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).
EchoStar, parent of Dish Network, said the FCC should use the same designated entity rules in the reauction of AWS-3 that it employed in the original 2014 auction (see 2504020017), according to a filing Tuesday in docket 25-70. EchoStar representatives met with aides to Commissioners Anna Gomez and Olivia Trusty. The agency is slated to vote on auction rules Thursday. Many of the licenses for sale were returned to the FCC by Dish. “If EchoStar will owe deficiency payments as part of the reauction, then the reauction should proceed under the same designated-entity rules as Auction 97,” the company said. “Doing so would avoid impermissible retroactivity and violating EchoStar’s due process rights while encouraging greater participation.”
T-Mobile announced Monday the deployment of low-latency, low-loss, scalable throughput (L4S) capabilities on its 5G stand-alone network. “L4S consistently delivers low latency, minimal packet loss and real-time responsiveness -- even under heavy traffic,” T-Mobile Chief Technology Officer John Saw said in a blog post. “It’s a major step forward for performance-driven use cases where every millisecond matters.” Saw cited examples of L4S use cases, including cloud gaming, video calling, extended reality and remote driving. “It’s already proving valuable in real-world trials.”
GE Healthcare Technologies and the Aerospace and Flight Test Radio Coordinating Council continue to try to "inject needless complexity" into a launch spectrum coordination process that the FCC wants to streamline, SpaceX said in a filing posted Monday (docket 13-115). GEHC and AFTRCC raised concerns about space launch use of the 2360-2395 MHz band (see 2506170053). In response to SpaceX's opposition to an AFTRCC petition, the council said last month that it seeks only limited clarification of the framework that extends space launch services to the upper S band, "not a major revisitation as one reading the Opposition might conclude." In its reply to SpaceX's opposition, GEHC said its petition wouldn't halt launch access to 2360-2395 MHz but would seek "necessary, reasonable safeguards" protecting medical body area networks (MBANs).
The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology on Monday approved a waiver request from Rod Radar allowing its Live Dig Radar to be classified as an ultra-wideband device, consistent with other ground-penetrating radar (GPR) systems. The agency sought comment a year ago (see 2407240052). The company describes the device as providing the first GPR “integrated in an excavator digging bucket capable of informing bucket operators in real-time of underground utilities,” the order said.
PCS Partners (PCSP) asked the FCC to review or reconsider a June 20 order by the Wireless Bureau waiving a limit on multilateration location and monitoring service (M-LMS) spectrum for which Progeny may hold licenses in a market. The bureau had also denied PCSP’s request that the FCC hold Progeny’s request in abeyance “pending comprehensive agency resolution of interrelated proceedings.” The bureau action “continues a pattern of arbitrary, preferential treatment in favor of Progeny, and to the detriment of PCSP, that the Commission should promptly address,” the company said last week in docket 12-202.
Alaska’s Knik Tribe raised concerns about changes proposed by CTIA to how the FCC enforces the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act. A draft NPRM addressing those laws is before commissioners for a vote at the Aug. 7 open meeting (see 2507170048).