The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment Tuesday on a Summit Ridge request to shutter operations of the 3.45 GHz relocation reimbursement clearinghouse by March 1 (see 2410240020). “We seek comment on this request and on any other issues relevant to the Clearinghouse wind down process,” the bureau said. Comments are due Dec. 18 in docket 19-348.

T-Mobile remains upbeat about its proposed buy of wireless assets from UScellular but still won't predict precisely when a regulatory review will be completed, Jon Freier, president of the T-Mobile Consumer Group, said at a Wells Fargo financial conference on Tuesday. The companies announced the deal in May (see 2405280047). “This is one of those rare transactions that's so great for customers,” Freier said. “UScellular customers will have access to lower prices and more value as a result of this transaction.” He noted that 40%-50% of UScellular's assets are in rural markets that T-Mobile now is targeting. “We're confident in the approval of the overall transaction,” probably next year, he said. T-Mobile was pleased with the activity at its stores during Black Friday weekend, Freier said. But he said it’s too early to tell whether customers are more willing to upgrade handsets. “It's hard to know where upgrades are going,” he said. Low upgrade rates aren’t “a phenomenon that's exclusive to us; you're seeing that across the entire industry.” That's a “testament … to Apple and Samsung and Google making such great devices that are lasting longer and customers are keeping them longer.” Freier noted that 80% of T-Mobile postpaid customers already have a 5G phone, which could work against upgrades. He was also asked about customer perceptions that T-Mobile works well in dense urban areas and less well elsewhere. “We were a laggard in the 4G LTE era, way behind in terms of the network and the capability,” he acknowledged. Since closing the Sprint buy in 2020, T-Mobile has built an “incredibly powerful network” with 500,000 square miles of coverage in rural America, he said. Historically, T-Mobile was third in customer satisfaction, behind Verizon and AT&T, “and now we're nipping at the heels of being No. 1." Freier also said he has been reluctant to use AI as a “buzzword … just to hopefully impress people,” but T-Mobile is starting to use the technology for improvements in customer service. “We have billions of data points across tens of millions of customers that can help us improve their experience, that can help us improve their overall billing experience” and that means better human-assisted interactions, he said: That data hasn’t been put to its “best use just yet,” but “we have dreams about what we can … do in a much bigger way.”

NextNav is hopeful the incoming FCC will move forward on an NPRM that proposes reconfiguring the lower 900 MHz band to enable terrestrial positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services as well as 15 MHz of spectrum for 5G (see 2404160043), emailed CEO Mariam Sorond. Some observers expect Commissioner Brendan Carr, already picked as the next agency chair under President-elect Donald Trump, will move quickly on spectrum issues that the current FCC left unresolved (see 2412020043). “Our national security, economic strength, and public safety depend on having a reliable terrestrial backup to the essential GPS technology we use every day,” Sorond said: “To ensure dependable PNT services in case of GPS disruptions,” the U.S. “must enable terrestrial PNT as part of a comprehensive system of systems that backs up and complements GPS.”

A lawyer for Apple, Broadcom and Meta Platforms spoke with Ira Keltz, acting chief of the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology, on tweaking a draft order that would allow the use of very-low-power (VLP) devices across the 6 GHz band. For example, the lawyer noted that the draft says a June report on interference risks assumed 2% of people were outdoors, but the report said 6%. Other suggested changes were mostly technical. “While some parties have asserted that mandatory firmware updates could have benefits, it is important to note that the Commission has never made this determination, and we agree with the Commission that the record does not support making that conclusion in this order,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 18-295. Commissioners will vote on the draft Dec. 11 (see 2411200050).

