Comcast is generally well-insulated against a recession, though revenue from its theme parks and advertising is vulnerable, Chief Financial Officer Jason Armstrong said Thursday. Speaking at MoffettNathanson's Media, Internet and Communications Conference, Armstrong said the company hasn't seen signs of a weakening economy yet. In addition, he said 90% of the traffic on Comcast's Xfinity Mobile business is offloaded onto its Wi-Fi network, a greater percentage than wireless companies offload. Comcast uses its citizens broadband radio service spectrum in particularly high-density areas to offload more of that traffic, lowering its mobile virtual network operator costs, Armstrong said. As Comcast continues to scale up its wireless offering, it can offload more traffic using the CBRS spectrum, he added. Comcast expects to eventually see fiber competition "in the vast majority of our footprint." By comparison, fixed wireless and SpaceX's Starlink will represent some competition, but they're capacity constrained, he said.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz of Texas is holding off on publicly endorsing or opposing the House Commerce Committee's reconciliation package spectrum proposal (see 2505120058), but he and some other fellow panel Republicans are already looking at potential changes if it emerges from the lower chamber as currently written. House Commerce hadn't yet tackled the reconciliation measure’s spectrum language Tuesday afternoon as panel members traded barbs about the legislation’s proposed Medicaid cuts.
Tarana Wireless CEO Basil Alwan and other company officials met with FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington about the importance of the citizens broadband radio service band. “Tarana emphasized the critical role that CBRS plays in expanding broadband access -- particularly in underserved and rural communities -- by enabling flexible, affordable, and spectrum-efficient fixed wireless deployments,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 17-258. “Tarana’s technology, when paired with CBRS spectrum, provides fiber-class performance without the need for trenching or costly infrastructure, significantly accelerating deployment timelines.”
Spectrum for the Future went on the attack Thursday against new CTIA President Ajit Pai over his calls for more spectrum for high-power licensed use. Pai has had a big week, contributing an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal (see 2505050033) and hosting CTIA’s 5G Summit (see 2505060036). Spectrum for the Future is funded by cable companies and other sharing advocates. CTIA didn't comment Thursday.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., pressed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday “to guard the critical spectrum resources currently assigned to” DOD, which has proposed reallocating some military-controlled bands (see 2504040068). Cantwell said any DOD reallocation in response to congressional Republicans’ push for a spectrum pipeline as part of a coming budget reconciliation package would put “short-term corporate gain ahead of our nation’s long-term security.”
The FCC on Friday approved waivers for Ericsson and Samsung Electronics America to offer dual-band radios that operate across citizens broadband radio service and C-band spectrum. Samsung filed its waiver request last year, and Ericsson, which already had a waiver, sought a second that parallels Samsung's request (see 2303170044). NCTA and WISPA raised concerns, which the Wireless Bureau and the Office of Engineering and Technology addressed in the order.
Several changes are likely to be included in the 37 GHz order and Further NPRM set for a commission vote Monday, industry and FCC officials said. Limited changes are possible to the proposed robocall NPRM, which seeks to close a gap in the commission’s Stir/Shaken authentication rules. Both items are expected to be approved by a unanimous vote.
Federated Wireless urged the FCC to consider the success of spectrum sharing in the citizens broadband radio access service and 6 GHz as it moves forward on the 4.9 GHz public safety band. The CBRS spectrum access system (SAS) and 6 GHz automated frequency coordination (AFC) system “enable widespread commercial access to spectrum while protecting existing and evolving incumbent use,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 07-100. As the FCC considers “the requirements and responsibilities” of the 4.9 GHz band manager, it should consider leveraging “proven spectrum management tools and capabilities” such as the SAS and AFC “to ensure efficient and intense utilization of the 4.9 GHz Band in support of public safety missions nationwide,” said Federated, whose representatives met with staff from the Wireless and Public Safety bureaus.
Spectrum sharing is taking off as a concept in nations around the world, speakers said during the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Spectrum Management Conference, which streamed from Bahrain on Thursday. Sharing technologies is becoming more dynamic as the need for access to spectrum grows, speakers said.
The citizens broadband radio service (CBRS) band uses technology that's “simplistic” and “at this point …obsolete,” so it shouldn’t be considered the best model for sharing, Rysavy Research President Peter Rysavy said. Rysavy spoke as part of an American Enterprise Institute series on spectrum, posted Monday. He also argued that 7/8 GHz spectrum should be allocated for full-power licensed use. CBRS hasn't been very widely used because “it involves coordination between incumbents and secondary users,” and “there’s a very complicated environmental sensing capability that secondary users must rely on to detect” DOD operations.