The Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Service Sector asked the FCC to refer to it T-Mobile’s proposed buy of wireless assets from UScellular (see 2405280047) for further examination. DOJ asked for the referral “to determine whether these applications pose a risk to the national security or law enforcement interests” of the U.S., said a filing this week in docket 24-286. The committee -- informally known by its former name, Team Telecom -- is an interagency review body composed of DOJ, DOD and the Department of Homeland Security. DOJ “believes that such risk may be raised by the foreign participation (including the foreign relationships and ownership) associated with the applications, and a review by the Committee is necessary to assess and make an appropriate recommendation as to how the Commission should adjudicate these applications,” the filing said. It cites executive order 13913 issued in 2020 by then-President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, petitions to deny the transfer of UScellular authorizations and spectrum licenses to T-Mobile are due Dec. 9 (see 2410300051), but the National Wireless Independent Dealer Association (NWIDA) made its opposition known on Wednesday. NWIDA cited “T-Mobile's documented history of post-merger conduct that has proven detrimental to independent dealers and the communities they serve.” T-Mobile’s conduct, “particularly following the Sprint acquisition, demonstrates a concerning trend of eliminating independent dealers despite pre-merger assurances,” the group said: “Currently, T-Mobile faces multiple lawsuits from independent dealers, and their Chief Operating Officer has publicly expressed a preference for corporate-owned stores over independent dealers.”

The FCC will provide information on how to challenge the mobile broadband coverage data in the national broadband map, the Wireless Bureau said Tuesday. On Dec. 3, officials will offer a session on “Mobile challenge thresholds & other things to keep in mind when conducting a test.” The focus of a Dec. 10 session is “Collecting and submitting bulk challenge data in accordance with Broadband Data Collection (BDC) Data Specifications.” Both sessions run 3-4:30 p.m. EST, the bureau said. “During each session, FCC staff will provide a brief overview of the topic, followed by a Q&A in which staff will be available to offer hands-on support.”

Sirius XM filed a complaint at the FCC against China’s Shenzhen Tongwei Electronics' wideband signal boosters and California’s MiCOM Labs, which certified the devices. The boosters can operate in the 2300 MHz band, licensed for the terrestrial wireless communications service, in violation of FCC rules, the complaint said. “Testing has shown that these devices produce out-of-band emissions … that cause harmful interference” to satellite digital audio radio service and aeronautical mobile telemetry, the complaint said. The booster models are sold on Amazon under the trade names Beyle, Tonve or Becky, the complaint said. SiriusXM said AT&T, which uses the WCS band, supports the complaint.

The FCC’s controversial 4.9 GHz order, allowing FirstNet to use unutilized parts of the band, takes effect Dec. 20, said a notice for Wednesday’s Federal Register. Commissioners approved the order 5-0 in October (see 2410220027). Opponents are threatening litigation (see 2411130027).

Using the correct antennas is a key part of helping providers cut their energy use, Andrzej Mikolajczuk, sustainability program director at Ericsson, blogged Tuesday. “Passive antennas are like tires on a car,” Mikolajczuk wrote: “You can have an impressive car with a massive engine, but if the car has bad tires, a lot of energy gets wasted. The same applies to antennas. If more of the propagation of the electromagnetic field is going in the desired direction, then the radio power can be reduced by up to 29%.” With improved antennas, handsets on the network also use less energy, he said. Updated antennas themselves are also more energy efficient, with a lighter structure and 100% recyclable radome, the weatherproof enclosure that protects an antenna, he said. “With the significant rise in connectivity demand, responsible resource management and environmental action are more urgent than ever,” he said. “Mobile network operators are key to keeping the world connected, but their operations often come with high energy costs and a sizable environmental footprint.”

EchoStar urged the FCC to move forward on handset unlocking rules for prepaid and postpaid devices. As the FCC recognized in its unlocking NPRM, “such rules are a means to improve consumer choice and flexibility and to enhance competition across the mobile wireless marketplace," the company said in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 24-186: “EchoStar agrees, as do the majority of commenting parties: the benefits of a standard unlocking policy are widely cited in the record. Indeed, industry-wide unlocking requirements have support from parties ranging from the public interest community to Verizon and Comcast.” Commissioners approved an NPRM 5-0 in July (see 2407180037).

Comments are due Dec. 20 about a proposed requirement that covered text providers, including wireless providers, support georouting text messages made to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline to the appropriate local crisis center, said a notice for Wednesday's Federal Register. Replies are due Jan. 9. Comments are to be filed in docket 18-336. The 988 call georouting order approved unanimously at the FCC's October meeting included an NPRM about text georouting (see 2410170026).

Wi-Fi has been a huge win, offering broadband access in many locations, with more than 18 billion Wi-Fi devices in use and its success based on a “foundation in permissionless innovation,” the Competitive Enterprise Institute said in a report Tuesday. The U.S. approach contrasts with China's, where Wi-Fi is seen as a “threat,” CEI said. “Wi-Fi shows that when America embraces permissionless innovation it creates competitive advantages.” The report quotes inventor Nikola Tesla saying “when wireless is fully applied, the Earth will be converted into a huge brain, capable of response in every one of its parts.” CEI noted that people consume up to 80% of data indoors and Wi-Fi is largely used for indoor broadband. “Permissionless innovation is optimistic,” the report said: “It embraces human innovation and ingenuity as overall good things. It allows that harms from innovation can be addressed as they occur. Government need not attempt to anticipate or attempt to prevent potential harms, in large part because it is rarely possible to accurately predict what will go wrong and head that off at the pass.”

T-Mobile should discontinue or modify an ad promising a free iPhone and 20% savings on monthly service “to better disclose the material conditions of the offer,” the Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division ruled Monday. NAD responded to a complaint from AT&T. T-Mobile plans to appeal the decision. The commercial “features Twitch influencer Kai Cenat, NFL player Patrick Mahomes, and Snoop Dogg, who says, ‘Now at T-Mobile.com get the new iPhone 16 Pro ON US and families can save 20% every month versus the other big guys,’” NAD said: “The details of the free iPhone offer appear onscreen briefly before being replaced by an image of the 20% savings claim.”

T-Mobile plans on using the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix this weekend as a 5G showcase. “Fans tuning into the race will enjoy first-person trackside and sweeping aerial views of the race and Las Vegas thanks to new 5G-connected cameras and a 5G-connected drone,” T-Mobile said Monday. Fans can also watch instant replays “so they don’t miss a second of the action.” The carrier is using 5G slicing “to enhance event operations by powering all point-of-sale and ticketing transactions so fans can seamlessly get into the event and make purchases without delay.”