Representatives of the Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure (CERCI) raised legal concerns with staff from the FCC Office of General Counsel about the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance's support for giving the FirstNet Authority (FNA) control of the 4.9 GHz band (see 2401190067). “The legal merits of the PSSA’s plan are not a close call,” a filing posted Wednesday in docket 07-100 said. The FCC “clearly lacks authority to assign" the FNA the 4.9 GHz band and the FNA “clearly lacks authority to receive it,” CERCI said.

The FCC on Wednesday authorized Federated Wireless, Google, Key Bridge, Red Technologies and Sony to change the aggregate interference model that protects federal operations in the citizens broadband radio service band. In June, the agency approved the changes (see 2406120027). "Each of these five [spectrum access system] administrators has demonstrated the ability to successfully implement the modified aggregate interference model, including system testing in a non-operational environment,” a Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology notice said. Meanwhile, Nokia filed a spectrum controller certification test report at the FCC as it seeks permission to make those changes. In addition, Nokia asked for confidential treatment of the report. The report “provides details of the self-certification testing Nokia conducted to demonstrate the capability of Nokia’s Spectrum Access System to support new methodologies for protecting federal operations in the 3.5 GHz band,” a filing this week in docket 15-319 said. Nokia asked for prompt FCC action.

GCI Communications said “new terrestrial middle mile facilities" are "commercially available in areas previously served only by performance-limiting satellite middle mile.” The information was contained in GCI's FCC update about its performance plan for mobile services under the Alaska Plan. GCI posted a filing Tuesday in docket 16-271.

In light of Hurricane Beryl, Federated Wireless asked the FCC for a waiver of rules that require environmental sensing capability systems to protect federal incumbents in the citizens broadband radio service band from harmful interference. The waiver is for markets in Puerto Rico. Beryl is expected to pass about 200 miles south of Puerto Rico “bringing with it intense winds and rainfall that could cause widespread power outages,” Federated said in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 15-319. “If such outages occur, the Impacted Systems will lose commercial power and be unable to operate normally,” the company said: “Backhaul at the impacted sites will also likely be unreliable while carriers attempt to stabilize their operations.”

The FCC Enforcement Bureau found that Assurance Wireless and its parent T-Mobile didn't ensure its Lifeline service “is accessible to and usable by individuals with vision disabilities.” The bureau investigated following an informal complaint, a Tuesday order said. The bureau proposed several remedies and gave Assurance 30 days to comment.

The Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition asked the FCC to address how interference is reported and addressed in the 6 GHz band as automated frequency coordination systems open (see 2404050012). “The Commission must require AFC Operators to comply with the Office of Engineering and Technology Public Notice approving the AFC Operators’ applications, and it should do so by requiring [them] to work with incumbent licensees to build an interference portal that receives and addresses interference complaints,” the coalition said in a filing posted Monday in docket 21-352. It said the current reporting portal is “wholly inadequate.”

Back and forth arguments to the FCC on whether the FirstNet Authority should have effective control of the 4.9 GHz band appear to be heating up. Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg met with FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel last week to oppose a proposal that "wrest[s] control of the 4.9 GHz band from local public safety agencies and give[s] it to FirstNet and, in turn, AT&T,” a filing posted Monday in docket 07-100 said. This “proposed spectrum giveaway would disrupt the competitive marketplace for public safety and commercial wireless use,” Verizon said. It would give AT&T access to 50 MHz of mid-band spectrum “valued at over $14 billion and available for commercial use” and “would result in a substantial windfall, particularly at a time when the Commission and other policymakers are working to develop a pipeline for mid-band spectrum,” the carrier said. In a filing posted Monday, the National Sheriffs’ Association shared with the FCC its CEO Jonathan Thompson's recent blog that opposed giving the spectrum to FirstNet. “For more than two decades, we in public safety have been able to use the 4.9 GHz band to serve our local needs,” Thompson wrote: “It’s available for us to use as we need and see fit, and not part of a nationalized process controlled by a central authority that can only provide a limited set of basic, quasi-commercial AT&T products to choose from.” The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) supported giving FirstNet use of the band. “Public safety has spoken loud and clear in the 4.9 GHz proceeding … calling for FirstNet to have unfettered access to the band,” said a letter from Executive Director Dwayne Crawford. NOBLE wants “to be clear that organizations that claim to represent thousands of law enforcement CEO’s across the United States and do not support our commitment to fully incorporating the 4.9 GHz band into the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network do not represent our organization.”

Advocates of expanding the use of very-low-power devices without coordination in other parts of the 6 GHz band filed a report at the FCC on a “comprehensive Monte Carlo analysis” of interference risks to broadcast auxiliary service TV pickup (TP). “The large majority (95%) of TP links had no exceedance over 100,000 simulation iterations,” a filing posted Monday in docket 18-295 said: “The risk of harmful interference from VLP devices to TP links was exceedingly small with a 0.0001% average probability of an exceedance across all TP links.” Representatives of Apple, Broadcom, Google, Meta Platforms and Qualcomm met with Office of Engineering and Technology staff to discuss the RKF Engineering Solutions report.

Utilities Technology Council President Rusty Williams met with FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel's aides to discuss 6 GHz interference concerns, a filing posted Friday in docket 18-295 said. UTC cited “numerous studies on the record finding that interference from unlicensed devices is certain to occur to utility licensed microwave systems in the band,” the filing said. UTC said automated frequency coordination systems operators don’t “provide sufficient processes for responding to and resolving interference complaints.” UTC noted that the North American Electric Reliability Corp. issued “a Level 2 Alert regarding the potential for interference from 6 GHz unlicensed devices, which underscores the heightened level of concern about the impact of interference on the bulk electric system.”

The Alabama First Responders Wireless Commission (AFRWC) became the latest group opposing a Public Safety Spectrum Alliance push to give FirstNet access to the 4.9 GHz band. “The AFRWC appreciates the PSSA's efforts to preserve the 4.9 GHz band for public safety use but does not support the award of a nationwide license to the FirstNet Authority,” a filing posted Friday in docket 07-100 said. It said Alabama has 28 licenses that the FCC issued for public safety use. “AFRWC understands the Commission's goal for the 4.9 GHz band is to retain local control, use the band more, and preserve its public safety nature.”