FCC cracks down on robocalls originating from small carriers

Starting today, small phone carriers must implement a special caller ID authentication tool that will help identify robocallers, the Federal Communication Commission announced. Known as STIR/SHAKEN, major carriers such as AT&T and Verizon — due to an FCC rule adopted in 2020 — have had the same tool in place since last year. The agency initially gave small carriers a more generous deadline of June 2023 to adopt STIR/SHAKEN, but opted to fast-track adoption because it discovered “a subset of these small voice service providers were originating an increasing quantity of illegal robocalls.”

But as a new report from the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) notes, merely flagging suspected robocalls is not enough to tackle the robocall industry. “The problem is that applying the STIR/SHAKEN methodology requires only that originating providers apply a certification indicating how confident they are that the caller ID displayed in the calls is correct,” the report states. Presumably, this means calls can still be routed through gateway carriers from abroad where the FCC’s rules don’t apply. But as EPIC also mentions, implementing STIR/SHAKEN may help identify spam callers, but there aren’t any real metrics in place by which to measure how effective carriers are at stopping the calls. “The FCC’s pending regulatory efforts would continue to require only that providers have procedures in place to mitigate illegal robocalls,” the report points out, “with no meaningful and enforceable requirement that these procedures actually be effective.”

A swarm of Cruise robotaxis blocked San Francisco traffic for hours

A small fleet of Cruise robotaxis in San Francisco suddenly stopped operating on Tuesday night, effectively stopping traffic on a street in the city’s Fillmore district for a couple of hours until employees were able to arrive. TechCrunch first noticed a Reddit post that featured a photo of the stalled driverless cabs at the corner of Gough and Fulton streets. Cruise — which is General Motor’s AV subsidiary — only launched its commercial robotaxi service in the city last week. The rides feature no human safety driver, are geo-restricted to certain streets and can only operate in the late evening hours.

Cruise apologized for the incident in a statement, but gave little explanation for what caused the mishap. “We had an issue earlier this week that caused some of our vehicles to cluster together,” a Cruise spokesperson said in a statement to TechCrunch. “While it was resolved and no passengers were impacted, we apologize to anyone who was inconvenienced.”

The GM-backed AV startup won the first driverless taxi permit in a major US city, and began offering San Francisco residents free rides in February. After launching its paid passenger service on June 24, early reviews from Cruise passengers came pouring in. One passenger noted that his Cruise car took an unusually long route to get to his home. Another passenger seemed to have a more positive experience, even leaving a cash tip for the driverless car.

This week’s traffic jam appears to be Cruise’s first major stumbling block, at least for its commercial service. Back in April, police stopped a Cruise car for not having its headlights on. Officers appeared unsure of how to proceed after discovering there was no human behind the wheel.

The State of California requires AV companies to report any collision that involve property damage, bodily harm or death to the DMV, which publishes the data online. A total of 18 reports involving Cruise vehicles have been filed this year.

Cyberattack impacts unemployment benefits in several states

A cyberattack on a third-party vendor has impacted employment services, including unemployment benefits, in several states, according to the Associated Press. Some state employment websites have been offline since Sunday, including the ones in Tennessee and Nebraska.

“We recently identified anomalous activity on our network, and immediately took [Tennessee’s] Jobs4TN system offline to halt the activity. With the help of third-party specialists, we are conducting a full investigation to determine the cause and scope of the incident,” Paul Toomey, the president of vendor Geographic Solutions, said in a statement on Wednesday. “Our current focus is working around the clock to bring Jobs4TN back online. We anticipate that this will occur prior to the July 4th holiday.”

The full scope of the cyberattack’s impact is not yet clear, though Geographic Solutions claims to have clients in more than 35 states and territories. As noted by StateScoop, the Louisiana Workforce Commission said on Wednesday its HiRE website is offline and the “attack is also impacting as many as 40 other states and Washington D.C.” Geographic Solutions’ website is also down.

The situation could have a significant effect on those who depend on unemployment benefits and are having problems accessing them. Around 12,000 people rely on such benefits in Tennessee, but the AP reports that they are not receiving payments.

The Nebraska Department of Labor expects its employment services site to remain offline through at least Friday. “Individuals cannot file for unemployment until the system is back online,” a spokesperson told the AP.

Some state-run jobseeking sites are unavailable as well. In many cases, those seeking unemployment assistance need to show that they’re actively searching for work to be eligible for benefits. California and Florida are among the states that have temporarily waived those rules.

Toomey said Geographic Solutions is taking steps to prevent a similar situation from happening again. “The latest information from GSI indicates no personal data was accessed, and no data was removed from its network operations center.”

Boring Company’s underground Loop now runs to the Las Vegas Strip

The walk from the Las Vegas Convention Center to Tacos El Gordo may only be seven-tenths of a mile but under the blazing sun of a Nevada winter, the trip can seem an eternity. Lucky for us Al Pastor enthusiasts, this traditional CES taco trek is now far more convenient as the Boring Company and Resorts World Las Vegas announced the official opening of the latest Loop station at Las Vegas Convention Center. 

This spur off of the Boring Company’s existing Loop network (which runs underneath the North and South halls of the LVCC) connects the convention center directly to a sister station underneath the World Resorts property on the other side of South Las Vegas Blvd. Boring expects the trip between the two to take just a few minutes — assuming nothing goes wrong — and plans to eventually expand the underground vehicle network to more than 55 stops along the Strip. 

