A blanket time extension for carriers to replace Chinese equipment in their networks and be reimbursed would be helpful as many consider adopting an open radio access network solution, the Competitive Carriers Association said in an FCC filing posted Wednesday in docket 21-63. “In preparation for the Reimbursement Program, many CCA members that have covered equipment in their networks have been evaluating potential vendor partners including Open RAN options, have been meeting with Open RAN vendors, and have engaged in testing of Open RAN equipment,” CCA said: “Smaller carriers often are not the first adopters of new technologies, and the Reimbursement Program presents a particularly complex network transition process on a short timeline.” The group met via videoconference with Office of Economics and Analytics, Office of Engineering and Technology, and Wireless Bureau staff.

Winners in the 3.45 GHz auction should be clear by Dec. 31, New Street’s Philip Burnett told investors Wednesday. The first phase ended Tuesday (see 2111160071). The assignment phase is likely to be over in one or two weeks once it starts, he said. AT&T likely spent as much as $9 billion, T-Mobile $8 billion and Dish Network $4 billion-$6 billion, he said: “There is a slim chance that T-Mobile got nothing and Verizon is the [complement], but that would be a big surprise.” NTIA tweeted Wednesday: “The results indicate confidence in the sharing framework for the band, developed by @FCC, @DeptofDefense, and NTIA.” Bidders “have reaffirmed how important it is for the U.S. communications industry to gain access to additional spectrum" for 5G, emailed Wiley’s Richard Engelman: “Bidders demanded 3.45 GHz blocks in every Partial Economic Area and at prices that approached -- or in some cases exceeded -- the prices paid earlier this year” in the C band auction. The level of bidding in the C band and 3.45 GHz auctions “demonstrates the demand for operators to gain spectrum that can help them deliver high-bandwidth, high-capacity connectivity in dense areas -- even if it costs them,” emailed Ronny Haraldsvik, Cohere Technologies chief marketing officer: “Carriers in the US now need to find the best way to leverage this hefty investment. Through the use of software, carriers can do a lot more with their existing and new spectrum assets, effectively doubling the capacity of the spectrum.” The 5Gfor12GHz Coalition said now that the auction is nearly complete, the FCC should take up the 12 GHz band, which offers five times as much spectrum: “This is an important accomplishment but will not satisfy the urgent need for more spectrum. 12 GHz is the only remaining unencumbered 5G spectrum between 6 and 24 GHz that can meet the exploding demand for mobile broadband.”

The Aerospace Industries Association urged FCC action on rules allowing use of 5030-5091 MHz for drones (see 2110130044), in a call with Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology staff. It's "the only spectrum in the U.S. dedicated exclusively” to unmanned aircraft system command and control, said an AIA filing posted Tuesday in RM-11798. AIA and members discussed their “interest in working with the Commission to develop a flexible, scalable regulatory framework that provides access to the C-band for both near-term and future-state operations,” it said. Aura Networks, Collins Aerospace, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Honeywell and Lockheed Martin participated.

Garmin representatives met with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and others from the FCC to answer questions on the interference risks 5G poses for radio altimeters (see 2111150071), said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-122. “The discussion included how radar altimeters used during Aerospace Vehicle Systems Institute (AVSI) testing failed when subjected to simulated 5G interference sources,” it said: “While some radar altimeters were observed to fail by outputting a No Computed Data (NCD) status, many failed in a manner where a misleading height above ground was output without a simultaneous NCD status.” The Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics defended its now-updated report. The multistakeholder group report was “informed by detailed information made available by the commercial wireless and aviation industries regarding their respective systems and was therefore able to more thoroughly examine issues of compatibility between existing radar altimeters and prospective flexible use licensees than were the earlier preliminary analyses,” the group said: “The analysis found serious threats of harmful interference to today’s installed radar altimeters from anticipated flexible use licensed deployments, including from spurious emissions into the radar altimeter band.” Calls that the report be dismissed “have not been validated by hard science or engineering analysis,” RTCA said.

