The GPS Innovation Alliance (GPSIA) reported on a successful meeting between members of the group and Proceq USA over the company’s request for a waiver (see 2005070053) asking to expand the range for an ultra-wideband ground penetrating radar device used to test “the safety, durability and sustainability of materials such as concrete, metal, rock, and composites used in industrial settings.” Discussions were “substantive, constructive, and transparent, and in the course of that meeting, GPSIA members and Proceq discussed technical features and operational information of Proceq’s ground penetrating radar imaging device under the proposed waiver,” the group said in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 20-127: “While there may be other UWB technologies and approaches that would raise concerns regarding the impact on GPS, the information that Proceq provided allayed the GPSIA’s concerns.”

The Alarm Industry Communications Committee told the FCC it supports a National Association of State 911 Administrators' (NASNA) petition for a rulemaking or notice of inquiry to fully implement next-generation 911 (see 2110190066). “AICC joins NASNA in urging the Commission to initiate a rulemaking to establish its regulatory authority over the delivery of NG911 services” through emergency services IP networks, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 21-479: “FCC regulation is necessary to protect the integrity of those services and the ability of [public safety answering points] to do their jobs, as well as to ensure that service providers have adequate and reasonably priced access to network facilities.”

Acconeer CEO Lars Lindell and others from the company urged the FCC to align U.S. rules for the 60 GHz band with those in Europe, in a call with staff from the Office of Engineering and Technology. “Absent the adoption of FCC rules aligned with the European rules, a wholesale rule for both 60 GHz pulse radar and [frequency-modulated continuous wave] radar may not result in equal treatment of both technologies, especially if additional technical criteria were to be added to a potential rule,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 21-48. The FCC is looking at revised rules for short-range radars in the band, the topic of an NPRM last summer (see 2107130066).

UScellular CEO Laurent Therivel met with FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks in Chicago recently to urge that markets currently receiving unsubsidized 4G LTE service in rural America be “included as eligible areas” in an upcoming 5G Fund auction, said a filing posted Monday in docket 20-32. “If these areas are ineligible for 5G Fund support, it will represent a significant missed opportunity for the Commission to deliver to rural America 5G service that is timely and of a quality that is reasonably comparable to that which is currently available in urban and suburban areas,” the carrier said.

Intel, Meta and Qualcomm representatives met virtually with staff from the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology on the proposal for the 60 GHz band (see 2206010046). The plan “divides the 57-64 GHz band into three segments to allow for 2 GHz, 4.5 GHz and 7 GHz radars that generally map to the channels in the IEEE 802.11ad/ay standards,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 21-264: “It allows high-powered, unrestricted frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar operations in the lowermost 2 GHz, equal access by radars and communications in the middle of the band, and continued radar operations across the entire 7 GHz band by the current Google Soli product.” The band was the topic of an FCC NPRM last summer (see 2107130066).

NTIA will host a spectrum sharing symposium Sept. 19, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. EDT, at the National Press Club. The focus is “continued innovation in the use of radio-frequency spectrum, the evolution of new techniques and technologies to manage its use domestically and internationally, and principles for the development and execution of a national spectrum strategy,” said a notice for Tuesday’s Federal Register. The Biden administration reportedly is moving closer to releasing a national spectrum strategy (see 2208150035).

Dish Network critiques of DirecTV's technical study about 12 GHz sharing (see 2208080047) badly mischaracterize the methodology and results, DirecTV representatives told an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, per a docket 20-443 post Monday. DirecTV responded to numerous Dish assertions.

The FCC’s Technological Advisory Council will meet Sept. 15, starting at 10 a.m. EDT, its first meeting since June (see 2206090059), said a Friday Federal Register notice. The meeting will be virtual. TAC's focus this cycle is preparing for 6G.

Members of the California General Assembly urged the FCC to drop plans to change the rules for the 12 GHz band to allow 5G. “The submissions to this docket make it clear that the 12.2-12.7 GHz Band is not suitable for terrestrial two-way wireless applications,” said a letter to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel posted Friday in docket 20-443: “Multiple technical studies submitted to the docket have demonstrated the real and immediate impact to consumers and, by extension, the tens of thousands of families across California should this proposal go forward. A broad coalition of companies and stakeholders across multiple industries have filed in opposition, including nearly 100,000 everyday American families.”

The ATIS Network Reliability Steering Committee (NRSC) asked the FCC to modify its network outage reporting system rules to encourage public safety answering points and 911 authorities to give covered 911 providers data on population counts served by the call centers. The committee also asked the FCC to require covered 911 service providers “to use census or population data derived from other sources instead of telephone number counts to determine ‘user minutes’ threshold criteria.” The petition, posted Friday, asks the FCC to prevent over-reporting of outages by setting a de minimis exception for outages “that affect four (4) or fewer macro cell sites located in Rural Service Areas or 14 or fewer macro cell sites located in Metropolitan Service Areas,” among other proposed changes. “ATIS NRSC recommends changes to Sections 4.7 and 4.9 of the Commission’s rules to facilitate the transition from legacy to [next-generation] 911 systems and to support continued, timely notification of outages in NORS as well as to PSAPs by NG911 systems,” the filing said.