The FCC International Bureau asked for comment by Sept. 26 on various positions adopted Sept. 12 by the World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee, NTIA draft preliminary proposals and a proposal by Lockheed Martin for a future agenda item on lunar and cislunar communications (see 2209120047). “Based upon an initial review of the draft recommendations forwarded to the Commission, the International Bureau, in coordination with other Commission Bureaus and Offices, tentatively concludes that we can generally support most of the content found in attachment in the WRC-23 Advisory Committee draft recommendation,” said a Friday notice. The bureau noted the lunar proposal isn’t a WAC recommendation, though the group asked the FCC to seek comment.

The FCC is giving fixed satellite service earth station operators in the 3.6-3.7 GHz band until Oct. 17 to register with the agency. The FCC noted the registration was required for grandfathered stations as part of its work on the citizens broadband radio service band. The deadline for this year was Dec. 1, 2021. “We recognize that this is a relatively new process and so, to avoid any unnecessary service interruptions, we are providing a one-time grace period for any FSS earth station licensee that failed to submit its 2022 annual registration,” said a Thursday notice: After Oct. 17 “registrations that have not been completed for 2022 may be deactivated or deleted, and the site will no longer merit protection by the Spectrum Access System administrators.”

Ahead of an NTIA spectrum policy symposium Monday, the Aspen Institute released a paper Thursday urging the U.S. government to “issue a 10-year plan with clear national goals to release more spectrum into the commercial marketplace.” The paper follows a May meeting at the institute, which included FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson and is seen as a possible precursor to a long-awaited strategy (see 2208150035). “The National Spectrum Strategy should make a clear statement of national spectrum goals -- agreed to by the FCC and the Administration -- that sets a roadmap for rulemaking and administrative actions over the next decade,” the paper said: “Clear, quantifiable goals provide a lodestar for whole-of-government action. They also help various stakeholders plan for the future and can influence technology development and resource allocation by private actors.” The strategy should plan for the allocation of three of four bands, below 15 GHz, each offering approximately 400 MHz of bandwidth, Aspen said: “Realizing this goal would enable multiple network operators to use 400 MHz channels in lower, better propagating bands as a foundation for multi-gigabit 6G.” The paper proposed making the highest bands, above 95 GHz, unlicensed by default. “Although the FCC recently authorized use of bands above 95 GHz, technology is still in early stages and the band is only sparsely used,” the paper said. “Given the inherent limited and highly directional signal propagation at these frequencies along with the super abundance of bandwidth, any concerns raised regarding interference in these bands should take a back seat to maximizing spectrum access and innovation.” Aspen suggested the White House “could set out the country’s overall spectrum goals through an Executive Order.” The group supports revising congressional budgeting to be “spectrum policy neutral.” Current scoring rules “consider inflows of auction revenues but do not account for economic benefits of other spectrum authorization approaches,’ Aspen said. “As a result, spectrum auction directives are often legislated as a ‘pay for’ to offset some Congressional spending priority. Congress should consider revising the rules to level the legislative playing field for other ways of making spectrum available into the commercial market, such as unlicensed or shared uses.” CTIA appreciates "the report’s focus on ensuring a balanced spectrum policy and its recognition of the need for additional licensed spectrum to meet growing demand and support the development of next-generation wireless networks,” a spokesperson emailed. “We must not lose focus on the pressing need for a pipeline of exclusive-use, licensed commercial spectrum, especially mid-band spectrum, in order to maintain America’s leadership of the emerging 5G economy.”

Former U.S. Rep. Michael Ferguson will lead AT&T’s federal legislative relations team starting Oct. 3, replacing Tim McKone, who is retiring, AT&T staff were told in an internal announcement. Rhonda Johnson, who oversees AT&T’s state and local government affairs and social engagement initiatives in California, will lead federal regulatory relations, replacing Joan Marsh, also retiring, effective the same date, said a second announcement (see 2205110068). Both incoming executives will have executive vice president titles. Ferguson, a Republican, represented New Jersey’s 7th District for eight years, retiring in 2009. He is leaving BakerHostetler, where he heads the firm's federal policy team. “In his new role, Mike will be responsible for managing the federal advocacy team representing AT&T before Congress, the White House and executive branch departments,” said the internal announcement: “He will develop legislative strategy to ensure our business objectives are able to flourish.”

