SpaceX representatives met staff from all four FCC commissioner offices seeking tweaks to the notice of inquiry on the upper C band, set for a vote Thursday (see 2502060062). “Swiftly establishing a modern sharing framework for the 3.98-4.2 GHz band … will help solidify American leadership in next-generation 6G networks that interweave terrestrial and satellite systems to provide ubiquitous connectivity to consumers,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 25-59. SpaceX said it sought “targeted changes” to the draft: “Accelerating the comment and reply deadlines for the item to 30 and 45 days after publication in the Federal Register, respectively, will provide sufficient time to develop a record while allowing the Commission to expeditiously initiate a rulemaking proceeding for the band.”

Representatives from CTIA, T-Mobile, UScellular and Verizon met with an aide to FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez about the upper C band, closing out a round of meetings with commissioner aides on a notice of inquiry set for a vote Thursday (see 2502200049). “CTIA urges the Commission to advance the NOI and move quickly to a notice of proposed rulemaking to maximize the spectrum opportunity for 5G in the Upper C-Band and provide certainty to market participants on the timeline for auction and for transitioning the band for licensed, full-power terrestrial wireless use,” CTIA said in a filing posted Friday in docket 25-59.

Buu Nygren, president of the Navajo Nation, urged FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to make a tribal priority window part of future FCC auctions of AWS and upper C-band spectrum. “The success of the 2.5 GHz Rural Tribal Priority Window has demonstrated the transformational impact of policies that provide direct spectrum access to Tribal Nations,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 13-185. The 2.5 GHz window, established under Republican Chairman Ajit Pai’s “leadership in 2020, was an unprecedented federal policy that enabled over 300 federally recognized tribes to obtain spectrum in rural areas,” Nygren said. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance asked the FCC to add questions on tribal windows to the C-band notice of inquiry and AWS-3 NPRM before commissioners, both set for votes Thursday (see 2502060062). “One of the great challenges in addressing the lack of modern communications technologies that Tribal Nations and the Commission face together in their joint efforts to address their broadband challenges is the lack of access to spectrum and spectrum licensing opportunities,” said a filing posted Friday. The 2.5 GHz window “dramatically increased the number of Tribal Nations holding spectrum licenses from 18 to at least 319.”

C3Spectra, approved by the FCC last month to operate an automated frequency coordination (AFC) system in the 6 GHz band (see 2501150018), asked if it could take building entry loss (BEL) into account for “composite” standard- and low-power devices that are restricted to operating indoors. “Allowing C3Spectra’s AFC system to account for BEL up to 6 dB will enhance indoor coverage and data rates, promoting efficient spectrum use while protecting incumbent services from harmful interference,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 21-352.

Hilliary Acquisition asked the FCC to reconsider a January order denying its request that the agency return $644,722 in down payments for 42 licenses where it was the high bidder during the 2020 citizens broadband radio service auction (see 2412110065). In addition, it is seeking a writ of mandamus ordering the return of the money at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (see 2501290067). “Reconsideration is warranted because the FCC failed to address Hilliary’s request for relief when it denied Hilliary’s request for partial refund,” said a filing this week in docket 19-244. While Hilliary requested a refund of the amount held by the FCC that exceeded the required deposit under the agency’s rules, the commission “instead ruled on whether it should issue a refund of the entire amount of money paid by Hilliary in connection with the auction,” the filing said. “Reconsideration is also warranted because the FCC’s rules do not contain any provision for the Commission to retain the amount of a final payment made by a disqualified winning bidder,” it continued. “Due to the lengthy and excessive period of time that the FCC has unlawfully retained the amount of Hilliary’s overpayment, Hilliary seeks expedited reconsideration of the Refund Order and issuance of the requested refund.”

Significantly higher power levels and relaxed emission limits across the citizens broadband radio service band could cause problems for users, Spectrum for the Future said following meetings with aides to FCC Commissioners Nathan Simington and Anna Gomez. Other groups and companies have expressed similar concerns (see 2502060050). “Such changes would fundamentally alter the longstanding nature of CBRS, result in massive harmful interference to existing deployments, undermine existing and planned investments” and “immediately halt America’s global momentum in private wireless networks,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 17-258.

Public Knowledge urged the FCC to include a tribal priority window (TPW) in the AWS-3 and upper C-band proposals before commissioners vote Feb. 27 (see 2502060062). The 2.5 GHz TPW “increased the number of Tribes holding licenses from 18 to 319. Tribes have used these licenses, and additional funding provided by a number of grants, to construct point-to-point networks that are helping Tribes to close the digital divide,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 25-59. Tribes need more spectrum “just as every wireless provider needs additional spectrum, to meet the ever-increasing demand for broadband capacity as more and more of our daily activities move to the real world from the virtual world,” said the group, whose representative met with aides to all four FCC commissioners.

The strong public reaction to T-Mobile’s announcement that it has launched a beta test of its SpaceX-enabled direct-to-device (D2D) text-messaging service during a Super Bowl ad (see 2502100002) bears watching, New Street’s Jonathan Chaplin said in a note to investors. The commercial generated 13 times more engagement than the median Super Bowl ad, “by far the most of any ad aired during the game,” Chaplin said. Investors are asking whether consumers will be interested in taking a D2D service and what they will pay for it, he said. “The strong engagement the T-Mobile ad generated may offer a clue as to the first question. We may not get an indication on the second question until July, when the trial period announced by T-Mobile's Super Bowl ad ends.”

Representatives of CTIA, T-Mobile and Verizon met with aides to FCC Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington on the importance of the upper C band to the future of 5G. In a filing posted Wednesday in docket 25-59, the wireless interests noted that carriers face a licensed spectrum deficit of 400 MHZ by 2027 and nearly 1,500 MHz by 2032. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is seeking a vote on a notice of inquiry on the upper C band at the FCC’s Feb. 27 meeting (see 2502060062). The initial C-band auction “was a record-breaking success, with the spectrum put to use ahead of schedule and immediately generating faster download speeds for consumers,” the filing said. “The Upper C-Band creates a new opportunity for near-term, contiguous access in a portion of the most widely deployed frequency range for 5G worldwide.”

T-Mobile made its final written arguments this week at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit against a $80 million fine imposed by the FCC for allegedly not safeguarding data on customers' real-time locations. T-Mobile was also fined $12.2 million for violations by Sprint, which it later acquired. The FCC and the government defended the fines in January during the last weeks of President Joe Biden's administration (see 2501130061). Oral argument is scheduled for March 24.