NARUC Board OKs 6 GHz Request to FCC With Tweak, and IP CTS ASR Standards
NARUC's board OK'd two resolutions asking the FCC delay telecom-related changes, meeting attendees told us. One resolution asked the agency to delay sharing 6 GHz frequencies with unlicensed devices including for Wi-Fi until automatic frequency coordination (AFC) can be proven…
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to ward off interference. Critical Infrastructure Committee Chair Gladys Brown Dutrieuille and Telecom Committee Chair Karen Charles Peterson worked out an agreement about making a further change to the last sentence of the item before the board met, as some had expected (see 1911180050), said NARUC General Counsel Brad Ramsay in an interview Thursday. The sentence now says the association, referring to critical-infrastructure industries, recognizes "the criticality of utility and other CII communications in the 6 GHz spectrum band," and asks the FCC to "modify its proposal to not allow unlicensed operations in the 6 GHz band unless and until such time that it has tested and proven that its AFC system works as intended to protect license holders, including utility and other CII systems, and it is demonstrated that unlicensed operations will not cause harmful interference to license holders as determined by the FCC." Utilities Technology Council CEO Joy Ditto said the item "sends a strong signal to the" FCC "it must first ensure it can protect the mission-critical communications networks located in the 6 GHz band before it allows unlicensed users access to the band. Ensuring that the numerous critical-infrastructure communications networks, including utilities, public safety, oil and gas, telecommunications companies, and many others, are protected from interference is absolutely essential if the FCC is to proceed with this plan.” NARUC's board also okayed asking the FCC to set automatic speech recognition standards for IP captioned telephone service before allowing ASR reimbursement, as expected (see 1911150011). The FCC declined to comment.