APCO made its case for why the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit should stay the FCC’s April order allowing Wi-Fi and other unlicensed users to share the 6 GHz band (see 2004230059), in a filing (in Pacer) Friday in docket 20-1190. “The Commission has a statutory mandate to protect public safety,” APCO said: “It failed to honor that mandate, and that failure is likely to endanger the nation’s public safety communications systems.” The FCC argued (in Pacer) against a stay, saying the order was “based on its expert judgment and thorough consideration of the administrative record, including the needs of public safety operations in the 6 GHz band.” The Edison Electric Institute, Utilities Technology Council, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and American Public Power Association supported (in Pacer) the stay. Opponents argue that there's "no indication that any interfering devices will be on the market in the near future, and that a stay will harm the public because the devices must be allowed on the market as soon as possible,” the utility groups said: “Respondents cannot have it both ways. If the devices will not be on the market in the near future, then staying the Order while the Court determines the merits of the petitions presents no harm.”
NTIA is soliciting expressions of interest to join the FirstNet board. They're due Oct. 19, says Friday's Federal Register. The terms of four of the 12 non-permanent members expire in January.
The FCC Wireless Bureau approved a temporary waiver request by the American Radio Relay League allowing amateur data transmissions at a higher symbol rate than currently permitted during the current round of hurricanes (see 2009170058) and wildfires. Waiver expires in 60 days. Last month, ARRL got one for Hurricane Laura (see 2008270028).
Increasing Lifeline mobile broadband minimums would “particularly harm eligible low-income Lifeline recipients,” said TruConnect in a call Monday with an aide to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, per a filing posted Thursday in docket 11-42: “These Americans depend on the Lifeline program for affordable mobile wireless services so they can grapple with the economic impact of" COVID-19. If the monthly MSS is increased to 4.5 GB, the company said it may consider relinquishing its eligible telecom carrier designations in some states without subsidies available to supplement the federal subsidy and the new data requirements. Others say similar (see 2009150072).
The FCC Wireless Bureau changed its methodology for estimating how many Alaskans in remote area census blocks are receiving mobile service and thus whether mobile providers participating in the Alaska Plan have met their performance commitments, said a public notice in Thursday's Daily Digest. The bureau said it will superimpose coverage polygons based on Form 477 data on its new Alaska population-distribution model and then analyze how many people in a given census block are located within the mobile provider's coverage area.
Protect vehicle to everything in the 5.9 GHz band from unlicensed device users, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation asked the FCC. “Recent filings in this proceeding by NCTA and CableLabs erroneously downplay the risk of harmful interference … from unlicensed operations,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 19-138: The CableLabs study “was done solely through modeling that makes unrealistic and simplistic assumptions that, in many cases, do not reflect real world tests or operating conditions.” Commissioners are expected to consider a 5.9 GHz order as early as next month (see 2009090058). NCTA and CableLabs didn’t comment.
Qualcomm is shipping to select customers the Cloud AI 100, an artificial intelligence accelerator that supports solutions for edge appliances and 5G infrastructure, it said Wednesday. The company’s Cloud AI 100 development kit is designed to speed adoption of edge applications with a system for AI processing up to 24 simultaneous 1080p video streams, along with 5G connectivity; it supports multiple form factors with PCI-E card-level power profiles 15-75 watts. Commercial products are expected to launch in first half 2021.
Verizon completed lab trials with Corning and started trials with Samsung on new high-band in-building systems, targeting hospitals, factories, warehouses, schools, ports and stores. “The launch of these indoor cell sites will not only extend the footprint of Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network, but will also bring the promise of private networks with Mobile Edge Compute capabilities one step closer,” Verizon said Wednesday.
Buying Tracfone is the right move and Verizon is likely to make major improvements to the brand (see 2009140052), GlobalData’s Tammy Parker wrote Tuesday. “Verizon has long needed a secondary brand and value proposition that it can use to serve the prepaid wireless market without cannibalizing its premium flagship brand,” she said: “AT&T has Cricket Wireless and T-Mobile has Metro by T-Mobile. Verizon will gain a substantial base of prepaid subscribers acquired from Tracfone, making it the largest US prepaid service provider.” GlobalData estimates the prepaid penetration in the U.S. wireless market is 26%.
The FCC Wireline Bureau authorized high-cost mobile support funding for T-Mobile USA/PR Wireless as an eligible facilities-based provider participating in Stage 2 of the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund, said a Tuesday notice in docket 18-143.