In one of its first hybrid events since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the FCC on Tuesday held an all-day environmental compliance workshop at its new headquarters. Staff presented and took questions on the FCC’s tower construction notification system, requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and the rules for working with Native American tribes. “Your role in the process of reviewing and deploying wireless infrastructure is absolutely critical,” said Joel Taubenblatt, acting chief of the Wireless Bureau. “During the last few years during the pandemic, we've seen the importance of communications services across the country and wireless services,” he said: “We've seen how [the pandemic] has changed the way people interact with work, with schools, with their medical service providers, and with their family and friends. … We have seen how all of you have adjusted during this period of time to make sure that the review and deployment of wireless facilities can continue.” Daniela Arregui, Enforcement Bureau attorney adviser, underscored the importance of following FCC environmental rules. “Never start construction, including breaking ground, clearing brush, cutting trees, prior to completing the requirement of the environmental review,” she said. “It is important to document, authorize, and review each element of the project during each phase of construction,” she said: “Notify and actively engage with the state historic preservation officers and the tribal historic preservation officers throughout the process. Applicants should be doing more than minimally following up on an electronic Section 106 notification or responding to inquiries.” Notify the Wireless Bureau and the Enforcement bureaus “when you suspect a violation,” she said. Answer FCC inquiries whenever they are posed, Arregui said. “A letter of inquiry is a commission order” and “recipients are required to respond timely, fully, and completely,” she said. “Even if there is no substantive violation, the failure to respond completely can, itself, result in significant monetary penalties,” she said.

The FCC Communications Equity and Diversity Council (CEDC) and the Media Bureau will host a Digital Skills Gap Symposium and Town Hall starting at noon Sept. 22, said a public notice Monday. The virtual event is intended to “examine the issues and challenges that states and localities face in addressing the need for greater adoption of digital skills training,” the PN said. The symposium will include a panel discussion on the “Digital Equity Act (DEA), the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), and other efforts to address access to broadband,” the PN said. The event will also feature a town hall discussion on “how to build the case for equity and diversity as the foundation for eliminating America’s digital skills gap” and other topics related to providing access to digital skills training.

The FCC's rejection of SpaceX's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction long-form application (see 2208100050) “is so broken it is hard not to see it as an improper attempt” to undo the prior FCC’s decision to permit satellite broadband service providers to participate in RDOF, said SpaceX Friday in an application for review of the decision. “The decision appears to have been rendered in service to a clear bias towards fiber, rather than a merits-based decision to actually connect unserved Americans.” In rejecting the application, the agency “misused data outside the record” on SpaceX’s speeds, “ignored robust record evidence” of SpaceX’s capability to expand, and didn’t accurately weigh SpaceX’s pricing against competitors, the appeal said. Commissioner Nathan Simington welcomed the appeal. "I am troubled that the decision to rescind SpaceX’s RDOF award applied standards that were not in our RDOF rules, were never approved by the Commission, and in fact made their first appearance in this drastic action," Simington said in a statement Monday. "I urge my fellow Commissioners to review SpaceX’s appeal and take prompt action to uphold our rules." Commissioner Brendan Carr has also been critical of the rejection of SpaceX's application (see 2208240049). The FCC's rejection of the SpaceX application, "lengthy review" of SpaceX’s application to launch more satellites, and NTIA’s move to exclude satellite from the BEAD program will combine to slow rural broadband access and "risk giving Chinese satellite internet providers, who have the full support of their government, a competitive advantage in serving the rest of the world," Simington said. “Any suggestion that Starlink is relatively expensive is unsupported by an apples-to-apples comparison because SpaceX, unlike other RDOF bidders, fully discloses its true cost to consumers,” the application for review said. “Changing the rules to undo a prior policy is grossly unfair” after SpaceX has already invested “thousands of employee hours and millions of dollars” into RDOF preparations, SpaceX said. The appeal also says the agency violated SpaceX’s Fifth Amendment due process clause, and improperly denied a request for waiver. The FCC should reverse the Wireline Bureau’s decision, grant SpaceX’s long-form application, and waive the deadline to submit evidence that SpaceX is an eligible telecommunications carrier in states where it hasn’t yet been so designated, the review application said. The FCC didn’t comment.

Ligado told the FCC Monday it won’t move forward at this time on a planned pilot deployment in Virginia. “Ligado has reached this decision to allow time for the company’s discussions with the” NTIA, “acting in its statutory role on behalf of the Executive Branch, to resolve in a fair and reasonable manner issues relating to the government’s ongoing use of Ligado’s terrestrial spectrum,” said a filing in docket 11-109. A National Academies of Sciences report released Friday (see 2209090032) found that while most GPS receivers won't face interference from Ligado’s 5G network, Iridium’s mobile satellite services used by the DOD would likely see “harmful interference.”

Ecobee is piloting a program with San Diego Gas & Electric that’s designed to help prevent power outages caused by extreme weather, sustained high heat and natural disasters, said the smart home company Friday. In an emergency, eligible customers in SDG&E’s service territory will be notified when slight, temporary temperature adjustments are needed on their ecobee smart thermostats to reduce demand and help avoid an outage. When an energy emergency is called, customers will be notified on their mobile app and thermostat screens of an upcoming temperature adjustment of one to four degrees and how long it will last, Ecobee said. Customers can opt out of the program. The thermostat will “pre-cool the home” before the temperature adjustment occurs to help maintain comfort, said the company.

The FCC clarified that a draft NPRM on emergency alerts security circulated by Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel for a vote by commissioners (see 2209070076) is separate from a second emergency alert NPRM circulated for a vote at the Sept. 29 open meeting (see 2209080057).