The 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals tentatively scheduled for the week of Feb. 3 oral argument on AT&T’s challenge of a $57 million fine the FCC levied in April (see 2404290044) for allegedly not safeguarding data on customers' real-time locations. AT&T called the penalty arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion within the meaning of the Administrative Procedure Act (see 2405130030). Verizon challenged the FCC’s fine against it in the 2nd Circuit (see [Ref:2411060008) and T-Mobile in the D.C. Circuit (see 2411260048). “If you have a serious, irresolvable conflict, contact us IMMEDIATELY via e-mail,” said a Monday notice from the 5th Circuit : “Do not ask to reschedule argument unless you can find no other solution.” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, meanwhile, filed an amicus brief in support of T-Mobile in the D.C. Circuit. T-Mobile was fined $91 million for its violations, plus $12 million for Sprint's, which it subsequently acquired. The FCC “abused its investigative and enforcement authority to violate the companies’ Seventh Amendment right to a jury,” the Chamber said: “It announced and applied novel legal interpretations of the Communications Act to calculate and impose staggering forfeitures for activities that were not at the time of conduct a violation of any agency rule or law.” The brief said the FCC’s role in overseeing data privacy and security “is limited to specific regulatory activities directed by Congress, such as the regulation of ‘customer propriety network information’ -- statutorily defined term.”

The Utilities Technology Council supported not raising power levels for new very-low-power (VLP) devices across the 6 GHz band, the approach taken in an order teed up for an FCC commissioner vote on Dec. 11 (see 2411200050). UTC representatives met with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “Unlicensed operations in the 6 GHz band, including VLP, pose a significant potential of harmful interference to utility fixed microwave licensed systems, which in turn could compromise the safety, reliability and security of utility critical infrastructure and personnel,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-295. “UTC is concerned that higher power VLP operations would pose an even greater risk of causing harmful interference to utility fixed microwave licensed systems,” the filing said. The group also spoke with an aide to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks.

Foldable smartphone shipments worldwide were down 1% year over year in Q3, ending six consecutive quarters of year-over-year growth, Counterpoint Research blogged Tuesday. It said the dip was due mainly to Samsung’s "relatively underwhelming performance with its new Galaxy Z6 series." While Samsung has 56% of the market globally, its market presence in China is small, where there's growing foldable demand, it said. Samsung also is facing increasingly strong competition in North America from Moto's Razr flip foldables and in Western Europe from Honor.

Smith Bagley Inc. (SBI) asked the FCC for prompt action on a petition it filed in September seeking a waiver of revised FCC rules for the Lifeline program. “Several weeks ago, FCC staff advised SBI that it should begin tracking its contract customers and disconnecting service for those not using their devices,” said a filing this week in docket 11-42. “In SBI’s view, disconnecting Tribal citizens living in the most difficult of circumstances is a remedy of last resort,” the carrier said: “Accordingly, while we are following staff’s advice to track our customers and identifying those that do not use their devices within the prescribed period, we are not disconnecting them.” SBI noted that for more than 15 years, thousands of its Tribal Lifeline customers have signed one-year contracts for mobile voice and data service, paying the entirety of the customer’s portion up front. “These households, among the most in need of the federal Lifeline benefit, have relied on this contractual arrangement to receive service,” SBI said.

The Wireless ISP Association asked the FCC to change how it characterizes the group’s stance on letter of credit issues in a draft order teed up for a commissioner vote Dec. 11 (see 2411200050). A footnote states “WISPA suggests that all letters of credit should be reduced to one year of support,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 10-90. “WISPA’s Comments can more fairly read to support the Commission’s proposed decision to allow RDOF recipients to reduce their letters of credit to one year of support if they have consistently met their deployment milestones,” WISPA said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau approved a waiver giving SiriusXM additional time to deploy satellite-based emergency communications for public safety agencies, in combination with AT&T. The order covers spectrum in the C and D blocks of the 2.3 GHz wireless communications service band, which the commission addressed in a 2017 order (see 1701180088). “Working with Sirius XM, AT&T has put forth a plan for the beneficial use of the C and D Blocks -- assigning the C and D Block licenses to Sirius XM so that Sirius XM could lease the bandwidth at no cost to one or more public safety agencies,” said an order in Tuesday’s Daily Digest. The service “would permit public safety agencies access to satellite communications services, using Sirius XM satellites, by pre-staging satellite receivers designed for WCS reception within the service area of each license to be deployed, as needed,” the order said. The bureau said AT&T tried developing a network for utilities in the spectrum: “Despite preliminary successes, according to AT&T, the service is no longer viable because of alternative spectrum available to utilities for smart grid operation.”