CTIA applauded the transmission of the 3.1 GHz report from DOD to the Department of Commerce (see 2309280087). “America needs more 5G spectrum to meet surging demand, grow our economy, counter China’s ambitions and secure our leadership of the industries and innovations of the future,” emailed CTIA President Meredith Baker Tuesday: “5G already coexists with U.S. military systems in the lower 3 GHz band in more than thirty countries around the world, including here in the United States along the border with Mexico, and we are encouraged to see the DOD and Department of Commerce commit themselves to further exploring all options for making this spectrum available.”

The Cybersecurity Coalition raised concerns about a voluntary smart device labeling program, proposed by the FCC in August (see 2308100032). “The Coalition supports several aspects of the Commission’s proposed rule, particularly the binary and layered structure of the voluntary label,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 23-239. But the proposed rule “envisions a labeling system that is overly complex, unwieldy, costly, and untested, and ... this risks suppressing adoption of the label,” the coalition said: “We are concerned with the proposed required data elements, upfront product assessments, creation of new standards, and centralized registry. We are skeptical that these aspects are necessary for effective operation of a basic labeling program, and we believe they are of questionable value to most consumers. While enabling close comparison of technical security nuances will provide value to some consumers, it is unclear that a sufficiently large segment of consumers will use this information to justify the resources required to maintain a more complex labeling program.” The coalition represents some major tech companies.

Dish Network met June's band-specific 5G deployment commitments and two of its three nationwide 5G deployment commitments, with one nationwide commitment still to be verified, FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Joel Taubenblatt told the company in a letter last week. That remaining commitment requires Dish to use a drive test -- which simulates actual user experience under ordinary use -- to verify it has deployed a nationwide 5G network using Dish spectrum, and that network provides download speeds of at least 35 Mbps to at least 70% of the U.S. population, said the agency letter. The bureau said it will verify compliance with that remaining commitment after Dish submits drive test results, and Dish has six months to do the test and submit the results. Dish included the letter in an SEC filing Monday. The company was largely expected to meet its 2023 deployment milestones (see 2306130013).

Two notices published Friday follow up on an FCC April order and NPRM on decisions of the World Radiocommunication Conferences in 2015 and 2019. One Federal Register notice “makes non-substantive, editorial revisions to the Commission’s Table of Frequency Allocations,” effective Oct. 30. A second notice seeks comment on the NPRM (see 2104260053). Comments are due Oct. 30, replies Nov. 28, in docket 23-120.

The FCC Wireless Bureau granted a temporary waiver of rules for volume control testing requirements sought by the ATIS Hearing Aid Compatibility Task Force (see 2304060053). “Under the terms of the time-limited waiver we grant today, a handset may be certified as hearing aid-compatible under the 2019 ANSI Standard if it meets the volume control testing requirements described in this Order as well as all other aspects of the 2019 ANSI Stand,” the bureau said Friday. The order lays out the technical standards devices still must meet to be certified. “By taking these steps, we ensure that when the exclusive use transition period ends” Dec. 5 “new handset models can be certified as hearing aid-compatible using the 2019 ANSI Standard as modified by the conditions established in this Order,” the bureau said: “Our actions allow consumers with hearing loss who use hearing aids or cochlear implants to benefit from wider availability of handsets offering improved hearing aid compatibility under the 2019 ANSI Standard’s radio frequency interference and inductive coupling requirements.”

An order making changes to rules for the FCC’s equipment authorization program, approved 4-0 by commissioners in March (see 2303150026), is effective Oct. 30, said a Friday Federal Register notice. The order updates FCC rules to incorporate “four new and updated standards that are integral to equipment testing,” all from ANSI or the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission.

The FCC Wireless Bureau granted part of what Alaska’s GCI sought on drive testing of the speeds available on its wireless network. The tests are required under the FCC’s Alaska Plan. “For all but four grid cells raised in GCI’s … petitions, we waive the 15 mph threshold for in-motion drive tests,” the Friday order said: “For those 25 grid cells, we will accept GCI’s original drive test results. For one grid cell on Adak Island, we allow GCI to perform testing in a proxy grid cell.” The bureau dismissed as now moot GCI’s request for a waiver to permit drone testing in two grid cells. The bureau also granted an extension until Nov. 1 of GCI’s deadline for completing drive retesting in three grid cells in Utqiagvik.

Spectrum sharing, such as the citizens broadband radio service model, makes entry much cheaper for new users than exclusive licensing and doesn't disrupt or displace national defense spectrum use, NCTA said Thursday. Citing a Brattle Group analysis earlier this month, NCTA said single-use licensing, particularly for the 3.1-3.45 GHz band, "would cost the government billions of dollars while not delivering enough taxable revenue to offset the cost." Brattle said the economic value of sharing the 3.1-3.45 GHz band would be close to $19 billion, while exclusive use result in a loss of $41 billion once DOD estimates of clearing costs are factored in.

Broadcom representatives met with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on the company’s recently filed analysis of the interference risk of very-low-power operations in the 6 GHz band to electronic newsgathering operations (see 2309120051), said a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-295. Rosenworcel teed up a vote on 6 GHz VLP for the commission’s Oct. 19 meeting (see 2309280071). “We explained that the result of that study demonstrated that VLP devices are exceptionally unlikely to cause harmful interference to mobile ENG receivers, such as those mounted on news trucks,” Broadcom said.

The ATIS Hearing Aid Compatibility Task Force urged the FCC to approve a waiver sought by the group (see 2304060053) before a Dec. 5 compliance deadline. “Members of the HAC Task Force reiterate their commitment to working towards the goal that all new handsets will meet HAC requirements,” said a Wednesday filing in docket 15-285. They also “reiterate their commitment to working towards the goal of including Bluetooth connectivity as an alternative to telecoil coupling in a certain percentage of handsets.”