The Arizona GMRS Repeater Club opposed Garmin International’s pursuit of a waiver of FCC rules to allow certification of hand-held general mobile radio service (GMRS) devices (see 2310060031). Midland Radio supported the waiver request (see 2402120059). “There are simply not enough [GMRS] frequencies available for the necessary separation between analog and digital transmissions,” the Arizona group said in a filing Monday in docket 24-7: “Our organization has suffered from interference to our GMRS repeater from commercial repeaters transmitting with [time-division multiple access] TDMA digital emissions. Digital transmissions can and do cause co-channel and adjacent channel interference to analog communications.” Other opposition came from a few amateur radio operators. “Digital data sounds are difficult to listen to and would be considered interference to the regular FM users,” amateur operator Jim Logue said. Noting “GMRS has very limited spectrum which is probably well utilized across the country,” he said he's "not sure there is room to introduce digital data.”
The FCC sought comment Tuesday on long-form applications from Quick Current to buy 2.5 GHz licenses in Iowa and Nebraska. Petitions to deny the applications are due no later than Feb. 23, oppositions March 1 and replies to oppositions March 8, said a notice from the Wireless Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics. Under the 5G Spectrum Authority Licensing Enforcement Act, enacted in December, the FCC can issue licenses won in the 2022 auction despite the expiration in March of its general spectrum auction authority (see 2312200061).
The FCC Wireline Bureau seeks comments by March 15, replies by April 1, on a proposal to use data from the broadband serviceable location fabric to "update and verify compliance with certain high-cost program support recipients’ deployment obligations," said a notice for Wednesday's Federal Register. Comments are due in docket 10-90.
An FCC draft NPRM seeking comment on using scripted templates to facilitate multilingual emergency alert system messages is expected to change little from the original draft and be approved unanimously, agency officials told us. By eliminating the difficulty of translating the messages, “this model potentially should make issuing multilingual EAS alerts simpler and more accessible for alert originators,” the draft said. Many proposals in the draft item could severely burden MVPDs and broadcasters, according to NCTA and alerting industry officials. The item is on the agenda for the commissioners' open meeting on Thursday.
Industry is calling on the FCC to revise a robocall item, set for a commissioner vote Thursday, which codifies some robocall and robotexting rules while asking about applying protections in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act to communications from wireless carriers to their own subscribers (see 2401250068). Industry officials told us they’re not certain the FCC will make the changes they seek, though they expect tweaks.
Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act (HR-6929) GOP co-sponsor Rep. Marc Molinaro of New York acknowledged Tuesday that Republican opponents of stopgap funding for ACP are an impediment, but one the bill’s backers can overcome. HR-6929 and Senate companion S-3565 would allocate $7 billion for ACP, keeping it alive through FY 2024 (see 2401100056). The FCC froze ACP enrollments last week in keeping with procedures for winding down the program absent more federal funding.
Ligado's federal complaint about its planned L-band use "rests in critical parts on a skewed, misleading narrative," satellite and aviation interests told the U.S. Court of Federal Claims Friday in an amicus brief (docket 1:23-cv-1797) backing the government's motion to dismiss Ligado's suit against the U.S., DOD, Commerce and NTIA (see 2401260003). Iridium, Aireon, the Air Line Pilots Association, Airlines for America and the International Air Transport Association said that their concerns about interference from Ligado's plans for a terrestrial L-band network "should inform the Court’s consideration." The concerns about "harmful interference arising from Ligado’s planned terrestrial operations are real and ongoing, not pretextual or resolved," they said. The brief said the U.S. argument that Ligado doesn't have a property interest in its L-band license, and thus the Constitution's takings clause isn't implicated, "is underscored by the fact that Ligado’s license remains subject to substantial contingencies," including ones stemming from multiple reconsideration petitions before the FCC and from the possibility of judicial review if the agency denies the petitions.
The in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing NPRM on the FCC's February agenda (see 2401250068) gives the agency far too broad authority, SpaceX said Monday in docket 22-271. Recapping meetings held with all five commissioners' offices and the FCC Space Bureau, SpaceX said the draft NPRM provides no limiting principle for agency authority over orbital debris mitigation or the cost, reliability and safety of ISAM craft. The draft also proposes assessing planetary protection plans of all spacecraft, including non-ISAM vehicles, it said. "Such broad interpretations of the Commission’s statutory authority ... would needlessly test the bounds of the Commission’s jurisdiction," it said.
A draft order on collecting broadcaster and cable workforce diversity data using form 395-B is off the FCC’s circulation list. Removing an item is usually an indication that it was voted on and will be released soon. The item was circulated at the end of December and quickly received three votes -- likely from the agency’s Democrats -- but then was held up under the agency’s must-vote procedures, waiting for the remaining two votes. FCC Republicans Nathan Simington and Brendan Carr were expected to oppose the item. The draft order would reinstate form 395-B and require broadcasters to upload diversity data forms to online public files. It's accompanied by a Further NPRM that seeks comment on expanding the same rules to cable, FCC and industry officials told us (see 2401260075). The FCC declined to comment.
The FCC released an updated user guide for carriers seeking funding through the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program. The program is intended to partially support removal of Chinese gear from U.S. networks. The guide was posted in Monday’s Daily Digest. The document “provides informal guidance intended to assist Recipients as they proceed with this Reimbursement Program process and does not constitute legal advice,” it notes.