EchoStar and RKF Engineering slammed criticism in the latest Dish Network report on safe use of fixed wireless in the lower 12 GHz band by DirecTV (see 2312270045). The report showed that higher-power point-to-multipoint fixed service in the 12.2-12.7 GHz band is “eminently feasible,” said a filing Wednesday in docket 20-443. “DIRECTV offers no concrete data or analysis establishing actual risk of interference from properly coordinated Fixed 5G deployments,” EchoStar said: “It would disserve the public interest to foreclose high-power fixed broadband in the 12.2 GHz band based on unproven ‘what ifs.’”

USCellular representatives met virtually with staff for FCC Commissioners Anna Gomez and Nathan Simington, completing a cycle of meetings with commissioner aides on the carrier’s proposed changes to the proposal for a 5G Fund (see 2401170034). Among the carrier’s suggestions is harmonizing the fund with broadband equity, access and deployment program-deployed fiber “to reduce the costs of building 5G and thus allow 5G Fund support to cover a greater geographic area,” said a filing Thursday in docket 20-32.

National Emergency Number Association representatives met with staff for FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez on the group’s i3 standard and an ATIS standard for IP multimedia subsystems. “All known” next-generation 911 systems in the U.S. and Canada are “operating under the i3 specification,” said a filing Wednesday in docket 21-479.

CTIA supports the FCC’s draft 70 and 80 GHz band order revising rules for the spectrum, set for a vote at the FCC’s Jan. 25 meeting (see 2401040064), but it opposes some of the changes Aeronet sought (see 2401120048), said a filing Thursday in docket 20-133. The commission “should maintain the protection for existing services from interference caused by new point-to-point links to endpoints in motion communications, as proposed in the Draft Order, and reject Aeronet’s eleventh hour request that non-federal fixed service receivers alone be left without protection,” CTIA said.

USCellular urged revisions to the FCC’s proposed approach to a 5G Fund during a series of meetings at the FCC. The agency should “reconsider its proposal to begin the phase down of legacy support with the auction winners’ public notice, and instead begin the phase down when the public notice announcing the commencement of 5G Fund support is released,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 20-32. The FCC is considering rules for launching the long-awaited fund (see 2311220060). USCellular representatives spoke with staff from Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel's, Commissioners Brendan Carr's and Geoffrey Starks' offices, the Wireless Bureau and the Office of Economics and Analytics.

CTA representatives met with FCC Public Safety Bureau staff on the agency’s proposed cyber trust mark program for smart devices (see 2311130034). CTA updated the agency on “the progress in its working groups” working “to help operationalize” National Institute of Standards and Technology guidance and on a registry of devices “that have achieved the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark as contemplated” in an FCC NPRM, said the filing posted Wednesday in docket 23-239.

CTIA defended the FCC’s disaster information reporting system as working, as the agency looks at mandatory reporting rules, set for a vote Jan. 25 (see 2401040064). “Based on information provided by wireless providers, DIRS reports provide a daily snapshot of the status of network services, including the number of cell site outages, the cause of such outages (i.e., due to damage, loss of transport, or loss of power), and the number of cell sites operating on backup power,” CTIA said in a filing posted Wednesday in docket 21-346 (see 2401040064). While cellsite outage reporting doesn’t account for overlapping coverage “that increasingly maintains coverage even where a site is down, overall DIRS reports provide critical information regarding each disaster event, including efforts to overcome power or transport issues to restore service to impacted areas,” CTIA said.

The FCC should treat as confidential some of the information submitted by providers as part of proposed reporting requirements in a draft location-based routing (LBR) order set for a commissioner vote Jan. 25 (see 2401040064), CTIA said. The FCC “has established a presumption of confidentiality from disclosure of detailed network information such as that required” by the draft order, said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-64. The commission “should allow providers to submit their certifications of compliance in the public docket … while separately allowing providers to submit the required network information and live call data directly to Commission staff consistent with existing reporting and confidentiality procedures,” CTIA said.

The California Office of Emergency Services opposed a proposal by the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance urging the FCC to effectively give control of the 4.9 GHz band to FirstNet for its national public safety network (see 2401020050). Awarding the license to FirstNet “will promote commercial influence over the band by AT&T and creates potential for interference with existing and planned uses by the state and local public safety community,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 07-100: Such action “would undermine the Commission’s goal for the band.”

T-Mobile led its peers on download and upload speeds in Q4, said a Speedtest Intelligence report released Tuesday. T-Mobile’s median download speed was 188.96 Mbps on modern chipsets, up from 163.59 Mbps in Q3. Verizon Wireless came in at 91.62 Mbps, AT&T at 90.82, the report said. T-Mobile also led on upload speeds, at 12.19 Mbps, compared with 9.98 for Verizon and 8.06 for AT&T.