Representatives of the RAIN, LoRa, Wi-Fi, WiSUN and Z-Wave alliances met with an aide to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr about their objections to NextNav’s proposal to offer a terrestrial complement to GPS using 900 MHz spectrum (see 2507280039).
Consumer Technology Association representatives discussed spectrum, national security and other issues with Commissioner Olivia Trusty, according to a filing posted Thursday in 21-232 and other dockets. “CTA encourages continued investment in 5G and 6G infrastructure, broadband expansion and efficient use of licensed and unlicensed spectrum,” the filing said. “To that end we are pleased with the reinstatement of the FCC’s spectrum auction authority.”
A broad coalition of associations urged the FCC to move with caution on revamped equipment reauthorization rules in response to a Further NPRM that commissioners approved in May (see 2505220056). The groups joining the filing were the Consumer Technology Association, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, Incompas, the Information Technology Industry Council, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association and the Telecommunications Industry Association.
The National Wireless Independent Dealer Association announced Wednesday that Venio has joined it as a vendor partner.
Renee Gordon, director of emergency and customer communications in Alexandria, Virginia, left the FirstNet Authority at the end of her term and is no longer acting chair of the board, NTIA announced this week. She was replaced as acting chair by Michael Adkinson, the sheriff in Walton County, Florida.
FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty said Wednesday that she's already talking with the wireless industry, federal agencies and other upper C-band incumbents on moves to auction that spectrum within two years, as required by the reconciliation act. Trusty spoke at NTIA’s spectrum policy symposium (see 2509100051). “I also think we can look at lessons learned from the previous C-band auction,” she said. “There’s going to be tremendous interest” in the band, she predicted. “The clock is ticking. Time is of the essence, and 2027 will be here before we know it.”
NextNav CEO Mariam Sorond and other executives met with an aide to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on the company’s proposal “to enable 5G-based 3D Positioning, Navigation, and Timing in the Lower 900 MHz band,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 25-110. NextNav officials “described the public interest benefits and technical and economic analyses supporting” the proposal and urged the commission “to promptly issue” an NPRM, the filing said. It also included a slide presentation making the case for the proposal.
The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology on Tuesday approved a waiver sought by Lumi United Technology for an ultra-wideband (UWB) door lock system that would operate in the 6-10 GHz frequency range (see 2504110043). “We find nothing in the record to indicate that Lumi’s devices would differ from other UWB devices such that they would pose an increased risk of causing harmful interference to authorized radio services,” OET said in docket 25-102.
AT&T said Tuesday that its five-year, $14 billion contract with Ericsson to build an open radio access network (see 2312050049) is already paying off. AT&T is “leveraging Ericsson’s advanced technologies to build a high-performing, energy-efficient, and sustainable network to meet growing data demands and enhance the customer experience,” the company said. “Key components” include multiband radios, ORAN technology and advanced software, “each contributing to greater agility, efficiency, and energy optimization.”
For the third straight year, the demand for wireless data grew by roughly 35%, “a pace that would nearly double the amount of data used every two years,” CTIA said in its annual survey, released Monday. Americans used 132 trillion megabytes of mobile data in 2024, up from 100 trillion in 2023, it said. U.S. consumers “are using more and more 5G data at home, on the road, and to drive innovation across industries, from healthcare to transportation, manufacturing and beyond.”