The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday urged the FCC to take last week’s Supreme Court decision limiting the scope of environmental reviews into account as it considers changes to rules on National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) requirements (see 2505290075). The FCC is seeking comment on a CTIA petition seeking regulatory relief on NEPA and National Historic Preservation Act rules, which has proven controversial (see 2505160035).
The Wireline Bureau reminded recipients in the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program that they must file status updates with the FCC every 90 days. The next due date is July 2, said a notice in Tuesday’s Daily Digest.
The Rural Wireless Association, Communications Workers of America and public interest groups asked the FCC to consider spectrum sales between UScellular and the three major wireless carriers together, rather than as separate transactions. “These transactions represent a significant restructuring of the mobile wireless market and effectuate the exit of UScellular as a mobile wireless carrier,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 25-150. The groups met with staff from across the FCC, along with Public Knowledge, New America’s Open Technology Institute and the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.
Astra Navigation asked the FCC to consider its technology, which translates magnetic fields into navigational data, as a non-spectrum-reliant alternative to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing. The company offers “an American-made technology that converts the Earth’s magnetic fields into 3D positioning data without reliance on network connectivity or deployment of special infrastructure,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 25-110. Company representatives met with staff from across the agency.
Verizon certified at the FCC that it’s in compliance with the agency’s vertical-location accuracy requirements and has deployed z-axis location technology “on a nationwide basis at accuracy within 3 meters above or below (plus or minus 3 meters) the handset” for 80% of wireless 911 calls made from z-axis-capable devices. Verizon is also delivering z-axis data to 911 call centers in height-above-ellipsoid format and “has complied with the test bed and live call data provisions in the rules,” said a filing Monday in docket 17-78.
Federated Wireless executives discussed the need for changes to the citizens broadband radio service rules in a meeting with staff from the FCC Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology, said a filing posted Monday in docket 17-258. Federated officials discussed “several practical, near-term improvements that can be readily implemented” in the band.
Amateur radio operator Hunter Reed asked the FCC to launch a rulemaking on expanding agency rules from 40 years ago, which require local governments to reasonably accommodate amateur radio installations, to clarify that they apply to homeowners associations (HOAs). The current rules don’t “extend to private land-use restrictions enforced by HOAs,” said the petition posted Monday in docket 25-133. “In an era where a significant portion of residential housing is governed by HOAs, this omission critically hampers the ability of many licensed operators to install antennas and fulfill their public service and emergency communication roles.”
The FCC announced Monday a 30-day extension of the June 9 deadline for current 4.9 GHz licensees to provide the agency with granular licensing data or face cancellation of their licenses. The new deadline is July 9.
CTIA representatives urged the FCC to move quickly to launch the AWS-3 reauction during a meeting with staff from the Office of Economics and Analytics and the Wireless Bureau. They “discussed the strong consensus in the record supporting the use of the Clock-1 auction format and reiterated that changes to geographic licensing are outside the scope of the authority delegated by the Commission to OEA and [the Wireless Bureau] for purposes of the Auction 113 Public Notice,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 25-70.
Verizon and AT&T are backing the C-band Relocation Payment Clearinghouse's request that it be allowed to shut down June 30 (see 2505140034). Substantive functions related to the C-band transition are complete, Verizon said in a filing posted Friday (docket 18-122). Pointing to Anuvu's pending appeal of a denied claim, Verizon said the 3.7 GHz service overlay licensees will guarantee payment to Anuvu in the event of a favorable FCC or final court ruling. AT&T filed similarly last week.