The FCC should address the remaining issues raised in a 2020 Further NPRM on the 6 GHz band, Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America, urged during a meeting with an aide to Commissioner Anna Gomez. “In particular, I explained why the authorization of a somewhat higher maximum power level … for indoor-only use is particularly crucial for digital equity and inclusion, for continued U.S. leadership in next generation Wi-Fi, and for virtually all consumers, businesses and community anchor institutions,” he said, according to a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-295.

CTIA sent a follow-up letter to NTIA Tuesday on implementing the national spectrum strategy, urging the agency to correct "mistakes made in earlier studies of the lower 3 GHz band and, consistent with Congressional intent, engage in a comprehensive review that includes licensed, full-power opportunities.” Umair Javed, CTIA senior vice president-spectrum, was among those raising questions about DOD’s study of the band at a recent American Enterprise Institute event (see 2401220066). “Licensed spectrum provides the only viable path for the wide-area coverage necessary to connect Americans with wireless service across the country,” the letter said: “The record supports evaluating all options for the lower 3 GHz band.” CTIA encouraged the administration to “restore NTIA leadership of spectrum studies and transparent, data-driven processes.” The administration should also take “a holistic look” at the entire 1,275 MHz of spectrum in the 7/8 GHz band “to identify the most promising opportunities, including making some or all of the band available,” CTIA said. That band, with the lower 3 GHz, has been a top wireless industry candidate for full-power licensed use. The 7/8 GHz band “is now a global ... target for expanding capacity for 5G and beyond” with the World Radiocommunication Conference deciding last year to include it in “a future agenda item for harmonization,” the letter said.

The Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division halted investigating a Verizon ad campaign that disparaged rivals' 5G Home Internet services after the company agreed it will stop it, NAD said Monday. The ads were part of a holiday promotion. Charter argued that in promoting fixed wireless service “Verizon made unsupported disparaging claims about the Wi-Fi service provided by competitors, such as Charter,” NAD said: “Verizon informed NAD that it had permanently discontinued the challenged claims. Therefore, NAD did not review the claims on their merits and will treat the claims, for compliance purposes, as though NAD recommended they be discontinued.”

Valued at $35.6 billion in 2022, the worldwide market for smart parking technologies is expected to reach $88.8 billion by the end of 2028, ResearchAndMarkets.com said Monday. This reflects a compound annual growth rate of 18.1% from 2023 to 2028. “Government initiatives such as smart cities are expected to result in better traffic and parking management solutions in regions such as Asia-Pacific and Oceana by the end of 2030,” the report said: “The desire for better technology to lessen the impact on the environment in the region is another factor fostering demand for smart parking technologies.”

The North Shore Emergency Association asked the FCC to extend by two months the deadlines on an FCC Wireless Bureau notice seeking comment on a request from Garmin International (see 2310060031) for a waiver of rules concerning certification of the hand-held general mobile radio service (GMRS) devices it manufactures. Comments are now due Feb. 12, replies Feb. 27 (see 2401120031). “This is not a normal or routine matter,” the group said in a filing posted Monday in docket 24-7. The waiver request “seeks to overlay completely incompatible digital emissions” on both the GMRS and family radio service (FRS) channels, North Shore said: “The practical consequence would be to make totally obsolete every piece of existing GMRS and FRS equipment on these channels, thus effectively deleting them from the very few frequencies currently available in GMRS and FRS.”

The FirstNet Authority's board Monday agreed to a resolution directing management “to take all necessary actions to enable FirstNet’s evolution for network subscribers.” During the specially-called meeting, the board increased the authority’s investment budget for FY 2024 to $547 million. In August, the board agreed to invest $261 million in the network in FY 2024 (see 2308230052). “We are accelerating the evolution of FirstNet’s 5G capabilities and making sure the network continues to deliver the innovation and reliability that first responders need, now and in the future,” said Joe Wassel, authority CEO. “With the initial buildout now complete, we are focused on continuing the growth and evolution of the network, based on public safety’s evolving needs,” said board Chair Richard Carrizzo. FirstNet now serves 27,500 public safety agencies, with more than 5.5 million connections, AT&T said last week (see 2401240067).

Oppositions are due Feb. 13 on a CTIA petition seeking a 12-month extension (see 2401090026) to the FCC's current six-month deadline for carriers to implement rules protecting consumers from SIM swapping and port-out fraud. Commissioners approved the rules unanimously in November (see 2311150042). The deadline was set in a notice for Monday’s Federal Register.

Comments are due Feb. 28, replies March 14, on an NPRM seeking a rules alignment for the 24 GHz band with decisions made at the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2019, said a notice for Monday’s Federal Register. Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissented on the NPRM, approved 3-2 in December (see 2312260043). “These proposed rule changes would help to facilitate the protection of passive sensors used for weather forecasting and scientific research in the 23.6 GHz-24.0 GHz band, while continuing to promote flexible commercial use of the 24.25-24.45 GHz and 24.75-25.25 GHz bands,” the notice said.

Tech advocacy group OpenPolicy told FCC staff a robust attestation process is critical to a successful cyber trust mark program for smart devices (see 2311130034). “The success of the Mark, and achieving its goal to support consumers’ trust, requires scaled, automated compliance approaches that leverage advanced technologies and cyber monitoring, to ensure alignment of the product with the underlying regulatory controls, throughout the product life,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 23-239. Group representatives met with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Nathan Simington.

Verizon representatives presented the company's positions on a proposed 5G fund in calls with FCC Wireless Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics staff, a filing posted Friday in docket 20-32 said. The FCC should maintain a $9 billion budget, as proposed in 2020 (see 2310240046), “but consider shifting part of the budget from the Phase I auction to the Phase II auction,” the filing said: Define eligible areas as those lacking unsubsidized outdoor stationary 7/1 Mbps 5G coverage “based on the broadband data collection map at the time of the auction,” and “adopt clear procedures for verifying funding recipients’ compliance with deployment obligations.” Providers should have a choice “to what extent” open radio access network technologies are part of their builds, Verizon said.