Reject Dynetics’ request the FCC lift or waive the temporary freeze on nonfederal applications for new or expanded Part 90 operations in the 3100-3550 MHz band (see 1905290011), CTIA said. The freeze came as NTIA studies use of the 3450-3550 MHz band for wireless broadband (see 1802260047). Congress directed a study of the broader band in the Mobile Now Act. The request is, “if anything, an untimely petition for reconsideration of the Freeze Public Notice,” CTIA said. If the U.S. “is to keep pace in the race to 5G, the Commission should refrain from embedding additional incumbent operations in mid-band spectrum under review for repurposing to commercial wireless services,” CTIA said. “Dynetics is asking the Commission to put aside the nation’s 5G goals and instead permit new deployments of radiolocation operations in the band.” The Wireless Innovation Forum also opposed a waiver. Waiver could “preclude or hinder higher and better uses of the spectrum,” the forum said: “The Dynetics technology is intended to be deployed widely, and therefore will establish a large installed base of devices. Should NTIA and the Commission ultimately decide that commercial wireless services can share this band segment, any deployed systems will present a significant obstacle and impediment to any contemplated sharing of this band, as envisioned by the current initiatives.” Comments were due Wednesday in docket 19-39.
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers urged the FCC to move quickly to give companies “certainty” in deploying dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) and other vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technologies in the 5.9 GHz band. Chairman Ajit Pai was ready to circulate an NPRM on the band for the June FCC meeting but postponed seeking a vote after the Transportation Department asked for a delay (see 1905150053). “A critical assumption in the U.S. DOT’s and industry’s development of DSRC-based technologies and applications was that spectrum sharing of the 5.9 GHz band with unlicensed users was not intended, and regulatory certainty would be provided by the FCC to allow a decade of research, testing, product development and deployment of safety-critical technology to mature and progress,” the alliance said Wednesday in docket 13-49: “Unfortunately, this assumption has not held true, as repeated spectrum sharing proposals by the FCC have induced ongoing uncertainty.” Meanwhile, 17 free-market oriented groups urged the FCC to tackle the band. "The time for action is now,” the groups said. “This valuable spectrum has lain fallow for 20 years, at great expense to the country. The commission should open this inquiry and ensure the spectrum is put to use expeditiously.” Citizens Against Government Waste, the Lincoln Network, American Legislative Exchange Council, Innovation Economy Institute, Tech Freedom, Institute for Liberty, American Conservative Union and Discovery Institute were among signers.
The 700 MHz relicensing window's 30-day phase 1 is Aug. 12-Sept. 11 for the four markets where licensees failed to meet construction requirements, said a Wednesday FCC Wireless Bureau notice on docket 06-150. The licenses cover part of the Gulf of Mexico, portions of North Dakota 4, McKenzie, and North Dakota 3, Barnes, and the Texas 1, Dallam, market, the bureau said. "We strongly encourage potential applicants to conduct due diligence to determine the unserved areas where they actually will be able to provide service because licenses acquired through this process will have one year to complete construction, provide signal coverage and offer service over 100 percent of the relicensed area. If the licensee fails to meet this requirement, then its license will terminate automatically, and it will be ineligible to apply to provide service to that area at any future date."
The IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee (LMSC) encouraged the FCC to give dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) a chance to deploy rather than seek comment on a 5G Automotive Association proposal to allow vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology in the band. “As the US Department of Transportation noted, in October 2018 there were already more than 70 active DSRC deployments, using all seven channels and with thousands of vehicles on the road,” LMSC said. “allowing automakers and infrastructure owner-operators to evolve their deployments to [next-generation V2X] over time will protect past and future investments in DSRC, providing a critical incentive for additional deployment of these life-saving technologies.” The group is concerned other models, like the one advocated by the 5GAA, “will undermine existing investments and discourage widespread deployment of V2X technology,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-357.
ARRL updated the FCC Wednesday on its work trying to reach an agreement in a proceeding that proposes to remove limitations on the symbol, or baud, rate, applicable to data emissions in some amateur bands. In March, the amateur radio operator group asked to pause the proceeding (see 1903280059), in docket 16-239. “The nation benefits from Amateur Radio’s fairly flexible regulatory framework that, geared in part toward experimentation, continues to play an important role in advancing technological innovation” the group said: “But inevitably in Amateur Radio, as in other Commission-regulated areas, adapting current regulation to rapidly evolving technology can be a challenge and requires adjustments to continue to serve valid regulatory purposes without stymying technological change and innovation.” ARRL said it scheduled a meeting in Washington for Tuesday, but that had to be scuttled and is being rescheduled. “While there is no guarantee of success, the ARRL’s efforts continue to focus on providing a means for all facets of the Amateur Radio service to grow and prosper within its traditional regulatory structure,” the group said, posted Wednesday.
The FCC Wireless Bureau approved a license modification allowing the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to deploy positive train control. Wednesday's order approves MBTA's request to operate 228 PTC base stations under automated maritime telecommunications system licenses WRAN721 and WRAN723. It can "deploy a Congressionally-mandated PTC safety system on its commuter rail network, serving the greater Boston" area, the bureau said. “The public interest in rail safety will be served by granting MBTA permanent authority to operate the 228 proposed PTC base stations at transmitter output power levels ranging from 2 to 10 watts.”
AT&T said it’s exploring with Uber how LTE and “eventually” 5G can enhance electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles and cargo drones. “Multi-phase collaboration plans to bring together AT&T’s outstanding 4G and industry-leading 5G expertise with Elevate, Uber’s air mobility business unit, to support advanced technologies eventually enabling aerial ridesharing and cargo delivery applications,” AT&T said Tuesday.
The FCC should stay the course on spectrum sold in the 24 GHz auction, despite Commerce Department and other objections (see 1905230037), Seth Cooper, Free State Foundation director-policy studies, blogged Tuesday. Agencies' claims may lack "reliable and verifiable evidence, that 5G operations in the 24 GHz band could interfere with a weather sensor in an adjacent band. But their calls to change rules for the 24 GHz band, now echoed by some members of Congress, threaten the integrity of the interagency process and U.S. spectrum policy in international circles.”
The FCC Public Safety Bureau sought alert originators willing to participate in a targeted test of the wireless emergency alert system “in late 2019 and/or early 2020.” The bureau “seeks to better understand WEA performance, particularly with respect to the accuracy of … geographic targeting capabilities,” Tuesday's public notice said. Carriers face a Nov. 30 deadline for delivering alerts to the target area specified by the alert originator with no more than a one-tenth of a mile overshoot (see 1801300027). “Interested alert originators should submit an expression of interest in PS Docket Nos. 15-91 and 15-94 that identifies how they meet these criteria, as well as any additional information that may be relevant to our consideration of potential alerting partner(s),” the bureau said.
ISP Starry representatives met with an aide to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on 37 GHz spectrum set for a December FCC auction. Starry supports “a simple coordination mechanism in the near-term based on first-in-time rights, with the potential for evolving the sharing mechanism over time to add more dynamic elements as technology and uses cases mature,” the company said in docket 14-177: The sharing framework “must include explicit, aggressive, and enforceable construction requirements to ensure that the spectrum in the Lower 37 GHz Band is utilized to the benefit of consumers and federal users, not warehoused and left unused.”