Commnet Wireless and NTUA Wireless asked for additional six-month extensions of pending deadlines to remove Huawei and ZTE components from their networks under the FCC’s rip-and-replace program. The carriers, which serve the Navajo Nation, requested the extension in a series of FCC filings, posted Tuesday in docket 18-89. Commnet said in one of the filings it faces a Jan. 27 completion date. “Commnet is unable to meet this deadline due to factors beyond its control, and we thus assert that the grant of a six-month extension as contemplated by the Commission’s rules is warranted and would serve the public interest,” the filing said: “Commnet continues to work diligently to complete its plan to remove, replace and securely dispose of equipment, however, even after receiving our previous extension, we also continue to face challenges with repeated delays caused primarily from zoning and permitting restrictions that have severely delayed our overall progress.”

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology on Friday approved tweaks that Continental Automotive wanted in a waiver the company received last year authorizing a tire pressure monitoring system operating in the 315 and 433 MHz bands (see 2312190080). The technical changes will "ensure clarity with respect to the equipment authorization process and implementation of the Order, and in light of the fact that Continental wishes to move forward now,” the company said in May when it sought the waiver (see 2405160024). “We modify two waiver conditions and include a new waiver condition that requires Continental’s device to minimize the amount of time that the device needs to complete the drive cycle calibration and permits shorter silent periods between transmissions for shorter drive cycles that occur prior to the full calibration of Continental’s [tire pressure] sensor,” OET said in an order in docket 22-382: “We find the modifications requested by Continental will provide additional clarity to the existing Waiver Order. Moreover, we agree with Continental that the revised waiver conditions are consistent with the existing record.”

Dell’Oro Group predicted total radio access network revenue will trend downward until 2029, as the RAN market undergoes “a second consecutive year of steep declines.” While “the pace of decline is expected to moderate after 2024, downward pressure is likely to persist until 6G becomes a reality,” Dell’Oro warned last week: “The overpromising of 5G and its inability to significantly alter the flat revenue trend among operators are fueling increased skepticism regarding the need for substantial investments in new technologies.” Some skepticism is “warranted,” said Stefan Pongratz, vice president-RAN and telecom capital expenditures research at Dell’Oro. Operators invested more than $2 trillion in wireless networks “between 2010 and 2023 to build out 4G and 5G, yet revenues remain flat,” he said.

CTIA representatives spoke with aides to FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez about changes the group is seeking to the commission’s draft hearing-aid compatibility order (see 2410090051). The order is set for a commission vote Thursday (see 2409260047). “CTIA reiterated that its members have long been aligned with the goal of achieving 100 percent HAC and are working hard to introduce new and better wireless devices and services for all consumers, including those that use hearing devices,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 23-388.

The FCC continues getting advice supporting and opposing a proposal that would give the FirstNet Authority control of the 4.9 GHz band (see 2408160027). The Harvard Fire-Emergency Medical Services Department endorsed the proposal in a filing posted Friday in docket 07-100. “This action is essential to enhance public safety communications and ensure reliable, mission-critical support for first responders” and the FirstNet Authority “has proven it can effectively manage and deploy the public safety spectrum,” the department said. The Virginia Sheriffs' Association said the spectrum belongs “in the hands of sheriffs and other local entities who know best how to use it.”

Fixed wireless access customers are more satisfied with their service than traditional wired internet customers, J.D. Power reported Thursday. FWA customers have an overall satisfaction score of 630, on a 1,000-point scale, compared with 538 for wired internet customers, the report said. T-Mobile scored the highest at 649. “Fiber-wired internet service is the fastest and most reliable service for customers now reaching speeds over 5 Gig in some areas, but it comes at a cost, both in infrastructure investment and cost to the customer,” said Carl Lepper, J.D. Power senior director-technology, media and telecom: FWA is “a more accessible option that has become more widely available, less expensive and delivers more satisfaction across all parts of the customer experience we measure.”

Groups representing the deaf and hard of hearing urged the FCC to add a paragraph to the draft hearing-aid compatibility order teed up for a vote at the commissioners' open meeting Oct. 17 (see 2409260047). Representatives also spoke with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel about the draft order, according to a filing posted Thursday in docket 23-388. The order should say the agency “will continue to monitor consumer and technology trends for Bluetooth and telecoil coupling to reevaluate their benchmarks, taking into consideration consumer preferences and trends, changes in the marketplace, and developments in research and technical standards pertaining to hearing aid compatibility.” The order should also commit to update benchmarks “as needed to reflect changes,” beginning “four years from the effective date of this order, and continuing on a regular basis thereafter,” the groups said. “The addition of the proposed language to the Report and Order would underscore the Commission's commitment to a forward-looking, flexible policy that impacts people with hearing loss.” Those signing the filing were the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Hearing Loss Association of America, Deaf Equality, TDIforAccess and Communication Service for the Deaf.

The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation supported a uniform handset unlocking mandate for wireless carriers, proposed in an FCC NPRM, which has proven controversial (see 2409240038). “Adopting a uniform, industry-wide unlocking requirement for all service providers would advance digital equity, lessen consumer confusion, and provide consumers with the unencumbered ability to choose a service provider that best suits their needs,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 24-186. “This is particularly important in Black communities that are more dependent on smartphones to access the internet and often experience greater financial constraints that limit their ability to purchase a new device if they want to change service providers,” the group said.

Industry officials continued questioning AT&T’s Wednesday proposal that calls for major changes in how 3 GHz, including the citizens broadband radio service band, is configured (see 2410090037). Monisha Ghosh, University of Notre Dame engineering professor and former FCC chief technologist, said AT&T's proposal leaves some questions unanswered. While in principle it’s “desirable to have high-power and low-power users separated by one boundary, the AT&T proposal doesn’t address how the existing Navy radars in the CBRS band will be protected” or “relocated and how spectrum sharing in 3.1-3.45 GHz will be implemented,” Ghosh told us, noting there are now 120 different kinds of radar in the band. Ghosh warned against drawing conclusions before the administration completes its study of the lower 3 GHz band called for in the national spectrum strategy. Moreover, Ghosh disagreed with AT&T that CBRS is "underutilized.” Relocating CBRS devices into another band that’s not an existing 3rd Generation Partnership Project band wouldn’t be a “trivial” problem, she said. Meanwhile, Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld wrote in an email, “When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail,” and when you’re a carrier “everything looks like it should be optimized for mobile broadband.” Feld added, “CBRS was designed to permit new kinds of innovation by different actors, such as stadiums, large warehouses, ports, or enterprise customers looking to run their own private networks.”

Sirius XM Radio opposed FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel's proposal to allow the operation of very-low power (VLP) devices, without coordination, in the U-NII-6 and U-NII-8 portions of the 6 GHz band (see 2410040055). The company’s radio service in the satellite digital audio radio service band “cannot operate without reliable access to the 7.025-7.075 GHz band to uplink programming for delivery to tens of millions of listeners and to control its spacecraft,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-295. “SDARS is highly vulnerable to aggregate interference from the open-ended deployment of unlicensed devices operating outdoors,” Sirius XM said: “The Commission’s decision just four years ago to limit operations in the U-NII-8 band to indoor use correctly reflected that concern.”