The ITU's goal of a secure and sustainable space environment, free from harmful radio interference, is challenged by increasingly complex spectrum coordination in space, ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin wrote Thursday. Reports of intentional interference to global navigation satellite systems "have surged," she said. Unintentional interference is also growing due to more satellites in orbit, shared frequency bands and insufficient coordination of frequency assignments and orbital maneuvers, she added.

T-Mobile is expanding its T-Satellite service, which launched in June, to add to the number of apps that will work beyond the range of wireless coverage. “Essential tools like app-based voice and video chat, mapping, weather and social media sharing, among others, are now part of the T-Satellite experience,” the carrier said Wednesday. “We’re talking about unleashing the most loved and cherished features of the app experience.” In the case of WhatsApp, “T-Satellite users can now use voice and video chat with other WhatsApp users over satellite … You can now talk live, even video chat, and send voice memos to friends, family, co-workers … anywhere you can see the sky.”

Petitions to deny SpaceX's acquisition of EchoStar spectrum licenses are due Oct. 30, according to an FCC Wireless Bureau public notice Tuesday (docket 25-302). Oppositions are due Nov. 14, replies Nov. 24. SpaceX is buying EchoStar's AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licenses (see 2509080052). Also due Oct. 30 are petitions to deny AT&T's purchase of EchoStar's 3.45 GHz and 600 MHz licenses (see 2509300046). EchoStar is reportedly talking with Verizon about the sale of its AWS-3 spectrum licenses (see 2509300057).

Verizon representatives met with an aide to FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez about the company’s request to waive the handset-unlocking requirement that it agreed to as a provision of its acquisition of Tracfone and its purchase of 700 MHz C-block licenses in a 2008 auction (see 2505200051). “We discussed the large and growing problem of device trafficking and fraud, and discussed how the existing requirement on Verizon to automatically unlock handsets after 60 days contributes to those problems,” said a filing Tuesday in docket 24-186. Handset locking “is one of the few effective tools to address trafficking and deter bad actors.”

SpaceX has dropped its 2024 rulemaking petition pushing for changes to the 2 GHz band licensing and sharing frameworks to allow new entrants and coexistence (see 2402230027). The company notified the FCC on Tuesday that it was withdrawing the petition. EchoStar was the sole 2 GHz licensee at the time of the filing, but the two companies have since agreed to a deal in which SpaceX would buy spectrum licenses, including the 2 GHz band license, from EchoStar.

Petitions to deny are due Oct. 30 on AT&T’s proposed purchase of EchoStar spectrum for $23 billion, said an FCC notice released Tuesday in docket 25-303. The deal, announced in August (see 2508260005), would give AT&T licenses for 600 MHz and 3.45 GHz. EchoStar will continue to offer wireless service, but primarily as a mobile virtual network operator riding on AT&T’s network. Oppositions are due Nov. 14, replies Nov. 24, the notice said. “According to the Applicants, the transaction will provide significant public interest benefits by improving AT&T’s service and making both companies stronger competitors.”

Verizon is in discussions with EchoStar about buying the company’s AWS-3 spectrum, Bloomberg News reported Monday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the talks. AT&T announced an agreement in August to buy EchoStar’s 600 MHz and 3.45 GHz licenses for $23 billion (see 2508260005). Dish Network, which is now part of EchoStar, was the third-highest bidder in the 2015 auction, with bids of more than $13 billion. Dish returned some of the licenses to the FCC, which will sell them in an upcoming auction.

Dean Bubley, founder of Disruptive Analysis, argued in an opinion piece Monday that private 5G will be critical to providing the bandwidth needed to handle the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Private 5G “is increasingly used for connecting broadcast cameras, devices such as drones, handhelds for security staff, wireless payment terminals, and entry/exit gates” and “can be configured for the venues’ specific needs, with dedicated coverage and local control,” Bubley wrote in RCR Wireless. Carrier networks “will be insufficient to simultaneously meet all the requirements for the diverse Olympic venues and specialized applications, visiting fans, and non-participating LA citizens and businesses,” he wrote. Even using advanced 5G techniques like network slicing, “public networks’ limitations will likely require deployment of dedicated ‘private’ 5G networks.”

Groups opposing an FCC order giving the FirstNet Authority control of the 4.9 GHz band through a nationwide license (see 2410220027) Monday slammed Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) and Public Safety Broadband Technology Association (PSBTA) challenges of part of the order. The Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure (CERCI) and other groups filed a brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which is scheduled to hear the case Nov. 24. The FCC and DOJ, meanwhile, defended the order.

CTIA Monday filed in support of a T-Mobile petition asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to rehear en banc the August decision by a three-judge panel upholding the FCC’s data fines against it and Sprint, which it subsequently purchased (see 2509220056).