Alaska’s Bristol Bay Cellular Partnership agreed to start sending wireless emergency alerts to subscribers, said a filing posted Friday in docket 15-91. The carrier said in 2008 it filed at the FCC a letter saying it wouldn’t participate in the WEA system and is now changing its position.

EchoStar, RS Access and Go Long Wireless entered into an agreement with the Cherokee Nation to make 100 MHz of lower 12 GHz spectrum available to the tribe for fixed wireless. EchoStar’s Dish Network earlier offered to make the band available in tribal areas as the FCC looks at revising rules for the band (see 2309110061). The companies said they are looking to sign similar agreements with other tribes. “Under the terms of the agreement, the Cherokee Nation (or another participating Tribal entity) would be assigned free and clear 100 MHz of spectrum (12.2-12.3 GHz) and could use as much of that 100 MHz band as it needs for fixed wireless service, with the [multichannel video distribution and data service] licensee and the Tribal entity having a mutual right to use each other’s unused spectrum as needed for their own operations across the entire 12.2 GHz band,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 20-443. The approach “would help close the longstanding digital divide for underserved and hard-to-reach Tribal lands, while simultaneously respecting tribal sovereignty and self-determination,” the filing said. In a call last week with FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez and aides to Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington, tribal broadband advocates discussed the potential significance of a proposal giving tribes access to the lower 12 GHz band. The advocates made similar points in an earlier meeting with Commissioner Brendan Carr (see 2402140035).

Comments and petitions are due March 11, responses March 21, and replies to responses March 26 on a Dish Network and Liberty Latin America request to transfer Dish spectrum licenses in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to Liberty, the FCC Office of International Affairs said in a public notice Friday. The PN also established docket 24-55 for the proceeding.

Mavenir said it's working with Terrestar on 5G non-terrestrial-network (NTN) solutions that use open radio access networks. “Satellite Operators are actively looking at ways to harness 5G NTN capabilities within their network topology, to extend coverage and capacity in areas where traditional terrestrial networks may be economically unfeasible or impractical,” Mavenir said Friday. Mavenir is collaborating with Terrestar on its push to offer narrowband IoT service. “Open RAN deployments are demonstrating their clear potential for enabling unprecedented levels of connectivity for consumers and industries, surpassing the possibilities of traditional RAN software builds,” said Mavenir CEO Pardeep Kohli.

CTIA officials updated FCC staff about progress on deploying managed access systems (MAS) to curb the use of illicit phones in correctional facilities. The FCC Wireless Bureau last year tentatively approved applications of five contraband interdiction system operators to help address contraband phones (see 2306230033). “CTIA’s members have continued to commit both their resources and their technical expertise to make it easier for corrections officials to implement MAS interdiction solutions,” said a filing Thursday in docket 13-111. Efforts include “enhanced coordination with MAS vendors, creation of a MAS ‘How To’ checklist for corrections officials and system vendors, support for federal funding, identification of efficient and accurate methods for permanently disabling contraband devices, and streamlining the roaming agreements needed to enable” evolved MAS, CTIA said.

Rural Wireless Association representatives raised concerns with aides to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel about how the agency documents progress of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program. The program is aimed at removing unsecure gear from telecom networks. Congressional reports fail “to accurately depict the current state of the Reimbursement Program by vastly underestimating how much participants have spent … to date,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-89. The reports “have only mentioned the total monies that have been reimbursed to program participants, which is significantly lower than the total spending that program participants have incurred to date,” RWA said: “Many program participants have been forced to file modifications due to the lack of funding and such modifications have slowed the submission of invoices, which would further demonstrate costs already incurred by participants.” Moreover, RWA is frustrated that the latest reports seem to blame program participants for delays, the filing said.

AT&T said the outage that affected many wireless subscribers on Thursday (see 2402220058) was most likely a technical problem and not a cyberattack. An initial review concluded the outage resulted from the "application and execution of an incorrect process ... as we were expanding our network,” AT&T said in a Thursday evening update. The carrier said it’s still investigating. House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, said Thursday night they are assessing the "disruption in order to gain a complete understanding of what went wrong and what can be done to prevent future incidents like this from occurring.” As more information comes in, the panel “will continue to encourage transparency and accountability for those affected and ensure that appropriate steps are taken to strengthen our communications networks, which are vital for nearly every aspect of our economy and daily lives.”

Representatives of the Open Technology Institute at New America and Public Knowledge spoke with staffers of the FCC Wireless Bureau, Office of Economics and Analytics and others about their request for handset unlocking requirements for T-Mobile as part of its proposed buy of Mint Mobile (see 2402060025). “Consumer advocates have long argued that mobile phones should come unlocked by default, allowing users to more easily make choices about the device and service they purchase, as they can for most products,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 23-171. They noted that the U.K.’s Office of Communications has required mobile phones to be sold unlocked there since 2021. Ofcom found that “more than a third of people who decided against switching said having to get a handset unlocked put them off" changing providers, which “means they could be missing out on a better deal,” the groups said.

Industry associations called for a voluntary cyber trust mark program during a meeting with aides to FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. Commissioners are set to vote on a cyber mark program March 14 (see 2402210057). “There is broad support in the record for the idea that flexible, voluntary, risk-based best practices are the hallmarks of IoT security as it exists today and as it is being developed and iterated upon around the world,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 23-239. Groups at the meeting were CTA, the Connectivity Standards Alliance, CTIA, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, USTelecom and the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers.

CommScope is supporting third-party open radio access network distributed units for customers using its distributed antenna and small-cell systems. CommScope also said Wednesday it’s “seamlessly supporting” ORAN on in-building radios. Traditionally, ORAN “has focused on enhancing macro and outdoor networks, but we’ve extended these benefits to indoor networks to offer unprecedented flexibility in delivering on-premises 5G coverage, capacity, and control for both public and private networks,” said Upendra Pingle, CommScope senior vice president-intelligent cellular networks.