The FCC’s Technological Advisory Council will hold its first meeting of 2023 Aug. 17 at 10 a.m. at FCC headquarters, said a notice in Friday’s Daily Digest. TAC last met Dec. 8. The focus of the current TAC is preparing for 6G.

5G adoption continues to set “a torrid pace,” on track to add nearly a billion connections per year, 5G Americas said Thursday. 5G networks now number 267 worldwide, with 14 in North America and 28 in the Caribbean and Latin America region, compared with 703 global 4G networks, the group said. Global 5G connections are predicted to hit 6.8 billion by the end of 2027. At the end of Q1, the North American region had 133 million 5G connections and 503 million LTE connections, 5G Americas said: The region is projected to hit 601 million 5G connections by end of 2027, adding about 100 million per year. “With North American 5G networks online, we’re experiencing a strong subscription cycle for 5G in the US and Canada,” said Chris Pearson, the group’s president: “At the same time, other 5G markets are emerging, creating the potential for billions of new 5G connections. Key ecosystem players will have a huge role in providing new technical features and capabilities to fulfill the promise of 5G globally."

The FCC Wireless Bureau imposed a protective order Thursday allowing some parties access to competitive information Verizon and an independent compliance monitor file as a follow-up to the carrier’s buy of Tracfone, which closed in 2021 (see 2111230038). “While we are mindful of the sensitive nature of some of the information involved, we are also mindful of the general right of the public, and our desire for the public, to participate in this proceeding in a meaningful way,” the order said: “We find that allowing limited access to competitively sensitive materials pursuant to the procedures set forth in this Protective Order allows the public (through appropriate representatives) to do so while also protecting competitively sensitive information from improper disclosure and use.” Verizon has been under scrutiny California as it migrates Tracfone customers to its network (see 2306230047).

The FCC Wireless Bureau approved modifications to existing waivers sought by PTC-220, a consortium of the nation’s seven Class I freight railroads, to enable the deployment of additional, nonpositive train control safety systems. “Today’s action will enable U.S. freight, intercity passenger (including Amtrak), and commuter railroads to deploy life- and property-saving safety systems using PTC-220’s extensive 220 MHz Band spectrum holdings across the nation,” the bureau said Thursday. The order cites other uses for the spectrum, including systems, “which control, or provide critical messages for, train operations including End-of-Train (EOT) devices and distributed power systems” and detectors and other trackside support systems. PTC-220 railroads also deploy advanced grade crossing technologies in the 220 MHz band. For example, railroads currently use 450 MHz spectrum to control additional locomotives remotely from a lead locomotive, the bureau said: “Although the 450 MHz Band has up to 13 channel pairs totaling 325 kilohertz of available spectrum for use by the railroad industry, these channels are not fungible. … PTC-220 states that more flexibility to utilize the 220 MHz Band for distributed power and other safety systems would mitigate engineering challenges where the rails have exhausted 450 MHz Band capacity.”

Sennheiser told the FCC it supports a Shure request for an increase in power, up to 100 mW, for unlicensed wireless microphone users that employ wireless multichannel audio system technologies at 1-2 MHz, provided the rules treat all companies the same. “While Sennheiser does not believe such a power increase is necessary to unlock the massive technological benefits of WMAS, it does not oppose Shure’s request, provided that larger-bandwidth WMAS also benefit as well,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 21-115: “Sennheiser is an ardent believer that the Commission should adopt a technology-neutral approach to its rules, and should adopt rules that allow for different types of WMAS implementations.” WMAS was the subject of a 2021 NPRM (see 2104220056).

The FCC Wireless Bureau granted four more licenses Wednesday in Colorado, in the 900 MHz broadband segment, to PDV Spectrum. The FCC approved an order in 2020 reallocating a 6 MHz swath in the band for broadband, while maintaining 4 MHz for narrowband operations (see 2005130057).

CTIA raised concerns Wednesday as China announced it was allocating the top half of the 6 GHz band to 5G. In the U.S., the FCC assigned the entire band to Wi-Fi and other unlicensed use in 2020 (see 2004230059). “BREAKING NEWS: China announces plans to free up far more #5G spectrum than the United States,” CTIA tweeted: “Congress must restore @FCC auction authority and identify new spectrum to secure our leadership of the industries and innovations of the future.” The 6 GHz band “is the largest remaining single block of mid-band spectrum that can be assigned to licensed mobile in the foreseeable future,” Luciana Camargos, GSMA head-spectrum, blogged Wednesday, noting the latest from China. “It can help 5G to play a central role in sustainable social and industrial development,” Camargos said: “As enhanced broadband, IoT, data, analytics, and insight permeate every aspect of society, mobile networks require a long-term vision of each nation’s future.” The development is “a big step” toward a “commercial 6 GHz 5G ecosystem,” she said. Comargos noted China is deploying the world’s largest 5G network, with more than 2.7 million base stations by the end of April, “on track to become the first country to reach 1 billion 5G connections in 2025.” Future use of the band is likely to be an issue at the World Radiocommunication Conference in November (see 2302060052).

T-Mobile is working with Bellevue, Washington, where it’s headquartered, on network-based cellular vehicle-to-everything technology, using 5G. The project will enable “vehicles and traffic infrastructure to exchange information and notifications about pedestrians and cyclists in near real-time -- even in situations that are beyond visual line of sight,” T-Mobile said Tuesday. A mobile app “will provide drivers with early visual and audible warnings about potentially harmful road interactions, contributing to increased safety and awareness on the road,” T-Mobile said.

ATIS supported a March petition by the Competitive Carriers Association seeking tweaks to the FCC’s 911 outage reporting rules, approved 4-0 by commissioners last year (see 2211170051). Comments were due Monday in docket 15-80 (see 2306140057). ATIS’ Network Reliability Steering Committee “believes that it is infeasible to comply with the recently-adopted reporting rules” requiring carriers to provide 911 special facilities with all available material information they have about an outage within 30 minutes of discovery, said a filing posted Tuesday. “Until there is notification from a third-party (such as from a vendor or another service provider etc.), originating service providers would not know of an outage or its impact,” ATIS said: “Even after an originating service provider receives notification of an outage, 30 minutes is a challenging deadline. … In this very short window of time, providers likely will not know the root cause, the outage’s extent, or be able to estimate when service would be restored, and in some cases may not be able to identify the affected” public safety answering points. The Boulder Regional Emergency Telephone Service Authority opposed the petition. “If providers are unwilling or unable to monitor their systems and traffic, and timely report outages, then they should authorize or assign third-party network providers on which their services are dependent to provide outage notifications, and supply those third-party network providers the information they need to fully report the impact of the outage,” the Colorado agency said. APCO also opposed the reconsideration petition (see 2306260062).

Wi-Fi Alliance representatives updated an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on a submission the group made with the Wireless Innovation Forum containing specifications and test plans for evaluating 6 GHz automated frequency coordination systems (see 2306230046). “We expressed our hope that the delivery and availability of this package will support the Commission’s goal to approve the AFC systems for full commercial operations, beginning with an announcement of the initiation of the next phase of the approval process -- laboratory and field testing,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 18-295.