The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology launched a process for testing the automated frequency coordination (AFC) systems that will manage access to 6 GHz band spectrum by standard-power unlicensed devices. The public notice came later than expected, with some experts saying last year they thought testing could be completed early this year (see 2211040055). Canada regulators approved Qualcomm last week as the first 6 GHz AFC operator there (see 2308230060).
The recent promotion of Austin Bonner to deputy U.S. chief technology officer-policy (see 2308180042) could address a recurring concern among Biden administration watchers that there’s no one close to the White House with enough standing to keep tabs on telecom and other communications matters, industry experts told us. But they said it remains to be seen whether the change will have much effect.
Reauthorization of the FirstNet Authority is a top priority in FY 2024, CEO Joe Wassel said at the authority board’s quarterly meeting Wednesday. The authority will sunset in 2027 without congressional action, Wassel said. The authority oversees the network, which AT&T is building. The board, which met in Tacoma, Washington, and virtually, also approved a budget for the year.
The wireless industry asked the FCC to go slow on major changes to wireless emergency alerts, in reply comments posted Tuesday in docket 15-91. Commenters also raised privacy concerns. A Further NPRM, approved by commissioners 4-0 in April, proposed to require participating providers to ensure mobile devices can translate alerts into the 13 most commonly spoken languages in the U.S. aside from English, to send thumbnail-sized images in WEA messages, and other changes (see 2304200040).
Carriers welcome the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s plans for an Oct. 4 test of the wireless emergency alert system, with a nationwide emergency alert system test the same day. The FCC is examining possible changes to WEA, including requiring participating providers to ensure mobile devices can translate alerts into the 13 most commonly spoken languages in the U.S. aside from English, and to send thumbnail-sized images in WEA messages. Industry said some of the changes would be difficult to quickly implement (see 2307240045). Replies are due Monday in docket 15-91.
ARRL, which represents amateur operators, slammed an April petition by the Shortwave Modernization Coalition (SMC) asking the FCC to launch a rulemaking to amend its eligibility and technical rules for industrial/business pool licensees to authorize licensed use of frequencies above 2 MHz and below 25 MHz for fixed, long-distance, non-voice communications (see 2305010053). SMC defended the petition in two filings. Hundreds of amateur operators warned the proposal would be harmful to their operations (see 2307270035). Comments were posted Friday in RM-11953.
Dish Network filed an agreement at the FCC Wednesday to buy 800 MHz spectrum licenses from T-Mobile. Dish also asked a federal court in D.C. to delay the terms of the deal, allowing the purchase to slip until next summer, giving it more time to put together funding, Dish confirmed Thursday. "DISH and T-Mobile jointly filed an application seeking authority from the FCC to transfer the 800 MHz licenses to DISH," a Dish spokesperson emailed: "To give DISH more time to responsibly finance the purchase of this spectrum, DISH also filed a motion in the District Court for the District of Columbia today to modify the Final Judgment to extend the timeline for the actual divestiture until June 30, 2024." The spectrum was part of a complicated set of arrangements allowing T-Mobile to complete its buy of Sprint. Dish was required to pay $3.6 billion to buy the licenses, with a $72 million fee for walking away from the deal (see 1907260071). “Grant of the Application will further important public interest benefits well-recognized by the Commission,” told the FCC. “In its order approving the T-Mobile/Sprint merger, the Commission explicitly recognized the benefits of DISH entering the market as the fourth nationwide, facilities-based provider deploying a 5G network. … The terms of the Final Judgment are designed to facilitate DISH’s entry into the wireless market as a facilities-based provider and grant of the instant Application would further this important objective and enhance competition in the mobile wireless marketplace by making DISH a stronger competitor in the offering of mobile voice and broadband services.” The filing was made through Dish subsidiary American H Block Wireless Holding. Dish had until Aug. 11 before T-Mobile would terminate the offer, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said on an earnings call last month (see 2307270064). “We’re in discussions with Dish about whether or not there might be a win-win that’s different from their initial privilege,” he said at the time.
The current iteration of the FCC’s Technology Advisory Council, with its focus on 6G, held its final meeting Thursday, its first meeting in 2023. TAC members approved two white papers and reports by its working groups. Andrew Clegg, co-chair of the Advanced Spectrum Sharing Working Group, told TAC the group faced roadblocks getting data from the government. TAC approved recommendations and a white paper from the WG, which the FCC hasn't posted.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld a 2022 FCC decision revoking Pacific Networks’ and its subsidiary ComNet’s authority to offer domestic or international services in the U.S. (see 2203160031). The FCC “revoked these authorizations based on concerns that the carriers posed national-security risks and had proven themselves untrustworthy,” said a Tuesday decision written by Judge Gregory Katsas, in docket 22-1054. “The carriers argue that the FCC’s reasoning was substantively arbitrary and was rendered with inadequate process,” he said: “We reject both contentions.” The U.S. “has grown increasingly concerned about espionage and other threats from Chinese-owned telecommunications companies,” Katsas wrote. He noted Team Telecom weighed in after the FCC ordered Pacific Networks and ComNet to show cause in 2020 why their authorizations shouldn’t be revoked, saying “China’s Ownership” of the companies “raised ‘significant concerns’ that the carriers would be ‘forced to comply with Chinese government requests, including requests for communications intercepts.’” The carriers contend the FCC “unreasonably found a threat to national security,” Katsas said. “But the Commission meticulously explained -- over the span of 62 pages -- how the carriers’ domestic operations threaten national security,” he said. “We cannot second-guess the FCC’s judgment that allowing China to access this information poses a threat to national security,” the court said. The FCC “adequately explained its decision to revoke Pacific Networks’ and ComNet’s authorizations, and it afforded adequate process to the carriers,” Katsas wrote: “We therefore deny the petition for review.” Circuit Judges Harry Edwards and Karen Henderson joined the decision. The judges were on the same panel that upheld the FCC's revocation of China Telecom Americas’ domestic and international authorities last year (see 2111150025).
5G depends on the allocation of additional licensed spectrum, like the 3.1 GHz band that’s the current focus of federal policymakers (see 2308150066), said Oku Solutions CEO David Witkowski during an IEEE webinar Wednesday. Fixed-wireless access has been described as 5G’s first “killer app,” but there will be others, said Witkowski, also co-chair of the Deployment Working Group of the IEEE Future Networks Technical Community.