An order FCC commissioners approved unanimously this month, aligning rules for the 24 GHz band with decisions made at the World Radiocommunication Conference held in 2019, is effective Jan. 13, said a notice for Friday’s Federal Register. Commissioners decided against adopting stricter limits for unwanted out-of-band emissions than were approved at the WRC, which had been a concern of Republican Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington (see 2412020061).

The FCC Public Safety Bureau on Wednesday announced the selection of 10 more companies that will serve as cybersecurity label administrators (CLAs) under the agency’s voluntary cyber trust mark program. Last week, it said UL Solutions was picked as the first CLA and will serve as lead administrator (see 2412040038). The CLAs announced Wednesday are: CSA America Testing & Certification, CTIA Certification, Dekra Certification, Intertek Testing Services, the ioXt Alliance, Palindrome Technologies, SGS North America, the Telecommunications Industry Association, TUV Rheinland and TUV SUD America. “The program will allow qualifying consumer smart products that meet critical cybersecurity standards to display a label, including a new U.S. government certification mark, which will help consumers make informed purchasing decisions, easily identify trustworthy products and encourage manufacturers to prioritize higher cybersecurity standards,” the bureau said. The FCC adopted the program unanimously in March (see 2403140034).

Hilliary Acquisition filed for a writ of mandamus in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit seeking the return of $841,128.25 the company made in down payments for 42 licenses when it was the high bidder during the 2020 citizens broadband radio service auction. Hilliary missed a scheduled payment and sought a waiver, but the FCC rejected its request, it told the court. The company said the agency won't make a refund “until such time as Petitioner’s defaulted licenses are re-auctioned and the final default payment can be calculated.” The FCC’s spectrum auction authority lapsed “after Congress failed to agree on the terms of extending that authority, meaning that fulfillment of the conditions the FCC stipulated for repayment of the held funds was impossible,” Hilliary said. The FCC has held the funds since Oct. 16, 2020, the company said. “The FCC’s auction authority has lapsed for over a year and a half and there is no way of knowing when, if ever, it will be reinstated.” Hilliary cited the Administrative Procedure Act, which, it said, requires the D.C. Circuit to “compel agency action unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed.” A writ of mandamus is appropriate “where (1) Petitioner has a clear and indisputable right to relief, (2) the government agency has a clear duty to act, and (3) Petitioner has no adequate alternative remedy,” Hilliary said.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association has joined those raising concerns about T-Mobile’s proposed buy of UScellular’s wireless operations, including some of its spectrum. “Additional concentration in an already highly concentrated market would likely harm consumers by exacerbating price increases that are already prevalent among incumbent carriers,” CCIA said in comments posted this week in docket 24-286. Recent T-Mobile price hikes “illustrate the negative outcomes of market consolidation,” the group said: “After agreeing to lock its prices for three years as part of the settlement on the Sprint acquisition, earlier this year T-Mobile notified its users of significant rate increases for a number of legacy calling plans.” Maine ISP Redzone Wireless also raised concerns. Based on power flux density measurements and harmful interference Redzone is experiencing, “T-Mobile is not currently in compliance with the field strength limits that apply to its 2.5 GHz band facilities operating in Maine,” the ISP said. Moreover, service has deteriorated “to the point that many subscribers have been forced to discontinue their Redzone service and seek alternative, often higher-priced, options.”

Commnet Wireless is relinquishing two census block groups -- one each in Idaho and Washington -- for which it had been awarded Rural Digital Opportunity Fund funding, it told the FCC in a docket 19-126 filing posted Tuesday. It said deployment costs in the counties had risen dramatically since it made its bids.

