A broad group of companies and associations urged new FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to oppose fundamental changes to rules for the citizens broadband radio service band, including higher power levels and relaxed emission limits. “Such changes would fundamentally modify CBRS licenses and undermine the Commission’s bipartisan vision for CBRS as a lower-power, small-cell band that supports broad access and numerous applications,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 17-258. The changes “would also imperil the technical progress made over the last decade through collaboration between the Commission, federal agencies, and industry,” it said. Among signers of the letter were NCTA and major cable companies, Amazon.com Services, the American Library Association, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Deere & Co., Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Lockheed Martin, the Open Technology Institute at New America, Public Knowledge, the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition, Shure, Spectrum for the Future and the Wireless ISP Association. CBRS is broadly used for “rural broadband, competitive mobile services, manufacturing, industrial and enterprise private networks, transportation and logistics connectivity (e.g. airports and shipping terminals), school and library access, and more,” the filing said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau on Wednesday granted five additional licenses in the 900 MHz broadband segment to PDV Spectrum, four in Texas and one in Missouri. The FCC approved an order in 2020 reallocating a 6 MHz swath in the band for broadband, while maintaining 4 MHz for narrowband operations (see 2005130057).

The global mobile virtual network operator market will outpace other wireless growth, increasing at a compound annual rate of 3.6% from 2023 to 2029, Omdia projected Wednesday. The MVNO growth rate should “more than double the projected CAGR of 1.6% forecasted for personal mobile subscriptions globally over the same period, indicating that the MVNO market will outpace the general personal mobile market,” Omdia said. However, growth will vary by region. In the Americas, Omdia projected CAGR of 10.6%, led by the U.S., Brazil and Mexico. “Although Europe is one of the most advanced regional MVNO markets, Europe’s MVNO subscriptions will contract over the next few years, due to factors such as competition from operator sub-brands and because some MVNOs have decided to deploy their own mobile networks.”

NextNav CEO Mariam Sorond urged the FCC to move forward on the company’s proposal to reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band, enabling what it called a “high-quality, terrestrial complement” to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing services (see 2404160043). “Since former President George W. Bush first acknowledged the need to build GPS redundancy in 2004, every presidential administration has recognized the problem,” Sorond said Tuesday in Forbes. GPS signals are “easily disrupted by intentional spoofing and jamming, and even by unintentional interference,” she wrote: “These signals weaken as they approach Earth -- a vulnerability we’ve seen exploited on the battlefield -- and threaten civilian industries in Europe and the Middle East.” GPS signals also struggle “indoors and in urban canyons, posing challenges for first responders trying to locate people in emergencies.” GPS is also an economic issue, she said. “A one-day loss of GPS could cost the U.S. economy an estimated $1.6 billion, according to a Brattle Group report.”

Amphenol notified the FCC on Tuesday that it has completed its buy of CommScope’s outdoor wireless networks unit and distributed antenna systems business for $2.1 billion in cash, a development announced Monday (see 2502030019). In a filing in docket 15-319, Amphenol said the FCC should expect no changes to what was CommScope’s citizens broadband radio service spectrum access system as a result of the ownership change. The two business units will be known as “ANDREW, an Amphenol company,” the filing said.

The Nevada Division of Emergency Management backed NextNav's proposal to reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band, enabling what NextNav called a “high-quality, terrestrial complement” to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing services (see 2404160043). The emergency agency said public safety answering points and first responders rely on accurate location information to do their jobs. “Despite advancements, GPS alone often fails to provide reliable location data indoors or in dense urban environments,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 24-240. “This limitation has real-world consequences, as delays in locating 911 callers can result in lost lives and property.”

The U.S. is denying Ligado's uncompensated takings allegations related to the company's L-band spectrum rights. In a 34-page answer Monday (docket 1:23-cv-01797) to Ligado's complaint, which was filed in 2023 with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (see 2310130004), the U.S. denied the allegations but didn't provide an affirmative defense. Ligado alleges that DOD is using Ligado spectrum for previously undisclosed systems without compensating the company, and red flags that DOD raised about possible GPS interference from Ligado spectrum use were a pretext to cover that up. The court in November partially upheld Ligado's suit in response to a U.S. motion to dismiss.

Market demand for interoperability, as well as new technological capabilities, is pushing satellite and terrestrial communications toward one another, connectivity panelists said during a Via Satellite event Tuesday. Andy Sutton, BT Group principal network architect, said there could be significant satellite/terrestrial interoperability within three to five years.

UScellular representatives met with FCC staff to discuss the company’s response to a December data request from the Wireless Bureau (see 2412270031), said a filing posted Monday in docket 24-286. They discussed “acceptable formats for submission” of the data, UScellular said. The company also “asked clarifying questions concerning some of the data variables requested … and provided information to staff regarding the scope of data UScellular creates and maintains in the ordinary course of business,” the filing said. Representatives met staff from the Wireless Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics.

Boldyn Networks U.S. has completed $1.2 billion in debt financing for an expansion of its U.S. telecommunications infrastructure footprint, it said last week. The funding comes as the neutral host provider is "navigating one of the most consequential times in wired and wireless innovation, where expectations across industries -- from higher education and military applications to venues, sports, fan experiences, and private wireless networks -- are evolving at an unprecedented pace," CEO Christos Karmis said.