T-Mobile reached its 2021 goal of covering 200 million people in the U.S. with Ultra Capacity 5G, said the carrier Monday. The offering uses T-Mobile’s extensive 2.5 GHz spectrum holdings.

The Open Technology Institute urged quick FCC action approving automated frequency control (AFC) systems in the 6 GHz band, said a filing posted Monday in docket 19-138. “It would be a costly and unnecessary opportunity loss for consumers and the economy if the Commission takes several years to certify AFCs, as it [did] to certify the then-novel TV Bands Databases and Spectrum Access Systems,” OTI said in a call with an aide to Commissioner Nathan Simington: “AFC coordination with entirely fixed point-to-point links in 6 GHz is technically easier and [the Office of Engineering and Technology] has far more experience with geolocation databases.” On 12 GHz, OTI said “commissioners should encourage band incumbents to submit technical data in the record to better clarify claims that more intensive sharing with terrestrial fixed or mobile uses is not feasible” and urged a public notice “that clarifies what additional data it needs to make a decision on the nature and scope of additional sharing and coexistence that is feasible.”

The Brattle Group study on possible economic benefits of opening the 12 GHz band to 5G (see 2105100028) reasonably used the C band as the most comparable spectrum band, especially because the two bands are particularly similar in some areas of propagation, RS Access said in docket 20-443 Monday. The Brattle study's assumptions and methodologies line up with those of the RKF Engineering Solutions study of 5G sharing the band with non-geostationary orbit satellite operations, RSA said. The RKF study "emphatically" doesn't conclude that there will be harmful interference but instead says any interference "will prove inconsequential once the system resources and performance characteristics of satellite and terrestrial systems are taken into account," RSA said.

American Tower agreed to buy data center manager CoreSite for $10.1 billion, the tower company said Monday. It's expected to “create a differentiated, comprehensive and interconnected communications real estate platform optimally positioned to benefit from the convergence of wireline and wireless networks amid accelerating global 5G deployments,” the company said. CoreSite has 25 data centers and more than 32,000 interconnections in eight major U.S. markets, American Tower said. “We are in the early stages of a cloud-based, connected and globally distributed digital transformation that will evolve over the next decade and beyond,” said American Tower CEO Tom Bartlett. The deal is expected to close this year "or shortly thereafter."

Continental Automotive Systems urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to overturn an FCC order dividing the 5.9 GHz band. The company said auto safety technologies require the full 75 MHz allocation. “Neither collective perception messages nor maneuver coordination messages applications … will have sufficient spectrum to be deployed in the 5.9 GHz band if only 30 MHz remains for vehicle-to-everything; and these applications are critical safety-of-life applications that can prevent numerous non-line-of-sight crashes that cannot otherwise be prevented,” said Friday's brief. "The FCC shunned [the Department of Transportation’s] expertise” in the order, “essentially believing DOT lacked credibility,” Continental said. ITS America, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network appealed the order (see 2111100083).

The extra cost to ensure access to ubiquitous 5G for all in the U.S., “and not just those who will be covered by currently planned private investment,” would be $36 billion, said a CostQuest Associates study, commissioned by the Competitive Carriers Association and released Friday. The FCC 2020 5G Fund order (see 2010270034) dedicates up to $9 billion to deploy in rural and hard-to-reach areas, the paper said. “While an important step and a welcomed increase in resources allocated specifically for mobile service, this figure was not supported with evidence that this amount would be enough to provide truly comparable wireless services to rural areas as those enjoyed in urban locations,” it said: “The Commission did not point to any data to support the budget amount, and indeed the 5G Fund Order was adopted before mobile coverage maps were updated, so reliable data to identify the total needed budget was unavailable.” Closing the digital divide isn’t “complete without access to mobile connectivity,” said CCA President Steve Berry: “I encourage policymakers to build on lessons learned from previous generations of wireless deployment and take immediate steps to allocate a sufficient budget for 5G support.”