Tech companies filing reply comments at the FCC about an August NPRM on the citizens broadband radio service band highlighted a variety of concerns. Comments were posted last week in docket 17-258. Nokia urged adapting rules that could provide spectrum for drone control and data links, as an alternative to Wi-Fi. The “unpredictable performance of Wi-Fi has prompted the search for better connectivity options such as 4G or 5G cellular connections that offer a controlled interference environment and better latency and throughput,” Nokia said: “Given that the CBRS has been envisioned to be an ‘innovation band’ that can support novel use cases, interest in using the band for drone connectivity is very high.” Ericsson urged relaxing the rules' out-of-band emissions limits, encouraging deployment. The “restrictive and unnecessary OOBE limit at the upper band edge is constricting use of the band and dampening innovation,” Ericsson said. The company noted that fixed satellite service operators have “generally vacated the 3.7-4.0 GHz band,” making the limits no longer necessary. Ericsson said CBRS won’t address the growing need for spectrum to meet growing data demand: “Where the rest of the world uses the 3.5 GHz band for full-power 5G deployments, the 150-MHz-wide CBRS band in the U.S. is limited to small cell deployments with medium power, which is not able to economically support broad deployments that are needed for nationwide coverage.” Qualcomm stressed the importance of allowing higher power levels than are permitted under the current rules. The CBRS band has not “achieved the same level of deployments that C-band operations have reached in a much shorter time,” Qualcomm said. While cable operators have championed the CBRS framework, “they have not followed through with significant deployments” with two of the largest cable providers launching CBRS networks “in just two cities,” the company said. Samsung Electronics America called on the commission to act “now” on its longstanding request for a waiver on a 5G base station radio that works across CBRS and C-band spectrum (see 2309130041). “There is no reason to deny Americans the immediate benefits created by grant of the waiver even as [the FCC] works through other improvements to the CBRS framework,” Samsung said. Among other comments, the Competitive Carriers Association joined the chorus opposing AT&T’s calls for reconfiguring the broader 3 GHz band (see 2412060042). “The NPRM did not make any proposals or seek comment on any questions related to rebanding, relocating CBRS incumbents, or reassignments of the 3.5 GHz band to non-CBRS use,” CCA said. “Any Commission action to advance AT&T’s proposal in this docket, therefore, would be contrary to the Administrative Procedure Act and its related jurisprudence.”

The FCC Wireless Bureau and the Office of Engineering and Technology on Monday posted procedures that spectrum access system operators in the citizens broadband radio service band must follow to renew their initial five-year certifications for full commercial deployment. The FCC noted it has approved seven SAS providers, six of which remain active. CommScope withdrew last year (see 2303130034). The five-year terms for the initial SAS administrators -- Federated, Google and Sony -- expire Jan. 27. SAS administrators seeking renewal must certify their compliance with FCC requirements “no fewer than 14 days before the expiration of their existing certification,” the notice said. The FCC said it will review each renewal application in coordination with DOD and NTIA. If an administrator fails to submit a timely renewal filing, the Wireless Bureau and OET “may direct the SAS administrator to cease operations immediately.”

The FCC Public Safety Bureau told 4.9 GHz licensees they have until June 9 to file granular licensing data. The filing window opened Monday, following OMB approval of the data collection (see 2412060011). “Incumbent licensees must review operations under their active licenses (radio service code PA)” and use the universal licensing system “to create new licenses (with granular data) in newly-created radio service codes PB (public safety licensees performing base/mobile, mobile-only or temporary fixed operations) and PF (public safety licensees operating fixed links),” said the notice posted Monday in docket 07-100. Licensees “will also cancel their now duplicative and obsolete PA license” as part of the process, the bureau said.

ExteNet Systems executives met with aides to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Anna Gomez on concerns raised by the December 2023 pole attachment Further NPRM (see 2402140048). The company deploys and operates distributed mobile infrastructure. ExteNet supports streamlining the rules but is concerned “that comments from some, such as the Coalition for Concerned Utilities, indicate a desire to rollback the progress made on pole attachments, including those rules related to transparency and communication,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 17-84. “Rolling back these provisions will increase delays and prevent consumers from receiving the wireless services they need,” ExteNet said.

Verizon and the California Office of Emergency Services have mutually agreed to an alternate deadline of Jan. 6 for the carrier to initiate location-based routing to 911 in the state, said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-64. That’s four days later than the date Verizon noted in a November filing.