A waiver request by Samsung Electronics America for a 5G base station radio that works across citizens broadband radio service and C-band spectrum (see 2303100019) got some support at the FCC, with no one filing in opposition. Comments were posted Tuesday in docket 23-93. The FCC recently approved a similar waiver for a multiband waiver for Ericsson, and Ericsson recently sought a second waiver that parallels the Samsung request (see 2303170044). The waiver addresses out-of-band emissions limits in the CBRS band. Verizon, which noted it has significant operations in both bands, said a single radio is easier to deploy than two. “The smaller size of the multiband device, compared to two separate devices, will ease the regulatory siting process itself, enabling faster deployments,” Verizon said. A single radio will also increase energy efficiency by as much as 45% compared with two stand-alone units, the carrier said. “Multiband 5G radios incorporate multiple spectrum bands in a single radio, reducing energy consumption and resulting in a much smaller cell site footprint, thereby facilitating faster zoning review and easier siting,” Ericsson said. The Samsung petition and its follow-up petition demonstrate that the waiver of the CBRS OOBE limits “will not negatively affect operations” in either band, the company said: “Strict application of the OOBE limits at issue would not serve the public interest. The alternative would be to manufacture and install two separate radios, which would increase the time, costs, and energy consumption of deploying 5G networks.”
The launch of 5G open cores for carrier networks is gaining momentum and in many cases will happen before stand-alone open radio access networks, experts said Tuesday during Fierce Wireless’ virtual 5G Blitz Week. They said moving operations to a 5G core offers one way for carriers to monetize their investments in 5G.
6G is coming, but 5G Americas is sticking with that name for now, President Chris Pearson said Monday during Fierce Wireless’s virtual 5G Blitz Week. Other speakers said 5G-advanced is getting increasing attention as standards develop. “I am not ready to change our name,” Pearson said: “We have a lot of great technical innovation [to come] with 5G-advanced; let’s keep our eye on the ball.”
Most commenters agree the FCC doesn’t have legal authority under the Communications Act to regulate data breaches beyond customer proprietary network information (CPNI), CTIA said in reply comments on a January NPRM on revised rules for wireless carriers to report breaches (see 2301060057). Most commenters also supported a harm-based trigger for notifications. But the FCC faced increasing pressure to take bold action to protect consumer data.
NTIA will release in “coming weeks” the first notice of funding for the $1.5 billion federal fund to spur the growth of open radio access networks, said Amanda Toman, new lead of NTIA’s Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund, Thursday at the Winnik Forum at Hogan Lovells. Under the Chips and Science Act, which created the fund, NTIA is required to make initial grants by Aug. 8, she noted.
Keeping American telecom networks secure and competitive with Chinese companies that receive substantial subsidiaries from the government is a top priority of the Biden administration, said Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser-cyber and emerging tech, at the Winnik Forum at Hogan Lovells Thursday. Neuberger said the administration is committed to promoting open radio access networks as a way of leveling the playing field with China.
The “jury’s still out” on whether the FCC’s 3.45 GHz auction was a success, said John Hunter, T-Mobile senior director-technology and engineering policy, during an FCBA wireless lunch Wednesday. Speakers welcomed the administration’s early steps on a national spectrum strategy (see 2303200044).
Wireless industry commenters and public safety groups agreed on the need for some flexibility, in reply comments on an FCC proposal that carriers more precisely route wireless 911 calls and texts to public safety answering points through location-based routing (LBR). Disagreements remain on some implementation details (see 2302170044). Comments were posted Monday and Tuesday on an NPRM commissioners approved 4-0 in December (see 2212210047).
The FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council unanimously approved reports by working groups on 911 services over Wi-Fi and the wireless emergency alert application programming interface. The Tuesday meeting was the first this year for CSRIC and the first with an in-person component in more than three years, though some participants were remote. The December meeting was supposed to be in person, but the FCC made it virtual because of an expected ice storm (see 2212150070).
The last-minute fight over the C band, and the scramble for a compromise that allowed Verizon and AT&T to start turning on operations last year, while providing extra protection for radio altimeters around some airports (see 2201180065), shows the need to head off problems before they become a crisis, experts said Monday at an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation event.