The WHO’s report, “The effect of exposure to radiofrequency fields on cancer risk in the general and working population,” is a meta-analysis of the findings of 63 different studies published in 22 countries around the world between 1994 and 2022. Each of the studies reviewed by WHO investigated the health effects of exposure to radio frequency-electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) generated by mobile phones.
The report found “RF-EMF exposure from mobile phones (ever or regular use vs. no or non-regular use) was not associated with an increased risk of glioma, meningioma, acoustic neuroma, pituitary tumors, salivary gland tumors, or pediatric brain tumors…”
A Report and Order issued by the Commission establishes initial service rules applicable to wireless communications technologies that support UAS control and operations. Specifically, the rules allow UAS operators to obtain frequency assignments in a portion of the 5 GHz band intended for use by non‑networked operations.
The FCC says the new rules are based on the use of dynamic frequency management systems that can manage and coordinate access to the spectrum and provide temporary frequency assignments to support UAS communications in controlled airspace and other safety-critical situations.
The use of drones and other types of UAS is growing rapidly and has become increasingly essential in search and rescue missions. The FCC predicts that UAS operations will triple during the current decade in terms of the number of devices in use. Hence the need to provide safe access to expanded portions of the wireless spectrum.
Issued in early August, the Forfeiture Order confirms the agency’s proposed fine of $2.3 million against Johnny Peralta, the alleged operator of an unauthorized radio station on 105.7 MHz, known as “La Mia Radio.” Peralta must pay the Forfeiture Penalty by early September or face further prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The station, which the FCC says has operated since at least 2018, was first identified by agents from the New York Field Office of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau in September of that year by tracing the source of the radio transmissions to an FM transmitter antenna located at an apartment building in the Bronx. After a warning was posted on the building’s front door, the transmitter antenna was, according to the Commission, temporarily moved to another location in the Bronx but later relocated to the original site, where it continued to operate through at least mid-2023.
The Commission finally issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) against Peralta in November 2023, proposing a financial penalty of $2,316.034 for his willful violations of FCC regulations. However, since then, Peralta has failed to file a response to the NAL, prompting the FCC’s decision to issue the Forfeiture Order affirming the fine.
The FDA’s list now includes 69 different AR- or VR‑augmented devices that have been authorized by the agency through its 510(k), De Novo, or Premarket Approval processes. The authorized devices include a variety of technologies applicable for used in many different fields of medicine, including orthopedics, radiology, ophthalmology, cardiology, and others.
The FDA says that AR and VR “have the potential to transform healthcare, delivering new types of treatments and diagnostics and changing how and where care is delivered.” Examples of AR include the ability to mix digital imagery with the real world (mixed or merged reality), while examples of VR include devices that project medical images onto a patient during an operating procedure to help guide the surgeon.
Published by the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), the Discussion Paper, titled “Health Equity for Medical Devices,” outlines various factors and considerations that may be important for device manufacturers to consider in clinical studies intended to support the development of advanced and innovative medical devices.
Specifically, the paper discusses three considerations (disease burden or condition; physiology, anatomy, and pathophysiology; and technology) that may need to be considered in the design of clinical studies to adequately reflect the intended use population for a given device. The paper also addresses other aspects to consider in evaluating whether data derived from clinical studies is representative of the intended use population for a given device.
According to a recent news brief posted on the website of the National Association for Amateur Radio (ARRL), Everton Henriques, a teacher at the Staten Island Technical High School and a licensed amateur radio operator, has developed a program intended to teach his students about radio technologies. Henriques has reportedly taught his students about high-frequency technologies, local repeater use, foxhunting, and space communications and plans to incorporate training on mesh networking in the coming academic year.
Equally important, Henriques has helped more than 100 of his students take and pass the licensing exam, with many of them successfully passing the tests necessary to upgrade their licenses from General to Extra.
According to an Order issued by the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau in late August, Lingo Telecom has agreed to pay a $1 million civil penalty to resolve the Bureau’s investigation into claims that the company transmitted nearly 4000 generative AI Deepfake voice messages that imitated the voice of President Joseph Biden two days ahead of the Democratic Primary.
Lingo also reportedly failed to verify the accuracy of the caller ID information it used and then mislabeled the calls with the highest level of caller ID attestation, leading other transmitters to believe that the calls were legitimate.
The settlement between Lingo and the FCC follows a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture issued by the Commission in May, in which the FCC proposed a fine of $2 million for Lingo’s alleged violation of the Commission’s caller ID authentication rules, a first-of-its-kind enforcement action by the FCC. In addition to paying the $1 million penalty, Lingo has also agreed as part of its settlement with the FCC to implement a robust compliance plan to prevent future such violations of FCC’s rules.