Summit Ridge Group, which is helping smaller carriers replace insecure gear through the FCC’s rip and replace program, asked the agency to clarify issues, in a letter posted Monday in docket 18-89. Among the questions is whether any consumer-premise equipment is reimbursable if it’s “rendered useless by the installation of new equipment.”
The 5G opportunity could create up to 300,000 green jobs by 2030, justifying “accelerated deployment” of such networks and use cases, plus “enhanced investments in 5G technology leadership and a robust global semiconductor ecosystem,” reported Qualcomm Monday. Widespread commercial deployment could enable reduction of 374 million metric tons of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions -- equivalent to removing 81 million passenger vehicles from U.S. roads for a year, it said. Qualcomm estimates 5G can help halve U.S. pesticide use through the deployment of drones “for remote sensing and spray application.” The chipmaker is working with partners “across many industries to leverage 5G to reduce carbon footprints and conserve resources,” said CEO Cristiano Amon.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau reminded personal and amateur radio service licensees they can't use their radios to “commit or facilitate criminal acts.” Violators “may be subject to severe penalties, including significant fines, seizure of the offending equipment, and, in some cases, criminal prosecution,” a Friday notice said. This came the day before a planned rally on Capitol Hill was to have been held to protest the ongoing criminal cases of individuals charged after the Jan. 6 insurrection. An FCC spokesperson declined to comment on the timing.
The FCC said 33 companies qualified to bid in the 3.45 GHz auction, which starts Oct. 5. Nine applications were deemed incomplete. Verizon is now qualified. AT&T, T-Mobile, Dish Network and UScellular are among the heavy hitters that had already qualified. Cable operators and big tech companies will sit out the auction of mid-band spectrum for 5G (see 2108180047). Among the potential bidders that didn’t qualify are Bluegrass Network, Frontier Communications, 3D Built, 5G Alliance Utah, 5Global 3535, Resound Networks, Ring Strategy Partners and W.A.T.C.H. TV. Fifty-seven qualified bidders were in the C-band auction, which was dominated by major carriers.
The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment on a waiver request from Puerto Rico’s Neptuno, which discovered it was using unauthorized equipment. The wireless ISP bought gear from Intracom, a Greece-based supplier, in 2017, for operations in the 27.5-28.35 and 29.1-29.25 GHz bands, said a Thursday notice. In March, Neptuno “learned that the Intracom equipment had not been certified under the Commission’s rules,” the bureau said: “Neptuno states that a waiver is necessary to permit continued operation of 289 terminal stations.” Comments are due Oct. 18, replies Nov. 2, in docket 21-364.
The August T-Mobile data breach (see 2108180062) will likely cut postpaid phone net adds for the carrier by 350,000 in Q3, with some lingering effects into Q4, New Street’s Jonathan Chaplin told investors Thursday. New Street still expects T-Mobile to add 3.3 million postpaid phones for the year. “We currently don’t expect the hack to impact long-term adds or financials,” Chaplin said: “We still expect T-Mobile share gains to accelerate as their product advantage becomes apparent.”
A draft NPRM on automatic frequency coordination (AFC) in the 6 GHz band, set for a Sept. 30 vote, is an important next step for the band, said representatives of the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance (DSA) in a call with an aide to acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. They “encouraged the FCC to continue to work rapidly and to expedite AFC certification so that the full range of unlicensed devices may commence operations in the 6 GHz band while ensuring protection of incumbent services,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-295. Standard power operations permitted by AFC “will support outdoor, indoor higher power, and indoor connectorized antenna deployments,” DSA said. Representatives of Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Aruba and Federated Wireless were on the call.
T-Mobile urged the FCC to set a date for the 2.5 GHz auction to start and begin and finalize a proceeding on auction procedures, in a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-120. The band “is critical to help provide 5G services to Americans,” the carrier said: “Yet, it has been over two years since the Commission adopted new rules governing the 2.5 GHz band and nearly eight months since the Commission proposed procedures to auction the spectrum.” The FCC should reject calls by AT&T for a single-round, sealed-bid auction with pay-as-bid pricing, T-Mobile said: That approach “would favor speculators and not service providers -- service providers that compete with AT&T.” T-Mobile favors a more traditional simultaneous multiple round (SMR) auction. The 2.5 GHz auction will offer more than 8,300 “unique licenses,” which “will be ‘overlaid’ on existing spectrum licenses, the characteristics of many of them -- even in the same geographic area -- may vary significantly,” the carrier said. “An SMR auction is essential in these circumstances because it allows for price discovery, which enables participants to effectively determine the value of a license based on the specific spectrum made available and the geographic area covered.” The auction is expected to start next year, after the conclusion of the 3.45 GHz auction, which starts next month (see 2106070054). AT&T didn't comment.
Aerospace Industries Association representatives support a record refresh on use of the 5030-5091 MHz band for unmanned aircraft system controls (see 2108230034), said an AIA filing posted Wednesday in RM-11798. In a call with FCC Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology staff, the group “offered an initial spectrum access proposal that could be launched with minimal oversight to facilitate the immediate deployment of point-to-point link operations,” the filing said: It discussed “operating models … that might accommodate different UAS markets, defined by different UAS missions, that are expected to emerge over time.” AIA seeks a phased-in approach. Aura Networks, Boeing, Collins Aerospace, Honeywell and Lockheed Martin were among companies participating in the briefing.
Smith Bagley asked the FCC for an additional six-month extension of the Lifeline rule waiver scheduled to expire Sept. 30, said a petition posted Tuesday in docket 11-42 (see 2106280032). It said 2,800 Lifeline subscribers on tribal lands may be de-enrolled in November or December if reverification requirements take effect Oct. 1.