The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals weighed in on the use of automatic telephone dialing systems (ATDS), upholding the dismissal of a Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawsuit against debt collector Navient, though on different grounds than those cited by a lower court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Elizabeth and Joshua Panzarella sued Navient, claiming the company called their cellphones without prior express consent using an ATDS, in an attempt to collect a student loan held by a family member. The district court granted summary judgment for Navient, concluding “Navient’s dialing technology did not qualify as an ATDS under section 227(a)(1) of the TCPA because it viewed a particular component of Navient’s dialing technology as separate from its dialing system,” said the Tuesday decision by Judge Marjorie Rendell. The lower court “erred by failing to consider whether Navient’s dialing ‘equipment’ as a whole qualified as an ATDS,” she wrote: “Even though we do not decide whether Navient’s dialing equipment qualified as an ATDS, we find that Navient did not use an ATDS in violation of the TCPA when it called the Panzarellas. Thus, we will affirm the District Court’s order on this alternative ground.” In Facebook v. Duguid decided last year the Supreme Court sided with Facebook (see 2104010063), favoring a narrow definition of what constitutes an ATDS.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated a draft order Wednesday designed to make wireless networks more resilient during disasters. Last month, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr proposed that wireless providers be required to participate in the previously voluntary wireless network resiliency cooperative framework, and that roaming arrangements be required before disasters. The order would adopt those changes, said a news release. "While wireless providers have worked hard to prevent outages and restore service during recent disasters, there were times when communications fell short and recovery took too long -- which put lives at risk,” Rosenworcel said. “Last fall, after Hurricane Ida wreaked its devastation, Commissioner Carr and I travelled to Louisiana and heard firsthand where communications resiliency needs improvement. The Commission then sought comment on proposals to strengthen communications. Now it’s time to act on what we’ve learned.” Rosenworcel thanked Carr for his work on the issue. “The rules would codify the Framework and expand its applicability to all facilities-based wireless providers,” the release said: “Among other changes, the rules would require facilities-based wireless providers to enter into mutual aid arrangements that enable them to request, or receive a request, for assistance during emergencies. The rules would also require that facilities-based wireless providers enter into bilateral roaming agreements in advance of disasters to help the public communicate.” The FCC would also “expand the triggers for activation of these provisions, and provide for critical testing and reporting on wireless roaming implementation during disasters.” Carr listed the groups that already support the proposal. “If adopted by the full Commission, this approach would build on the successful actions that America’s wireless providers have been taking to improve network resiliency,” he said: “I have been very pleased to see the broad support that this approach has been receiving from public safety and first responder groups.”

Alaska’s GCI asked the FCC to adjust the Alaska Population-Distribution Model used in mobile drive tests to conform to a version proposed in 2020 by the Alaska Telecom Association (ATA). “Without this change, GCI will needlessly drive test unpopulated areas that were never intended to be included within the Alaska Plan, and its coverage area will appear to serve less population than it actually does, understating GCI’s achievements in fulfillment of its Alaska Plan commitments," said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 16-271: “GCI also requested that all values necessary to calculate a provider’s compliance with its Alaska Plan deployment obligations be released or provided to the carriers subject to the drive test requirements.” The GCI representatives spoke with staff from the Wireless Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics. In a second filing in the docket, representatives of ATA, GCI and other Alaska wireless providers “reviewed the status of testing" the use of low earth orbit satellites for wireless backhaul. They told FCC staff the cost is “approximately 84% of the cost of current C-Band backhaul service.”

The FCC should “act swiftly to authorize 5G operations” in the 12 GHz band, RS Access representatives said in a call with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “The engineering record is now complete with respect to the feasibility of 5G-[non-geostationary orbit] coexistence, and the Commission has the opportunity for a win/win whereby the 12 GHz band is unlocked for massive 5G opportunities while allowing for NGSO co-existence,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 20-443.

GSMA and FC Barcelona signed an agreement Monday to collocate the Sports Tomorrow Congress at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona starting next year. “As data-powered, innovative sports technology continues to deliver insights with a profound impact on athletes’ performance and fan engagement, the relationship between sports and technology has expanded the sports industry market,” said a news release.

Qualcomm Technologies bought Cellwize, a Singapore-based mobile network automation and management company, with the goal of speeding 5G adoption, it said Monday. Transaction terms weren’t disclosed. Adding Cellwize’s radio access network software to the Qualcomm portfolio “will accelerate the development of the connected intelligent edge through the deployment of 5G private and public networks by reducing network deployment time and simplifying network management,” said Qualcomm.

Executives from Helium and cryptocurrency company Emrit predicted a bright future for decentralized wireless networks, during a webinar Monday. Helium’s centrally managed IoT network offers more than 800,000 IoT gateways in some 52,000 cities around the world. Speakers said PlanetWatch, Dimo and Pollen are offering similar networks. “It’s commercial hardware,” said Alvaro Gracia, partner, Helium Funds at Borderless Capital. “There’s no real estate costs because people are placing them on their premises,” he said: “The blockchain automation makes the whole backend model very efficient -- you don’t need accounting departments, you don’t need a lot of processes.” Helium and similar companies are addressing “a problem that the IoT industry has tried to solve for a very long time,” said Pradhyum Ramkumar, Emrit head-IoT and 5G. Sensor data usage on the Helium network is growing 70% every month, he said: “The proof is in the pudding.” People are "finally realizing that there is a great, very low cost [long range] network available,” he said. “Very little capital was deployed by Helium to do this” with the costs paid by hosts, who are reimbursed by users, he said. Helium “laid the groundwork,” being followed by competitors, said Ryan Derouin, Emrit head-commercial. One example of the kind of network being built is a local coffee shop using citizens broadband radio spectrum, he said. “People need data, they’re in there streaming data … and they need the access,” he said. “The coffee shops want to drive traffic.” Carriers “can’t put a tower every 50 feet” as the demand for data grows, he said.

Applications to bid in the 2.5 GHz auction by AT&T, Dish Network, T-Mobile and UScellular were deemed to be complete (see 2206090073).

Two people outside the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6 asked U.S. District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania to enjoin T-Mobile from sharing their data with Congress under a subpoena. Congress sought information about Kristina Malimon’s and Yevgeniya Malimon’s “accounts, contacts, personal and political associates, and physical locations” over “a three-month period that greatly exceeds the less than 10-minute window of time Plaintiffs were engaging in peaceable assembly … before being arrested,” said the Thursday complaint. “The subpoena was not issued by a validly constituted committee; is not pertinent to the matter Congress is purporting to investigate; does not pursue a legislative purpose; violates the Plaintiffs’ First and Fourth Amendment rights; and violates the Stored Communications Act,” said the Malimons, of Portland, Oregon.

CTA representatives told the FCC of “the importance of spectrum efficiency,” in response to the FCC’s April notice of inquiry on receiver performance (see 2204210049). CTA said it opposes a “one-size-fits all” approach. “Industry (and CTA specifically) has explored spectrum efficiencies across a variety of vectors -- including receiver performance -- over the years, especially in the FCC’s Technological Advisory Committee,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 22-137. “Industry has been working for many years to analyze system performance, write standards and design and test devices,” CTA said: “As part of this process, industry considers in-band and adjacent channel interference. Participants also discussed that an increasingly congested RF environment raises difficult questions for the Commission as it reallocates spectrum to support 5G services and beyond.” The CTA representatives spoke with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks. Initial comments are due on the NOI June 27.