand-alone and network slicing technologies.” DT also is working with Mavenir on a network slicing proof of concept (PoC). “Our enterprise customers are demanding tailored and flexible connectivity services,” said Torsten Griesche, DT vice president-network data core: “We are proud that our pioneering work on 5G SA Slicing can now be experienced by our customers with the launch of 5G Live Video Production.”

Researchers from the University of York, in collaboration with the Quantum Communications Hub and euNetworks Fiber UK, said they demonstrated that quantum communications “is possible over the long geographical distance that separates England from Ireland.” The signal had to travel 140 miles on a new, ultra-low loss fiber cable between the two countries. “Many large companies and organizations are interested in quantum communications to secure their data, but it has limitations, particularly the distance it can travel,” said Marco Lucamarini, experimental quantum communications professor at York. “The longer the distance, the more likely it is that the photon -- the particles of light that we use as carriers of quantum information -- are lost, absorbed or scattered in the channel, which reduces the chances of the information reaching its target,” he said: “This presents a problem when organizations need to send private digital information to other cities or other countries, where the additional challenge could also be an ocean between the communications’ start and end point.”