UScellular executives on Friday projected a mid-2025 closing on the proposed sale of wireless assets to T-Mobile following regulatory approvals. During a call with analysts to release Q1 results, UScellular said it lost 39,000 postpaid subscribers in the period ending March 31.
T-Mobile told the FCC that it complied with an unlocking requirement that was part of the order a year ago approving its acquisition of Mint Mobile and other assets from Ka’ena (see 2404250047). The redacted filing, posted Friday (docket 23-171), blanks out the number of devices that were unlocked. T-Mobile agreed to unlock “all Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile devices activated on the T-Mobile network both pre- and post-closing.” That concession was less than what public interest and consumer groups sought and not as broad as an earlier Verizon unlocking agreement.
NextNav told the FCC it's working with location and monitoring services (LMS) licensees to address concerns about the company's proposal that the FCC reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band to enable a “terrestrial complement” to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing services. Initial comments were due last week on the FCC’s broad investigation of the NextNav proposal and other GPS issues (see 2504290042).
T-Mobile is making several changes to its network ahead of hurricane and wildfire season, the carrier said Thursday. “T-Mobile’s Enhanced Self-Organizing Network (SON) uses real-time data and AI to detect issues and adapt automatically, ensuring more reliable connectivity before, during and after disasters,” it said.
CEO Emmett Fitch and others from OptimERA met with aides to FCC Commissioners Nathan Simington and Anna Gomez on the company’s proposal for mobile service under the Alaska Connect Fund. Fitch provided “background on OptimERA’s history, current cellular business, and plans to develop and launch new cellular service in dozens of small, unserved, tribal villages in Alaska,” said a filing Thursday in docket 23-328.
FirstNet Authority Chief Counsel Mike Cannon is now its executive director and CEO, NTIA announced Thursday. The announcement doesn’t mention Joseph Wassel, a DOD veteran, who was picked to lead the authority two years ago (see 2303100023). Cannon has served at the Commerce Department since 1992 in various positions, including chief counsel for economic affairs.
NTIA is asking for “expressions of interest” to serve as a member of the FirstNet Authority board. The Commerce Department also plans to fill a vacancy left when former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms resigned as chair of the board at the start of the current administration (see 2501170064). The board has 12 non-permanent members. Expressions of interest are due June 2, per a notice for Thursday’s Federal Register.
The FCC Space Bureau signed off on a modification of Lynk Global's previous authorization, now allowing it to provide supplemental coverage from space service in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. In the approval Tuesday, the FCC gave the go-ahead to Lynk's use of Docomo Pacific's terrestrially licensed spectrum in the 845.1-845.3 MHz and 890.1-890.3 MHz bands. Lynk Chief Global Affairs Officer Amy Mehlman said the company is "taking great strides on our mission to connect everyone, everywhere, and this approval demonstrates our progress on our strategic roadmap, enabling Lynk and our trusted partner, Docomo, to provide services in parts of the country that are underserved or out of reach from conventional mobile networks.”
The International Bridge, Tunnel & Turnpike Association filed a study at the FCC questioning a NextNav proposal to use the lower 900 MHz band to provide positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) as a GPS alternative. The study -- done by Harold Furchtgott-Roth, an economist and former FCC commissioner -- found that granting the NextNav proposal would force current lower 900 MHz band operations to “suffer interference and relocate into a narrower frequency range" within the band, "relocate to a spectrum band outside the Lower 900 MHz band or discontinue operations altogether.” It was posted Wednesday in docket 24-240.
Deficit reduction is driving spectrum policy and an auction means money for the Treasury, but lawmakers shouldn’t ignore Wi-Fi's growing role, said WifiForward Executive Director Mary Brown during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday. Brown said she expects action in the House and Senate on spectrum legislation in the next four to 10 weeks, restoring FCC auction authority and identifying some bands for auction. Still to be determined is how specific Congress will be in picking bands and the timelines it will impose, she said.