The FCC Wireless Bureau on Thursday reminded operators of autonomous vessels (AVs) to obtain a maritime mobile service identity, a nine-digit number that identifies radio stations in the maritime mobile service. The notice cited the “proliferation in recent years” of AVs. The vessels can make use of automatic identification system technology but to do so need to register for the nine-digit identity number, the bureau said.
GCI filed additional data at the FCC on its request for modification or waiver of the Alaska population-distribution model (see 2504140020). Much of the data was redacted from the filing, posted Thursday in docket 16-271. “The Commission has good cause to grant the Waiver Petition,” GCI said. “The availability of the Fabric -- which can improve estimates of the location of eligible population -- is a special circumstance that warrants deviation from the Model as initially adopted.”
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr told reporters Thursday he wasn’t surprised by DOJ's analysis of T-Mobile’s buy of UScellular wireless assets (see 2507110045). Gail Slater, Antitrust Division chief, raised concerns about the loss of UScellular as a competitor and the overall competitiveness of the U.S. wireless sector. “The stark facts of today merit our immediate attention: together, the Big 3 account for more than 90 percent of the roughly 335 million mobile subscriptions in the United States,” Slater said.
The FCC on Wednesday sought comment on a New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) proposal to use the 4.9 GHz band for train safety communications. Comments are due Aug. 22, replies Sept. 8, in universal licensing system file number 0011366120. MTA seeks to license “wayside” transmitters as temporary fixed stations but requests a waiver of certain technical rules to operate them at permanent locations,” said a notice by the Public Safety and Wireless bureaus. MTA also seeks “a waiver of the 4.9 GHz application freeze on new deployments so it can continue expanding its operations in the future,” the notice said.
T-Mobile once again led the U.S. wireless industry in subscriber growth in Q2, with 830,000 postpaid phone net customer adds, for its “best-ever Q2,” T-Mobile said after the close of financial markets Wednesday. T-Mobile also added 454,000 5G broadband net customers, up 12% year-over-year, for a total of 7.3 million. Postpaid phone churn was .90%, compared with .80% last year. T-Mobile also reported service revenue of $17.4 billion, up 6% year-over-year, and postpaid service revenue of $14.1 billion, up 9%. Net income was $3.2 billion.
Comcast and Charter Communications have signed a deal with T-Mobile to use the wireless carrier's network to deliver mobile services to the cable ISPs' business customers. Charter and Comcast said late Wednesday the service will launch next year. The two said they will offer mobile services through the T-Mobile mobile virtual network operator agreement under the brands Spectrum Mobile for Business and Comcast Business Mobile. Comcast and Charter offer residential mobile services through an MVNO agreement with Verizon. The cablers said the T-Mobile agreement is solely about wholesale mobile connectivity to their business customers and their existing Verizon MVNO partnership will continue to support residential customers.
Aura Network Systems filed additional comments saying it agrees with the goals of an FCC NPRM (see 2505190053) that explores opening the 450 MHz band “to aeronautical command and control operations” for drones. “The 450 MHz band can be leveraged to offer services at a variety of altitudes to aircraft with a variety of concepts of operation,” the company said this week in docket 24-629. It noted that needs differ for drone operators. “Flights involving larger aircraft that occur in controlled airspace have the greatest need for robust connectivity to support flight safety and regularity,” while small drones “that operate below 400 feet have lower safety needs and may only require intermittent connectivity, which can potentially be served by existing terrestrial networks.”
Oxio on Tuesday defended its pursuit of a waiver of the FCC’s numbering assignment rules so it can offer “a new, innovative hybrid” wireless service in the U.S. The FCC Wireline Bureau last month sought comment on Oxio’s petition (see 2506050043). Replies were due Tuesday in docket 13-97. Oxio said in its waiver petition that it serves 2 million customer lines in other countries and hopes to bring the technology to the U.S.
Gogo Business Aviation discussed with the FCC its reservations about a proposal to launch a voluntary, negotiation-based process to transition 10 MHz in the 900 MHz band to broadband (see 2506170070). The plan could mean interference for Gogo’s air-to-ground (ATG) receivers in the adjacent 894-896 MHz band, the company said in a meeting with Wireless Bureau staff.
Counsel for Assist Wireless, enTouch Wireless, Easy Wireless and Access Wireless met with FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty, asking for the agency to grant the companies' applications for review on upward revisions for reimbursement of services provided in the last month of the Lifeline COVID-19 waiver period (see 2504030027). In June, Chairman Brendan Carr circulated an order that would deny the carriers’ requests (see 2506270060).