An Anterix representative urged the FCC to move forward on a rulemaking authorizing 5/5 MHz broadband deployments in the 900 MHz band (see 2405210041). Meeting with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, Anterix “emphasized that" the petition seeking a rulemaking "is premised on the recommendation that all relocation from the current narrowband segments be on an entirely voluntary basis and that there be continued interference protection for incumbents,” a filing posted Wednesday in docket 24-99 said. The company confirmed it “and other 900 MHz broadband licensees, like all licensees, would have an obligation to work with entities operating in adjacent bands to avoid interference and resolve mutually any issues that might arise,” Anterix said.

T-Mobile is going deeper into fiber, investing $4.9 billion in a joint venture with investment firm KKR, which will buy fiber-based provider Metronet. The JV gets Metronet’s infrastructure, residential fiber business and customers, as well as Oak Hill Capital’s stake in the provider. Oak Hill will then reinvest to retain a minority position, T-Mobile said. The announcement comes a week ahead of T-Mobile’s Q2 earnings call. “Metronet is uniquely positioned as the fastest-growing pure play fiber company in the U.S. and an experienced independent fiber-to-the-home operator,” T-Mobile said. In April, T-Mobile announced a partnership with private equity firm EQT as part of a proposed acquisition of fiber-to-the-home provider Lumos (see 2404250047). T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said then that fiber could bolster the company’s fast-growing Home Internet offering. "Metronet is the perfect partner for T-Mobile as a leader in fiber solutions with an incredibly fast build pace, and a top-notch management team,” Sievert said Wednesday. “With this new partnership, Metronet will expand its fiber network faster and farther, reaching millions more households by the end of the decade,” Metronet CEO Dave Heimbach said. The companies expect the deal will close next year.

CTIA said Wednesday Umair Javed, a former top aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, will immediately replace Tom Power as the group’s general counsel. Javed joined CTIA last year as senior vice president-spectrum (see 2308010025) and has served as its point person in battles to convert more federal spectrum for full-power licensed use. “Javed will continue to lead the Association’s spectrum efforts as well as new responsibility for all legal matters and work with the Biden Administration,” CTIA President Meredith Baker said. Power joined CTIA in 2015 after a stint as deputy U.S. chief technology officer under President Barack Obama (see 1501260025). He replaced longtime General Counsel Michael Altschul. Power will remain at CTIA through the end of the year as senior counsel, CTIA said.

Most of Paris seems “5G-ready” with the Olympic Games starting Friday, Ookla reported Tuesday. “Our analysis of Speedtest data across Paris shows that 5G is available in almost every corner of the city,” Ookla said. There are coverage gaps in or near the Montparnasse and Pere Lachaise cemeteries and in major parks, “but for the most part you’ll have a hard time finding an area where you cannot connect at all.”

Ligado Networks and GCT Semiconductor said on Tuesday GCT’s Luna Cat-12 LTE module is FCC-certified and commercially available. "The module is a foundational technology for a new ecosystem of commercial devices operating on LTE Band 54 spectrum at 1670-1675 MHz,” the companies said. The band “stands out as a highly distinctive mid-band spectrum resource for the utility and enterprise segments,” standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project and offering a 5-MHz time division duplex block “available nationwide,” said Sachin Chhibber, Ligado chief technology officer: “Licensed spectrum assures availability and enhances security to enable more robust and secure private networks.”

GCI CEO Ronald Duncan and others from the Alaskan carrier, in separate meetings with FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Brendan Carr, urged that the agency approve the Alaska Connect Fund. GCI is deploying “5G where doing so makes sense -- typically in areas with fiber that are due for a radio network upgrade,” a filing posted Tuesday in docket 23-328 said. “Deploying 5G in these areas -- rather than the 4G LTE called for in GCI’s current Alaska Plan commitments -- provides a better experience for these Alaskans as well as a network that will last longer into the future,” GCI said.

Qualcomm representatives spoke with FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff about 6 GHz automated frequency coordination system “implementation issues” and a proposal to create a geofenced variable power (GVP) device class (see 2404290035). “Qualcomm indicated its support for GVP operations at variable power levels that would protect incumbents by limiting operations to areas outside the exclusion zones and further explained the operations and GVP system architecture,” a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-295 said.

The FCC Tuesday announced a new Mobile Speed Test app it will use in helping the agency collect information for broadband mapping. Replacing the original FCC Speed Test app, the new version “features an enhanced user interface that makes challenging the accuracy of the provider-reported mobile coverage data even easier,” the FCC said. The app lets users conduct repeated tests without entering and certifying information before each test, allowing for “hands-free mobile tests while driving,” the agency said. It’s available for Apple and Android devices. “Consumers deserve to know where they have mobile coverage and at what speeds and the FCC wants to include their experiences in our effort to create a more precise map of available coverage,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said.

New America's Open Technology Institute and Public Knowledge attacked the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) proposal that assigns the 4.9 GHz band to FirstNet, “either directly through a nationwide license or indirectly through a sharing agreement.” PSSA is “effectively proposing that the Commission reallocate the band for a single use (mobile broadband) and assign it exclusively, without competitive bidding, to AT&T,” the groups said in a Tuesday filing in docket 07-100. If the FCC agrees with the PSSA, it would allow the band to be used “predominantly for commercial use, but only by one user: AT&T,” the filing said: “Contrary to the original Congressional vision of a separate interoperable public safety mobile network, over time FirstNet has become little more than a priority access tier on AT&T’s commercial mobile network.” PSAA’s proposal “would amount to an enormous windfall for AT&T that could distort mobile market competition,” PK and OTI said. The band's future is hotly contested. AT&T last week noted the support for giving FirstNet access to the spectrum (see 2407110012). The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association also opposed FirstNet control in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 07-100. “The PSSA plan would take the 4.9 GHz band away from local public-safety entities and give it to FirstNet, which would effectively hand control over to AT&T, a commercial provider,” the association said.

NCTA representatives asked the FCC to reject Axon's waiver request that would allow the marketing of three investigative and surveillance devices operating at higher power levels than allowed under agency rules in the heavily used 5 GHz spectrum. The devices target the law enforcement market. NCTA discussed “the central importance of the U-NII-3 band for Wi-Fi in homes, businesses, schools, and healthcare settings, and the significant negative impact that operation of Axon’s devices would have on nearby consumers using Wi-Fi devices,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 24-40. The representatives met with aides to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. “Wi-Fi’s success in supporting a great number of users and devices using unlicensed spectrum is due in large part to its use of a listen-before-talk protocol to support spectrum sharing,” NCTA said. The proposal has proven controversial (see 2403080044).