Gogo Business Aviation requested a time extension to meet requirements of the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program but requested details remain confidential. “The Extension Request contains proprietary commercial and operational information intended to provide maximum disclosure to the Commission for its consideration of Gogo’s request for additional time in which to complete its [replacement] process,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-89. Gogo requested permanent confidential treatment and nondisclosure “because it is impossible to predict when the information contained in the Application would no longer be useful to Gogo’s competitors, other third parties, or, in light of the national security risks ... malignant entities that would seek to take advantage of potential security vulnerabilities in the nation’s communications networks.”

AT&T employees represented by the Communications Workers of America ratified a new mobility collective bargaining agreement, covering about 5,000 workers in the Southwest, AT&T said Friday. The employees work in retail, at call centers and as technicians in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri. The new agreement expires Feb. 25, 2028. AT&T is “one of the largest employers of union-represented employees in the U.S., where more than 63,000 employees are unionized,” the carrier said. CWA hailed the agreement before it was ratified, noting it provides a 5% pay hike for employees this year and other benefits, including a $55 monthly stipend for remote employees.

The FCC confirmed Thursday it’s investigating Amazon and other online retailers for allegedly selling wireless signal jammers in violation of FCC rules. “We have several ongoing investigations into retailers, including Amazon, for potential violations of Commission rules related to the marketing and sale of equipment without proper FCC authorization,” an FCC spokesperson emailed. The FCC has long policed signal jammers. In one of the most high-profile cases, in 2016, the agency fined C.T.S. Technology of China $34.9 million for allegedly marketing 285 models of signal jamming devices to U.S. consumers (see 1605250071).

Dish Network executives laid out the company’s positions on mostly wireless issues during a meeting Monday with FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez and staff, said a filing posted Thursday in 20-443 and other dockets. “An updated spectrum screen that is consistently enforced will promote competition, especially toward the goal of at least four nationwide wireless carriers,” Dish said (see 240104004), urging action on the lower 12 GHz band (see 2312270045). “Substantial evidence in the record shows that fixed 5G services can provide broadband to tens of millions of Americans, while fully protecting existing non-geostationary orbit Fixed-Satellite Service and Direct Broadcast Satellite customers,” Dish said. The company also touched on 5G Fund rules, addressed in an order circulated Wednesday by Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel (see 2403200071). “Give greater weight” to 5G Fund projects that use open radio access network technology, Dish urged: “By doing so, not only can the Commission ensure that federal funds are being used to close the digital divide, but it can facilitate deployments that will connect communities well into the future.”

Competitive Carriers Association members are counting on “a strong and effective 5G Fund” to provide service in rural areas, said President Tim Donovan in an emailed statement. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated a 5G Fund order Wednesday (see 2403200071). “We look forward to understanding the details of the draft Order and working with the FCC to make sure that the 5G Fund is a success,” he said. “Details such as eligibility, accurate mobile map data with a robust challenge process, and the timing of a 5G Fund auction are key to avoiding harmful 5G gaps and ensuring the most rural customers are able to share in the benefits of 5G.”

Axon Enterprise fired back at critics of its December request for a waiver allowing it to market three investigation and surveillance devices to law enforcement agencies (see 2403080044). The devices can operate in the 5725-5850 MHz band “without causing harmful interference to other users of these frequencies,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 24-40: “Despite this fact, the Wi-Fi industry makes wholly unjustified claims that the use of Axon’s devices by law enforcement during public safety emergencies ‘could create a perfect storm of disruption of longstanding consumer reliance on Wi-Fi.’” Axon noted that nearly all bands are “highly congested and involve often complex spectrum sharing arrangements with other users.” Critics also ignore “the critical importance of providing law enforcement with effective tools to conduct indoor investigation and surveillance missions during volatile and exceedingly dangerous situations,” Axon said.

Verizon said the FCC doesn’t need a usage rule for Wi-Fi hot spots that the E-rate program funds (see 2401300063). E-rate rules “will require schools and libraries to pay part of the cost of Wi-Fi hotspots, which will discourage" them "from subscribing to unused services,” the carrier told Wireline Bureau staff, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 21-31. The commission “has found it necessary to apply a usage rule only when the support amount covers the entire cost of a service” including services offered under the emergency connectivity fund, Lifeline and the affordable connectivity program, Verizon said: “If the Commission adopts a usage rule in this proceeding, the rule should be flexible and simple for schools and libraries to apply, and focus primarily on guarding against large-scale warehousing.”

Scott Harris, NTIA senior spectrum adviser and point person on the national spectrum strategy, has left the agency, he said on social media Thursday. The departure was expected (see 2403050048) and comes a week after NTIA released the strategy's implementation plan (see 2403120056). Harris posted photos from his farewell party, at which NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson and others wore socks emblazoned with an image of Harris’ face. Harris was the former chief of the FCC International Bureau and founder of the law firm now known as HWG.

J.P. Morgan cut estimates for AT&T's Q1 following last month's nationwide wireless outage (see 2402220058). "In Mobility, despite a 'quick recovery' following the company's network outage … we expect a slight subscriber impact from the outage and lower 1Q postpaid phone net adds to 300K," said analyst Sebastiano Petti. "We also lower 1Q postpaid phone [average revenue per user] to $55.59 to reflect the $5 per account bill credit for consumers affected by the outage."

Time is ripe to examine in a broader context FCC requirements for handset unlocking, Verizon told the agency in a filing posted Wednesday in docket 23-171. Requiring providers to unlock their devices, “which often contain software that prevents them from operating on another carrier’s network … allows consumers to switch providers more easily,” Verizon said. But “an unlocking requirement may discourage a carrier from deeply discounting a phone because it cannot recoup its subsidy if a customer immediately moves to another carrier.” Verizon noted the rules have been inconsistent. The FCC adopted handset unlocking and other open platform requirements on carriers buying licenses in the 700 MHz upper C-block auction, Verizon noted. The carrier bought the 700 MHz licenses in an auction that ended in 2008, giving it low-band spectrum nationwide (see 0803250101). More recently, public interest groups urged handset unlocking requirements as a condition of T-Mobile’s proposed buy of Mint Mobile (see 2402220032), Verizon said: “Regardless of whether the Commission requires T-Mobile to accept some or all of the handset unlocking conditions requested, it should pursue a more considered and uniform approach to unlocking.”