CTIA urged the FCC to schedule an AWS-3 reauction without delay and dismiss calls for a tribal licensing window, according to reply comments on a March public notice on FCC bidding procedures. The record that’s been developed “demonstrates broad support for the Commission’s proposed procedures, including the efficient, time-tested Clock-1 auction format,” CTIA said this week in docket 25-117. In initial comments, the group disagreed sharply with tribal interests that urged a tribal window (see 2504110040).
The GPS Innovation Alliance and Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation (RNTF) urged the FCC to take a broad view of the complementary technologies that can provide positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) as a GPS alternative. NTIA supported PNT diversity, while other commenters continued arguments over NextNav’s proposal to use the 902-928 MHz band for a “terrestrial complement” to GPS (see 2504280045). Initial comments were due Monday on an FCC notice of inquiry.
Judges on the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals appeared skeptical Tuesday of claims that Verizon had the right to a jury trial before facing a $46.9 million fine from the FCC for data violations. Judges from the ultraconservative 5th Circuit previously held that a similar fine against AT&T was unconstitutional. The 5th Circuit found that the AT&T fine violated the Seventh Amendment, which provides the right to a jury trial, and so was unconstitutional (see 2504180021).
Wi-Fi advocates on Monday filed at the FCC a study by Plum Consulting countering a recent NextNav engineering study that found no interference concerns with the company’s proposal for the FCC to reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band “to enable a high-quality, terrestrial complement” to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services (see 2503030023).
With a 4-0 vote, FCC commissioners on Monday approved an order and Further NPRM aimed at spurring greater use of the 37 GHz band, which the Biden administration targeted for repurposing (see 2412030057). As expected, the FCC tweaked the item (see 2504250051), led by changes sought by Commissioner Geoffrey Starks.
The Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure (CERCI) slammed the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials’ request that the FCC launch an NPRM on rules for the 4.9 GHz band (see 2502070020), including increasing the equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) limits to make the band more attractive for 5G. AT&T, which stands to benefit through its partnership with FirstNet, strongly supported the change.
T-Satellite service will start in July at $10 per month, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said late Thursday on a call with analysts to discuss Q1 results for the carrier (see 2504240062). Sievert also expressed concerns about Trump administration tariffs and said that if they result in more expensive smartphones, consumers will have to pay the extra costs.
The U.S. government urged the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals not to look to the 5th Circuit decision overturning an AT&T data fine when it hears arguments Tuesday concerning a $46.9 million penalty the FCC levied against Verizon. The carrier hopes the 2nd Circuit will follow the 5th’s direction (see 2504180021). “The FCC forfeiture order AT&T challenged, which involved AT&T’s location-based-service program, is nearly identical to the order Verizon challenges here,” the carrier told the court. The government responded Friday in docket 24-1733.
Several changes are likely to be included in the 37 GHz order and Further NPRM set for a commission vote Monday, industry and FCC officials said. Limited changes are possible to the proposed robocall NPRM, which seeks to close a gap in the commission’s Stir/Shaken authentication rules. Both items are expected to be approved by a unanimous vote.
Public interest groups defended the FCC’s July order implementing the Martha Wright-Reed Act of 2022 (see 2501280053) in briefs filed last week at the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The order reduces call rates for people in prisons while establishing interim rate caps for video calls (see 2407180039). Parts of the order were challenged by Securus and Pay Tel, which provide incarcerated people’s communication services (IPCS), as well as by state and law enforcement interests led by the National Sheriffs’ Association (see 2502140049). Briefs were posted last week in 24-8028.