“Today marks a monumental moment not only for our resort, but for Las Vegas,” Scott Sibella, president of Resorts World Las Vegas, said in a Thursday press relea. “Our passenger station will make a visit to our resort from the Las Vegas Convention Center easier than ever, and eventually connect us to key destinations throughout the city.”     

The Boring Company began work on the initial $47 million tunnels running under the LVCC back in 2019, completed excavation the following May, and opened for service — because of course it did — on April 20th, 2022. In October, 2021 Las Vegas approved the Boring Company’s plans to expand its Loop network to encompass more than 29 miles of tunnel. That figure grew to 34 miles in June, 2022 to include stations at Harry Reid International Airport and Allegiant Stadium following approval from the Clark County Commissioners. However, despite Boring CEO Elon Musk’s claims of superior passenger capacity — up to 4,400 people every hour! — the system so far has only managed to move around 575 people in that time.

iFixit starts selling Pixel parts for DIY repairs

If your Pixel is in need of some care, you can now buy official parts to try and fix the problem yourself. Parts and detailed repair guides for Pixel 2 and above are now available from iFixit.

The parts include screens, batteries, rear cameras and charging ports. They’re available à la carte and iFixit plans to offer more types of parts in the future. You can also buy Fix Kits, which iFixit says include everything that a Pixel user needs to repair their device. Each kit comes with a gizmo to open the phone and official adhesive to seal it back up. The parts have a lifetime guarantee from iFixit — save for batteries, which have a one-year guarantee.

At the outset, iFixit is selling the parts in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and other European countries where Google offers Pixels. The company also plans to support future Pixel models as soon as possible after launch. It will have guides and parts for Pixel 6a this fall, for instance. In addition, iFixit is selling parts wholesale to independent repair shops.

Google and iFixit announced a partnership in April to offer Pixel users official parts. Apple and Samsung have also committed to enabling customers to self-repair devices. The smartphone makers made those moves amid a broader push for right-to-repair rules. 

Earlier this month, the New York state assembly passed a right-to-repair bill, which is now on the governor’s desk to sign or veto. Only a few other states have passed similar legislation. The Federal Trade Commission has also taken aim at illegal repair restrictions.

NASA needs help from the private sector to decarbonize the next generation of planes

Air travel remains one of the largest contributors to global warming in the transportation sector, producing 915 million tonnes of CO2 worldwide in 2019, per ATAG. In an effort to usher in a more sustainable era of flight, NASA announced Thursday that it is seeking partners “to develop technologies needed to shape a new generation of lower-emission, single-aisle airliners that passengers could see in airports in the 2030s.” 

NASA is looking to fund the design, building, testing and flying of large-scale demonstrators as part of its new Announcement for Partnership Proposals program. Specifically, the agency seeks to “reduce carbon emissions from aviation and ensure US competitiveness in a high-demand area of aircraft design — single-aisle commercial airliners.”

“In the coming years, global air mobility will continue to grow at a steady pace, and single aisle aircraft will continue to carry the majority of that passenger traffic,” Bob Pearce, NASA associate administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, said in Thursday’s media release. “Working with industry, NASA intends to seize this opportunity to meet our aggressive environmental goals while fostering continued global leadership of the U.S. aviation industry.”

This effort comes as part of the White House’s US Aviation Climate Action Plan, which itself aims to make make aviation emissions carbon-neutral by 2050. To help reach that deadline, NASA is planning to have these demonstrators ready by the end of the decade so that the lessons learned can be applied to the next generation of single-aisle aircraft coming in the 2030s. NASA plans to select at least one industry partner early next year, granting them funding and access to NASA facilities at Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. 

The EU extends its ‘Roam-like-at-home’ mobile service rule through 2032

Back in 2017, the European Union took the shockingly rational step of largely eliminating roaming charges for its citizens travelling among member nations, dubbing it the “Roam-like-at-home” system. Operating across the 27 countries that make up the European Economic Area as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway — but not the UK because Brexit — Roam-like-at-home was set to expire at the end of June. On Thursday, however, the European Commission announced that it will be extending the system for another decade, through 2032.

The EC cites benefits to both consumers and telecom providers as part of its decision, with consumers enjoying “a better roaming experience, with the same quality of mobile service abroad as they have at home,” as well as improved access to emergency services and increased transparency in charging rates so travellers in the EU won’t find a massive bill waiting for them when they get home.

“Remember when we had to switch off mobile data when travelling in Europe — to avoid ending up with a massive roaming bill?” Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market, said in Thursday’s press statement. “Well this is history. And we intend to keep it this way for at least the next 10 years. Better speed, more transparency: we keep improving EU citizens’ lives.”

The extended rules strongly suggests that carriers “ensure that consumers have access to use 4G, or the more advanced 5G, networks, if these are available at the destination” and “automatically interrupt mobile services if the mobile services over non-terrestrial networks reach charges of €50 or another predefined limit.” What’s more, they require 112 to dial emergency services be made available across the entire economic area and, by June 2023, for carriers to notify travellers of that ability either by text or popup when they enter the EU.

Most importantly, the new rules will put a couple Euros back in consumers’ pockets because the EU is run by rational adults who can negotiate with telecom carriers for better wholesale data and voice pricing without the entire process devolving into a constitutional crisis. Users can expect to pay 2 €/GB this year with that rate steadily dropping to 1 €/GB from 2027 on, 0.022 €/min for voice until 2025 when it will drop to 0.019 €/min, and each SMS from here on out will cost 0.004 € until 2025 when it nudges down to 0.003 €.